The World's Oldest Recipes

If you could throw a potluck with all the oldest foods in the world, what would you bring? We asked ourselves that question and prepared a menu of tasty snacks for you to consider, from tamales and noodles to our favorite ancient boozes. Bon appetit!
Hosted by: Reid Reimers (he/him)
Chapters:
Beer & Wine 1:14
Cheese 4:07
Bread 5:57
Tamales 8:03
Noodles 9:35
Burnt Meals 11:10
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Sources:
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[@0xEA61E]

Fun fact - the epic of Gilgamesh, one of humanity’s oldest recorded stories from thousands of years ago, itself refers to the invention of bread as an ancient and distant event

[@DavidSmith-vr1nb]

I did not know that. Thanks 👍

[@systemG3000]

That chef in ancient times: "I may have burned an entire meal, but it's not like anyone is going to remember it forever". Us: "this belongs in a museum!"

[@Narmatonia]

Wow the archaeologists must've freaked out when they realised there were still ancient noodles in the overturned bowl

[@Gamerkat10]

I sure would have!

[@Daye2D410]

@@Gamerkat10right!

[@TroyDowVanZandt]

We natives of Tucson, AZ, have long sidestepped the Pima County Health Department by getting our tamales directly from the kitchens of little old ladies on the south side of town. It makes you wonder just how ancient the institution of the Tamale Lady is.

[@Beryllahawk]

Several hundred years at least, given that Tucson was part of Mexico for a good long while, hehe And it is known, Tamales from the Tamale Lady are always the very best!

[@bartolomeothesatyr]

The best place for tamales in Indiana is out of the cooler in the trunk of some abuela's car in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

[@frostincubus4045]

​@@bartolomeothesatyr mmm, Abuela's tamales are the stuff of legends

[@loafoffloof3420]

@@bartolomeothesatyr yummy

[@bloomnights]

As an anthropology/archeology students, "archeological potluck" sounds like a great theme for a party

[@rylandrc]

9:50 Epitomy of: "If you dont wash your dishes right after eating pasta, it'll be harder to get off later"

[@svenmorgenstern9506]

Y'know, 7000+ years is a long time to wait for a grilled cheese sandwich. 🧀

[@TheJohtunnBandit]

Glad to know that there is precedent to just throwing out the entire pot when something goes horribly wrong 🤣

[@kaitnip]

It is a time honored tradition. And I observed it with due respect quite a few times 😁

[@photoion1]

Someone either threw it or the pot broke in the middle of cooking and fell into the fire. Either option sounds like it would be extremely frustrating

[@horseenthusiast1250]

Lol, hearing about that site immediately reminded me of a cooking incident from when I was a kid. My whole family's got celiac disease, and when we were recently diagnosed, my mom tried to figure out how to make pizza dough. It turned out so bad that she screamed at the oven, crossed out the recipe taped to the inside of the cabinet door, drew an evil angry face on it in marker, and tossed the sticky in the middle, burnt to itself pizza dough out into the chicken coop for the birds to eat. I think it just became part of the mud instead

[@superpapiringo]

We mexicans have a corn beer called "tejuino". It's so low alcohol that we find it out of schools, and with a bit of lemon ice, chamoy and some spicy candy tubes as straws... Tasty...

[@AppliedCryogenics]

Nixtamalization does more than break down the outer seed coat. It makes an essential nutrient (vitamin b3) more bioavailable, averting the risk of pellagra in a corn-heavy diet.

[@ericbnielsen]

The Native American’s who first cultivated maize cooked it with lime and prevented Pellagra. It took over 200 years and a lot of deaths for European’s too figure out what Mezoamericans knew all along.

[@patrickday4206]

Lime also

[@joshyoung1440]

​@@ericbnielsen you guys are both literally just quoting facts from another SciShow episode... into a SciShow comment section lmao

[@ericbnielsen]

@@joshyoung1440 I got my information from my high school history class.

[@MyChevySonic]

Actually, if you think about it, it makes sense that we would have figured out a way to store it first before figuring out how to grow it. Since wild grain isn't a very reliable source, the pressure is to find a way to convert it or store it.

