59-416: Cooker may refer to several types of cooking appliances and devices used for cooking foods. The Cooker is the given name to a coin-activated robot made out of an oven and storage cabinet that patrols the moon, as seen in the 1989 Wallace and Gromit short, A Grand Day Out . It is very protective of the moon and becomes hostile when it discovers that Wallace and Gromit have landed there. It secretly has
118-428: A communal fire , and can be enjoyed by all members of the family, although in many cultures women bear primary responsibility. Cooking is also often carried out outside of personal quarters, for example at restaurants, or schools. Bakeries were one of the earliest forms of cooking outside the home, and bakeries in the past often offered the cooking of pots of food provided by their customers as an additional service. In
177-527: A galactomannan polysaccharide . It is used to thicken and stabilise foods and other products. Some kinds of raw beans contain a harmful, flavourless toxin: the lectin phytohaemagglutinin , which must be destroyed by cooking. Red kidney beans are particularly toxic, but other types also pose risks of food poisoning . Even small quantities (4 or 5 raw beans) may cause severe stomachache, vomiting, and diarrhea. This risk does not apply to canned beans because they have already been cooked. A recommended method
236-570: A deep cave) of controlled use of fire to cook food by archaic humans was dated to ~780,000 years ago . Anthropologists think that widespread cooking fires began about 250,000 years ago when hearths first appeared. Recently, the earliest hearths have been reported to be at least 790,000 years old. Communication between the Old World and the New World in the Columbian Exchange influenced
295-503: A desirable texture. Fats are one of the three main macronutrient groups in human diet , along with carbohydrates and proteins , and the main components of common food products like milk , butter , tallow , lard , salt pork , and cooking oils . They are a major and dense source of food energy for many animals and play important structural and metabolic functions, in most living beings, including energy storage, waterproofing, and thermal insulation . The human body can produce
354-504: A large cranial capacity meant that early Homo habilis regularly cooked food. However, unequivocal evidence in the archaeological record for the controlled use of fire begins at 400,000 BCE, long after Homo erectus . Archaeological evidence from 300,000 years ago, in the form of ancient hearths, earth ovens , burnt animal bones, and flint , are found across Europe and the Middle East. The oldest evidence (via heated fish teeth from
413-551: A lifelong dream of skiing. As well as being called The Cooker, an audio adaptation of A Grand Day Out refers to it as "The Moon Machine". Cooking Cooking , also known as cookery or professionally as the culinary arts , is the art, science and craft of using heat to make food more palatable , digestible , nutritious , or safe . Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire , to using electric stoves , to baking in various types of ovens , reflecting local conditions. Cooking
472-424: A number of diseases, including diabetes, chronic kidney disease, cancer and cardiovascular diseases, as well as in ageing. AGEs are a group of compounds that are formed between reducing sugars and amino acids via Maillard reaction . These compounds impart colors, tastes and smells that are specific to these food, but may also be deleterious to health. Dry heat (e.g. in roasting or grilling) can significantly increase
531-519: A number of ways in cooking and baking. To prepare stir fries , grilled cheese or pancakes , the pan or griddle is often coated with fat or oil. Fats are also used as an ingredient in baked goods such as cookies , cakes and pies. Fats can reach temperatures higher than the boiling point of water, and are often used to conduct high heat to other ingredients, such as in frying, deep frying or sautéing. Fats are used to add flavor to food (e.g., butter or bacon fat), prevent food from sticking to pans and create
590-724: A per calorie basis while providing more fiber , calcium , and iron . The ingredients are also directly sourced, so there is control over authenticity, taste, and nutritional value. The superior nutritional quality of home-cooking could therefore play a role in preventing chronic disease . Cohort studies following the elderly over 10 years show that adults who cook their own meals have significantly lower mortality, even when controlling for confounding variables. "Home-cooking" may be associated with comfort food , and some commercially produced foods and restaurant meals are presented through advertising or packaging as having been "home-cooked", regardless of their actual origin. This trend began in
