When Did Humans Start Choosing Food?

This question is a very deep subject extending to the beginning of human history, that is, to evolutionary processes. Food choice (selectivity), rather than being a modern cultural problem, developed as a survival mechanism.
We can say that humans have fundamentally been choosing food since their existence, thanks to a mechanism called food neophobia.

Evolutionary Origin: A Survival Mechanism

Food choice and the tendency to reject new foods (food neophobia) is an adaptation that increased our ancestors’ chances of survival millions of years ago.

Millions of Years Ago (Paleolithic Age)

Basic Neophobia (Fear of New Foods): Our ancestors could not know if the unfamiliar plants they encountered in the forest or savanna were poisonous. Hesitantly approaching new food and rejecting foods that smelled/looked suspicious was a critical defense mechanism that reduced the risk of poisoning.

Infancy/Childhood Period

Developmental Neophobia (2-7 years): This is the period when food selectivity is most intense in children. This corresponds (evolutionarily) to the period when a child separates from parental protection and starts foraging for food on their own. Neophobia minimizes the risk of consuming poisonous or unsuitable foods at these critical ages.

From the moment humans first discovered food, they instinctively had to choose to survive. This initial selectivity was based on distinguishing between safe and dangerous.

Development of Cultural and Social Selectivity

As humans settled down and developed agriculture and cooking, selectivity ceased to be merely a matter of survival and gained a cultural dimension:
1. Discovery of Fire (Approximately 1.8 Million Years Ago – Homo Erectus): With the discovery of fire, foods became softer, tastier, and safer. This shifted our choices from merely whether the food was safe, to how it tasted and its texture.
2. Agricultural Revolution (Approximately 10,000 BCE): With the increase in food variety and easier access to food, the act of eating became a cultural ritual. It was now possible to choose not only for survival but also according to taste.
3. Antiquity and Later (5th Century BCE): Rich culinary cultures emerged in Greek and Roman civilizations. During these periods, food became not just sustenance, but a symbol of status and display. People began to choose food seeking flavor and sophistication.

Ancient Civilizations and Social Selectivity

After settling, food choice became a matter of status and cultural acceptance.

Ancient Greece and Rome:

Status-Based Choice: The wealthy and nobles preferred more luxurious and processed foods (e.g., expensive vegetables like artichokes or certain types of meat at banquets in Ancient Rome), while the poor masses were forced to turn to simpler and more accessible foods (bread, legumes, onions, garlic). This was a choice driven by necessity rather than preference.
Cultural Rejection: It is noted that Ancient Greeks, especially in earlier periods, viewed various types of mushrooms with suspicion (neophobia due to fear of poisoning).

Mesopotamian and Anatolian Societies:

Written tablets show that from 3200 BCE onwards, Mesopotamians mixed and cooked raw foods according to their own taste preferences. This proves that humans went beyond mere sustenance and sought flavor. This pursuit of flavor naturally included rejecting undesirable tastes (like sulfur, as in your case).

Religious and Moral Selectivity

For much of history, societal prohibitions, rather than individual selectivity, determined eating behavior.
* Monotheistic Religions: Kosher/halal rules in Judaism and Islam (not eating pork, seafood, or certain animals) ensured that large masses rejected (chose not to eat) certain foods due to their religious beliefs.
* Hinduism/Buddhism: Avoiding meat consumption (vegetarianism) is a thousands-year-old practice where a large society selectively rejects a specific food group for moral and spiritual reasons.

So What Happened in the Middle Ages?

During this period (approximately 5th to 15th century), the act of food choice was determined more by class privilege, religious obligation, and economic constraints than by individual palate and sensory sensitivity (like your sulfur sensitivity) as it is today.
In Medieval Europe, people were choosing food more out of necessity than pleasure.

Primary Sources of Selectivity in the Middle Ages

Social Class and Economic Selectivity
The biggest determinant of selectivity in the Middle Ages was the social class an individual belonged to and what foods they could afford. This was a necessity, not a preference.

Peasants and the Poor
- Grain-Based: Dark, coarse-grained (rye, barley) bread and oat/barley porridge. Thick soup or stew made from beans, peas, legumes, and seasonal vegetables. Meat, only on holidays.
- Meat (Especially Beef and Pork): Beef consumption was low because cattle were valuable for agriculture and milk.
Nobles and the Wealthy
- Quality Grains: White bread made from wheat flour. Plenty of meat (pork, chicken, goose, game) and fish.
- Spices: Expensive spices imported from afar, such as cinnamon and ginger. Almond milk (was a luxury and popular drink).
Note: Peasants’ choices were forced towards the cheapest and most accessible foods; nobles’ choices were directed towards expensive and rare foods, symbols of power and status.
Religious and Moral Selectivity
Church rules were the strictest selectivity rules, determining what foods large masses could and could not eat, and when.
- Lent: A long period before Easter when meat and animal products (milk, eggs, cheese) were not consumed. During this time, fish and vegetables were obligatorily preferred.
- Fish and Status: Seafood, especially in Northern Europe, was a common protein source during Lent. Even some water birds (like wild geese) were considered a type of fish so they could be eaten during this period. This was a collective choice made to circumvent the rules.
Sensory Selectivity (Individual Preferences)
Individual sensory sensitivities, like yours, certainly existed, but they were not as prominent as today:
- Poor Cooking and Smell: Preserving foods by salting and multiple cooking methods (pre-cooking to clean food better) made the flavor and smell of foods more intense and pungent compared to today’s standards.
- Lack of Choice: A peasant disliking the smell of onion or cabbage did not mean they rejected those vegetables; they needed those coarse foods to survive. The survival instinct completely suppressed the threshold for individual pleasure.

In summary, food choice in the Middle Ages depended not on what an individual liked, but on which social class could afford what and what the church allowed.

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