[@coffeeabernethy2823]

Mead is so old even Sci Show forgot about it.

[@Beutimus]

Me: I'll eat lunch before food shopping so I'm not hungry! SciShow: but consider giant noodles

[@sunnyquinn3888]

There's a reason why the word "bread" has been used for so long and in so many cultures as a term for food in general.

[@gab.lab.martins]

In Jewish law, a "meal" is anything that is eaten with bread. If you eat the exact same foods, but omit the bread, it's legally considered a "snack". That is important because there are different blessings to be recited before or after a proper *meal,* as opposed to a non-meal eating session. Bread has been central to Israel for 3000+ years, in fact the word "pita" comes from the Hebrew root פת (path), meaning "loaf". Also, bread is anything that is made with 5 specific grains that are hydrated with water. That means: crackers = bread, but brioche = cake (because in brioche the flour is hydrated with milk, eggs, butter, and sugar, and not pure water).

[@MichaelOKC]

I knew it! I didn't mess up that dinner! I was creating research!😂😅

[@natviolen4021]

I also feel like a valuable contributor 😁

[@ConstantChaos1]

I mean yeah, one day our landfills will be archeological digs, you literally did.

[@chrisstrayer4323]

Blessed are the cheese makers

[@bartolomeothesatyr]

"What's so special about the cheese makers?" "Well, obviously, it's not meant to be taken literally, it refers to _any_ manufacturers of dairy products."

[@matthewcox7985]

Oh, this ought to be Gouda... 😁

[@DragongodZenos]

It makes perfect sense that bear bread and other recipes using grains would be older the agriculture. Why domesticate wheat and grains if you have not recipes to use them. The domestication of grains likely came about from cultures who regularly made flours or gruel like foods from wild grains, so they could more easily stockpile processed grains.

[@pattheplanter]

People who regularly had hangovers and looked up at the hills thinking "I wish those grains were closer so I didn't have to walk so far to get them to make more beer".

[@VikingTeddy]

They forgot to mention that people didn't actually drink chunky beer. They used straws to sip from the top, leaving the settled mash. You would get the occasional seed and other small particles in your mouth, but nothing that would be of significance.

[@ConstantChaos1]

Gruel, its pointing out that bread and beer were deliberate acts and not just using what is now available, it tells us about their mindsets and motivations. They werent just throwing things together when they had an abundance but put in the effort even when there was scarcity, it shows they had desires for good food which means they had time to prepare good food even while foraging.

[@floydcarstairs9747]

I believe malting had to be discovered by accident. Seeds got some moisture, started sprouting, ancient humans quickly tried to use it up, or didn't have anything else to eat. Then it turned out great.

[@joshreynolds729]

This suggest that humans didn’t eat vegetables very often infact it seems they were meat eaters then found grain then got drunk 🤣 and finally started agriculture probably though traveling or travelers who gave them ideas probably seeing other dishes and tasting and testing new foods. Probably was fruit first then vegetable and if I had to guess citrus and was one of them because boats were a big thing and sailors got scurvy citrus not only taste good but has vitamin c which effectively prevents such issues. At least that’s the way it’s coming across but I’m no history or agriculture buff either.

[@lenabreijer1311]

They have found Neanderthal meals with chick peas and meat. I was hoping they were going to discuss that.

[@rolfs2165]

Yeah, I was absolutely expecting stews and such to be on the list.

[@tableofgods]

Interesting video. But I wish it went deeper into ancient Mesopotamia. The world's oldest recipes were written on three clay tablets dating to around 1750 BC in southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). And most scholars agree that this is also the time and place for the first "haute cuisine", as ancient Mesopotamian cuisine evolved as a way to serve the gods who ate four times daily in their temples.

[@douglasboyle6544]

Blessed are the cheesemakers.

[@TheSuzberry]

My favorite antique recipe: Season to taste and cook until done. 😎

[@dynomar11]

So with lobsters I just leave the shell on? And what does done mean? Also, I don't know how to winterize my food, it may not be seasoned appropriately

[@PhaythGaming]

@@dynomar11roll the dice and live or die that’s what they woulda done

[@rolfs2165]

Followed up by: Take dry ingredient and mix with wet ingredient "until you get the right consistency". Ah, yes.

