@djsumdog @NecroHole @Moon @ThatWouldBeTelling @graf @ledocool431 @vriska
One thing I do want to mention because I'm a bit of a food nerd is that often the reason that food is salty, fatty, and sugary is logistical.
The big things that make food inedible are microbes or exposure to oxygen.
The microbes obviously multiply and spoil the food, and exposure to oxygen can cause the food to deteriorate as it oxygenates. Milk for example spoils as microbes change it to be more acidic which eventually causes it to curdle. One solution to this is pasteurization where you bring the milk to a high temperature for a short time to destroy the microbes within the milk. Another option is to acidify the food so it isn't amenable to growing microbes such as is the case with pickles. Yet another option is to make it incredibly sugary because microbes can't survive in sugary foods due to osmotic pressure. Making it very salty works the same way, and also pulls water out of the food, dehydration being another means to prevent microbial spoilage.
Apple slices spoil as the interior of the apple is exposed to oxygen causing it to turn brown and soft. A little soak in lemon juice can make a lot of fruits including apple slices last incredibly long because of its anti-oxidant properties. Another option for making food less likely to spoil is to cover it in oil. The oil acts as a barrier between the outside oxygen and the food inside, so it has less of a chance to spoil.
I think there's two cultural factors that make the US particularly prone to attempting to keep food from spoiling in these ways. the first is obviously the giant cities and the need to feed them, that food must be preserved to be able to grow it and distribute it to cities of 20 million. The number of steps from farm to table in one of these cities is by necessity immense. The second is US militarism. The US military requires shelf stable rations, and to facilitate that the US military works with US food companies to have technologies to produce shelf stable food. This is why fresh baked bread might last a week, whereas corporate produced bread might last months if it isn't taken out of the container, because they are using the technologies of the armed forces to produce shelf stable food.
One thing I do want to mention because I'm a bit of a food nerd is that often the reason that food is salty, fatty, and sugary is logistical.
The big things that make food inedible are microbes or exposure to oxygen.
The microbes obviously multiply and spoil the food, and exposure to oxygen can cause the food to deteriorate as it oxygenates. Milk for example spoils as microbes change it to be more acidic which eventually causes it to curdle. One solution to this is pasteurization where you bring the milk to a high temperature for a short time to destroy the microbes within the milk. Another option is to acidify the food so it isn't amenable to growing microbes such as is the case with pickles. Yet another option is to make it incredibly sugary because microbes can't survive in sugary foods due to osmotic pressure. Making it very salty works the same way, and also pulls water out of the food, dehydration being another means to prevent microbial spoilage.
Apple slices spoil as the interior of the apple is exposed to oxygen causing it to turn brown and soft. A little soak in lemon juice can make a lot of fruits including apple slices last incredibly long because of its anti-oxidant properties. Another option for making food less likely to spoil is to cover it in oil. The oil acts as a barrier between the outside oxygen and the food inside, so it has less of a chance to spoil.
I think there's two cultural factors that make the US particularly prone to attempting to keep food from spoiling in these ways. the first is obviously the giant cities and the need to feed them, that food must be preserved to be able to grow it and distribute it to cities of 20 million. The number of steps from farm to table in one of these cities is by necessity immense. The second is US militarism. The US military requires shelf stable rations, and to facilitate that the US military works with US food companies to have technologies to produce shelf stable food. This is why fresh baked bread might last a week, whereas corporate produced bread might last months if it isn't taken out of the container, because they are using the technologies of the armed forces to produce shelf stable food.
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