Tag: artisan coffee

Scientists have found evidence that Neanderthals—the relatives of modern humans who lived thousands of years ago—may not have been as primitive as previously believed. In fact, they may have originated in the artisanal food category. According to a study published in the journal AntiquityResearchers analyzed burnt pieces of food at a Neanderthal excavation site and found they were remnants of the world’s first “flatbread,” a recipe devised by the ancient figures for pleasing flavor.

“Our findings are the first real indications of complex cooking—and thus of food culture—among Neanderthals,” said Chris Hunt of Liverpool John Moores University, a study co-author. Read on to find out why.

1

“A Prehistoric Falafel”

The findings argue against the typical picture of Neanderthals as unsophisticated. “The old stereotype is that Neanderthals were less intelligent than modern humans and that they had a largely meat-based diet,” explains Hunt. On the contrary, the researchers found evidence that Neanderthals created recipes and cooking techniques to create a kind of unleavened artisanal bread. Hunt describes it as a flatbread. The study’s leader, Ceren Kabukcu of Liverpool University, compared it to a prehistoric falafel.

2

The Ingredients: “Very Palatable”

“It seems the Neanderthals smashed, or ground, then soaked a mix of wild grains and grasses, wild pulses including wild lentils, wild pistachios and, at times, wild grass seeds and grass pea fragments, then cooked the resulting mix on hot stones, ” said Hunt. The study is the earliest example of ingredients being blended together and cooked, possibly with regard to how the result would taste.

Hunt and the research team even attempted to re-create the Neanderthal recipe. “It made a sort of pancake-cum-flatbread which was really very palatable – a sort of nutty taste,” said Hunt.

3

Wealth of Information in Cave

The new study center on Shanidar Cave, a Neanderthal dwelling 500 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq, in the Zagros Mountains. The site, believed to be 70,000 years old, was first excavated in the 1950s. There, archaeologist Ralph Solecki discovered the remains of ten Neanderthal men, women, and children.

Story continues

Those initial findings suggested that Neanderthals were more sophisticated than given credit for. One Neanderthal appeared to have survived several injuries, possibly because of primitive medical care, and another’s grave seemed to contain remnants of flowers, suggesting a burial ritual.

4

Ancient Leftovers Analyzed

To come to their conclusions, the researchers used an electron microscope to analyze fragments of burnt food discovered at Shanidar and another cave in Greece. In other words, ancient leftovers. “The charred food fragments from Franchthi Cave are the earliest of their kind recovered in Europe, from a hunter-gatherer occupation around 12,000 years ago,” said Kabukcu.

“Those from Shanidar Cave are the earliest in southwest Asia, from Neanderthal and human layers dating to seventy and forty thousand years ago respectively.”

RELATED: The 10 Most “OMG” Science Discoveries of 2022

5

Surprisingly Creative Cooks

Ultimately, the study found that human and Neanderthal food, at least, in this case, aren’t all that different. “Our work conclusively demonstrates the deep antiquity of plant foods involving more than one ingredient and processed with multiple preparation steps,” said Kabukcu.

“This is the cool thing: we don’t tend to associate hunter-gatherers with creativity when it comes to what they’re going to eat,” she added. “The fact that we found mixtures [of ingredients] suggests that there’s some sort of planning and thinking that went into the combination. And maybe it was the flavors that were driving some of the selection.”

All Things We’re Cooking is a series featuring family recipes from you, our readers and listeners, and the special stories behind them. We’ll continue to share more of your kitchen gems throughout the holidays.

The arrival of spring always means a trip to the bamboo forest for Kaitlyn Hennacy and her family, followed by an afternoon making bamboo buns.

It’s been this way for as long as Hennacy can remember — a tradition that started when her mother and grandmother discovered wild bamboo growing near the University of Maryland campus, where her mom was studying in the early 1990s. Hennacy said her grandmother, Yuehua Zhang, immigrated to the US from Niansanli, China, where she grew up cooking with bamboo often.

“My grandma adapted the recipes she had from China … and it became a tradition every year — getting bamboo from the bamboo forest and putting it into these buns,” said Hennacy, who lives in Columbia, Md., not far from the university . “It’s a really great way to take what is seen as kind of a weed in the United States and turn it into something really delicious.”

The trip to forage bamboo usually happens in late April, when the bamboo starts sprouting from the earth in small cones that are about 12 inches tall.

Each person in the group has their own bag to fill as they twist each cone out of the ground. But no one picks more bamboo than Grandma Zhang. The entire process of picking the bamboo and making the buns reminded Hennacy of how hard working her grandma was — and it inspired her own work ethic.

“She turned 80 this year and she still hikes up a hill that is sometimes very muddy,” Hennacy said. “And she fills a heavy sack with bamboo that she carries over her back. And she just doesn’t complain or give up.”

The family makes multiple dishes with the bamboo, but the buns are made first, Hennacy said, as they are best made with fresh bamboo. But frozen works, too.

The bamboo has to be cleaned and blanched, then it’s chopped and mixed with the other filling ingredients. Hennacy learned how to make the buns by watching her grandma, but she had to work to measure everything and write it down because her grandmother cooks from memory.

Grandma Zhang is a master of the process, Hennacy said, and loves to make these for her family.

Hennacy said she and her family are fortunate to have Grandma Zhang living with them. She knows everyone’s favorite foods and routinely fixes healthy meals — she even packs them to go when someone has to travel out of town.

“That’s how caring of a person she is,” Hennacy said. “She shows her love through cooking.”

Bamboo Buns

Recipe submitted by Kaitlyn Hennacy
Columbia, Md.

Ingredients for the dough

• 4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 1/4 cups water

Ingredients for the filling

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
• 1/2 pound poached bamboo shoots, thawed if frozen
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon rice cooking wine
• 2 tablespoons of chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon Chinese pickled vegetables (optional)

Additional ingredients

• Neutral-flavored oil for frying

Directions

Stir together the flour and yeast. Add the water and stir to incorporate.

Knead the dough until smooth, adding more flour or water if necessary. It should be firm but not dry. Cover and let rise for 1 hour, until doubled in size.

Prepare the filling by dicing the bamboo and mixing it with the rest of the filling ingredients.

Knead the dough on a floured work surface. Form it into a long, smooth log. Cut or rip the log into 20 pieces and roll each into a rough ball shape about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

Taking one ball of dough at a time, flatten it so that the edges are thinner than the center and you have a 3-inch diameter circle. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of filling into the center of the circle, then pinch the edges around the filling to enclose it.

Place the parcel seam side down onto the work surface and press with the palm of your hand to flatten it into a 1 inch-thick disk. Repeat with each piece of dough.

Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a large rimmed skillet over medium-high heat. Place as many bamboo-filled parcels into the pan as you can, making sure that there is at least a 1/4 inch gap between each.

Add 1/2 cup of water to the pan and