The History of Bone Broth
- Martina Trenier
- Sep 19, 2017
- 2 min read
Bone broth is a liquid made of water in which bones, meat, fish or vegetables have been simmered for hours. It is used in the preparation of other dishes such as soups and sauces.
Bone broth is an ancient tradition dating to when humans figured out how to boil water, and to cook with it. There is even a South American proverb which says: " Good broth will resurrect the dead."
More than 2500 years ago in ancient China bone broth was used to support digestive health. In Traditional Chinese Medicine broth was prescribed by practitioners to restore the kidneys, support Qi life energy, and build blood.
Perhaps you are familiar with the famous quote by Hippocrates: "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."
YALE BABYLONIAN COLLECTION
In 1910 Albert T. Clay, the inaugural Laffan Professor of Assyriology founded the Yale Babylonian Collection, which contains tablets ant other artifacts ( about 40 000 items).
It is one of the largest collections from ancient Mesopotamia.
Three small Mesopotamian clay slabs, dating to about 1700 B.C. contain recipes including ingredients for 25 different stews and broths.
APICIUS COOKBOOK
Marcus Gavius Apicius, who lived during the reign of Tiberius (1st century ce ), was a wealthy Roman merchant after whom was named one of the earliest cookbooks in recorded history, De recoquinaria, or " The Art of Cooking". In it, bone broth is mentioned repeatedly, often with the additions of parsley and celery.
in 1765 Monsieur Boulanger, a Parisian soup maker, opened his shop near the Louvre. One of his chief offerings was his house broth.
Auguste Escoffier ( 1846- 1935 ) was a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who updated French cooking methods, and was the inventor of veal stock. In his cookbook "Le Guide Culinaire," he writes: " Indeed, stock is everything in cooking. Without it, nothing can be done."
England early 1800 - beef tea steadily gained in popularity as a broth given to patients to drink if they were suffering from digestive problems. Beef tea was also given to sick and wounded soldiers.
Florence Nightingale in 1860: " Beef tea may be chosen as an illustration of great nutrient power in sickness."
Nowadays, bone broth, the natural remedy of our great-grandmothers, a liquid that people have enjoyed for centuries, is a well-marketed food fad, particularly in the USA. Bones, once the part of the animal to be thrown away and seemingly unfit for human consumption, are now viewed as a valuable commodity. More and more companies are manufacturing and selling bone broth, and fortunes are being made from it.
Bone broth is easy to make at home, and I will speak about its benefits in a forthcoming article.
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