majority of foods found in modern northern Europe which
includes the lands around the North Sea and the Baltic Sea and
those of northern Alpine region are not indigenous to the
area. It is here, however, that one of the most stable of humankinds
agricultural systems was established, and one that has proved
capable of providing densely populated areas with a high standard
of living. Such an agricultural bounty has helped northern Europe
to become one of the most prosperous areas of the world.
northern European environment underwent drastic change several
times during the Pleistocene. Glaciers coming from Scandinavia
and the Alps covered a large part of the landscape with glacigenic
sediment several times during the Ice Age. Forests retreated from
northern Europe and were replaced by a type of vegetation that
can be regarded as a mixture of those of tundra and steppe. In
this environment, forest-adapted herbivores were replaced by large
grazing species such as caribou (Rangifer tarandus), wild
horse (Equus sp.), and mammoth (Mammonteus primigenius).
These species, associated in small or bigger herds, migrated from
the north to the south and vice versa in a yearly cycle. In summer
they fled north from the multitude of biting insects (to Jutland,
for example), and in winter they were attracted by the somewhat
higher temperatures in areas of the south, such as that just north
of the Alps.
herds proved to be a very good source of food for Paleolithic
reindeer hunters, whose widespread presence in northern Europe
is well established by excavations. The hunters migrated with
the herds from the south to the north and back again. Prehistoric
humans located their temporary dwelling places so as to achieve
a maximum vantage point usually so they could hunt downhill
using their lances and bows or a kind of harpoon made of stone
and bone material (Bandi 1968: 10712; Kuhn-Schnyder 1968:
4368; Rust 1972: 1920, 659).
the archaeological evidence for hunting is very clear, hunters
doubtless also gathered wild plants. The latter, however, is very
difficult to demonstrate, as it is rarely possible to find plant
material, such as fruits and seeds, preserved in the layers of
Paleolithic camp excavations.
the late glacial period, trees from the south colonized northern
Europe so thoroughly that the landscape was nearly totally forested.
Unfortunately, we know little about human nutrition following
the return of forested conditions to northern Europe. Reindeer
and other steppe-tundra fauna became locally extinct in the newly
is clearer evidence for human nutrition at the beginning of the
postglacial period (the interglacial hiatus in which we live),
approximately 11,000 years ago. Following the retreat of the Würmian
glaciers, forests again established themselves in most parts of
northern Europe to the extent that these landscapes became unsuitable
for reindeer and other large herd herbivores. The reindeer herds
retreated to those parts where tundra was established: northern
Scandinavia, northern Finland, and northern Russia. It is only
in these regions that a "Paleolithic way of life" has
remained possible up to the present day, because the relationship
between reindeer herds and hunters has remained as in millennia
before. In the unforested region of the extreme north it is also
still possible to practice Paleolithic hunting methods, as exemplified
by the Laplanders and Inuit.
most landscapes of northern Europe, however, hunting methods and
nutrition changed, reflecting the changing environment. The forests
were invaded by smaller and less frequent solitary woodland fauna,
such as red deer (Cervus elaphus), boar (Sus scrofa),
and badger (Meles). These species are difficult to hunt
in dense forests, and they do not provide a large meat yield.
Changes in the vegetational environment were reflected in the
hunters tool kit. Long-range projectile weapons, for example,
cannot be used in a wooded landscape. Smaller hunting tools constructed
from "microliths" (typical archaeological remnants of
the Mesolithic period) were better suited to the vegetation and
woodland prey (Wyss 196871, 3: 12344).
during the Mesolithic was perhaps harder than during the Paleolithic.
It was more difficult to hunt an animal in a wooded landscape,
and thus meat was certainly not available all the time. Possibly
the plant component of the diet became more important during the
Mesolithic. For example, at the very few Mesolithic dwelling places
that have been examined by environmental archaeologists, there
is evidence of the use of hazelnuts (Corylus avellana)
(Vaughan 1987: 2338).
the Mesolithic, hazelnut bushes spread rapidly to many parts of
Europe, as evidenced by pollen diagrams. This is in contrast to
the vegetation development of the earlier interglacials. Hazelnuts
are heavy, with low dispersal rates, so that it is very unlikely
that the plant diffused unaided to all parts of northern Europe
at the same time. Instead, it has often been assumed that hazelnuts
were culturally dispersed by Mesolithic peoples (Firbas 1949:
149; Smith 1970: 8196). Indeed, the distribution of these
nuts is recorded by pollen analysis in the Mesolithic layer of
Hohen Viecheln at the border of Lake Schwerin in northern Germany
(Schmitz 1961: 29).
