Plant remains in old cooking pots provide a glimpse into the prehistoric cuisine of Northern Europe. They show that 6100 years ago, people used the garlic-without-garlic plant to flavor their meat and fish. Seasoning food with herbs is therefore an even older habit than previously thought.
Agriculture developed in the Middle East about 11,000 years ago. People no longer roamed for food, but became self-sufficient and settled. It was not until five thousand years later that the agricultural revolution reached Northern Europe, probably because various farmers from Southern Europe brought farming methods to the North. However, it is not entirely known how the first Northern European farmers preferred to eat their daily fare. Any plant remains in old cooking pots are often lost.
Nevertheless, it is sometimes possible to reveal something about the culinary habits of thousands of years ago. In 4,500-year-old Harappa cooking pots from India, for example, scientists found starch grains of ginger and turmeric. An international team of scientists, led by Hayley Saul of the University of York, can now add an even older usage to that. In PLoS ONE they write today that more than 6100 years ago people seasoned their food with garlic without garlic.
Plant secrets
The scientists studied food remains from old cooking pots found in Denmark and Germany. The estimated 6150 to 5800 year old pot remains therefore come from the transition period from a hunter-gatherer existence to farm life.
The scientists looked specifically at cooking-charred phytoliths:microscopic (1-150 microns) plant particles. These arise when the plant absorbs silicon – in the form of an acid – with the groundwater, where it precipitates in spaces in and between the plant cells. As a result, phytoliths tell us something about the shape of the cell in which or around which they once formed.
Flavor enhancer
The scientists then compared the shape and structure of the phytoliths found with those of 120 European and Asian plants. The seeds of Alliaria petiolata , or garlic without garlic, were found to contain the same phytoliths. This plant is known for its strong smell that some say resemble onions, but most people recognize it as garlic. Both the leaves and the seeds can be eaten, but you don't have to do that for more than the taste:the plant has almost no nutritional value.
In addition to the phytoliths, the research team found starchy plants as well as animal fats from both fish and land animals in the cooking pots. The scientists therefore concluded that garlic without garlic was added to the dishes as a seasoning. Whether the Europeans came up with this themselves or whether the custom originated in the Middle East, the researchers do not dare to say with certainty.