History of bay or laurel leaf

The bay, Laurus nobilis L., is indigenous to Asia Minor and the Mediterranean basin, and its dried aromatic leaves are used as a culinary herb.

The motherland of bay is Asia Minor and the Balkan Peninsular. It was distributed throughout the Mediterranean by people over 2000 years ago and was familiar to ancient Greek and Roman civilization.

In ancient Greece, the winners of the Olympic Games were decorated with bay leaf wreaths and these leaves became an immortal symbol of victory and courage.

When physicians completed their studies, they were crowned with laurel branches called baca lauris, which later became baccalaureates.

The English word ‘bay’ is derived from the Latin baca, berry, originally applied to the berries of the bay tree, not the leaves.

During Middle Ages it was fashionable at dinners to boil bay leavss with orange peels for use in finger bowls.
History of bay or laurel leaf

History of garlic in cooking

Garlic first grew in central Asia and it is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world.  It was grown by the third millennium BC in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Today is also grows wild in Italy and southern France.

Many of legends surrounding it have to do with strength, speed and endurance. Like onion, garlic as cultivated in ancient Egypt and it has been grown in European gardens since at least the sixteenth century. Egyptian slaves ate garlic as they built the pyramids.

The Roman legions introduced garlic to many of the peoples they conquered, especially those of Northern Europe.

Dating from 1600-1700 BC, the Yale Babylonian Tablet, represent the earliest known compilation of culinary recipes. The cornerstone of the Mesopotamian diet was the alliaceous plants, onion, leek and garlic.

The culinary home of garlic is southern Europe, and it also figures in folk medicines. It is the main ingredient of Four Thieves Vinegar, a legendry remedy that has been sold in France since the early eighteenth century.
History of garlic in cooking