Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 6, Biology and Biological Technology, Part 5, Fermentations and Food Science
Cambridge University Press
Edition: Illustrated, 11/30/2000
EAN 9780521652704, ISBN10: 0521652707
Hardcover, 769 pages, 25.3 x 19.6 x 5 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
Today Chinese cuisine is enjoyed in many parts of the world, yet little is known in the West about the technologies involved in making its characteristic ingredients. H. T. Huang's book is the first history of Chinese food technology in a western language. It describes the conversion of agricultural commodities into food and drink, and explores the origins, development and scientific basis of traditional Chinese technology as applied to the processing of four food categories: the fermentation of alcoholic drinks from grains; the conversion of soybeans into soyfoods and condiments; the preservation of foods and the production of noodles, vegetable oils, malt sugar, starch, etc; and, lastly, the processing and utilisation of tea. Where possible the Chinese experience is compared with equivalent systems in the West and elsewhere. The book ends with reflections on how nature, technology and human intervention have shaped the discovery and innovation of processed foods in traditional China.
1. Introduction
2. Literature and sources
3. Fermentation and evolution of alcoholic drinks
4. Soybean processing and fermentation
5. Food processing and preservation
6. Tea processing and utilisation
7. Food and nutritional deficiency diseases
8. Reflections and epilogue.