649-399: A subdiscipline of food science concerning the physical and chemical transformations that occur during cooking. Important contributions have been made by scientists, chefs and authors such as Hervé This (chemist), Nicholas Kurti (physicist), Peter Barham (physicist), Harold McGee (author), Shirley Corriher (biochemist, author), Robert Wolke (chemist, author.) It is different for
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#1732905452690708-483: A toasted crust is formed generates significant concentrations of acrylamide . This discovery in 2002 led to international health concerns. Subsequent research has however found that it is not likely that the acrylamides in burnt or well-cooked food cause cancer in humans; Cancer Research UK categorizes the idea that burnt food causes cancer as a "myth". Cooking food at high temperature may create advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) that are believed to be involved in
767-465: A wide variety of foods, and processed cereals quickly became a defining feature of the American breakfast. In the 1920s, freezing methods , cafeterias , and fast food restaurants emerged. Most ingredients in cooking are derived from living organisms . Vegetables, fruits, grains and nuts as well as herbs and spices come from plants, while meat, eggs, and dairy products come from animals. Mushrooms and
826-706: Is an aspect of all human societies and a cultural universal . Types of cooking also depend on the skill levels and training of the cooks . Cooking is done both by people in their own dwellings and by professional cooks and chefs in restaurants and other food establishments. Preparing food with heat or fire is an activity unique to humans . Archeological evidence of cooking fires from at least 300,000 years ago exists, but some estimate that humans started cooking up to 2 million years ago. The expansion of agriculture , commerce , trade , and transportation between civilizations in different regions offered cooks many new ingredients. New inventions and technologies, such as
885-638: Is especially prone to oxidation during cooking and may be completely destroyed by protracted cooking. The bioavailability of some vitamins such as thiamin , vitamin B6 , niacin , folate , and carotenoids are increased with cooking by being freed from the food microstructure. Blanching or steaming vegetables is a way of minimizing vitamin and mineral loss in cooking. There are many methods of cooking, most of which have been known since antiquity. These include baking, roasting, frying, grilling, barbecuing, smoking, boiling, steaming and braising. A more recent innovation
944-722: Is microwaving. Various methods use differing levels of heat and moisture and vary in cooking time. The method chosen greatly affects the result. Some major hot cooking techniques include: As of 2021, over 2.6 billion people cook using open fires or inefficient stoves using kerosene , biomass , and coal as fuel. These cooking practices use fuels and technologies that produce high levels of household air pollution, causing 3.8 million premature deaths annually. Of these deaths, 27% are from pneumonia , 27% from ischaemic heart disease , 20% from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , 18% from stroke , and 8% from lung cancer . Women and young children are disproportionately affected, since they spend
1003-469: Is no high-quality evidence for its efficacy against human diseases. The United States Department of Agriculture has studied retention data for 16 vitamins, 8 minerals, and alcohol for approximately 290 foods across various cooking methods. In a human epidemiological analysis by Richard Doll and Richard Peto in 1981, diet was estimated to cause a large percentage of cancers. Studies suggest that around 32% of cancer deaths may be avoidable by changes to
1062-535: Is not well known in the medical community, and many cases may be misdiagnosed or never reported; figures appear not to be available. In the case of the UK National Poisons Information Service , available only to health professionals, the dangers of beans other than red beans were not flagged as of 2008 . Fermentation is used in some parts of Africa to improve the nutritional value of beans by removing toxins. Inexpensive fermentation improves
1121-464: Is the theme of a children's song " Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit ". The Mexican jumping bean is a segment of a seed pod occupied by the larva of the moth Cydia saltitans , and sold as a novelty. The pods, of the woody plant Sebastiania pavoniana (in the spurge family), start to jump when warmed in the palm of the hand. Scientists have suggested that the random walk that results may help
1180-471: Is to boil the beans for at least ten minutes; under-cooked beans may be more toxic than raw beans. Cooking beans, without bringing them to a boil, in a slow cooker at a temperature well below boiling may not destroy toxins. A case of poisoning by butter beans used to make falafel was reported; the beans were used instead of traditional broad beans or chickpeas , soaked and ground without boiling, made into patties, and shallow fried . Bean poisoning
