Golden culinary landscapes: A legacy of the palatial female vision in the face of hunger

Abstract

This study analyzes the feminine culinary universe of Early Modernity in a society marked by food crises and socio-cultural change. To do so, it examines two handwritten recipe books dated between the 16th and 17th centuries. Both examples represent a specific typology of works that is typical of a domestic and private environment. A non-experimental investigation is carried out that consists of an initial descriptive study of the structure of the same. This is followed by a correlational analysis where the relationship between both compliled works is evaluated through the model of recipes, raw materials used, exposed culinary techniques and the final purpose of the food preparations. The results show the permanence of a Greco-Latin culture in the gastronomy of the time with the presence of a strong Moorish influence and a still scarce incidence of the American raw materials. It can be concluded that the formation of this type of Golden Age food pattern had great continuity with previous periods in terms of taste, the transmission of cooking knowledge and the memory of a very sweet and spicy palate.