On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1429

Europe Gin, a whisky-like medicinal concoction from rye, with juniper added for its flavor and diuretic effect, was first formulated in 16th century Holland The renowned brandy of France’s Cognac, just to the north of Bordeaux, arose around 1620 Rum was first made from molasses in the English West Indies around 1630, and monastic liqueurs like Benedictine and Chartreuse date from about 1650 on Over the next couple of centuries, the drinkability of spirits improved as distillers learned how to refine their composition First came double distillation, in which a wine or beer is distilled, and the distillate then distilled a second time; then in the late 18th and early 19th centuries came ingenious French and English column stills, which produce alcohols of greater purity in one continuous process The growing availability and drinkability of distilled liquors meant that addiction became a serious problem, particularly among the urban populations of the Industrial Revolution In England the principal scourge was cheap gin, which the average Londoner in the late 18th century consumed at the rate of nearly a pint/400 ml a day “to seek relief in the temporary oblivion of his own misery,” as Charles Dickens later wrote in Sketches by Boz Government control of production and social progress later moderated the problem of alcohol addiction, but hasn’t eliminated it Food Words: Distill The word distill comes from the Latin destillare, “to drip.” It thus captures the moment at which the barely visible vapors from a hot liquid condense and rematerialize on a cool surface Whiskey in America Distilled alcohol was so popular in North America that it gave us an enduring legacy: the Internal Revenue ...particularly among the urban populations of the Industrial Revolution In England the principal scourge was cheap gin, which the average Londoner in the late 18th century consumed at the rate of nearly a pint/400 ml a... day “to seek relief in the temporary oblivion of his own misery,” as Charles Dickens later wrote in Sketches by Boz Government control of production and social progress later moderated the problem of alcohol addiction,... moderated the problem of alcohol addiction, but hasn’t eliminated it Food Words: Distill The word distill comes from the Latin destillare, “to drip.” It thus captures the moment at which the barely visible vapors