maybe this can serve as a little introduction to the cooking threads
why do we cook food?
food is our body
the food we eat is the material that becomes our body
it is alchemy at its finest
you take a substance
put it in a box
and it becomes something different
from an abstract point of view
the human body has the ability to turn plant life into something that can speak
technically
a body in perfect health and existing in a perfect environment
cooks food on its own
with proper chewing
digestion begins in the mouth and the food is broken down throughout the digestive system
we currently live in an environment that does not really give the opportunity to do this for a couple of reasons
first - being exposed to pollution and a toxic environment can negatively affect the digestive system
second - we have began to depend on certain foods that are difficult for the body to digest
but
with proper preparation
these foods become very useful to the body
basically
cooking is a method of pre-digesting food
instead of digestion beginning in your mouth
you begin the digestion outside your mouth when you begin preparing food
preparation of food takes many forms
the application of heat is the one we are all familiar with
soaking and fermentation of foods like wheat and sprouts is another often used method
when you buy green bananas and let them ripen - this is also a method of cooking
- the only difference is that you dont do anything but wait
- the bananas slowly 'cook' themselves at room temperature
recently
in one of the local newspapers i read an article that claimed that the average meal preparation time has decreased from 6 hours a day in 1900 to barely 20 minutes a day in 2006
this is a symptom of a lot of things in our society
we are using bad techniques to prepare food too quickly
although mot of us cannot see the effects of this right away
we are eating food that is not ready to be digested
or
simply cannot be digested at all
these days
people eat often for the feeling of taste bud stimulation instead of the nourishment that the body really craves
i will clean this up and maybe add more to it later
please add on if you have any insights
peace
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