Category Science

               Many years before pasteurisation was discovered, the French inventor Nicolas Appert found a method of sterilizing foods by keeping them in glass Jars and heating them. It was actually a form of pasteurization as he heated the food to kill bacteria in it.

               Appert’s jars were soon replaced by cans made out of tin plate. Peter Durand received the first patent for the idea of canned food. First it was introduced in the UK, and later in 1818 it was introduced in the US.

              Initially cans were completely sealed except for a small opening knob on the top. Before soldering the food was heated to boiling point. Then the cans were reheated. The earlier versions of cans were not safe at that time. However, canning food was cheap and convenient. It gained popularity very easily.

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               Even primitive cave men used to eat dried meat. They hung mammoth carcasses to dry in the wind, and then took them inside for cool storage. Syrians, Iranians, and Palestinians started using dried cereals, figs, and grapes by 8000 BC.

               It was during the 3rd millennium BC that salt was first used to preserve game birds and fish in the Nile valley. During the Iron Age itself, Britons started salting their foods in order to preserve them during the intense winter.

               A special brine of salt was made and used by the Egyptians to pickle meat. Sauerkraut, made by fermenting shredded cabbage, was the first form of pickle in Europe. However, sauerkraut lost its demand in Europe gradually. Later, the Chinese introduced the famous pickled cabbage called kimchi.

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               The cultivation of the cocoa tree began over 3,000 years ago by the Mayan, Toltec, and Aztec people. They were experts in making ceremonial beverages using cocoa beans. They also used the cocoa bean as currency. The Mayans considered chocolate to be the food of the gods.

               In Europe Spain was the first country to produce chocolate. However, at that time chocolate was enjoyed as a beverage. Chocolates in solid form were first made by Italian and French confectioners. Later, Italians started making them into rolls and slices. In 1819, Francois-Louis Cailler became the first person to produce chocolates in a factory.

               It was in 1876 that the first white chocolate was made by Daniel Peter of Switzerland. He added dried milk to make milk chocolate. Later, many varieties of chocolates were made all over the world.

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               Coffee as a beverage was quite popular among the Arabs during the 15th century. However, it is believed that coffee was first introduced in Yemen, during the 10th century.

               The ancient Ethiopians used to carry balls made of crushed coffee beans and fat during long journeys. It was only in 1644 that coffee became popular in parts of Europe, beginning with France. Britain’s first coffee-house, The Angel, opened in Oxford in 1650.

               Originally, coffee of the best quality came from Yemen’s Mocha and Aden regions. However, in the early 17th century, plants were introduced from there into the Dutch colony of Java in Indonesia, and into French colonies in the Indian Ocean.

               During the 18th century, coffee arrived in the Americas. The Arabs were exceptionally keen on coffee making. They mixed coffee and water, heated several times to boiling point, and left the ground beans to settle before drinking. This made the coffee taste richer. It was in France, during the 18th century, that the first proper coffee making utensil was developed. It was a two sectioned device, which could separate the ground beans and hot water, to produce a smoother drink.

               Later, the device became popularly known as cafeteria. In 1806, Count Rumford devised the true coffee percolator.

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               The interesting story about the origin of tea goes like this- once the Chinese emperor Shen Nung was relaxing under a tree, while his servants were boiling water for him to drink. The emperor, who was a renowned herbalist, noticed that some leaves from the tree fell into the water accidentally. Shen Nung told his servants that he would like to try the flavour of that accidentally created drink. The tree was Camellia sinensis, which is native to the foothills of the Himalayas, and the drink made was what we now call tea.

               It is believed that the Chinese first gathered the leaves from the wild, and only in AD 350 did they started cultivating tea plants. Soon, tea became popular in the Far East. There was even a popular tea ceremony in Japan during the 15th century. The Dutch and Portuguese popularized tea among the Europeans in the 16th century.

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            From 3000 BC onwards Indians started refining sugar. Many imperial convoys used to visit India in order to learn how sugar is produced. It is said that the soldiers of Alexander the Great, who invaded India in 327 BC, were the first Europeans to taste sugar.

            The exact origin of sugar is still under dispute. Some theories say it was first found in the Bay of Bengal, and others say the Solomon Islands were where it was first found. However, Indians were the first to cultivate sugar cane.

            During the 5th century BC, the Arabs started making loaves out of sugar from India. It was around AD 800, when Arabs conquered Spain, that sugar was commercialized in parts of Europe. Later, sugar became a part of the kitchens of the wealthy Europeans. Soon, the European powers started cultivating sugar cane in their colonies.

            By the 18th century, all economic classes started using sugar in their day-to-day cooking. Initially, it was used in sweetening dishes. Later, sugar became an essential part of drinks and food like coffee, tea, cakes and biscuits.

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