Here's a question to ponder: when considering the long history of food and the many ways we now cultivate, cook, and control it, what are the top innovations that come to mind? An eminent group of Fellows from the UK's Royal Society recently named the Top 20 most significant inventions in food and drink. Can you guess what they are?
The tools and inventions in this list were ranked according to four criteria: accessibility, productivity, aesthetics, and health, according to The Atlantic. Here are the Top 10:
- Refrigeration
- Pasteurization / sterilization
- Canning
- The oven
- Irrigation
- Threshing machine/combine harvester
- Baking
- Selective breeding / strains
- Grinding / milling
- The plough
Check out the full Top 20 list and read more about each invention at The Atlantic.
Read More: The 20 Most Significant Inventions in the History of Food and Drink | The Atlantic
Related: The History of the Espresso Machine
(Image: Wikipedia Commons)
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fermentation?
The article is pretty funny:
Canning provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five years. It also provides a fun weekend activity for humans who live in Brooklyn.
Fire?
@ BEESTROFOWLER, yes fermentation. I am a little surprised it didn't rank high. Possibly should be #1. According to the movie/documentary, "How Beer Saved the World", refrigeration as we know it was developed to preserve commercial beer production!
JS @ Cheap Knives
I don't know if fire was first used to cook food, though. I think it was first used for warmth and safety - by H. erectus, who ate raw food as far as I know. Could be wrong!
I would have ranked selective breeding higher. Interesting!
Fermentation I would think would be top on there! Or bacteria. Since bread, beer, cheese/yogurt, and pickles all need bacteria/wild yeast for fermentation!