November 7, 2020

Some Milestones in Food Technology

Here are some milestones in food technology 18000 B.C. Pottery Vessels Invention of pottery vessels. The earliest vessels were probably used just for cooking before the development of impermeable ceramics made them suitable for long-term storage. (“Dishwasher safe” is, however, still a work in progress.) 7500 B.C. Agricultural Revolution The beginning of the agricultural revolution. Raising crops allowed people to shift away from a migratory existence. Due to this there was time available for all sorts of other ideas to occur to us, setting the stage for civilizations to develop. 6000 B.C. Irrigation The regular flooding of the Nile river started… Read More »Some Milestones in Food Technology

Bacteria and Plants: Master Chemists

Bacteria and Plants are the master chemists. They synthesize mind boggling variety of macromolecules based compounds like sugars, proteins, lipids and enzymes using simple chemicals present in the medium and soil as the starting materials. Some of them take mineral carbon in the form of CO2 and water and partition it into products of great use e.g. proteins, sugars, lipids and hydrocarbons. As opposed to the their counterparts in the laboratory which can create optimum conditions like high temperature and pressure required for the reactions, they do the same synthesis under the prevailing conditions using enzymes which they synthesize in… Read More »Bacteria and Plants: Master Chemists

Clarified Butter or Ghee

In India, clarified butter is the most eminent of all foods. It is mentioned in the Vedas as one of the most important ingredients along with honey for holy rituals. Aryans who entered into Punjab from the West were village dwellers and reared the cattle. This was in contrast to the stable city life the people of the Indus valley civilization lived before them. As the cattle herds required pastures for grazing, these people were always on the move and spread into whole of Punjab and then towards Ganges valley. Many stories and epics revolve around the possession of more… Read More »Clarified Butter or Ghee