When did hot/ cooking food become common?
Discussion
Was chatting/ thinking about this after rushing to serve dinner to keep it all hot.
When did hot become the done thing? We like things to be piping hot all the time but who realised hot was best? I can only assume that early man got fed up with raw meat & veg and decided to put it in the fire?
Odd question, but does anyone know the history behind the (early) creation of ovens and hot food?
.........I'm not normally this dull. Honest.
When did hot become the done thing? We like things to be piping hot all the time but who realised hot was best? I can only assume that early man got fed up with raw meat & veg and decided to put it in the fire?
Odd question, but does anyone know the history behind the (early) creation of ovens and hot food?
.........I'm not normally this dull. Honest.
jmorgan said:
Some TV program was going on about Neanderthal types eating raw OK, our branch of humanity prefer the breakdown in the food heat causes. Evolution?
They said that Neanderthals, because of their size and big brains (bigger than ours) needed twice as much nutrition. So I expect cooking wasted valuable hunting/eating time!There could also be evolutionary pressure in that infected meat would cause illness or death, so people who cooked their meat had a lower mortality rate.
What I can't figure out is how Ray Mears got back there to light the fire for them.
I would think it would have gone hand in hand with the discovery of fire. I also like the forest fire idea.
As for cooking times they probably experemented with different times but to be honest non of them would have a watch.
Probably why cooking food underground on hot rocks was so popular as the timing probably didn't matter so much, give or take 1/2 hour
As for cooking times they probably experemented with different times but to be honest non of them would have a watch.
Probably why cooking food underground on hot rocks was so popular as the timing probably didn't matter so much, give or take 1/2 hour
I think the really interesting question is not "when did we start cooking?" but "why do we cook?"
There are certain behaviours that are, as far as we know, totally unique to humans. One of them is the ability to describe events in the past. Another is the existence of languages made up of symbols whose meaning changes according to context. And another is the cooking of food.
Some anthropologists say it's because cooked meat is faster and easier to eat than raw meat. It also requires less energy to digest. This allowed human teeth and jaws to be smaller, and the consumption of calories to be more efficient. This meant in turn that humans could spend less time eating and more time doing useful stuff. This link is well worth a read, although slightly heavy going in places
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/books/27garn.htm...
Others point out that in some cases, cooking is not about taste or efficiency but is part of a totemic ritual, the idea being to remove all traces of blood from the raw meat. In many cultures, the presence or absence of blood is highly symbolic, and is linked to female menstruation and fertility.
There are certain behaviours that are, as far as we know, totally unique to humans. One of them is the ability to describe events in the past. Another is the existence of languages made up of symbols whose meaning changes according to context. And another is the cooking of food.
Some anthropologists say it's because cooked meat is faster and easier to eat than raw meat. It also requires less energy to digest. This allowed human teeth and jaws to be smaller, and the consumption of calories to be more efficient. This meant in turn that humans could spend less time eating and more time doing useful stuff. This link is well worth a read, although slightly heavy going in places
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/books/27garn.htm...
Others point out that in some cases, cooking is not about taste or efficiency but is part of a totemic ritual, the idea being to remove all traces of blood from the raw meat. In many cultures, the presence or absence of blood is highly symbolic, and is linked to female menstruation and fertility.
AmitG said:
Others point out that in some cases, cooking is not about taste or efficiency but is part of a totemic ritual,
Yeah right, -next you'll be telling us that the male predeliction for dominating a barbecue satisfies some persistent, ancient genetic memory and instinct to feed the tribe and signify alpha male status.AmitG said:
This meant in turn that humans could spend less time eating and more time doing useful stuff.
Taken to its extreme, eating Pot Noodles and texting!captainzep said:
Yeah right, -next you'll be telling us that the male predeliction for dominating a barbecue satisfies some persistent, ancient genetic memory and instinct to feed the tribe and signify alpha male status.
It probably is... coming back from Tescos doesn't have the same 'woohah' as dragging home a dead bison.captainzep said:
Yeah right, -next you'll be telling us that the male predeliction for dominating a barbecue satisfies some persistent, ancient genetic memory and instinct to feed the tribe and signify alpha male status.
Actually, good point. The tongs stand in for the spear. Apart from those splitters that like to use gas, next rung on the evolutionary ladder methinks?
Same question could be asked about most things.
Who thought of grinding up coffee beans having roasted them, to then put in hot water, sieve and drink?
Who thought of drying out tobacco and lighting it in a little piece of paper?
I know most of these things are tribal, but imagine being THE guy who started it all off.
Who thought of grinding up coffee beans having roasted them, to then put in hot water, sieve and drink?
Who thought of drying out tobacco and lighting it in a little piece of paper?
I know most of these things are tribal, but imagine being THE guy who started it all off.
AmitG said:
I think the really interesting question is not "when did we start cooking?" but "why do we cook?"
There are certain behaviours that are, as far as we know, totally unique to humans. One of them is the ability to describe events in the past. Another is the existence of languages made up of symbols whose meaning changes according to context. And another is the cooking of food.
Some anthropologists say it's because cooked meat is faster and easier to eat than raw meat. It also requires less energy to digest. This allowed human teeth and jaws to be smaller, and the consumption of calories to be more efficient. This meant in turn that humans could spend less time eating and more time doing useful stuff. This link is well worth a read, although slightly heavy going in places
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/books/27garn.htm...
Others point out that in some cases, cooking is not about taste or efficiency but is part of a totemic ritual, the idea being to remove all traces of blood from the raw meat. In many cultures, the presence or absence of blood is highly symbolic, and is linked to female menstruation and fertility.
this- especially the first bit There are certain behaviours that are, as far as we know, totally unique to humans. One of them is the ability to describe events in the past. Another is the existence of languages made up of symbols whose meaning changes according to context. And another is the cooking of food.
Some anthropologists say it's because cooked meat is faster and easier to eat than raw meat. It also requires less energy to digest. This allowed human teeth and jaws to be smaller, and the consumption of calories to be more efficient. This meant in turn that humans could spend less time eating and more time doing useful stuff. This link is well worth a read, although slightly heavy going in places
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/books/27garn.htm...
Others point out that in some cases, cooking is not about taste or efficiency but is part of a totemic ritual, the idea being to remove all traces of blood from the raw meat. In many cultures, the presence or absence of blood is highly symbolic, and is linked to female menstruation and fertility.
cooking food means we can eat a far larger diet than many other mammals- this gives us a significant natural advantage when hunting and gathering- we can occupy niches where other animals cannot succeed. Also cooking and curing means food lasts a lot longer- you can dry meat and it will last years, rather than days= (and it gives your muscles a good work out when you eat it lol).
its all about evolutionary advantage....
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