Contents
12 foods people were afraid to eat in the last century
For us, they are commonplace and even a delicacy. And in the last century, this food frightened people, and so much so that they flatly refused to eat it and fed these products only to animals and prisoners in prisons.
They were considered deadly, called “poisonous apples.” They even tried to poison one American commander with tomatoes. But then he made it clear that all the efforts of the intruders were in vain: he went out onto the porch and ate a bucket of tomatoes in public. But tomato poisoning did happen. True, not because of the vegetable itself, but because of the dishes: people ate from pewter plates made with the addition of lead. Lead reacted with the acid from tomatoes to create a deadly compound.
Lobsters
They were fed to … prisoners. Law-abiding people avoided lobsters. Moreover, there was a rule regulating how many days in a row prisoners could be fed lobsters so as not to violate the principles of humanism. Relatively recently, gourmets have tasted this crustacean. And with the advent of Instagram, lobsters have become insanely popular: after all, there are few such foods that would look more spectacular. In addition, lobsters have become one of the indispensable signs of luxury.
Cabbage kale
Now nutritionists from all over the world sing odes to her. It is believed to be one of the healthiest vegetables: it is full of calcium, essential amino acids, protein, vitamins and trace elements. And once they refused to eat kale cabbage simply because it was tasteless. In its raw form, it is really not very pleasant, it is best to eat kale in salads with tomatoes, garlic and basil, add to smoothies or make chips from it, baking in the oven.
Potato
It, as we remember, was brought to Russia by Peter I. He brought it, but did not explain how to eat it correctly. Therefore, the peasants ate potato berries. And they are just very poisonous. Then, nevertheless, it was possible to convey to everyone the knowledge that it is the tubers that are edible in potatoes. And gradually it turned into a “second bread”. By the way, potatoes were also popular among the nobles – but not as food, but as bouquets that were pinned to dresses when going to the ball.
Chocolate
When cocoa beans were just discovered, they really didn’t know how to make anything out of them. We started to brew cocoa, but it was not at all the drink to which we are accustomed. And even less hot chocolate – just something bitter, with a specific smell. Once bitter means. poisonous, everything is clear. And chocolate sweets in Russia really learned how to make relatively recently, at the beginning of the last century. The experience was adopted from the Europeans, and then they set the task of catching up and overtaking the famous Switzerland in quality of chocolate. For a while, this was successful, Russian sweets even received prizes at international fairs.
Bone broth
Now any housewife knows that a truly delicious borscht can only be cooked from marrow bones. In extreme cases – from soup chicken, which almost died of old age. Such a broth is also useful, it contains collagen, valuable for the skin, and a little protein and fat. A century ago, bones were used only for dog food. Soups and stews were cooked only from meat.
Black caviar
She was considered – impossible to believe! – food for the poor. This is because until the beginning of the twentieth century, sturgeon were caught barbarously, simply destroying the population. There was too much caviar until 1910 – in Russia the peasants never feasted on it, but in America, ordinary working people considered it an ordinary snack. This then came the time of generations who had heard about black caviar, but had never seen it. And then they saw it, but they never tried it, because sturgeon caviar is valued at its weight in gold.
White cabbage
For the sake of fairness, we note: in our country, they have always loved cabbage. But in the United States, it was considered something inedible until recently, when people began to think about healthy eating. By the way, the latest fashion trend in Western cooking is fermented foods. That is, there they are just discovering all the charm of sauerkraut, kimchi and other things we are used to.
oysters
Until the beginning of the twentieth century, oysters, like black caviar, were not considered a delicacy at all, but an ordinary food, like burgers today. So many of them were mined that Pearl Street in New York was laid out with oyster shells – hence its name. Well, then, due to the massive catch, oyster stocks were depleted, and until recently this seafood was considered an incredible rarity. And even now it is a delicacy that cannot be called an ordinary meal.