likely the expansion of hazelnut distribution was due to the nuts
chance spread during the preparation of "hazelnut meals"
by migratory Mesolithic people. Most of the other wild fruits
available in the present-day northern European woodlands are not
archaeologically recorded for the Mesolithic, nor for the Neolithic
period, which has been much more intensively examined by environmental
archaeologists. Thus, it is unlikely that strawberries, wild apples,
and pears, for example, contributed to human nutrition during
the Mesolithic (Küster 1986: 437).
transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic has often been
regarded as a revolution by northern European archaeologists (Childe
1956: 66104). But the MesolithicNeolithic transition,
with its change from a huntergatherer community to a sedentary
food-producing farming community, was not a revolution in other
parts of the world such as the Near East. In these areas a gradual
evolution can be traced from the one stage to the other. In contrast,
the transition from hunting and gathering to farming in northern
Europe seems to have indeed been a revolutionary process, in which
none of the nutritional mainstays of the Mesolithic was incorporated
into the Neolithic food-production system.
all wild elements of the new farming system had been previously
cultivated or domesticated elsewhere, mainly in the Near East.
Both domesticated animals and cultivated crops were introduced
into northern Europe, primarily from the Near East, and were,
therefore, exotic elements at the beginning of the Neolithic.
Near East domesticates, such as cattle (Bos primigenius f.
taurus), goats (Capra aegagrus f. hircus), sheep (Ovis
ammon f. aries), and pigs (Sus scrofa f. domestica)
were introduced into many parts of northern Europe during the
most had been introduced in the Balkans, only some of the ancient
Near Eastern crops became important in Neolithic northern Europe.
It is very likely, however, that each component of a well-balanced
vegetarian regime (starch from cereal crops, proteins from pulses,
and fat from oil plants) was available to all Neolithic settlements
in the region.
most parts of northern Europe, einkorn (Triticum monococcum)
and emmer (Triticum dicoccon) were the predominant cereals
during the Neolithic. Both traveled upstream on the Danube River
and downstream on the Rhine River from the Balkans to northern
Europe. The same expansion route can be traced for peas (Pisum
sativum) and lentils (Lens culinaris), the major pulses
of the Neolithic, although at that time lentils had a more extensive
distribution. Today, lentil production is restricted by climatic
conditions in many parts of northern Europe. Linseed (Linum
usitatissimum) was the major oil (and also fiber) crop (Knörzer
1991: 1903; Küster 1991: 1802). Only in the extreme
west in southwestern Germany, along the Rhine, in the Netherlands,
and in some parts of Scandinavia were different crops apparently
grown. Wheat (Triticum aestivum and/or Triticum durum)
and naked barley (Hordeum vulgare) cultivation is evidenced
in southwestern Germany and Switzerland (Jacomet and Schlichtherle
1984: 15376; Küster 1991: 1802), in the Netherlands,
and in southwestern Scandinavia. These plants had their origins
in the Near East but likely expanded via the Mediterranean and
western Europe (Bakels 1982: 113). The only crop not of
Near Eastern origin found in the Neolithic of northern Europe,
the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), most likely arrived
from the western Mediterranean. Inside northern Europe, regional
differences in agriculture and nutrition are traceable from the
early Neolithic onward, making clear the borders between "economic
provinces." For example, barley was important from the very
beginning in southwestern Germany and the Netherlands but not
in Bavaria and the Rhineland. Yet barley did become important
later on in areas where it had not been grown during the early
agriculture, the northern European landscape was totally changed
by humans. The clearing of the earlier wooded landscape caused
environmental changes that are not completely understood today.
Hunting, fishing, and the gathering of plants were activities
still practiced by the early farmers, but the bulk of human nutrition
was certainly derived from agricultural products.
the variety of nutriments available in the Neolithic was severely
limited. Because there were very few crops, no herbs and spices,
and no cultivated fruits, all meals must have tasted very nearly
the same, day in and day out, save on those rare occasions when
a meat dish was available.
the end of the Neolithic, some Mediterranean flavorings were introduced
in northern Europe, but only in those parts that had cultural
and economic contacts with Mediterranean areas. Among the imports
were parsley (Petroselinum crispum), celery (Apium graveolens
var. juice), and dill (Anethum graveolens), which
reached some areas of southwestern Germany and northern Switzerland
to enliven drab fare (Küster 1985; Jacomet 1988). Other spices
were employed in the preservation and storage of meats. This importation
of Mediterranean spices is the earliest indication we have of
some sophistication in food preparation, as well as a gardening
culture, in the southern parts of northern Europe. Following the
end of the Neolithic, herbs and spices disappear from the record,
and there are no remains of such plants in northern Europe in
Bronze Age and even Iron Age settlements.
