 Geographical variation in eating was primarily the result of differences in climate, political administration, and local customs that varied across the continent.Though sweeping generalizations should be avoided, more or less distinct areas where certain foodstuffs dominated can be discerned.In the British Isles, northern France, the Low Countries, the northern German-speaking areas, Scandinavia and the Baltic, the climate was generally too harsh for the cultivation of grapes and olives.