1239-421: Is uncooked or done rare , and unboiled water. The sterilizing effect of cooking depends on temperature, cooking time, and technique used. Some food spoilage bacteria such as Clostridium botulinum or Bacillus cereus can form spores that survive cooking or boiling, which then germinate and regrow after the food has cooled. This makes it unsafe to reheat cooked food more than once. Cooking increases
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#17329054526901298-839: The Aegean region , Iberia , and transalpine Europe. In the Iliad (8th century BCE), there is a passing mention of beans and chickpeas cast on the threshing floor. The oldest-known domesticated beans in the Americas were found in Guitarrero Cave , an archaeological site in Peru , and dated to around the second millennium BCE. Genetic analyses of the common bean Phaseolus show that it originated in Mesoamerica , and subsequently spread southward, along with maize and squash, traditional companion crops. Most of
1357-622: The Chiloé Archipelago . Most beans are legumes, but from many different genera, native to different regions. The biodiversity of bean cultivars is threatened by modern plant breeding, which selects a small number of the most productive varieties. Efforts are being made to conserve the germplasm of older varieties in different countries. As of 2023, the Norwegian Svalbard Global Seed Vault holds more than 40,000 accessions of Phaseolus bean species. Unlike
1416-618: The National Cancer Institute found that human subjects who ate beef rare or medium-rare had less than one third the risk of stomach cancer than those who ate beef medium-well or well-done. While avoiding meat or eating meat raw may be the only ways to avoid HCA's in meat fully, the National Cancer Institute states that cooking meat below 212 °F (100 °C) creates "negligible amounts" of HCA's. Also, microwaving meat before cooking may reduce HCAs by 90% by reducing
1475-406: The specific heat of an object, thermal conductivity , and (perhaps most significantly) the difference in temperature between the two objects. Thermal diffusivity is the combination of specific heat, conductivity and density that determines how long it will take for the food to reach a certain temperature. Home cooking has traditionally been a process carried out informally in a home or around
1534-543: The " Danger zone " temperature range from 40 to 140 °F (4 to 60 °C), food therefore should not be stored in this temperature range. Washing of hands and surfaces, especially when handling different meats, and keeping raw food separate from cooked food to avoid cross-contamination, are good practices in food preparation. Foods prepared on plastic cutting boards may be less likely to harbor bacteria than wooden ones. Washing and disinfecting cutting boards, especially after use with raw meat, poultry, or seafood, reduces
1593-560: The 1920s and is attributed to people in urban areas of the U.S. wanting homestyle food even though their schedules and smaller kitchens made cooking harder. Bean A bean is the seed of any plant in the legume family ( Fabaceae ) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying , but fresh beans are also sold. Most beans are traditionally soaked and boiled, but they can be cooked in many different ways, including frying and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes throughout
1652-413: The Americas, use of the word was extended to pod-borne seeds of Phaseolus , such as the common bean and the runner bean , and the related genus Vigna . The term has long been applied generally to seeds of similar form, such as Old World soybeans and lupins , and to the fruits or seeds of unrelated plants such as coffee beans , vanilla beans , castor beans , and cocoa beans . Beans were among
1711-696: The Atlantic from the Old World, such as cattle , sheep , pigs , wheat , oats , barley , rice , apples , pears , peas , chickpeas , mustard , and carrots , similarly changed New World cooking. In the 17th and 18th centuries, food was a classic marker of identity in Europe. In the 19th-century "Age of Nationalism ", cuisine became a defining symbol of national identity. The Industrial Revolution brought mass-production, mass-marketing, and standardization of food. Factories processed, preserved, canned, and packaged
1770-558: The application of scientific knowledge to cooking, that is "molecular cooking" (for the technique) or "molecular cuisine" (for a culinary style), for which chefs such as Raymond Blanc, Philippe and Christian Conticini, Ferran Adria , Heston Blumenthal , Pierre Gagnaire (chef). Chemical processes central to cooking include hydrolysis (in particular beta elimination of pectins, during the thermal treatment of plant tissues), pyrolysis, and glycation reactions wrongly named Maillard reactions . Cooking foods with heat depends on many factors:
