Gastronomy

Gastronomy is a branch within cooking that encompasses all the techniques, practices and knowledge that help build quality food .

Gastronomy studies not only the various ways of preparing food, but also the drinks indicated for each meal and the materials used in the preparation of dishes.

The professional who specializes in gastronomy is called a gastrologist or “ gourmet chef ”, in some cases. Someone known as a gastronome is a person who is interested in the culinary world but has not always studied in this area, that is, he is not necessarily a professional, unless he has specialized and trained in the field of gastronomy.

The gastronome can either be a cook, or someone who does not prepare food, but has all the knowledge about how refined and quality food should be.

One of the main objectives of gastronomy is to unite different flavors and odors in a harmonious way, provoking a sensation of full satisfaction for all the senses: smell, taste, sight and touch.

In addition to having a great taste, the gastronome looks for a dish that has an appetizing aroma, a harmonious shape and a good visual appearance, requiring excellent sensitivity when it comes to “on plates” of food.

There are courses that help train professionals in the field of gastronomy. Gastronomes can work in different environments, such as hotels, restaurants, catering , bars, etc.

History of gastronomy

Now that you know exactly what gastronomy is, let’s talk about how it came about. Starting with the word, which has its origin in Greek and is part of the union of two other words: gaster, which means stomach and nomos, which means “laws that govern”. Thus, gastronomy is understood, therefore, as the laws that govern the stomach.

About its history, what is known is that it is not as old as many of us imagine, since, in the Middle Ages, for example, people were more concerned about whether they would actually organizational culture. Only with this data will HR be able to find something to eat and less on how they would eat.

According to some historians, it was in the reign of Louis XIV that gastronomy had its origin, when, in fact, the nobles of France began to elaborate and define rules and norms about what really meant eating well or eating poorly . However, it was only in 1801 that the word gastronomy appeared and was used for the first time, as the title of a poem by Joseph Berchoux.

It is from these facts that French cuisine has become so traditional and has come to be recognized as a symbol of sophistication in food, highlighting and making us all realize that there are elementary differences between eating as a result of a biological need and eating as a way to celebrate a social and cultural ritual.

A few years later, in 1803, the first publication focused on the area appeared. Written by Alexandre Grimod de La Reyniere and considered the first book on gastronomy, the “ Almanach des gourmands”, which can be translated as “Almanac of connoisseurs”, presents the relationship between food and discipline, rituals and tradition.

In addition to this, Alexandre Grimod de La Reyniere was also responsible for expanding the publications focused on gastronomic literature, presenting the three best-known forms worldwide, which are cookbooks, etiquette books and also gastronomic criticism journals.

With the explosion of gastronomy publications, at that time there was also room for the first establishments to emerge aimed at serving more refined and specialized foods . Thus, the first restaurants in Paris began their activities.

Taking a leap in history and coming to the present day, as it first appeared in France, it is observed that many words and terms used in the gastronomy practiced today are French, as is the case of gourmet , maître , the la carte , mise en place , among many others.

In addition, another point that we can observe and talk about is that the French went beyond the interest in the study of social classes stands out. This topic involves many aspects and can be understood from different angles; therefore, it is the subject and invested, and continue to invest a lot, in studies on gastronomy, which ended up spreading around the world, becoming a serious topic for them and for fans of cuisine practiced in the country.

Curiosities about the world of gastronomy

After taking this tour of world cuisine and also the origin of what is made here in our country, we now bring you some curiosities about this universe, which enchants us more with every detail. Continue with us in this reading and check it out!

For starters, the biggest dish in the world

Do you know what the biggest dish in the world is? To start talking about the curiosities of world cuisine, let’s introduce you to the roasted camel. That’s right! This dish is usually served at the wedding of the Bedouins, the Arab peoples who live in the desert, and is made with different fillings, one inside the other, being boiled eggs, inside a roasted fish, which in turn goes inside a chicken roast, which goes inside a roasted whole ram, which is finally placed inside the camel.

Dom Pedro I’s lunch before Independence

Before definitively proclaiming the independence of Brazil, on September 7, 1822, Dom Pedro I had at his last lunch, before this important fact, a dish that is the passion of many Brazilians: the bean tutu.

octopus shaped cake 

Karen Portaleo, an American cook who specializes in sweets, made a giant octopus-shaped cake in 2010. She produced a perfect replica of the animal’s anatomy, resulting in a 91-kilogram cake, complete with tentacles and suction cups.

purple carrots

To our surprise, all carrots before the 17th century were purple. However, after this period, they began to be produced, selecting white and yellow mutant seedlings, which were cultivated until the color with which we are currently familiar was reached.

The origin of the color orange

For those who don’t know, the orange fruit came before the color. The origin of the word and the color comes from the Sanskrit “ñaranga”, which means “orange tree”. However, it was only in the 16th century that the word began to be used to really relate to color.

Before this moment, the Romance languages, such as Portuguese, and the Germanic ones, such as English, used the expression “yellow-red” to refer to the color.

Garlic Bad Breath

Do you know why garlic gives us so much bad breath? What happens is that, when we ingest it, it causes a proliferation of microbes, which are naturally present in our mouth, making the odor in this region more intense. However, the problem is not only in this fact, since the main cause of bad breath, itself, is the sulfuric acid that is found in garlic.

From the moment it is metabolized by the organism, it falls directly into our bloodstream, releasing its odor through the pores of the skin and through the air that passes through the vessels of the lung, which is the reason why it causes bad breath that simply does not go away. just brush your teeth.

Knowing a little more about the universe of gastronomy is something really enchanting, mainly because it is a study of social classes stands out. This topic involves many aspects and can be understood from different angles; therefore, it is the subject that is increasingly present in conversation circles and in popular taste today.

Functional gastronomy

Functional gastronomy is a branch of gastronomy that is concerned with creating healthy and nutritious dishes , above all else.

In traditional gastronomy, most gastronomists think of appealing meals that people like, without necessarily focusing on the nutritional and healthy factors that this dish may have.

From the junction of the concept of functional nutrition and gastronomy, this segment emerged that appropriates foods rich in beneficial substances and nutrients for the entire human body.

Among the advantages of functional gastronomy, according to nutritionists, is the prevention or treatment of some diseases, such as arthritis, osteoarthritis, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, etc.