"We are what we eat," Hippocrates said. Here is the astonishing world history of foods, cuisines, and flavors. et saveurs du monde. From the domestication of corn circa 4000 BCE to 21st-century alimentary biotechnologies, from the introduction of chocolate in Spain during the Age of Exploration to recent openings of Japanese in Europe, the history of culinary practices blends into histories of culture, trade, and climate, not to mention different food traditions around the world. For eating is not only a biological necessity, it is also a cultural act.