"Cooked" is narrated by Michael Pollan who can be a bit dogmatic at times. But the first episode (there are only four) is titled "Fire" and it is fascinating. It basically follows the trail that fire has led us in the evolutionary road on which we have wandered. Pollan makes a great statement, that without fire and the advent of cooking that fire presented to early man, we (humans) would not be who we are today. Think about eating only raw foods, chewing and chewing for hours. Think about cooking and how it breaks down those fibers and how our lives changed because of that. Smaller jaws. Less time spent chewing, more time spent hunting and gathering. And on and on.
The episode is full of examples of how fire not only changed how we eat but changed cultures and our society and how fire still is enormous in our cooking and eating habits. Pollan and a friend create a little cooker in their yard where they roast a very small pig. While his pig roasts he visits an old Southern guy who is an accomplished grill master in his own right, in his own backyard. The entire episode is great, engaging and educational and fun.
The second episode is called "Water" but it isn't focused on water as much as on the difference between manufactured food and home cooked food. Why do people rely on prepared food and not cook at home? Pollan delves into the time vs cost vs convenience factors and most of it is clear and concise. There is a bit more "preaching" in this episode but he does make a case for cooking at home instead of eating out, but then he has a rich white guy advantage. And he has a cook helping him do all this home cooking. But it is still a good show.
The next two episodes are "Air" and "Earth" and in those he tackles bread making, gluten, fermentation and microbes in the air. Hmm.... doesn't sound all that lively, at least not as lively as "Fire" but if he gets into making your own sourdough starter for bread, I am all in.
Check it out. I will report back after I watch the last two episodes.
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