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Agrifor
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AgriFor is a gateway to evaluated, quality Internet resources
in agriculture, food and forestry, aimed at students, researchers, academics
and practitioners in agriculture, food or forestry. There is a section
providing information on various topics on food science and technology.
The trouble with
scientific research
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As far back as the early 1600s Francis Bacon,
an English philosopher, questioned the certainty of (scientific) knowledge.
How can we be sure our knowledge is completely reliable he asked? Until that
point the tradition of early Greek philosophers gave pre-eminence to logical
deduction, but for Bacon this was not enough. He identified both observation
of nature and formal experimentation as necessary to test a hypothesis
properly. This concept still holds true today, scientific theories are
examined from a number of different angles and must be reliably repeated
before they become the accepted wisdom to the day.
The
Origins of Sugar from Beet
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Sugar cane provided sugar since ancient times, so why did
sugar beet come into the picture? The answer involves a combination of
scientific discoveries and historical events spanning three centuries.
The
origins of maize: the puzzle of pellagra
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The spread of maize as a staple food from the fifteenth
century resulted in a devastating nutrient-deficiency disease called
pellagra. The causation of pellagra posed a medical puzzle for centuries
until twentieth century scientists unravelled the mystery.
Beer - A
long History
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Beer is produced by such a complex process that it often
seems surprising how anyone would have thought of it. Nevertheless they did,
and a long time ago. The Origins of Tomatoes - There must be thousands of dishes in which the tomato is the main, or a key ingredient. Due to its colour, taste and versatility, the tomato has come a long way from the ancient Aztec civilisations to being ubiquitous in today's kitchens. The Origins of Cocoa - The Food of the Gods - The wholesome nature of cocoa has been widely acclaimed in Europe since the sixteenth century. However, to understand where this image originated one has to go back to the folklore of the Indians of Central America, who regarded 'cacao' as an elixir.
Back to
the Origins
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We take many of our staple foods for granted, rarely giving a
second thought to their origin and history. But where do they actually come
from? The humble potato for example, would be designated a novel food if it
were introduced on the European market today.
The
origins of our Daily Bread
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Climate changes in the Fertile Crescent some 10,000 years ago
lead to the spread of wild cereals, one of which was the predecessor of
modern day wheat. Since those times, many genetic changes, brought about
both by accident and by design, have led to a very different plant.
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