{"id":259,"date":"2020-10-22T14:40:17","date_gmt":"2020-10-22T14:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cookingenie.com\/content\/?p=259"},"modified":"2020-10-22T14:40:17","modified_gmt":"2020-10-22T14:40:17","slug":"made-to-cook-the-cooking-hypothesis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.cookingenie.com\/content\/blog\/made-to-cook-the-cooking-hypothesis\/","title":{"rendered":"Made to Cook: The Cooking Hypothesis"},"content":{"rendered":"

What makes us human? Some would argue<\/span>\u00a0that<\/span>\u00a0it\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0the act of<\/span>\u00a0cooking \u2014<\/span>\u00a0whether it\u2019s boiling, broiling, roasting, baking, or barbecuing \u2014 that separates us from every other species on Earth.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>In 1999, Harvard professor of biological anthropology Richard Wrangham published a<\/span>n article in\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>Current Anthropology\u00a0<\/span><\/i>journal c<\/span>alled \u201cThe Raw\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>the Stolen: Cooking and the Ecology of Human Origins<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0Known as \u201cthe cooking hypothesis,\u201d Wrangham\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>groundbreaking new\u00a0<\/span>theory\u00a0<\/span>of human evolution\u00a0<\/span>proposed that\u00a0<\/span>taming fire to cook food\u00a0<\/span>changed the course of human evolution.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>In his article and his 2009 book\u00a0<\/span>Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human,\u00a0<\/span><\/i>Wrangham argued that cooking allowed our human ancestors to process food more efficiently \u2014 and\u00a0<\/span>this change\u00a0<\/span>had a profound impact on\u00a0<\/span>evolution. While all other animals eat raw foods,<\/span>\u00a0Wrangham theorize<\/span>d<\/span>\u00a0that<\/span>\u00a0our ancestors<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>began cooking their food\u00a0<\/span>some 1.8<\/span>\u00a0million years ago, a change that gave early man the ability to process food more efficiently.<\/span>\u00a0It takes a long time, and a very large jaw and teeth, to grind down raw meat and plant matter.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Before our ancestors learned how to cook, Wrangham estimate<\/span>d<\/span>\u00a0that half of their waking hours were spent simply chewing<\/span>\u00a0enough food to subsi<\/span>st<\/span>, leaving little time for anything else. Cooking alters the chemical structure of food,\u00a0<\/span>breaking down the connective tissues in meat, and soften<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0the cells of plants to release their starches and fats. This makes cooked food\u00a0<\/span>easier to chew and digest<\/span>. This also<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>help<\/span>s\u00a0<\/span>the body to use\u00a0<\/span>less energy\u00a0<\/span>to convert<\/span> food into calories. Once the cooking was introduced, he estimate<\/span>d<\/span>\u00a0that our ancestors had an extra four hours in their day \u2014 time that could be spent hunting<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>foraging<\/span>, and\u00a0<\/span>slowly beginning to\u00a0<\/span>organiz<\/span>e\u00a0<\/span>into societies<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>W<\/span>rangham\u00a0<\/span>explained<\/span>, \u201c<\/span>The extra energy gave the first cooks biological advantages. They survived and reproduced better than before. Their genes spread. Their bodies responded by biologically adapting to cooked food, shaped by natural selection to take maximum advantage of the new diet. There were changes in anatomy, physiology, ecology, life history, psychology, and society.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This<\/span> higher calorie, higher-quality diet lead to the\u00a0<\/span>evolution\u00a0<\/span>of bigger brains<\/span>\u00a0and bodies<\/span>, and smaller jaws and teeth<\/span>\u2014a transformation that\u00a0<\/span>gradually\u00a0<\/span>resulted in modern man.\u00a0<\/span>From the control of fire<\/span>\u00a0and the growth in brain size<\/span>, it\u2019s not such a large leap to the development of dedicated hearths, the introduction of pottery and other tools for cooking, and the domestication of plants and animals.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(Also Read<\/strong> – What eating healthy looks like<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Wrangham\u2019s theory is, of course, just that: a theory.\u00a0<\/span>Archaeological history to support control of fire\u00a0<\/span>1.8 million years ago has<\/span>\u00a0not yet been found<\/span>, but the recent discovery of ash in a South African cave suggests that\u00a0<\/span>our ancestors<\/span>\u00a0were controlling fire at least 1 million years ago \u2014\u202ffar earlier than previous evidence suggest<\/span>ed<\/span>. It may be just a matter of time before definitive evidence that proves Wrangham\u2019s theory is found.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>And I<\/span>f<\/span>\u00a0Wrangham\u2019s theory is correct, we truly are what we eat.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>I<\/span>f<\/span>\u00a0cooking is so fundamental to our evolution as people,\u00a0<\/span>it is a wonder that we don\u2019t have time to make\u00a0<\/span>home-cooked meals<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>with\u00a0<\/span>wholesome ingredients<\/span>.<\/span> Modern life has created many barriers to our ability to\u00a0<\/span>prepare home-cooked meals.<\/span>\u00a0W<\/span>hat\u00a0<\/span>do\u00a0<\/span>we<\/span>\u00a0do if\u00a0<\/span>we<\/span>\u00a0don\u2019t have time for\u00a0<\/span>home cooking<\/span>?\u00a0<\/span>Businesses like\u00a0<\/span>CookinGenie<\/a> can help you bring cooking where it belongs\u2014<\/span>in\u00a0<\/span>your own kitchen\u2014even when you don’t have time to cook yourself. Check out our\u00a0<\/span>menus<\/span><\/a>, and book your Genie today<\/span>\u00a0for building\u00a0<\/span>healthy eating<\/span>\u00a0habits in the family.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What makes us human? Some would argue\u00a0that\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0the act of\u00a0cooking \u2014\u00a0whether it\u2019s boiling, broiling, roasting, baking, or barbecuing \u2014 that separates us from every other species on Earth.\u00a0 \u00a0In 1999, Harvard professor of biological anthropology Richard Wrangham published an article in\u00a0the\u00a0Current Anthropology\u00a0journal called \u201cThe Raw\u00a0and\u00a0the Stolen: Cooking and the Ecology of Human Origins.\u201d\u00a0Known as \u201cthe cooking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[10,16,17,18],"class_list":["post-259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-cookingenie","tag-catching-fire","tag-cooking-hypothesis","tag-what-made-us-human"],"yoast_head":"\nMade to Cook: The Cooking Hypothesis - 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