Tasting the Past? Developing a Methodology for Researching Historical Tastes

Just like books, paintings, and music, historical foodways are an important part of our history and heritage. But simply reading recipes does not tell us much, as it is hard to understand how historical ingredients and dishes tasted, and how people in the past experienced and valued such tastes. In the research project Tastes of the Past, a team consisting of three historians, an archaeobotanist, and a professional taster developed a methodology to reconstruct and evaluate historical tastes and to connect contemporary and historical evaluations of taste. This new method can help us to improve our understanding of our food history and heritage and has the potential to present new historical information on shifts in tastes. This paper outlines the development of the proposed methodology, provides the historical and methodological outcomes of the process, and raises points requiring further attention.