From Smoked Mastodon to Salt Pork Mill Mastodon affumikat lill-Majjal Melħ

Questions about the value and safety of different categories of food are especially difficult to answer because people have been modifying foods almost since the dawn of civilization. Mistoqsijiet dwar il-valur u s-sigurtà ta 'kategoriji differenti ta' ikel huma partikolarment diffiċli li twieġeb għaliex in-nies kienu timmodifika ikel kważi mill-bidunett taċ-ċiviltà. In fact, without certain types of food modification, the human species might never have survived on Earth. Fil-fatt, mingħajr ċerti tipi ta 'modifika tal-ikel, l-ispeċi umana qatt ma jista baqgħu ħajjin fid-Dinja.

By far the most common and oldest type of food modification used by humans is food preservation. Sa fejn l-aktar tip komuni u l-eqdem ta 'modifika ikel użat mill-bnedmin huwa preservazzjoni ikel. Imagine, for instance, a community of early humans in northern Europe trying to survive a long, cold winter with no method for preserving food. Immaġina, per eżempju, komunità tal-bnedmin kmieni fl-Ewropa ta tipprova jgħixu twil, xitwa kiesħa bl-ebda metodu għall-preservazzjoni ikel. Or picture a group of hunters in tropical Africa who have just killed a huge animal that could provide them with meals for weeks. Jew stampa grupp ta 'kaċċaturi tropikali Afrika li għadhom kemm qatel annimal enormi li tista' tagħtihom l-ikel għall-ġimgħat. In both cases, men and women faced the problem of preserving food that has become available at one time for use at a later time—often, much later. Fiż-żewġ każijiet, irġiel u nisa jiffaċċjaw il-problema tal preservazzjoni ta 'ikel li sar disponibbli fl-istess ħin għall-użu fi stadju aktar ħin ta' spiss, ħafna aktar tard.

Over the millennia, people have discovered a variety of methods for keeping food from "going bad"—in other words, decaying. Matul il-millenji, in-nies skoprew varjetà ta 'metodi għaż-żamma ikel minn "jmorru ħażin"-fi kliem ieħor, jitmermer. Cooking, smoking, freezing, and drying were among the earliest food preservation techniques. , Tisjir tipjip, l-iffriżar, u tnixxif kienu fost il-metodi kmieni preservazzjoni ikel. The use of a broad range of spices, the most important of which was salt, also proved effective as a way of preserving foods. L-użu ta 'firxa wiesgħa ta' ħwawar, l-aktar importanti minnhom kien melħ, wkoll ippruvat effettiv bħala mezz ta 'ikel preservazzjoni.

Although early humans developed a variety of methods for preserving food, it is doubtful that they knew anything about the mechanisms by which such techniques preserved foods; they simply knew that they worked. Għalkemm bnedmin kmieni żviluppa varjetà ta 'metodi għall-preservazzjoni ta' ikel, huwa dubjuż li dawn kienu jafu xejn dwar il-mekkaniżmi li permezz tagħhom tali tekniki ippriservat ikel; huma sempliċiment kienu jafu li huma maħduma. Deeper understanding did not come about until the 19th century, when researchers such as the French chemist Louis Pasteur (1822-95) and the German bacteriologist Robert Koch (1843-1910) discovered the role of microorganisms in the decay of organic material and the spread of disease. Fehim iktar profond, ma seħħitx sa l-seklu 19, meta riċerkaturi bħall-Pasteur ispiżjar Franċiż Louis (1822-1895) u l-Ġermaniż bacteriologist Robert Koch (1843-1910) skopra l-irwol ta 'mikroorganiżmi fil-tmermir ta' materjal organiku u l-firxa ta 'mard. These scientists were able to show that certain environmental conditions favored the growth of bacteria (heat and moisture), while others discouraged their survival (cool temperatures and a dry environment). Dawn xjenzati kienu kapaċi juru li l-kondizzjonijiet ambjentali ta 'ċerti iffavorixxa l-tkabbir tal-batterji (sħana u umdità), filwaqt li oħrajn skoraġġuti sopravivenza tagħhom (temperaturi jibred u ambjent xott).

This information helped explain the success of various food preservation techniques. Din l-informazzjoni għen jispjega s-suċċess ta 'tekniki varji preservazzjoni ikel. For example, drying preserves foods because it removes much of the moisture that bacteria need to grow. Per eżempju, it-tnixxif priżervi ikel minħabba li jneħħi ħafna mill-umdità li batterji jeħtieġ li jikber. Freezing works because it lowers the temperature of food to the point that the growth of bacteria is severely inhibited. Iffriżar xogħlijiet minħabba li jbaxxi t-temperatura ta 'ikel sal-punt li t-tkabbir tal-batterji hija severament inibita. Spices are effective for a variety of reasons, one being that they may release chemical compounds that are toxic to bacteria; cloves, for example, release a compound called eugenol that slows the growth of bacteria. Ħwawar huma effettivi għall-varjetà ta 'raġunijiet, wieħed minnhom li jistgħu jirrilaxxaw komposti kimiċi li huma tossiċi għall-batterji; sinniet, per eżempju, rilaxx kompost imsejħa euġenol li jxekkel it-tkabbir tal-batterji. And smoking food preserves it because smoke, like spices, contains a number of chemicals that inhibit the growth of bacteria. U l-ikel tipjip priżervi għaliex duħħan, bħal ħwawar, fih numru ta 'kimiċi li jinibixxu t-tkabbir tal-batterji. One of the most widely used of modern synthetic preservatives, butylated hy-droxyanisole (BHA), is a natural component of smoke. Wieħed mill-aktar użati ta 'preservattivi sintetiċi moderni, butylated hy droxyanisole (BHA), huwa komponent naturali ta' duħħan.