With today's GMO's and MSG and all that I was wondering how going out to eat would have been different for someone last century/the 'middle ages'/ancient times.
-I ask for the last century because that's roughly when 'fast food' became a thing. So how would it have tasted different than today(like McDonalds' first burger vs. one I pick up today)?
-Food prep, food preserving, and old/different seasonings and ingredients(nowadays bacon, avocado, sriracha etc is optional) would have made food taste different from now right?
-I guess I start to imagine a convergence here. If(especially half a Millenium and further ago) there was no refrigeration/strong preservation techniques, I see everything being cooked on the fly and tasting much fresher. So at what point was something "gourmet" in older times?
Sorry if this feels overstuffed!
The concept of fast food is only 100 years old.
GMOs are irrelevant to this issue. The only GM derived ingredient used are oils and sweeteners and those are functionally identical to non-GM types.
MSG is a natural component in many foods, it isn't an artificial additive.
I've been staring at this question for a week, and I don't think I can begin to answer it - any answer would have to be a complete history of food. Could I request that you repost it as a few separate questions?
I'd suggest:
"How has fast food changed since it was first introduced?"
"How have new flavours and fashionable foods (bacon, avocado, sriracha) changed fast food since its introduction?"
"What sorts of foods were 'gourmet' before the introduction of refrigeration/strong preservation techniques?"
And possibly the latter would be better with a place attached to it, so:
"What sorts of foods were 'gourmet' in Western Europe before the introduction of refrigeration/strong preservation techniques?"
"What sorts of foods were 'gourmet' in the United States before the introduction of refrigeration/strong preservation techniques?"
This will at least allow people to provide something in the direction you're looking for. However, even in the meantime, I commend to your attention a new book, Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine, by Sarah Lohman, which will answer a lot of the general gist of your question.