Cookbooks
This was the language the first cookbooks were written.
What is Latin?
Increasing demand for timber for construction and fuel lead to this process.
What is deforestation?
This exotic ingriendient which was first introduced by the Jewish was considered dangerous by some Italians (the word for it in Italian is melanzana which means bad apple).
What is aubergine?
The availability of spices in Renaissance Italy became a way for the nobility to display this.
What is wealth?
At Renaissance banquets, this utensil was considered a sign of personal refinement and was only widely adopted by upper classes in Italy by the fifteenth century.
What is the fork?
This was the social class in which the first cookbooks were written.
What is upper class or nobility?
This constituted the bulk of the commoner's diet.
What are grains?
This root vegetable, introduced to Italy from the Americas, replaced wheat as a staple in northern Italy but caused a nutritional deficiency disease called pellagra.
What is corn or maize?
Spices like pepper, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg were considered this type of item in Renaissance Italy.
What are luxury items?
According to humoral theories, this meat was considered too heavy and humid for the delicate stomachs of nobles, making it more suitable for the lower classes.
What is pork?
Cookbooks of this period helped spread Italian culinary standards to this broader geographic area.
What is Europe?
This replaced the old method of two-year crop rotation.
What is the three-field crop rotation system?
Expelled from Spain in 1492, this group settled throughout Italian cities and introduced new ingredients to Italian cuisine.
What is the Jewish people?
This Portuguese prince launched a programme of exploration voyages in the fifteenth century that opened up new trade routes.
Who is Henry the Navigator?
This sideboard at Renaissance banquets held fresh fruits, salads, and lighter dishes, and was where kitchen services began before the formal meal.
What is the credenza?
This Italian city became the center of cookbook production.
What is Tuscany?
Italian cities undertook projects to regulate water supply and build irrigation canals around this major northern Italian river, boosting agricultural productivity.
What is the Po river?
Though considered toxic when first introduced to Italy, this New World fruit eventually became the defining ingredient of Italian cuisine.
What is the tomato?
Islamic rulers held a monopoly over the spice trade, prompting Spain and Portugal to seek new routes to reach these two spice-producing island groups.
What are the Moluccas and the Spice Islands?
Written in 1528 by archbishop Giovanni della Casa, this manual warned against excessive gluttony and outlined proper behavior at the table for educated men.
What is the Galateo?
Written in Latin and published in the 1470s, this was the first printed cookbook, written by a Vatican librarian who connected culinary pleasure to good health.
What is De honesta voluptate et valetudine (by Platina)?
The seasonal movement of sheep between the plains in the south during the winter and the hills of central Italy during the summer.
What is transhumance?
Italian merchants built their wealth on trade with this region, controlling the flow of spices into Europe before Portuguese exploration disrupted their monopoly.
What is Venice?
Spices like pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg reached Europe through trade routes controlled by these rulers, prompting Spain and Portugal to seek direct access.
What are the Islamic or Mamluk rulers?
This officer at Renaissance banquets was responsible for supervising the cooks, coordinating staff, scouting markets for provisions, and pairing wines with dishes.
What is the credenziere?