From wood to a microwave: The evolution of cooking – Bluefield Daily Telegraph

Okay, I admit I was a bit freaked out when microwaves came along. People praised them as being so quick and easy, so convenient. And, admittedly, they seemed to be.

The machines could boil water at an amazing speed and cook things so fast it was really hard to believe. Yet, I could not initially bring myself to use one.

Thats because I didnt understand how they worked. What was going on in that contraption that caused the food to get hot?

I did some research and learned about the radiation and the speed of the molecules, all of which was mambo-jambo (I know that expression is not spelled the traditional way here, but I like it) to me.

So it still made no sense, especially when I saw the word radiation, which during the Cold War sparked fears of a nuclear war.

Would food be somehow altered to the point of being dangerous to eat? Would the flavor be retained at all? Was it some sort of plot by an evil madman intent on world domination (I loved James Bond books) to poison the minds of everyone?

So I did not immediately use one, being cautious, waiting to see if any discernible side effects started showing up.

Like people starting to drop dead for no apparent reason or hospital emergency rooms being flooded or everyone who used them starting to act like alien pod people. I had seen Invasion of the Body Snatchers, so I knew it could happen.

Of course, none of that did happen and eventually I started using them. The darn things were so convenient and quick it was hard to resist.

But I did notice the flavor was not the same, or it seemed different anyway. I just didnt like the texture of the food and the flavor was muted somehow. Or I thought so, wondering if it could just be my imagination.

I wasnt alone in my worries. Others had the same fears, including Aunt Ebb.

She started using one, though, because she didnt cook and loved the convenience. And she concluded my fears were unfounded, that food was fine and tasted the same.

But then one day she told me a story, making me realize something that came out of the blue and very unexpected.

I had become my grandmother.

All of her life, she had cooked on a wood cook-stove. When electric stoves became popular she had no interest in them at all.

Not only did she think food wasnt nearly as good, she was also worried about the heat source, not understanding how the electricity created the heat.

Nothing like a wood fire, she said. Thats the way food is meant to be cooked.

Even when Aunt Ebb and other family members bought her an electric stove, she at first refused to use it, ignoring its presence in her kitchen and being a bit perturbed at everyone for spending money on it.

As time passed, she watched my mother and Aunt Tham show her how to use it, and she eventually started cooking a few things on it because it was so much easier and quicker.

After all, no kindling to split, no ashes to dump, no waiting. The thing saved her a ton of work and time.

Just like my experience with a microwave, the convenience and speed of this new way of cooking gradually took over. And the wood cook-stove eventually became something she only occasionally used, and always seemed very proud to do so.

Of course, the truth was, by gosh, the food did taste better cooked on that wood cook-stove. No question about it. And there is no doubt food tastes better cooked with an electric stove than a microwave.

Regardless of all the gadgets used to cook, and there are many of them now, we all know that my grandmother was right.

There simply is no substitute for wood when it comes to cooking.

And I am still not sure if microwaves are healthy to use.

Yes, it still scares me when someone says, Nuke it!

What scares me even more is the occasional dreams I have of living on another planet

Charles Boothe is a reporter for the Bluefield Daily Telegraph and can be reached at cboothe@bdtonline.com

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From wood to a microwave: The evolution of cooking - Bluefield Daily Telegraph