The document summarizes changes in French cuisine between 1650-1800 that led to a revolution in taste. It discusses how improved food supply and production in Paris, new cooking techniques emphasizing natural flavors, and societal changes impacted French dining customs. Key developments included new cookbooks promoting simplicity over complex medieval recipes, increased food availability through trade and farming innovations, and luxury foods becoming more commonplace.

1. A Revolution in Taste: The Rise of French Cuisine, 1650-1800 A presentation by Jeselle, Kristine, Natasha, and Spencer

2. What caused the rise of French cuisine and how and why did it bring about a revolution in taste?

3. What major changes (relating specifically to French cuisine) occurred and why in the first half of the seventeenth century?

4. What was involved in providing food to Paris in the first half of the 17 th century?

6. Successive administrations oversaw an architectural renaissance (for example, the completion of the Pont Neuf), ascribable to the creation of favorable conditions, which attracted investors

7. In the early 17 th century, Paris became France's true capital. This, and the consequent building boom, resulted in an influx of “laborers and skilled artisans,” which, in turn, created a population explosion

10. The exodus of members of the aristocracy from suburban Paris to agriculturally prosperous tracts of land led to their becoming the main purveyors of the above foodstuffs

12. Culinary guilds also supplied prepared foods (for instance, breads, cooked and cured poultry and meats, sauces, beverages, etc.)

13. Such prepared foods were purchased and consumed by both upper- and lower-class Parisians, from full meals to individual dishes

15. How did cooking techniques change to optimize the flavor of foodstuffs?

17. Indeed, archetypical medieval recipes called for a gallimaufry of seasonings and spices (for example, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and saffron)

18. Bonnefons, in fact, inveighed against the homogeneous, indiscriminate treatment of ingredients, which resulted in uniformity of flavor, and promoted le goût naturel

21. La Varenne's and Bonnefons's target audiences were culinary professionals and aspiring aristocrats, respectively

22. The desire to emulate the aristocracy by the bourgeois gave rise to momentum of this shift

24. Of paramount importance to delicate cuisine was the understanding of key properties of ingredients (reactivity to temperature, compatibly with other elements)

25. The notion that “food should taste like what it is” stood in stark contrast to medieval cooking

27. What impact did the medical revolution have on French cuisine?

29. In medieval times, the notion that foodstuffs possessed restorative properties essential to the preservation of the four humors was essentially axiomatic

30. Indeed, the composition of the medieval menu, which relied heavily on seasonings and spices, serves as a testament to the prevalence of this subscription

32. William Harvey's 1628 discovery of the circulatory nature of blood jeopardized the partnership between food and medicine, effectively debunking the theory of humorism

33. Paracelsus, the Swiss polymath, pioneered the field of iatrochemistry, a school of thought that strove to understand physiology via chemistry

35. That the existence of delicate cuisine predates the publication of Le Cuisiner françois potentially renders the preceding argument erroneous

36. The prevalence of Hippocratic beliefs in the latter half of the 17 th century and the continuation of attributing therapeutic qualities to food testifies to the validity of this view

38. The exposition of digestion as a chemical process

39. The establishment of, most notably, the Jardin des Plantes, which served both as a chemical laboratory and, later, a school of botany

40. The scientific confirmation of the dietary attributes of various foodstuffs (for example, black pepper)

41. Le Jardin des Plantes

42. What brought about a new standard of luxury in French cuisine?

44. The introduction of such novelties as tobacco, coffee, tea, chocolate, distilled alcohol, and vegetables

45. Specialty farmers provided an abundance of eggs, dairy products, fattened poultry, fruits, and vegetables

46. The seasonality of produce resulted in its exclusivity and, consequently, its desirability, particularly by the upper echelons of society

48. Via the incorporation of special equipment and the sequential and rotational planting of cultivars, it became possible to harvest cultivars year-round

49. Specific cultivars include broccoli, cauliflower, “Italian” cabbage, and kohlrabi

50. The kitchen garden of the Château de Villandry

52. Culinary innovations of the mid-17 th century stemmed from, in particular, “vegetable cookery”

54. What societal changes occurred that impacted dining customs?

55. In the first half of the 17 th century, there was a shift in decorum, which influenced dining etiquette. A table outlining the major changes in dining social customs is presented in the following slide

56. BEFORE AFTER Nobles were carefree, lacked loyalty, and were known to have bouts of violence Proper gentlemen had manners and personal aspirations A hierarchical seating arrangement was used when people were placed far apart from each other Both men and women sat close together (not only in alternating chairs, but also in a circular pattern Long, narrow trestle tables were common Oval, rectangular, round, square, and triangular tables were introduced Servants stood behind chairs to get food from one end of the table to the other Servants stayed by the perimeter of the room, for they were no longer required to bring the food BEFORE AFTER