Blog #5

This week I tried mushroom risotto for the first time. I usually hate mushrooms but for some reason, that day I was craving risotto and the thought of mushrooms in risotto sounded appetizing. It was amazing. It was so filling and creamy. Honestly, it might be one of my new favorite dishes. It was nice because I felt full, which I usually don’t, and I got a combination of carbs, dairy, and fungi (vegetables?). Overall, I was extremely satisfied and it was really nice for someone who is a picky eater like me to try something I usually do not like and be pleasantly surprised.

In the reading this week, we learned about Platina, the Vatican’s librarian, who translated/ “wrote” the first widely circulated cookbook during the Renaissance. Platina is extremely interested in the Galenic theory that we learned in class. For a quick recap, Galen basically said that in order for the stomach to properly digest food, the stomach needs to be warmed up. This can be done in a variety of ways such as consuming alcohol or exercising. Platina believed that foods like melons needed to be eaten in moderation because they were cold and wet and could upset the stomach. Platina also brings up the issue of pleasure versus self-restraint. The wealthy were eating peacocks to show their wealth but wasting the majority of the bird. Platina believes that there is a delicate balance between pleasure and morality. This week we also learned about the Chain of Being, which talks about which foods and animals that are closest to God and which ones are further away. Wealthy people preferred not to eat food grown underground because it was further from God and therefore it meant that it was one of the least noble foods. Animals that fly and fruits and vegetables are grown above ground were all closer to God.

I would say nowadays, this logic does not apply. Vegetables are not seen as the food of the poor. If anything, healthy food is more expensive. Meat is expensive and harder to obtain, but I would not say that there is a stigma on vegetables as being a poor food. In current times, people do not really eat to display power. When we have dinner parties, we eat what is good, even if there is something more expensive, why waste money on something no one wants? Like in the Renaissance with the peacock. It is a waste of time and money. The only comparison I could make from current times to the power display of the Renaissance could be when people post pictures on Instagram or Snapchat of their food from more expensive restaurants. When I see the pictures I usually assume its to show how picturesque their food is but honestly, it might also be to show that they can afford to purchase expensive and pretty food.