Introduction Introduzzjoni

Few topics interest so many different people in so many different ways as does the subject of food. Interess suġġetti Ftit daqstant nies differenti ħafna fil hekk f'ħafna modi differenti kif ma jagħmel is-suġġett ta 'ikel. Of course, people need to eat to stay alive, grow and develop, and maintain good health. Naturalment, in-nies jeħtieġ li jieklu li tissospendi ħajjin, jikbru u jiżviluppaw, u jżommu saħħa tajba. This need presents ongoing challenges for humans: finding ways of growing crops and raising animals in the most efficient way in the conditions available, inventing methods for competing successfully against plant and animals that also consume the crops and animals on which humans depend, developing methods for preserving foods to make sure they will be available at all times of the year, and so on. Din il-ħtieġa jippreżenta sfidi kontinwi għall-bnedmin: li nsibu modi ta 'tkabbir ta' prodotti u trobbija ta 'annimali bl-aktar mod effiċjenti fil-kondizzjonijiet disponibbli, invenzjoni metodi għall-kompetizzjoni b'suċċess kontra pjanti u annimali li wkoll jikkunsmaw l-għelejjel u annimali li fuqhom jiddependi l-bniedem, jiżviluppaw metodi għall preservazzjoni ikel sabiex jiġi żgurat li se jkunu disponibbli fil-ħinijiet kollha tas-sena, u l-bqija.

It should be no surprise, then, to discover that a number of chemical techniques used to grow and process foods today have their roots in human cultures of many centuries ago. Għandu jkun hemm ebda sorpriża, allura, li jiskopru li għadd ta 'tekniki kimiċi użati biex jikbru u l-proċess ikel illum għandhom l-għeruq tagħhom fil-kulturi tal-bniedem ta' sekli ilu. We tend to think of spices as substances used primarily to enhance the flavor of foods. Aħna naħseb ta 'ħwawar bħala sustanzi użati primarjament biex itejbu l-togħma ta' ikel. While they do enhance flavor, many spices were first used as food additives because of their ability to reduce spoilage; their primary purpose was to preserve food. Filwaqt li dawn ma jtejbu t-togħma, ħwawar ħafna kienu l-ewwel użata bħala addittivi minħabba l-kapaċità tagħhom li jnaqqsu it-taħsir; iskop primarju tagħhom kien li tippreserva l-ikel. Drying, salting, and smoking are other methods of food preservation still widely used that have origins extending to the earliest years of human existence. It-tnixxif, u t-tipjip huma metodi oħra ta 'preservazzjoni ikel xorta użati ħafna li għandhom oriġini jestendu għall-ewwel snin ta' eżistenza tal-bniedem.

Once a person's basic need for food for survival has been met, foods serve a number of other functions. Ladarba ħtieġa bażika ta 'persuna għall-ikel għas-sopravivenza ġiet sodisfatta, l-ikel iservu numru ta' funzjonijiet oħra. Meals are often the central event in the life of a family, a neighborhood, or a community, occasions when people can come together to share essential elements in their lives. Ikliet spiss huma l-avveniment ċentrali fil-ħajja ta 'familja, lokal, jew komunità, okkażjonijiet meta n-nies jistgħu jiltaqgħu biex jaqsmu elementi essenzjali fil-ħajja tagħhom. Those events range from the religious, such as the seder served by Jews during the Passover, to the more secular, such as the Thanksgiving dinner shared in many American homes. Dawk firxa avvenimenti mill-. Reliġjużi, bħall-Seder moqdija minn Lhud matul il-Passover, lill-aktar sekulari, bħall-pranzu Thanksgiving maqsuma fid-djar Amerikana ħafna The host of cookbooks on every imaginable type of cuisine and food preparation Il ospitanti ta 'cookbooks fuq kull tip immaġinabbli ta' kċina u l-ikel preparazzjoni

now available attests to the fact that foods are more than simply a means of survival today. issa disponibbli jiċċertifika l-fatt li l-ikel huma aktar minn sempliċiment mezz ta 'sopravivenza llum. They have become as important a part of our culture, at least to some people, as sports, politics, or work. Huma saru bħala parti importanti tal-kultura tagħna, mill-inqas li xi nies, kif l-isports, politika, jew xogħol.

