Cooking made easy

Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/kitchen-cooking-utensils-photo-12292644/

Read about the advent and development of cooking gadgetry which has revolutionized the way we prepare our food.

The kitchen has changed over time, from a basic room where food is cooked to an invention center, due to the constant emergence of modern kitchen equipment. The revolution of working in the kitchen was not only about the ease of doing different work but also, and most importantly, about the change in working in that specific environment. Along from the original components of the mechanical aid to the current internet-enabled offering, the development of each generation has helped in revolutionizing the kitchen positively.

The Beginnings

The provision of kitchen tools and equipment has been around since the beginning of humanity. Their evolution can be traced back to primitive people who inventively made grips and picks to ease the process of cooking and eating. The first accessories used for cooking were not very sophisticated and were made out of readily available items such as sticks, bones, and rocks.

As observed from this discussion, the spoon is the oldest ever kitchenware ever discovered. Many archaeological findings suggest that spoons have been used since the Paleolithic period; that is, before the wooly rhinoceros existed. Early spoons were made from wood, bone, and stone. Though chopsticks haven’t been around as long as spoons, the former has a history of about 5000 years. The first known chopsticks which date back to ancient China were especially designed for cooking. This occurred during the rule of the Han dynasty some 2000 years ago.

Knifes, surprisingly, made their debut way later during the Middle Ages when they started getting used to spear food. By the 17^th century, blunt-tipped knifes had been created and were getting used at the dining tables properly.

And lastly, the latest kitchen utensil to have been added in this family is the fork. Some traces have been found of this utensil getting used in ancient Egypt but proper evidence comes from the Middle East and the Byzantine Empire in the Middle Ages which proliferated the use of the fork.

What we have today

Time passed by and soon cultural amalgamation and evolution of culture, in general, influenced the evolution of kitchen utensils to a great extent.

To illustrate, chopsticks are crafted differently according to the regions of Asians which showcases their culture. In the same vein, the use of the fork became common throughout Europe, largely because of the influence of Italian and French aristocracy. Interestingly, in the use of utensils there is a world partition: about a third of the world’s population eats food with hands; a third of the world uses chopsticks; and the rest has reliance on cutlery.

As noted above, kitchen utensils were also invented and improved along with important historical events which happened throughout the years. The Industrial Revolution saw the emergence of a revolution in utensil manufacturing. New techniques were introduced which helped in the mass production of more affordable and durable utensils, like the ones made from stainless steel.

In this modern era, the intermingling of culinary paradigms has improved the utensils we have more than they previously were. The availability of different food preparation traditions has brought with them many new types of utensils and tools that are made particularly for specific tasks.

Today, we use unique utensils like cork screws, potato mashers, apple corers, shredders, can openers, and more- all of which have been designed with a specific purpose in mind.

The Future

Taking a look into the future, it can be correctly assumed that there will be even more advancements in the smart kitchen gadgets. With the added power of technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, we are bound to have devices that will not just be assisting in cooking but will also understand users’ preferences and cook on their behalf with no personal supervision in the future.

Robotics has advanced so much that the development of robotic chefs and self-cookers is no longer a dream. These new devices attempt to remove the boring process of cooking so that people can do the more enjoyable and artistic aspects of cooking.

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