Age and Iron Age
the Neolithic Revolution, the development of northern European
agriculture was influenced more by evolutionary than revolutionary
processes. Although the people still did not personally participate
in the process of domesticating animals and plants, they did continue
to import new cultigens and domesticates. The basic diet, however,
does not seem to have undergone any dramatic shifts.
trial and error, Bronze Age and Iron Age farmers discovered those
crops that were best adapted to the environmental conditions of
northern Europe. As they did so, einkorn, which provides only
a small yield, became less common, whereas emmer, barley, and
(from the early Bronze Age onward) spelt (Triticum spelta)
were increasingly cultivated. Spelt, however, was common only
in some regions: at the northern border of the Alps, in Jutland,
and in southern Sweden, where it possibly was grown as a winter
a rule, only two different crops were grown in a settlement, which
left such agricultural communities susceptible to crises when
one or the other cereal had poor yields. Indeed, it seems likely
that at times famine may have been the result of the ecological
instability that a farming community relying on the cultivation
of just two different crop species can create. And, of course,
the crops were not just for human consumption; they also helped
to feed the livestock.
the Bronze Age, the horse (Equus przewalskii f. caballus)
was domesticated. This probably took place in eastern Europe,
but horses were subsequently introduced into northern Europe,
where they not only were used for riding, transport, and agriculture
but also became an important component of the human diet (Wyss
1971). Unlike other livestock, horses cannot subsist solely on
leaf hay; they require special supplemental feed. Thus, it is
striking that the introduction of domesticated horses coincided
with the expansion of the millets (Panicum miliaceum and
Setaria italica) and the horsebean (Vicia faba)
into northern Europe. But whereas the impetus for the adoption
of these plants may have been the feeding of horses, during the
late Bronze and Iron Ages millets and beans doubtless also contributed
to human nutrition.
time, agricultural methods became more sophisticated, with better
ploughs (as metals were increasingly available), bigger fields,
the use of better-adapted plants, and concomitant greater yields.
But the basic elements of human nutrition remained more or less
the same. Cereal crops, pulses, and oil plants still provided
the bulk of the daily fare, and milk was plentiful. But meat was
eaten only on special occasions, as reflected in hoary rules concerning
the consumption of meat that have persisted until today.
animals were not hunted every day and only seasonally slaughtered,
meat, as a scarce item, became regarded as an important component
of banquets. In fact, from ancient times onward a good reason
for inviting numerous guests to a banquet was so that the bulk
of any meat served was consumed before it became rancid. Because
slaughtering was commonly done in autumn, banquets were (and often
still are) given in late autumn and around the time of Christmas.
By contrast, meat was normally not consumed during the winter
and spring months, when people maintained only as many cattle
as were necessary for breeding. This period corresponds to the
fasting season (Lent) of the Catholic church between Shrove Tuesday
and Easter. Lamb was and remains a traditional dish at an Easter
banquet, for this was the time of year when an abundance of newborn
sheep could be culled from the flock.
the time of the birth of Christ, parts of northern Europe situated
southwest of the Rhine and south of the Danube became colonies
of the Roman Empire. Within this area, foodstuffs took on an increasingly
important role in Roman commerce, with the Rhine serving as an
important trading route. Wheat, rice (Oryza sativa), and
exotic spices were transported downstream to Roman garrisons and
to towns in northwestern Germany and the Netherlands. However,
colonies not situated near the Rhine, although involved in the
trade of spices and wine, did not trade in bulky items such as
grain. Thus, in these regions, the Romans had to force the subdued
peoples to deliver crops to the towns and settlements where their
soldiers and civilians lived.
were great efforts during Roman times to increase crop yields,
which can be seen in the construction of the villa system. Sophisticated
agricultural methods were practiced. But ultimately, difficulties
in transporting enough food to the Roman soldiers in those parts
of the Imperium not accessible by river routes may be one of the
reasons for the decline of the Roman Empire in the Danube provinces.
