Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Fat consumption
(2,254 words)

1. Introduction

Fats are an indispensable component of food. In the early modern period in Europe, besides animal fats like lard, bacon, suet, butter, and concentrated butter, vegetable fats were used, as a rule olive or nut oil (from walnuts), regionally also poppy-seed oil, flaxseed oil, rapeseed oil, and hemp oil. Until the late Middle Ages, the use of these fats in Europe was determined not only by their availabilit…

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Pelzer-Reith, Birgit, “Fat consumption”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_019230>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20180126



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