Everything produced has a provenance. But why is the question of origin far from banal for consumers, and rather crucial to how people valorize food specialties? And did place of origin matter in pre-modern times? Why did Gruyere cheese last, while spiced bread from Reims was only a temporary success? These are among the legitimate questions that L’unique et le véritable raises and, with a comprehensive mass of historical evidence, answers. In doing so, the study is a primer on why the provenance of food mattered for consumers in early modern France and Europe, shedding light on how regional specialties gained reputation. Reputation can here be defined as the opinion commonly conferred to foods, even by people who never tasted them. In this sense, reputation is the motor that sets products into motion across time and space. It is not necessarily synonymous with high value since bulk goods, such as...

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