10 Oldest Dishes in the world

Grilled meat- Photo by Victoria Shes on Unsplash

10 Oldest Dishes in the world

Everyone loves yummy dishes and it is always marvelous to try out new dishes especially if you are from a totally different culture.

Food has the ability to introduce us to new cultures. It brings about a togetherness among people because anyway, nothing makes people merrier and cheerful than food.

Did you know that some of the dishes we enjoy today have been in existence for over 1000 years? These are foods that some of our ancestors enjoyed and it’s a pleasure that we get to enjoy them too.

Let’s check out what some of these dishes are.

1. Stew

Stew- Photo by Sanket Shah on Unsplash

This hot and delicious meal has been warming bellies for thousands of years. Typically speaking, people would make use of the meats and vegetables that were in season, and the meal was a great way to stretch different ingredients.

Stew has been a go-to dish all over the world, in various ancient cultures and regions. Today, it still enjoys global popularity as a comfort food and definitely a go-to meal if at all you want to cook something very quick.

2. Bread

Basket of bread- Image by Dominic Alberts from Pixabay

Bread was one of the very first foods prepared by man. It is even quoted in the bible on so many occasions. Having been around for over 30,000 years, it definitely qualifies as one of the world’s oldest foods.

The beauty of  bread is that is comes in just about every variety you can think of today. It is a food staple that many of us find richly comforting and delicious.

I think you would agree that nothing tastes better than freshly baked bread.

3. Tamales

Tamales- Image by Marten Holdway from Pixabay

Popular among many ancient Meso-American cultures like the Aztecs and the Mayans, these steamed delicacies are still  around today.

The dish is a parcel made from a type of dough called masa. The dough is then filled with various things like meats, vegetables, and fruits. Whatever one prefers.The concoction is then steamed in a corn husk or banana leaves and then served.

4. Pancakes

Pancakes- Photo by Mae Mu on Unsplash

Apart from being a favourite breakfast meal to many, pancakes are also one of the oldest dishes in the world’s history.

Legend goes that, when the mummified body of Otzi The Iceman was discovered in Europe, a wheat based pancake was found in his stomach. This therefore led scientists to believe that pancakes were one of the staple foods of the Neolithic diet.

5. Curry

Curry- Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash

The word ‘curry’ originally came from the word ‘kari’.’ This is a tamil word that means sauce or ‘relish for rice’.

Archaeologists at a site in Pakistan  have found that 4,000 years ago, people from the Indus Valley civilization were using stone mortars and pestle to grind up native spices of the region. For instance, fennel, mustard, cumin and tamarind pods.

Of course, rice was also native to this area and already being produced at this time. The classic curry and rice mix that we know of today has been around for quite some time.

Archaeologists from the University of Washington have since identified the residue of ancient spices in both skeletons and pottery shards.

Excavations in India revealed human teeth that showed signs of turmeric and ginger. Curry didn’t stay in India forever.

With the expansion of the Mughul Empire through the 15th century and the arrival of Portuguese traders not long after, curries underwent significant revisions and recipes spread throughout the whole world with time.

6. Cheesecake

Slice of cheesecake- Photo by Magic Mary on Unsplash

As it turns out, the ancient Greeks had a bit of a sweet tooth. Using a simple but delicious mixture of honey, flour and soft cheese, a light cake was served often at weddings, festivals and other ceremonies.

This argument is as proved by archeologists who uncovered various pieces of broken cheese molds that date back as far as 2000BC during their excavations.

The earliest written mention of the recipe can be found in a book by the ancient Greek author Athenaeus, published in 230AD.

Historians have also presented the belief that at around 776 BC, during the very first Olympics held, cheesecakes would be offered to athletes participating in it.

When the Romans conquered Greece in 146BC, they  adopted the recipe. Within time that recipe has spread all over the world.

7. Salad dressing

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

In 2004, a jar of salad dressing dating all the way back to 350 BCE was discovered in a shipwreck in the Aegean Sea.

After the contents of the ship were recovered in 2006, tests were carried out on the jar. These tests revealed a mix of olive oil and oregano inside.

Interestingly, this recipe is still used today, having been passed down through generations in Greece.

Fun fact: Adding a herb like oregano or thyme to olive oil not only adds flavour but also preserves it.

8. Antarctic fruitcake

Fruitcake- Photo by aliet kitchen on Unsplash

Fruitcakes, especially those made with strong spirits such as whisky, brandy and rum, can last for long periods of time.

The alcohol in the cake can act as a preservative, killing bacteria, so that the cake can end up being stored for months without going bad.

Given this reason, their long shelf life, as well as their rich ingredients, made a fruitcake an ideal supply for Robert Falcon Scott’s Antarctic expedition between 1910 and 1913.

In 2017 during the Antarctic Heritage Trust’s excavation of the Cape Adare hut, used by Scott, a fruitcake was actually found.

9. Chinese Bonesoup

Soup in bowl- Photo by Syauqy Ayyash on Unsplash

For many cultures throughout the world, people have always consumed soups and broths for medicinal purposes. In ancient China for instance, bone soup was used to support digestion and improve the kidneys.

In 2010, excavations of a tomb near Xian unveiled a pot that still contained bone soup from over 2,400 years ago.

Experts believe that the tomb was of a warrior or better yet a member of the land-owning class. It was the first discovery of bone soup in Chinese archaeological history.

10. Buttermilk

Cold buttermilk soup- Image by greatdaneinc from Pixabay

Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most

In modern society, since most butter is not made with cultured cream but rather with uncultured sweet cream, most modern buttermilk is cultured separately. This is very common in warm climates where milk that is unrefrigerated sours quickly.

Buttermilk can be drunk straight, and it can also be used in cooking. In making soda bread, the acid in buttermilk reacts with the raising agent, to produce carbon dioxide which acts as the leavening agent.

Buttermilk can also be used in marination, especially of chicken and pork dishes.