Food preparation in the 21st century is, of course, more than simply an extension of the methods developed by primitive peoples centuries ago. Preparazzjoni ta 'ikel fis-seklu 21 hija, ovvjament, aktar milli sempliċement estensjoni tal-metodi żviluppati mill-popli primittivi sekli ilu. Indeed, it has become a complex scientific industry that owes as much to the development of modern chemistry as it does to folk traditions and customs. Tabilħaqq, din saret industrija xjentifiċi kumplessi li jaf kif ħafna għall-iżvilupp tal-kimika moderna kif ukoll għal tradizzjonijiet folkloristiċi u doganali. The food industry had its origins in the late 1800s, when chemists began to make discoveries concerning the way in which crops were grown, animals bred and raised, and food processed for human consumption. L-industrija tal-ikel kienet l-oriġini tagħha fil-1800s tard, meta kimiċi beda jagħmel skoperti dwar il-mod li bih uċuħ kienu mkabbra, annimali mrobbija u mrobbija, u ikel ipproċessat għall-konsum uman. Chemicals were discovered that added color, flavor, or texture to foods; that retarded decay; that improved the nutritional value of foods; and, in some cases, actually replaced certain natural foods. Kimiċi ġew skoperti li l-kulur miżjuda, togħma, jew texture ikel; li tmermir ritardata; li tejbu l-valur nutrittiv ta 'ikel u, f'xi każijiet, tasal sostitwit ikel naturali.

Over the past two centuries, chemists have continued to push forward the frontiers of food design and development. Matul l-aħħar żewġ sekli, kimiċi komplew timbotta 'l quddiem il-fruntieri ta' disinn ikel u l-iżvilupp. Today, virtually every technique that is available to the industrial or research chemist is employed by the food chemist to modify the composition of natural foods or even to create new foods with no counterpart in the real world. Illum, prattikament kull teknika li hija disponibbli lill-ispiżjar industrijali jew riċerka huwa impjegat mill-ispiżjar ikel li jimmodifika l-kompożizzjoni ta 'ikel naturali jew anke li joħolqu l-ikel ġodda bl-ebda kontroparti fid-dinja reali. One of the great challenges for consumers in the 21st century is to learn more about and decide how to use the host of synthetic and semisynthetic foods now available to them. Waħda mill-isfidi kbar għall-konsumaturi fis-seklu 21 huwa li jitgħallmu aktar dwar u tiddeċiedi kif tuża l-għadd ta 'ikel sintetiċi u semisintetiku issa disponibbli għalihom.

The involvement of chemists in food modification practices is a double-edged sword. L-involviment ta 'kimiċi fil-prattiċi modifika ikel huwa doppju delineata xabla. For all the improvements it may have produced in the diet available to humans, the chemical modification of foods has raised many questions about safety and benefits. Għal kull titjib li seta 'prodotti fil-dieta disponibbli għall-bnedmin, il-modifika kimika ta' ikel qajjem ħafna mistoqsijiet dwar is-sigurtà u l-benefiċċji. Are processed foods really equivalent or preferable to natural foods? Qed ikel ipproċessat verament ekwivalenti jew preferibbli li l-ikel naturali? Are the processes by which food is modified relatively safe, or do they carry significant risks for the consumer? Huma l-proċessi li bihom l-ikel modifikati relattivament sikur, jew ma huma iġorru riskji sinifikanti għall-konsumatur? Are there limits to the ways in which food can and should be modified? Hemm limiti għall-modi li bihom l-ikel jistgħu u għandhom ikunu modifikati? Questions such as these have become part of the daily dialogue of concerned consumers. Mistoqsijiet bħal dawn saru parti mid-djalogu ta 'kuljum tal-konsumaturi kkonċernati. They are the focus of this book. Dawn huma l-fokus ta 'dan il-ktieb.