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To come back to Maurizio, who does not contest the religious and cultural dimension of bread in Europe, he rightly recalls the importance of ''bouillies'' (mushes or porridges) – liquid or thick, sweet or sour –, and composed of various vegetal products. He calls the lightest ones bouillons (broths) and soupes. Along with ''crêpes'' and ''galettes'', porridges long represented another way of eating cereal grains, particularly among the poor. As for bread, he paid special attention to the way leavened dough was prepared, to the cooking or baking techniques, as well as to the social hierarchies linked to cereal grains and the types of flour used, such as the high value once placed on white bread in Western Europe – which is no longer the case today. Maurizio also looks into the way bread was made, whether in the household or by craft bakers. The two could be combined: in the Swiss Grisons (Graubünden) in the late 19th and early 20th century, women kneaded bread at home then went to have loaves baked “in great numbers” in the bakeries, considered by their husbands as “chatting salons” (2019, p. 503 et Index)! Other aspects deal with roasted grains, cereals grinding methods, spice breads, and famine breads when non-bread making plants are added. He devotes much effort to fermentations that transform and conserve solid or liquid products (vegetables, porridges, breads, drinks, condiments, etc.). Today, we are rediscovering the nutritional interest of some of these <ref>C. Aubert, author of the Preface to this re-edition of Maurizio, ''Les aliments fermentés traditionnels. Une richesse méconnue'', Paris, Terre Vivante, 1985.</ref>.

Mediterranean and tropical countries are little represented, outside of the study of gathered plants (wild asparagus, grasses, etc.). Still, Maurizio describes precisely the preparation of “koukoussou” in the Maghreb with wheat flour, maize, sorghum or oats. He classifies these “sorts of spherical noodles” in the category of food pasta <ref>[As also the case in current studies: according to F. Sabban and S. Serventi, “food pasta products are set in a continuum running from couscous to vermicelli” in ''Les pâtes. Histoire d’une culture universelle'', Arles, Actes Sud, 2001, p. 67. Also see M. Oubahli, ''La main et le pétrin. Alimentation céréalière et pratiques culinaires en Occident musulman au Moyen Âge'', Casablanca, Fondation du Roi Abdul-Aziz Al Saoud pour les Etudes Islamiques et les Sciences Humaines, 2012, chap. VII, Deuxième partie, « Ces pâtes qu’on appelle couscous ».]</ref>. This staple food, the production of which requires much work and skill, is eaten with various condiments and as a travel food. He notes it is present in the Sahel, based on “millet” – that is to say pearl millet, ''Pennisetum glaucum'' <ref>[Long called ''Pennisetum glaucum'' (L.) R. Br., the botanical name of pearl millet changed recently. Belonging to the genus of ''Cenchrus'', it was renamed ''Cenchrus americanus'' (L.) Morrone by some authors in 2010. However, this new name is not unanimously accepted: see discussion in M. Chauvet, [[:fr:Pennisetum glaucum|Pl@ntUse]].]</ref> – or sorghum (2019, p. 476-478). This should especially be noticed, since Sahelian couscous is not well known <ref>See M. Chastanet, « Couscous ‘à la sahélienne’ (Sénégal, Mali, Mauritanie) », in H. Franconie, M. Chastanet et F. Sigaut F. (éd.), ''Couscous, boulgour et polenta. Transformer et consommer les céréales dans le monde'', Paris, Karthala, 2010, p. 149-187.</ref>.