Have you ever thought about why we eat the way we eat?

 

Well, this could be a very uncommon thought but have you ever thought about the ways we eat and why we eat like that? Is that something that comes naturally or have we adopted these ways from any historical background? This article is going to be interesting because we will jump back to the history and learn from where exactly we picked up these methods. So, let’s get started.  

  

Napoleon gave us the skills to eat. 

 
 Food was typically served with Service a La Francaise prior to Napoleon. According to the New York Times, this required offering many servings at once. Napoleon developed the course-by-course system while he and his forces were in Russia in the early 19th century, according to Toma Haines in Bonjour Paris. He then returned to France with this invention, where it quickly gained popularity. We currently eat service a la russe, which is a series of several courses presented one after another. 

A completely different method to eat was service a la française. It functioned much like a huge buffet and was run by the French court. French meaning sideboard, a buffet was a display with a huge variety of food that guests could choose from. The Ancien Regime, when the numerous Louis were renowned for their excess and this sort of meal enabled it, saw it at its height. It was magnificent to look at. However, Service a la Francaise was inefficient since hot dishes quickly cooled down, sauces formed scum, soft food became crusty, and it was wasteful because the dishes weren't identified with any particular diners. It was open to everyone. 

Service a la Russe inevitably resulted in a sharper distinction between the foods we consume at various mealtimes. For instance, the meaning of the word "dessert" might reveal a lot about the composition of a meal. In his book Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert, culinary historian Michael Krondl claims that "the French term dessert originated from the verb desservir, or "un-serve," that is, to remove what has been offered. In other words, the dessert was served after the items that made up the main course had been cleaned off the table. 

Three meals a day 

In the West, we are used to a three-part framework that includes breakfast, lunch, and supper, yet this structure didn't always exist. The term "breakfast" first appeared in the Middle Ages when individuals would break their fast after a night's sleep, claims culinary historian Ivan Day. The meal hadn't existed formally before this point. However, the Catholic Church strongly disapproved of breakfast. 

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According to Heather Arndt Anderson's book Breakfast: A History, Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican priest from the 13th century, referred to breakfast as "praepropere," which is Latin for "before proper time," or the vice of gluttony. One was assumed to be prone to additional lusty gluttonies like sex and alcohol intake if they ate breakfast. 

Lunch 

According to Denise Winterman of the BBC, lunch is still a confusing meal since many people, particularly in rural areas, have their "dinner" during midday. The word's etymology provides some further information about this dinner. One explanation, according to her, is that it came from the term "nuncheon," an old Anglo-Saxon word that denoted a portable, short snack in between meals. The words "nun" component comes from the fact that this meal took place at noon. However, from where did the 'l' in lunch come? Nobody appears to be aware! 

Dinner 

Dinner being a meal eaten at night is a very recent idea. In actuality, it refers to the major meal of the day, but through time, its schedule has been pushed back deeper into the day. The word is derived from the verb diner in French. However, the Latin phrase "ieiunare," which means "to speed," is where this verb first appeared. Dinner's "di" stands for the reversal of an action. Dinner therefore refers to breaking one's fast, or "breakfast." This demonstrates that the term "dinner" really used to refer to a meal that was had considerably earlier in the day. 

Dinner was being consumed later and later due to two factors: clothing and illumination. Supper was delayed until later in the day in the 18th century. Dinner at night got considerably more practical with the introduction of artificial light in the late 19th century. 

 
 

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