1829-472: The body. Phytic acid , present in beans, interferes with bone growth and interrupts vitamin D metabolism. Many beans, including broad beans, navy beans, kidney beans and soybeans, contain large sugar molecules, oligosaccharides (particularly raffinose and stachyose ). A suitable oligosaccharide-cleaving enzyme is necessary to digest these. As the human digestive tract does not contain such enzymes, consumed oligosaccharides are digested by bacteria in
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1888-480: The case of potatoes where most vitamin C is in the skin. However, research has shown that in the specific case of carotenoids a greater proportion is absorbed from cooked vegetables than from raw vegetables. Sulforaphane , a glucosinolate breakdown product, is present in vegetables such as broccoli , and is mostly destroyed when the vegetable is boiled. Although there has been some basic research on how sulforaphane might exert beneficial effects in vivo, there
1947-499: The closely related pea , beans are a summer crop that needs warm temperatures to grow. Legumes are capable of nitrogen fixation and hence need less fertiliser than most plants. Maturity is typically 55–60 days from planting to harvest. As the pods mature, they turn yellow and dry up, and the beans inside change from green to their mature colour. Many beans are vines needing external support, such as "bean cages" or poles. Native Americans customarily grew them along with corn and squash,
2006-401: The common sugar, sucrose (table sugar), a disaccharide , and such simple sugars as glucose (made by enzymatic splitting of sucrose) and fructose (from fruit), and starches from sources such as cereal flour, rice, arrowroot and potato. The interaction of heat and carbohydrate is complex. Long-chain sugars such as starch tend to break down into more digestible simpler sugars . If
2065-412: The diet. Some of these cancers may be caused by carcinogens in food generated during the cooking process, although it is often difficult to identify the specific components in diet that serve to increase cancer risk. Several studies published since 1990 indicate that cooking meat at high temperature creates heterocyclic amines (HCA's), which are thought to increase cancer risk in humans. Researchers at
2124-437: The digestibility of many foods which are inedible or poisonous when raw. For example, raw cereal grains are hard to digest, while kidney beans are toxic when raw or improperly cooked due to the presence of phytohaemagglutinin , which is inactivated by cooking for at least ten minutes at 100 °C (212 °F). Food safety depends on the safe preparation, handling, and storage of food. Food spoilage bacteria proliferate in
2183-635: The dish being cooked. In European cooking, a mixture of butter and flour called a roux is used to thicken liquids to make stews or sauces. In Asian cooking, a similar effect is obtained from a mixture of rice or corn starch and water. These techniques rely on the properties of starches to create simpler mucilaginous saccharides during cooking, which causes the familiar thickening of sauces . This thickening will break down, however, under additional heat. Types of fat include vegetable oils , animal products such as butter and lard , as well as fats from grains, including maize and flax oils. Fats are used in
2242-711: The fat it requires from other food ingredients, except for a few essential fatty acids that must be included in the diet. Dietary fats are also the carriers of some flavor and aroma ingredients and vitamins that are not water-soluble . Edible animal material, including muscle , offal , milk, eggs and egg whites , contains substantial amounts of protein. Almost all vegetable matter (in particular legumes and seeds ) also includes proteins, although generally in smaller amounts. Mushrooms have high protein content. Any of these may be sources of essential amino acids . When proteins are heated they become denatured (unfolded) and change texture. In many cases, this causes
2301-591: The first plants to be domesticated. Broad or fava beans are in their wild state the size of a small fingernail; they were first gathered in Afghanistan and the Himalayan foothills. An early cultivated form was grown in Thailand from the early seventh millennium BCE, predating ceramics. Beans were deposited with the dead in ancient Egypt . Not until the second millennium BCE did cultivated, large-seeded broad beans appear in
2360-420: The herb epazote ; India the aromatic resin asafoetida ; Germany applies the herb savory ; in the Middle East, cumin ; and Japan the seaweed kombu . A substance for which there is evidence of effectiveness in reducing flatulence is the enzyme alpha-galactosidase ; extracted from the mould fungus Aspergillus niger , it breaks down glycolipids and glycoproteins . The reputation of beans for flatulence
