Catching up with the theme of the day, Bored Panda decided it was high time we had another chat with Dr. Eleanor Barnett. Not a stranger to our readers, Dr. Barnett is known for diving deep into the history of food and early modern religion. She's got a PhD from the University of Cambridge and to top it off she's a big fan of connecting with the past by exploring the everyday food habits of ordinary people, which is why she finds her field so fascinating.
When asked about one of the most misunderstood or overlooked aspects of food history, Dr. Barnett said, "That, even though it's often great fun researching food history and historical recipes, it's not necessarily a 'light' or superficial subject. Food - what we eat, how we eat it, and with whom - is deeply connected to our sense of national, religious, socio-economic, and gender identities. That means studying the history of food is a really rich and insightful way of accessing the past!"
On food-related traditions or practices that have remained surprisingly consistent over time, Dr. Barnett shared, "Food traditions are fascinating because we tend to assume they go back endlessly even if they are actually quite modern. Take, for example, having turkey at Christmas. Europeans only encountered the turkey in the 16th century as it is native to North America, and it wasn’t until the 20th century that it became associated with Christmas. Before this turkey was found really only on the wealthiest tables and beef or goose was a far more common festive treat. So, what’s magical about food traditions is how they make us feel - the connection they make us feel with the past or our ancestors - even if that vision of our history is actually somewhat fabricated!"
When asked about a historical figure who significantly influenced food culture, the food historian pointed out, "It has to be Mrs. Beeton! Isabella was a Victorian Londoner who started writing a cookery column for her husband’s housekeeping magazine and ended up publishing a huge cookery book, the Book of Household Management. The work was revolutionary in several ways and would go on to shape middle-class identity in the Victorian era and beyond. Many people still have a version of Mrs. Beeton’s recipe book in the back of a cupboard which has been passed down through generations!"
Lastly, when discussing a particularly intriguing story or fact from her research that deeply moved or surprised her, Dr. Barnett said, "It was fascinating spending time in the archives reading trial records from the Venetian Inquisition, which sought out heretics who did not conform to the Catholic Church's beliefs and practices in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. I was moved to read the stories of ordinary people who broke down the boundaries and identities imposed by the authorities. I read of Jewish converts to Christianity, for example, who continued to connect to their old religion through feasts and kitchen rituals."
