Bread in early modern Malta : the voice within

Abstract

It has played a part in religion, defining one creed from another by means of dietary taboos; in science, the cook laid the foundations of early chemistry; in technology, the windmill employed for milling grain became an early symbol of industrialization; in medicine, until the eighteenth century based largely on dietary principles; in class distinctions, where a person's quality and status was judged by the food on his table or the size of his waist. It would be almost impossible today for anyone to escape the influence of nutritional science. The media today bombards us with dietary guidelines, with detailed information promulgated on every item of packaged food. It would probably come as a surprise, though, to learn that through history humans were equally concerned with eating right even if their daily consumption was made mainly, if not solely, of bread.