2419-455: The history of cooking. The movement of foods across the Atlantic from the New World, such as potatoes , tomatoes , maize , beans , bell pepper , chili pepper , vanilla , pumpkin , cassava , avocado , peanut , pecan , cashew , pineapple , blueberry , sunflower , chocolate , gourds , green beans , and squash , had a profound effect on Old World cooking. The movement of foods across
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2478-767: The invention of pottery for holding and boiling of water , expanded cooking techniques. Some modern cooks apply advanced scientific techniques to food preparation to further enhance the flavor of the dish served. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that early hominids may have adopted cooking 1 million to 2 million years ago. Re-analysis of burnt bone fragments and plant ashes from the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa has provided evidence supporting control of fire by early humans by 1 million years ago. In his seminal work Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human , Richard Wrangham suggested that evolution of bipedalism and
2537-503: The kinds of beans commonly eaten today are part of the genus Phaseolus , which originated in the Americas. The first European to encounter them was Christopher Columbus , while exploring what may have been the Bahamas , and saw them growing in fields. Five kinds of Phaseolus beans were domesticated by pre-Columbian peoples, selecting pods that did not open and scatter their seeds when ripe: common beans ( P. vulgaris ) grown from Chile to
2596-496: The large intestine, producing gases such as methane, released as flatulence . Beans have often been thought of as a food of the poor, as small farmers ate grains, vegetables, and got their protein from beans, while the wealthier classes were able to afford meat. European society has what Ken Albala calls "a class-based antagonism" to beans. Different cultures agree in disliking the flatulence that beans cause, and possess their own seasonings to attempt to remedy it: Mexico uses
2655-567: The most important producer is Tanzania. Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Raw green beans are 90% water, 7% carbohydrates , 2% protein , and contain negligible fat . In a 100 grams (3.5 oz) reference serving, raw green beans supply 31 calories of food energy , and are a moderate source (10-19% of the Daily Value , DV) of vitamin C (15% DV) and vitamin B6 (11% DV), with no other micronutrients in significant content (table). Guar beans are used for their gum ,
2714-845: The most time near the hearth. Hazards while cooking can include To prevent those injuries there are protections such as cooking clothing, anti-slip shoes, fire extinguisher and more. Cooking can prevent many foodborne illnesses that would otherwise occur if raw food is consumed. When heat is used in the preparation of food, it can kill or inactivate harmful organisms, such as bacteria and viruses, as well as various parasites such as tapeworms and Toxoplasma gondii . Food poisoning and other illness from uncooked or poorly prepared food may be caused by bacteria such as pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli , Salmonella typhimurium and Campylobacter , viruses such as noroviruses , and protozoa such as Entamoeba histolytica . Bacteria, viruses and parasites may be introduced through salad, meat that
2773-585: The northern part of the United States; lima and sieva beans ( P. lunatus ); and the less widely distributed teparies ( P. acutifolius ), scarlet runner beans ( P. coccineus ), and polyanthus beans. Pre-Columbian peoples as far north as the Atlantic seaboard grew beans in the " Three Sisters " method of companion planting . The beans were interplanted with maize and squash . Beans were cultivated across Chile in Pre-Hispanic times, likely as far south as
2832-954: The nutritional impact of flour from dry beans and improves digestibility, according to research co-authored by Emire Shimelis, from the Food Engineering Program at Addis Ababa University. Beans are a major source of dietary protein in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. It is common to make beansprouts by letting some types of bean, often mung beans , germinate in moist and warm conditions; beansprouts may be used as ingredients in cooked dishes, or eaten raw or lightly cooked. There have been many outbreaks of disease from bacterial contamination, often by salmonella , listeria , and Escherichia coli , of beansprouts not thoroughly cooked, some causing significant mortality. Many types of bean like kidney bean contain significant amounts of antinutrients that inhibit some enzyme processes in
2891-492: The present day, factory food preparation has become common, with many "ready-to-eat" as well as "ready-to-cook" foods being prepared and cooked in factories and home cooks using a mixture of scratch made , and factory made foods together to make a meal . The nutritional value of including more commercially prepared foods has been found to be inferior to home-made foods. Home-cooked meals tend to be healthier with fewer calories, and less saturated fat , cholesterol and sodium on
