Food and Drink: The Catholic Way

Many kinds of food and drink have their roots in Catholic civilization and certain foods are closely linked to the liturgical calendar:

Hot cross buns are associate with Lent

Mince pies were often associated with events of Christmas (such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg symbolizing the three gifts of the Magi)

Christmas pudding, originated from the medieval dish of frumenty, a spicy, wheat-based dessert used for saints’ feast days

The cappuccino is named after the Capuchin friars.

 

Viniculture is interwoven with Catholicism, inherited from the ancient Romans and developed, especially by monasteries, for the sake of the Mass:

Cistercian monks invented the place-based classifications of ‘terroir’ and ‘cru’

Chateauneuf-du-Pape is named after the Papacy, which was in Avignon in the 14 century

Dom Perignon (famous champagne brand) is named after a Benedictine monk at Hautvillers

Catholic Tadeo Alderotti first described the alcohol distillation process

Some of the finest liquors in the world come from monastic tradition, for example: Chartreuse (develop by Carthusian monks for medical reasons)

Source: Lumen: The Catholic Gift to Civilization by Fr. Holden and Fr Pinsent, CTS Publications

Catholicism, Wine and Beer

The Catholic Church has made exceptional contributions to the wine and beer industry allowing people of all creeds to enjoy these products. Following, a list is provided as a small sample of this contributions:

+ In Burgundy, the Cistercian monks invented the place-based classification of ‘terroir’ and ‘cru’
+ Famous wines, like Chateauneuf-du-Pape named after the Papacy and ‘Dom Perignon’ named after a famous Benedictine monk.
+ By the beginning of the 14 century, monks had spread knowledge of distillation methods for whiskey to Scotland and Ireland.
+ A Carolingian abbot was the first one to add hops to beer for stability and flavouring.
+ St. Bernard’s Cistercian order was well known for its brewing skills
+ Trappist abbey is still famous for its beers, such as Chimay
+ St. Arnold of Metz, is the patron of beer
+ The famous Leffe beer, was first brewed by the Norbertines of the abbey Notre Dame de Leffe
+ Prior to the French Revolution, the Catholic Church was one of France’s largest vineyard owners-wielding considerable influence in regions such as Champagne and Burgundy where the concept of terroir first took root.
+ The process of brewing beer grew tremendously during the rise of Christianity. This was primarily because of the roles that monks had in the production of beer.
+ A large number of Christian saints are patrons of brewing. Saint Augustine of Hippo, Saint Arnulf of Metz, Saint Luke the Evangelist, and Saint Nicholas all are considered to be patrons of brewing.
+ Emperor Charlemagne, the ruler of the Christian kingdom around 770 AD considered beer to be an important part of living, and is often thought to have trained Christian brewers himself.
+ In Scotland, the first evidence of whisky production comes from an entry in the Exchequer Rolls for 1494 where malt is sent “To Friar John Cor, by order of the king, to make aquavitae”, enough to make about 500 bottles.
+ The earliest evidence of the distillation of alcohol comes from the School of Salerno (Monastery)in southern Italy in the 12th century.

Mark 2:22
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but new wine is for fresh skins.”

Sources: Lumen, Wikipedia