The Cornell University Office of Food and Branding did a study on "The Historical Food Porn," analyzing 750 paintings of food in Europe and the US between 1500 and 2000, and found that our fascination with food that looks more appetizing and sophisticated isn't really a new thing. The researchers found that our fascination with food that looks more tantalizing and sophisticated is nothing new, and has been manifesting itself at least as much as it does now, at least 500 years ago.
For example, the foods that are often painted tend to be less common, like non-native fruits and rare shellfish - 22% of which are less common, with oysters being the most popular.
Manet's still life of an oyster meal features nothing but oysters, a special fork for eating them, and a special dipping bowl, which, by the way, was still very much in vogue.
Of the 750 paintings included in the study, 140 depicted family meals, and 76 percent of them contained fruit, but only 19 percent had vegetables, with lemon being the most frequent fruit and artichoke the most frequent vegetable. Salt is the most frequently depicted seasoning, and cheese is the most common dairy product.
Giuseppe Archimboldo used clusters of fruits and vegetables for his portraits, each to represent a season. Summer features fruits and vegetables that ripened in the summer of 16th-century Europe, including peaches, garlic, artichokes, cherries, cucumbers, peas, corn, eggplant, strawberries, and wheat.
The plant in the painting, which resembles a lotus flower, is the artichoke, also known as the artichoke, which is not related to North Korea. The artichoke was first planted on the Mediterranean coast, and was favored by the ancient Greeks and Romans, who regarded it as a delicacy and an aphrodisiac. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the artichoke once fell out of favor in the Renaissance and realized a second spring. Nowadays, artichokes can be easily found in food markets and flower markets abroad.
As a vegetable, it has a somewhat peculiar appearance. As a flower, its nutritional value makes the group lose color. Imagine eating fish also only eat canned fish Europeans, actually obsessed with eating this kind of processing to the tedious process comparable to the hairy crab plant, must have its superiority. It has even been said that the ability to eat artichokes gracefully is a Western standard for decency.
Looking at such a big one, I'm afraid I can't help it if I meet it for the first time! Since artichokes are highly susceptible to oxidization and deterioration, after each step, the exposed part should be coated with lemon juice to prevent oxidation.
The first step is to cut off the tips of the leaves outside the flower. The tips of each leaf have sharp little spines, so just cut off about a third of them. Then remove the old leaves from the bottom of the flower and cut off the head third of the flower so you can see the white tender part in the center.
Next, peel the stem, leaving the most tender part. Then cut the whole in half, the fluff in the center of the artichoke must be removed, because this part of the taste is very astringent, and eating it will cause throat discomfort.
The edible part of an artichoke is only one tenth of the whole bottom and the base of the tender leaves. For the Chinese, artichokes are very bland, and the texture of bamboo shoots combined with the flavor of white asparagus is difficult to stimulate the taste buds, so artichokes should not be left alone, but are suitable for cooking with other ingredients. The artichoke absorbs the flavors of other meats, vegetables and spices, blending them to create a complex flavor that is refreshingly surprising with its slightly fibrous texture.
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