2950-399: The production of AGEs, as well as food rich in animal protein and fats. The production of AGEs during cooking can be significantly reduced by cooking in water or moist heat, reducing the cooking times and temperatures, as well as by first marinating the meat in acidic ingredients such as lemon juice and vinegar. The scientific study of cooking has become known as molecular gastronomy. This is
3009-775: The remaining flavor and ingredients; this is a critical component of both stewing and sauce making. Vitamins and minerals are required for normal metabolism ; and what the body cannot manufacture itself must come from external sources. Vitamins come from several sources including fresh fruit and vegetables ( Vitamin C ), carrots, liver ( Vitamin A ), cereal bran, bread, liver (B vitamins), fish liver oil ( Vitamin D ) and fresh green vegetables ( Vitamin K ). Many minerals are also essential in small quantities including iron, calcium , magnesium , sodium chloride and sulfur ; and in very small quantities copper, zinc and selenium . The micronutrients, minerals, and vitamins in fruit and vegetables may be destroyed or eluted by cooking. Vitamin C
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#17329054526903068-405: The risk of contamination. Proponents of raw foodism argue that cooking food increases the risk of some of the detrimental effects on food or health. They point out that during cooking of vegetables and fruit containing vitamin C , the vitamin elutes into the cooking water and becomes degraded through oxidation. Peeling vegetables can also substantially reduce the vitamin C content, especially in
3127-505: The structure of the material to become softer or more friable – meat becomes cooked and is more friable and less flexible. In some cases, proteins can form more rigid structures, such as the coagulation of albumen in egg whites. The formation of a relatively rigid but flexible matrix from egg white provides an important component in baking cakes, and also underpins many desserts based on meringue . Cooking often involves water, and water-based liquids. These can be added in order to immerse
3186-538: The substances being cooked (this is typically done with water, stock or wine). Alternatively, the foods themselves can release water. A favorite method of adding flavor to dishes is to save the liquid for use in other recipes . Liquids are so important to cooking that the name of the cooking method used is often based on how the liquid is combined with the food, as in steaming , simmering , boiling , braising and blanching . Heating liquid in an open container results in rapidly increased evaporation , which concentrates
3245-485: The sugars are heated so that all water of crystallisation is driven off, caramelization starts, with the sugar undergoing thermal decomposition with the formation of carbon , and other breakdown products producing caramel . Similarly, the heating of sugars and proteins causes the Maillard reaction , a basic flavor-enhancing technique. An emulsion of starch with fat or water can, when gently heated, provide thickening to
3304-436: The tall stalks acting as support for the beans. More recently, the commercial "bush bean" which does not require support and produces all its pods simultaneously has been developed. The production data for legumes are published by FAO in three categories: The following is a summary of FAO data. The world leader in production of dry beans ( Phaseolus spp), is India, followed by Myanmar (Burma) and Brazil. In Africa,
3363-442: The time needed for the meat to be cooked at high heat. Nitrosamines are found in some food, and may be produced by some cooking processes from proteins or from nitrites used as food preservatives; cured meat such as bacon has been found to be carcinogenic, with links to colon cancer. Ascorbate , which is added to cured meat, however, reduces nitrosamine formation. Baking, grilling or broiling food, especially starchy foods, until
3422-527: The world. The unripe seedpods of some varieties are also eaten whole as green beans or edamame (immature soybean ), but fully ripened beans contain toxins like phytohemagglutinin and require cooking. The word 'bean', for the Old World vegetable, existed in Old English , long before the New World genus Phaseolus was known in Europe. With the Columbian exchange of domestic plants between Europe and
3481-405: The yeast used in baking are kinds of fungi . Cooks also use water and minerals such as salt . Cooks can also use wine or spirits . Naturally occurring ingredients contain various amounts of molecules called proteins , carbohydrates and fats . They also contain water and minerals. Cooking involves a manipulation of the chemical properties of these molecules. Carbohydrates include
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