By contrast, the area between Cologne and the Netherlands was
one of the economically most powerful parts of the Imperium even
in the late Roman age.
of the Roman Empire, some improvement of agricultural methods
also took place. Rye (Secale cereale) and oats (Avena
sativa) were grown as additional crops, certainly enlarging
and stabilizing of the food supply and possibly enabling the local
farmers to export crops to Roman towns. Yet despite the influence
of Roman commerce and the presence of trade routes in the area,
the peasant diet, at least, seems to have been similar to that
of prehistoric times.
inhabitants of towns and garrisons, by contrast, enjoyed considerably
more variety in viands. Those who had the ability bought many
different spices at market, and cultivated fruits became available.
In fact, the oldest fruit-tree groves and vineyards in northern
Europe date from the Roman Age. The basic requirement for these
was the stability that Roman rule brought to settlements. Prehistoric
settlements had lasted for only a few decades at the most
not long enough for the fruits of groves and vines to appear in
of the Roman trade routes were still used after the Romans departed.
For example, the trade route along the Rhine remained important,
and its commerce was extended by Viking merchants to the coasts,
to northwestern Germany, and to the islands and peninsulas around
the North Sea: England, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, and Jutland.
Artifacts that represent importations into Viking settlements,
such as wine and wine vessels in Haithabu (Behre 1983), serve
to document the existence and extensiveness of these routes.
Hanse merchants added the areas around the Baltic Sea to their
economic empire, bringing exotic food to the towns along the Baltic
coast. Indeed, at times there was more imported food inside the
towns than local products. As an example, during a period of grain
shortage in Lubeck, marzipan, a bread that is baked not of ordinary
flour but of almond "flour" and sugar, is said to have
been invented (Küster 1987).
food trade in northern Europe experienced yet another shift when
the exchange began of meat (or livestock) and crops between the
agricultural and grassland areas. In the Netherlands, oxen were
taken from Frisia westward to the big towns, whereas crops were
transported from the dry, sandy areas to the fen landscapes where
cattle farms came into existence (Bieleman 1989). The trade of
oxen, in turn, led to the development of "oxen routes"
inside northern Europe. In the late Middle Ages, as food transport
and trade became more important, these activities were no longer
confined to waterways but were also carried out over such overland
parts of northern Europe that were distant from the trade routes
had remained rural, and the diets of their residents continued
to be restricted to the few elements of food (cereals, pulses,
oil plants) that had been exploited since prehistoric times. Only
the species of plants had changed. Rye, oats, and, in some areas,
wheat had become more important, whereas emmer was only rarely
growth meant a continuing demand for as much food as possible,
which led to intensive agricultural production. Nearly all woods
were cleared, and a sophisticated rotation system winter
crop, summer crop, and fallow came into existence. The
settlements became stable and were usually arranged around a church.
As during Roman times, such stability (in towns, monasteries,
and castles) promoted the cultivation of fruit trees and vines,
the produce of which was available in the markets. Yet the demands
of rapidly growing urban populations frequently led to shortages
in basic foodstuffs like flour, which in turn led to conflict
and even civil war between city peoples and peasants. The Bauernkrieg
("Peasants War") of 1525 was perhaps the most
famous of these conflicts, signaling the end of the Middle Ages
and its accompanying social system in northern Europe.
the following centuries, it became even more difficult for rural
farmers to supply enough food for urban populations that continued
to swell (Abel 1978). There was one crisis after another, which
brought periods of famine in northern Europe and periods of migration
to North America. But at the same time, American food plants were
taking root in Europe.
the period of mercantilism, just prior to the Age of Industrialization,
factories were founded in many parts of northern Europe. People
began working for wages, and thus many more became dependent on
the food market, which had difficulty meeting demand, especially
in years with low crop yields. In response, northern European
landowners forced peasants to cultivate the American potato (Solanum
tuberosum), which delivered a high yield of food per unit
of land cultivated.
principle, such cultivation made it possible for ordinary workers
to buy sufficient food in the form of potatoes to sustain themselves.
But the expanded food supply caused rapid population growth and
a concomitant growth of towns. Indeed, the industrialization of
northern Europe would not have been possible without the introduction
of the potato (Küster 1992a).
was not, however, until the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
that the peasants diet began to include imported food items,
such as spices, long enjoyed by town dwellers. This change was
precipitated by an extensive construction of railways that linked
the countryside with the cities. With the new foodstuffs came
grocers to the villages. They were called "Kolonialwarenhändler"
in the German language, which means "colonial produce merchants."
