Re: Gourmet's list of 20 inventions that changed cooking (long response)

On Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:57:27 -0600, Christine Dabney
<artisan2@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 16 Mar 2009 13:22:59 GMT, "Michael \"Dog3\""
<don'task@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
You're about 10 years older than I am. Remember your first microwave?
Actually I could live without a microwave but they sure come in handy
sometimes.

Michael

Ya know folks, I am thinking a bit differently than some of the
responses I read. I see most of those items as being very
revolutionary, in many, many ways.

Maybe not the item as it stands or stood then... but in what it
produced.... For the above instance of a microwave..we wouldn't have
the miles and miles of frozen dinners in the frozen food section that
we now have. Before then, people cooked...now they do takeout, or
get a microwave dinner or something else that needs microwaving.
Popcorn for instance. Before then, people had to cook, to fix
microwave...now we just get a package and stick it in the microwave.
People cook differently...if they have one and use it.

Same with the Julia Child show. Yes, her show was new, but the main
thing is that it eventually spawned a whole TV network... Way down
the line of course, but she was the one that started it all. I call
that pretty revolutionary.

For the chimney starter, yes the thing is it is pretty innocuous at
first glance and many people did their homemade versions. But it was
put mainstream, and suddenly people felt like it was much easier to
grill...especially in starting the fire. Nowadays, grilling is
big...and you see books all over about grilling. If starting a
grill fire had continued to be a chore, do you think people would have
taken to it like they have done since?

I could go on and on about all of these. It is not the said object,
such as the blender, or the food processor, but what came out of them,
and what they birthed or started.

At least this is how I see it...

I agree with you Christine. While the air conditioner, vacuum bag,
microplane and silpat are kind of weak, the rest did really CHANGE the
WAY we (as a society, not as individuals) cook, prepare, and store food.
The item itself may have not been revolutionary, just evolutionary, but
it was instrumental in modifying societal norms. Other commenters have
gotten bogged down in whether they as individuals find the item useful.
Also lost is that the list is Post WWII inventions.

Teflon pans changed how people thought about cooking eggs and fish. The
crockpot made slow cooking safe and easy. The microwave made reheating
convenient and fast.

The timer made baking easier. The microplane was an evolutionary
improvement on the grater. The blender and food processor made food
preparation easier.

The Weber made the backyard grill mainstream. The chimney, whether home
made or commercial, improved the quality of grilled food. The gas grill
made it convenient.

The refigerator allowed for a weekly grocery buying and more variety at
meals. Plastic wrap is invaluable for a variety of uses in most
kitchens. Tupperware changed how we store food and treat leftovers.
Vacuum bags, to a certain extent and will much more, affect not only the
storage of food but the preparation - sous vide, for example.

Overnight freight allows us to buy fresh fruit from around the world,
changing our menus and the reliance on seasonality. A good thing?
Perhaps not, but it did fundamentally change our diet.

Television cooking and travel shows really opened international cuisines
to the world. Ditto for the internet.


.

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