[@Fayanora]

Beer is really just a watered-down wheat smoothie with alcohol, so that original recipe that's thick and chunky makes sense.

[@giornogiovanna8067]

I both love and hate this comment 😂

[@davidva8694]

Chunky beer is what straws are meant for

[@nedludd7622]

Recent research I have read had found that humans were using marijuana 12,000 years ago. Maybe that helped motivate the push towards cuisine.

[@thecollierreport]

My wife is Mexican by lineage and we always had Tamales for Christmas

[@AsiniusNaso]

Ea-Nassir 🤝 Person who burned their porridge

[@SrirachaChugChallenge747-jq7by]

shitty copper

[@Angel_Bob_]

All ya had to do was refine some decent copper, Ea-Nassir. You did this to yourself

[@limalicious]

I'm so glad you included nixtamalization, because that process just fascinates me beyond words. How did someone even figure that one out?

[@pattheplanter]

Lajia not Laija for the noodle place. Modern China is a big place, surely worth mentioning the archaeological site of Lajia is on the Tibetan Plateau, to help us place it?

[@bsteven885]

I wish we could find out what that recipe for gluten-free millet noodles is -- my friends with Celiac and/or Crohn's Disease would REALLY appreciate it.

[@cutefidgety]

Search online for 养胃小米面线 The instructions in Chinese say to soak millet for an hour, add egg and blend. Continue adding millet flour to thicken the mixture into dough, then put the resulting dough into a piping bag. Squeeze into hot water to form noodles Disclaimer: i have not tried this recipe, it may well be rubbish

[@Guitcad1]

Has anybody ever mistaken your voice for Penn Jillette? I bet you could do impressions of him if you wanted.

[@sjpink99]

Couldn’t resist learning about thick, chunky floor beer

[@Jesse-zk9ge]

Yum my favorite comfort food. It takes a little Better Effort to prepare it just right. But it's baked macaroni and cheese, with little smoked cocktail weenies baked inside. Plus I also absolutely love tamales. If you got baked macaroni and cheese and tamales at a potluck anywhere near where I live, feel the wind blow by cuz I'm there. 😋👌

[@LordBrittish]

The little Brownies from the movie Willow: *”BEER!!!”* *Makes me wonder why we invented the Barrel!

[@bettyswallocks6411]

The oldest known written recipe is on a clay cuneiform tablet from c.1800 BCE and is a recipe for beer, in the form of a song or ode to Ninkasi, Sumerian goddess of beer and fermentation.

[@sinkila]

grainy thick beer is still a thing in parts of Africa , its quite good.

[@swastik3423]

Them ancient people were crafty with their food I see...

[@reya..4668]

Discovering all these recipes took some creativity u see

[@swastik3423]

@@reya..4668 agree...

[@Kolrab]

Love you man! So glad you are part of the Awesome Club!

[@ernmalleyscrub]

Thanks for a fascinating exploration of ancient foods. Great host and graphics / images. Accidents and experiments must’ve been part of human diet for centuries. Moving from seasonal sources to stored supplies likely hit and miss.

[@BrainiousPodcast]

I'm curious for the recipes, hopefully will give me an idea what to cook tomorrow. You guys are motivating and inspiring for small channels like us, keep going.

[@therealjammit]

Ah yes. Beer. The cause and solution to all of life's problems.

[@Gu1tarJohn]

One awesome thing in North Texas is Tamale ladies. Great home-made tamales and salsa. They'll be by the side of the road or near a grocery store

[@coreysimmons4519]

To be fair if we hadn't figured out beer or bread there wouldn't have been the incentive to domesticate grain in the first place

[@iLLadelph267]

so what you're saying is, a sandwich at the pub was over 12 thousand years in the making

[@jesipohl6717]

grass gardening and curing, which can be as complicated as brewing beer is about twice as old as making beer.

[@richarddeese1087]

Thanks. Your background is fairly creative. Simple, but effective. Kudos. tavi.

