Every few months, I discover a niche online project that really impresses me, so much so that I feel compelled to share it.
My most recent find is The Food Timeline. Lynne Olver, a food history librarian, started this online reference guide in 1999, cataloging and categorising the discovery and evolution of foods and recipes over the past 20,000 years.
I enjoyed scrolling the timeline and getting lost in a food history rabbit hole.
I didn’t know the first versions of ice cream were a type of shaved, flavoured ice first invented in China in 3,000 BC, or that cheesecake has been around since the 1st Century AD, or that food historians don’t really know when and where coconuts originated.
I’m about to go on a trip to the supermarket, and although it’s a run-of-the-mill activity, after hanging out on The Food Timeline, it’s really got me thinking about how far we’ve come.