10 Unnatural Kitchen Practices: A Culinary Perspective on Human Evolution

As we step into the modern kitchen, we are surrounded by a symphony of sizzling pans, humming refrigerators, and the tantalizing aroma of spices and herbs. It's easy to forget that this culinary haven is a far cry from the natural world our ancestors inhabited. The kitchen, with its gleaming appliances and array of ingredients, is a testament to human ingenuity and our ability to manipulate the environment to suit our needs. But how natural are these practices, and what do they say about our evolution as a species?

1. Cooking with Stoves and Ovens: Humans are the only species that cook their food. While cooking has its benefits, such as making food easier to digest and unlocking nutrients, it is a practice that is completely unnatural from an evolutionary standpoint.
2. Refrigeration: Preserving food by refrigeration and eating it indoors is a modern convenience that our ancestors didn't have. In nature, food is consumed fresh or not at all.
3. Using Non-Stick Pans: Non-stick pans, or to be fair any pan or utensil in general, made with materials like Teflon, are a far cry from the natural surfaces our ancestors used for cooking, such as clay or stone.
4. Microwaving: The microwave oven is a prime example of how far we've come from natural cooking methods. The use of electromagnetic radiation to heat food is a modern invention that has no parallel in nature.
5. Artificially Flavoring Food: In nature, food is consumed in its natural state, without the addition of salt, pepper, sugar, or other artificial flavorings that are commonly used in modern cooking.
6. Using Kitchen Appliances: Our ancestors never used commercial mixers, knives, blenders, slow cookers, and other devices that were driven by electricity or a byproduct of large scale industrial manufacturing.
7. Consuming Dairy as Adults: In nature, mammals consume milk as infants and then wean off it as they grow older. However, humans continue to consume dairy products well into adulthood.
8. Using Plastic, Glass, and Metal Containers: Our ancestors used natural materials like gourds, leaves, or animal skins to store food. Today, we use synthetic materials like plastic, as well as glass and metal, which have no equivalent in nature.
9. Drinking Filtered Water: While clean water is essential for health, the process of filtering water to remove impurities is a modern convenience that is not found in nature.
10. Eating Out of Season: In nature, foods are consumed when they are in season and locally available. Today, we have access to a global food supply that allows us to eat foods from around the world, regardless of the season.
11. Bonus - Cleaning and Sanitizing: Many commercial detergents and cleaning devices are a far cry from nature and modern cleaners and chemicals are a novel invention or discoveries in the context of human evolution.

Conclusion:

Our departure from “natural” practices in the kitchen is neither inherently good nor bad. It is simply a reflection of our evolution as a species and our ability to adapt to our environment. While some practices may have health implications, others have undoubtedly improved our quality of life. The key is to strike a balance that honors our natural roots while embracing the benefits of modern culinary advancements.