Yet only exotic food imports were sold in the grocery shops, whereas
the most important constituents of the diet were provided by the
the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the construction of railways
has also led to further spatial concentration of cattle raising
and crop production. With the invention of mineral fertilizers
that were transported by rail, crop production was abandoned in
mountainous areas but intensified in the plains. In addition,
the great increase in yield on fertilized fields led to the abandonment
of remote acres where spruce forests could be planted.
agrarian and nutritional revolution was caused by the beginning
of extensive maize (Zea mays) cultivation during the past
few decades. Maize silage provides enough food for large cattle
and chicken producers, causing meat and eggs to become relatively
cheap to northern European consumers. Since World War II there
has been a marked shift toward increased meat consumption. The
protein-rich diet causes health problems, and dietitians recommend
eating more grains and vegetables and less meat and eggs. In northern
Europe today, food shortages are not a problem, and the price
of food plays less of a role in determining an individuals
nutrition than it did in the past. It is interesting that despite
the great variety of foods available on the shelves in the supermarket,
dietitians are recommending a return to the dietary staples of
prehistoric times (Haenel 1986).
a huge variety of foods is now produced in northern Europe, and
other foods produced outside of that region can be purchased by
almost everyone. Some of the crops produced, such as wheat, barley,
oats, and rye, have been grown and consumed for millennia. Others,
such as potatoes and maize from the Americas, are relatively new
but very important. Also important are certain foods brought in
from abroad. Rice, which is imported in large quantities from
South Asia, is one of these. Coffee and tea are others. The northern
Europeans have long been fond of hot beverages, and today Dutch
and Saxonian coffees are famous the world over.
a remarkable turnaround compared with the past, today more crops
and meat are produced in northern Europe than can be consumed
by the people of the region, and such abundance has created great
political and economic problems. Oversupply of such items as pork,
butter, wine, and apples has prompted the common market of the
European Union to insist on less production, and farmers have
been forced to destroy a portion of their harvests and cut back
on the amount of meat produced. Because areas where long-established
crops can be cultivated have become increasingly restricted, farmers
are turning to alternative crops such as spelt, flax, and sunflowers.
Many products from these new crops are available in health-food
stores as well as supermarkets, as northern Europeans, like people
in other developed countries, are giving more thought to improving
important nutritional development in the region began in the 1950s,
when labor shortages there opened the way for southern European
workers to move north. With them came their national cuisines
and specialty restaurants; Italian and Greek foods are very popular
in northern Europe today. Pizza restaurants can be found even
in small villages, and frozen pizza is one of the most common
fast-food dishes in the home.
addition to the influence of southern Europeans, there has been
a substantial culinary contribution made by the people of now-independent
overseas colonies to their former mother countries. Just as Indian
food and restaurants are common in England, and North African
cookery is widespread in France, there are many Indonesian restaurants
in the Netherlands.
the northern European countries have become more prosperous, they
have also attracted the peoples (and thus the foods) of most of
the rest of the world. Chinese restaurants, for example, are ubiquitous,
and spring rolls and other Chinese dishes are available in all
because of prosperity on the one hand and all of these culinary
choices on the other, cooking at home has come to an end in many
households. It is easy and inexpensive to purchase already prepared
dishes from the supermarket in cans, or frozen, or dried. Moreover,
it has become very common to eat in what might be termed "neighborhood"
restaurants where one encounters friends and can relax. Fast-food
restaurants from America have been introduced but are still not
all that popular because they are too hurried.
then, the history of food and drink in northern Europe has entered
into a unique chapter. There is an abundant variety of both native
and exotic foods available, and famine is unknown. More and more
customers are demanding higher-quality foodstuffs, and it has
become fashionable, for example, to use the very best olive oils
and spiced vinegars in the preparation of salads. Factories that
turn out convenience foods, such as mashed potato powder and instant
soups and sauces, are supplemented by a market network that supplies
frozen and fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish, all of which
combine to supply a high perhaps too high level
of nutrition for the northern European.
situation stands in stark contrast to nutritional levels in the
poorer regions of the world. For economic and political as well
as logistical reasons, it is a complicated matter to ship foods
from northern European countries to the underdeveloped nations.
But some, especially the Scandinavians, have done much to help
improve the standard of living, including the level of nutrition,
of developing-world peoples. Moreover, there are regular airlifts
from northern Europe to famine-ravaged regions of the world, although,
of course, balanced diets are hardly provided in such bulk shipments.
conclusion, it is worth stressing that the sheer amount of nutrients
available to northern Europeans today also stands in stark contrast
to their own long past of undernutrition and even famine. One
hopes that one day soon, like the northern Europeans, the people
in todays developing countries will be confronting the problem