Tag: food

The Origin of the Piggy Bank

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During the 15th century, the English would often store coins within pygg pots or containers. During the 18th century these vessels became referred to as “piggy banks” which is where the modern day term is derived from. Piggy banks were called as such because of the pygg they were comprised of which is a type of clay, an inexpensive, orange colored earthenware clay used to produce everyday vessels within England from the 15th century onward (e.g. pitchers, cups, pots etc.). The primary reason for this is that metal has been costly all throughout history, due to the difficulty of sourcing and producing it from ore, and because of this expense, alongside the fact that pygg is more commonly available and found in larger quantities throughout England, the English public relied upon pygg containers to hold not only food and liquids but also spare coins and other small treasures

The Advent and Evolution of Noodles Within China

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The oldest known noodles ever discovered were found in China and date back 4000 years, discovered virtually fully preserved in a sealed bowl buried beneath sediment. These noodles were not made of wheat but rather from millet, which provides insight into early culinary traditions of the ancient world. These millet based noodles were distinct from future varieties which relied upon wheat, reflecting the grains available in ancient China during the period. This discovery demonstrates the early noodle making techniques which became refined over the coming centuries. By 400 B.C., noodles existed across Asia, likely produced by mixing flour and water into a dough. In comparison to the noodles from 400 B.C., which were likely produced using wheat or other grains and kneaded into dough, the 4000 year old noodles appeared to have been hand pulled and stretched into thin strands rather than being cut. By 400 B.C., more structured noodle cutting methods had emerged, allowing for different regional styles and preparations of noodles to develop (e.g. Lamian which is a hand pulled noodle still popular during the modern day, Dao Xiao Mian which is shaved directly from a block of dough, Biang Biang Mian which is known for its wide belt like shape etc.). These discoveries highlight not only the ingenuity of early civilizations but also the evolution of food production and technologies to produce said food. The shift from millet based noodles to flour based dough reflects advancements in milling, agricultural practices, and culinary techniques, demonstrating how food has continuously adapted over time to the resources available to local populations

The Role of Dabbawalas Within Indian Society

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Indian railways are unique in that they have what are referred to as “dabbawalas” which means “lunch box men” in Hindi as the term “dabba” means “box” or in this case “lunch box” in Hindi and the term “wala” means “man” in Hindi. These dabbawalas deliver food which has been cooked by the loved ones of the people who are eating it (e.g. spouse who cooks food while their significant other commutes to work. The first spouse has that food delivered to second spouse so that it is hot and ready to eat after having started the work day). This system works extraordinarily well as holding a bag while traveling upon any Indian train is nearly impossible due to the volume of people who use the railway each day. There are 5000 dabbawalas in Mumbai, India and this collective makes an astounding 200,000 deliveries per day, equating to each member of the group making an average of 40 deliveries each. Each dabbawala carries approximately 145 lbs. of food daily. The system is actually quiet elegant as some members pick up food, some members commute on trains with food, some members travel by bike or other vehicle with food, and all members typically share responsibility in that they trade meals if they run across a partner who is traveling the direction in which they need to go. This helps boost efficiency and allows for more income to be generated than if these individuals decided to work solo. Food is often marked with specialized code words so that dabbawalas know where something came from and where it is intended to be. Food is typically prepared by a clients wife, mother, or sister, but as India is changing and more women enter the workforce, shifts in who fills which role are beginning to emerge. Those who do not have a significant other at home who is available to cook for them will often have food prepared by restaurants or hotels and delivered via dabbawala. It typically costs 550 Indian Rupees ($7.75) per month which is affordable and within reach for most Indian citizens as even lower income members of society like dabbawalas earn 13,700 Indian Rupees ($192.00) per month. This system continues to flourish even as India moves into the 21st century with modern fast food and traditional restaurant establishments available to most people, as the cost is generally lower than eating out and the quality of the food is virtually always healthier. This is one of many reasons as to why leaders within this sector of business believe that the continued vitality of the industry will continue to last into the foreseeable future

Weight Loss During Periods of Starvation or Fasting

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1 in 210 obese men and 1 in 124 obese women will lose weight following restrictive caloric diets. That is a failure rate of 99.5% for men and 99.2% for women. These values are even lower for those suffering from morbid obesity. Studies have demonstrated that 4 days of continuous fasting does not drop basal metabolic rates, rather it increases metabolic rate by approximately 12%. This mechanism is purposely designed by evolution because a metabolism which slows down greatly due to gaps in finding food, would cause lethargy and eventually death to the organism. Animals are programmed to increase metabolic rates during periods of starvation as a way to ensure the body continues to forage and hunt for food. Whilst fasted, the human body first burns glycogen found within the liver, then moves to body fat and muscle, and then finally more essential parts of the body like tissues and organs when all other non-essential resources have been exhausted. Fasting increases weight loss by 6x in comparison to caloric restriction

The Commonality Between Herbivores and Size

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The largest land animals on Earth today are all herbivores, but this was also true during the age of the dinosaurs. In descending order, the 5 largest living herbivores are the African elephant, the African bush elephant, the Asian elephant, the white rhinoceros, and the hippopotamus. The only living animals which are larger in size than these creatures are whales. Whales are not herbivores, but being a herbivore within the ocean is actually quite uncommon. The only reason whales are able to become larger than the largest land-dwelling mammals is because of the way that the ocean displaces gravity, therefore providing resistance to the pull which would under normal circumstances cause whales to collapse under their own weight. The primary reason the largest land animals are herbivores is because of food resources. There are a staggering amount of plant resources made abundant for herbivores in comparison to the relatively small amount of protein rich resources available to carnivores. Plant resources are also quickly renewable unlike protein resources. Herbivores are apt to survive predation as they increase in size whilst carnivores actually become hindered as they increase in size due to the fact that they become slower and less agile making their ability to catch prey severely reduced

The Etymology of “Seasoning”

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The people of Gaul which is modern day France, part of Belgium, western Germany, and northern Italy, discovered that various foods could be improved by aging them using a process referred to as “saisonner” which means “passing of the seasons” in German. After being conquered by the Normans in 1066, the British adopted this new aging process and referred to it as “seasoning”. With the introduction of Middle Eastern spices brought by returning Crusaders during the 13th century, seasoning took on the meaning of “anything which embellishes the taste of food”

The Visual Capability of Toads

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If a toad is put into a tank with dead worms, it will starve to death because it won’t recognize the worms as food. Toads have evolved to only see horizontal lines moving as food. This theory was tested in the 1970’s, when scientists put a toad in a glass jar and had a vertical line pass by to which the toad did nothing, almost as if it has no clue of the line in front of it which looked like a worm standing straight up. Once the line was changed to become horizontal, the toad immediately tried to eat the horizontal line which mimicked a wormlike insect. Toads have a very unsophisticated visual spectrum. They basically think that if whatever they’re looking at appears to be a worm, then chances are it is and that it’s safe to ingest. This visual model is flawed because the toad is easily fooled giving it a disadvantage both in catching prey, and in becoming prey