[@raedefrane5505]

Not sure why people would be surprised these things predated agriculture. Agriculture wasn't because we got sick of moving. It was to make certain recipies and resource collections sustainable (for a large group) and easier. Like... yeah. We did a thing to make things easier...

[@matthewtopping2061]

When he says 8600 years ago, for example, is he including or excluding the 2,024 years of the modern era?

[@Chris-ut6eq]

thick chunky floor beer? they really wanted to get their drink on!

[@natviolen4021]

I really would like to know how millet has to be treated to make those noodles. Can anybody refer to a source?

[@lesleyghostdragon3149]

I wanted to go to the "archeological potluck", but I was too petrified.

[@Beryllahawk]

I'm wondering if we can get a third video in this "series" about ancient food. Because I'm truly wondering how ancient people managed to process dead animals. I've had ONE occasion to help pluck a chicken and it was really difficult!!! And it wasn't a very large bird either. I imagine that simply dressing out an animal just makes sense - get rid of the insides so that you can carry the carcass home more easily, right? But... outside of things like birds and antelope or whatever, how did ancient people even know what was edible??? Who looked at something like a catfish or an eel and said "yum!" (Some folks also say this about eggs but I submit that if snakes and weasels and wolves all eat eggs with gusto, ancient humans would've at least given it a shot; but I'm not at all sure that wolves do any...you know...fishing.)

[@TnT_F0X]

There isn't a BBQ master on the planet who thinks all you need is meat and heat. Spices, salt, brines, sauces, and sides.

[@CoperliteConsumer]

Il drink to that!

[@sebastianthomsen2225]

me too! ;)🍻

[@emmanuelsanchez9303]

I find it incredibly interesting that no matter where we are, what beliefs we have, what lifestyle we have, or what resources we have at hand, we still find ways to make booze. Cheers to us!! 🍻

[@kashiichan]

It was a way to get safe water, after all!

[@boginoid]

It is one thing people were dedicated enough to make chunky floorbeer in caves - but how on Earth did they figure it out??

[@iamjustkiwi]

Probably desperation like lots of fermented foods i assume. Some grains might have fallen into some water and started to ferment and the people who found it were thirsty enough to try the water and realize it tasted interesting and made them feel different. Just my speculation, but theres lots of bizarre foods out there i think we stumbled upon like this.

[@sheldonscott4037]

Trial and error.

[@boginoid]

@@iamjustkiwi Some grains didn't just fall on the floor. It had to be malted and mashed first as the video said - and I tried to read up on what happens if you just leave grains soaking and it apparently results in something called "rejuvenac" which doesn't seem beerlike and it can easily cause diarrhea. I cannot imagine people going through the pain of hewing cave floors unless they were expecting desirable results.

[@calliecarter1189]

Tamales were the first, and really only, shock I got from this! It's the least basic of them IMO and that's cool.

[@douglasharley2440]

extremely interesting, much thanks!

[@aaaaaaaaaaa5820]

What about mead, where does it fit into all this?

[@akhragee]

a brief search suggests the earliest evidence of deliberate honey fermentation is circa 7500 BCE in China... so, 1500 years older than the "eight thousand years ago" which the video states for wine. as a longtime mead lover I'm personally offended by this error 😆

[@cyrilio]

Please do a video about vin Mariani, it's variant's, and coca cola.

[@robert-wr9xt]

‘Grilling master’s?’

[@CarlosGonzalez-tx4cb]

It is so funny that I watched this right after making tamales for the first time

[@vapormissile]

Floor-beer predates whiskey-milk

[@work4yhwh]

Great vid❤️✊🏾🖖🏾

[@richardhinshaw2116]

Can I have a link yo that Turkish bread report? My brother in law is Turkish and highly educated.

[@dumbbirdwayne]

The fact that they can find ancient preserved foods in such good condition from hundreds of thousands of years ago and yet the bread I buy goes bad immediately upon opening smh 😂 ancient bakers tell me your secrets!

