Modern Times: The 16th Century

Modern Times

- 16th Century: The 16th century is a remarkable period for those people who celebrate Thanksgiving. It was in the 16th century that the Turkeys were introduced into England about 1525 from the Americas (McCain). Other important food introduced into England also includes potatoes, tomatoes. Vegetable like cauliflower was also brought to England from the western Asia in this century. The 16th century diets mainly depended on the wealth of individual and family. A rich individual/family had the opportunity to eat meat (a luxury) as their main diet. The rich people rarely consumed vegetables. The poor people in this century consumed lots of vegetables, as they were the cheapest option. Some people also consumed fish at a regular basis.

Our diet improved greatly in the later 19th century. With the improvement in transportation (railways and steamships), it was possible for cheap grains to be transported from the North America to Europe and cheap meat was also imported from Argentina and Australia. With the food industrialization, production of basic foods such as flours, jams, butter, and cheese, which were initially prepared manually were produced in mass with the newly found technologies (Montignac). With the invention of different conservation methods, a large variety of fresh foods were conditioned in the form of frozen foods and preserves. Canned foods became more available later in this century, and by the 1860s, restaurateurs in Britain began to open the first fish and chip shops. In the 1870s, a cheap substitute for butter was introduced, margarine. The chocolate bars that everyone drools over were first invented in 1847 (McCain). Milk chocolate was introduced in 1875 (more processed than natural dark chocolate made from cocoa

Although the general diet improved greatly, a number of junk foods were invented in this period. At the beginning of this century, malnutrition was extensive in Europe. Despite the recognition of the importance of clean water, people knew very little on the danger of bad diet. During the period of the First World War, a majority of the men who volunteered and were enlisted in the army were sent back due to poor health. In the 1914, some working class families have reported of spending 60% of their income on food (year when the first world war began). By 1937, the food became much cheaper considering that the war ended and that people have been able to recover from the damages the war had brought on. Families later reported having spent only 35% of their income on food in the same year. The consumption of dairy products, cereal and fruit had considerably increased by the mid-20th century. The amount of fat and sugar intake had equally increased. Sugary breakfast cereals became very popular, and other new foods in the 20th century diet consisted of yeast, baking powder, custard powder, jelly, self-raising flour, and pickles. From what even an illiterate person can tell, these are all lists of food that are processed and controlled. With the development of food conservation methods, most of the food found in the time were tinned and packaged. Britain in 1914 was the largest consumer of tinned food. As a result