Why do many traditional cuisines rely so heavily on meat even though it has been scarce for most of history?

Question

Why do many traditional cuisines rely so heavily on meat even though it has been scarce for most of history?

In: 14

Answer 1

The problem is likely to be “what is traditional cuisine?”. And here we have an implicit bias – almost a survivorship bias.

Meat, in poor areas, is a luxury and usually something celebrated over. Because of that it sticks in the memory and is revered. Over time, it becomes the “traditional dish” because it was uncommon to have and only eaten during celebrations. It takes on an emotional and social significance of its own.

You are right that meat was a luxury for many cultures and that is probably exactly why meat dishes become exemplified. Preparing the dish was important, learning how to cook it properly was important etc etc.