[@SrirachaChugChallenge747-jq7by]

Floor Beer reminds me of the London Beer Flood of 1814 lol

[@tugbatok9008]

YOU HAVE TONS OF TURKISH PEOPLE OUT HERE!! just like me! :D we are willing we help

[@tugbatok9008]

well, as an academic, although not in science,but with a history background, i would help out lol :D

[@kyle-rq6og]

@3:17 😂 excuse me, where?

[@HeyNonyNonymous]

The "cave in the levant" with over 13000 year old evidence for beer making is located near Haifa in northern Israel, btw.

[@l.u.c.a.s.]

Damn it's sad that such an interesting archaeological site is intermingled with modern day genocide.

[@tehrealtimmis]

3:39 Reid owes me a soda

[@NormanQWest]

CENTURIES?! Really? I had no idea that TNC (Tuna-Noodle Casserole) had been around that long!

[@CoolAsFreya]

Bread is really really old and has independently been invented/discovered many times by humans! There is evidence that Aboriginal Australians were making bread some 30,000 years ago with wild harvested millet and spinifex crushed with milling stones!

[@sunnyquinn3888]

"Thick, chunky floor beer." Those four little words just made me throw up in my mouth. 🤢

[@philipblount2561]

Hold up, tomales are older than Christ?I love that, that's my new favorite fun fact

[@orientalshorthaircats]

cheese also goes better with wine than milk

[@rubywpn]

Tamales FTW!

[@michailalein]

I need recipes!!

[@dannyxuco]

Hey host, you have a pleasant voice.

[@fariesz6786]

• i see "nixtamalization" written on screen • i prepare to cringe once the word gets pronounced • instead, i hear a sweet sh sound and cheer with my fist like others will do for a sports event

[@yuvalne]

humans never change 😁

[@davesatxify]

thick. floor. Beer.

[@sebastianthomsen2225]

yumeee...😬

[@qwaqwa1960]

One of the best books I've read is "A History of the World in Six Glasses". Check it out!

[@ninamo3523]

People drank ancient beer with a straw!

[@TRDPaul]

Filmed in April? This one took a while to edit

[@herbertfawcett7213]

How is millet made into noodles?

[@lindaseel9986]

Hello Reid! 🤗

[@grkuntzmd]

You have to marvel at the courage shown by the first person to taste some of these foods and beverages. Imagine returning to a cave where you left some cheese a few days ago and finding it covered in blue veins. "Oh. What the heck. I'll taste it."

[@user-od1cf9im5z]

And now every hipster will try to make floor beer

[@kashiichan]

Hey, if hipsters are willing to carve out that much stone, more power to 'em

[@hollismccray3297]

I'm down for some floor beer

[@CAMacKenzie]

So, beer and bread date from the latest pleistocene.

[@fleachamberlain1905]

How old is mead?

[@akhragee]

~9500 years according to a quick Google search. disappointed in SciShow for this terrible oversight 😹

[@michaelkelleypoetry]

I wish SciShow had made this video a collaboration with Max Miller from Tasting History.

[@tolic14ever]

You're finally funny😂

[@tlou34]

Beni SciShow'a alın. Size o kaynakları çevireyim 😂

[@bobhope4288]

@5:39 Did he just say, "Butt cheese is lower in lactose."?!?!

[@kyuofcosmic]

But cheese is lower in lactose. One t.

[@bobhope4288]

@@kyuofcosmic There are two T's, not one, in your sentence. Check mate.

[@markbroad119]

They made Mead

[@elihinze3161]

AWWW YIS ÇATALHÖYÜK MENTION

[@GamblingTimeKaraoke]

Paging Max Miller lol

[@JeremyHomicki]

My question far a long time is what was invented first, beer or mead? Mead fans claim is was of mead. I always thought beer was.

[@joshreynolds729]

What alkaline chemical is used to strip the corn and how long do you leave it. Mixture %. Anyone know? And is this chemical safe or otherwise need some method to rid the alkalinity chemical after it’s done its job?🙏 .

[@porcorosso4330]

Try Gemini or chatgpt... My guess is baking soda is probably fine... It's the corn skin that we cannot digest which probably have the most nutrients....