&gt;But how did people bake the same thing multiple times<p>They didn&#x27;t. The concept of food or beverages that taste the same, no matter when or where they&#x27;re made is an extremely modern invention. It really only came about in the late 19th and early 20th century when industrial processes, statistical techniques, and physical sensors became well developed enough to reasonably guarantee the same outcome over and over again, for run after run. Prior to that, people just accepted a greater level of inconsistency in their foods, because that&#x27;s all they&#x27;d ever known.