Fire and cooking; we are what we eat

Fire, like air, water, and earth, is a transformative element in our lives. Its significance has been underscored since the dawn of our civilization. It has shaped our humanity, transitioning us from a primitive state by altering our diet from raw to cooked food, providing warmth, and enabling the acquisition of new skills. Fire has been instrumental in the creation of the first metal tools and the firing of ceramics.

Feeding the baby
Rudolf Epp, German painter, 1834 - 1910

Aside from being such an indispensable element in our lives and because it is so vital, fire has been integrated into religious and philosophical systems around the world: the four, five, or sometimes seven elements (the four of them are water, air, fire, earth).

The oldest records of a fire date back 420 million years ago. But it is said that humans started to make fire some 500.000 to 400.000 years ago.  This domesticated fire wasn’t used for cooking immediately; it was more likely used to keep them warm. But the wildfires provided them with already cooked meat: the meat of the animals caught and burned in the fire. It must have tasted delicious. Then they started grilling. I imagine it wasn’t only meat that got cooked by wildfires but also some vegetables and fruits, along with the edible parts of some plant roots.

Later, in the late Paleolithic, they may have also started to heat water by putting hot stones in a pot or heating the water in animal bladders over an open fire. That was the beginning of cooking.

In the Neolithic, people started using earthenware pottery, and historians and archaeologists today see this as a food revolution. Using pottery for cooking allowed our ancestors to cook in boiling water, which changed the tests, the nutrition balance, and the eating habits. They would also grill, bake, and braise.

There are many ways to start a fire, and the primitive man must have known a few. As they advanced and settled, they also preserved fire, which was much easier than starting it.
From this point, the cooking process and the food we ate only got better.

I always wondered how people lived 100, 1000, and 10,000 years ago. What did they eat? Where did they sleep? What did they think? What made them happy or sad, what made them laugh or cry? Did they love their mates, or were there other emotions involved? How did they discover simple things like using spices and herbs for cooking? Or counting, writing, and painting? How was life without TV, computers, cars, and airplanes? Or without refrigerators and stoves or washers and dryers? How was life before the bulb?

The older generations of our time may remember ancient things like the telegraph or the big bulky radio. Or they may even know how to store food for winter. Some may know how to make their own shoes or sew their own clothes. Others may know plants that soothe wounds or cure a stomach ache. But most of us are totally helpless without the use of modern technology. We are highly addicted to others for everything we own or need, from food and clothing to entertainment and health.  We forgot how to accomplish the basic tasks of survival.

In this blog, I embark on a journey of discovery to answer some of my own questions as well as others. I aim to shed light on the life of ordinary people of the past. Along the way, I may, occasionally, unearth some extraordinary individuals who led seemingly common lives. I may uncover some extraordinary events that have left an indelible mark on the ordinary life.

The historians of L'Ecole Des Annales and their remarkable books have greatly fueled my curiosity about the past. I am deeply grateful for their inspiration.