Food History is fun to read about because it encompasses more than consumables but the way folks lived, what was available, wars, and new discoveries. Necessity has always been the mother of invention so you can guess why many foods and preparations became a part of the daily lives of some civilizations .

For example why was salted cod so important? Well many cultures in the Holy Roman Empire couldn't eat meat on Friday and other religious observances so being that there was no fully stocked seafood markets with a variety of fruits from the sea and no man made ice and refrigerators, the abundant codfish was salted and kept during winter months for a Friday dinner.

Some foods like the first Potato Chip was not intentional but serendipitously stumbled upon.