The History of Artificial Foods

[RJBowman]

"And the chemists' triumphs of synthesis, which could now give us an entirely artificial food, remain largely in abeyance because it is so much more pleasant and interesting to eat natural produce and to grow such things upon the soil."
...The World Set Free, by H.G. Wells.

I created a topic in this section on the invention of saccharine a while back. I think that there is something very steampunk about artificial, synthetic, and imitation foods.

Early 20th century science fiction, including Things to Come by H.G. Wells, predicted that common foods like milk would eventually be produced artificially.

The aforementioned saccharine was a sensation when it was first introduced, and adopted by President Theodore Roosevelt as part of a weight loss regimen. Hydrogenated vegetable oil was invented in 1901 and first used to make soap before being rapidly adopted as a cheap long-shelf-life substitute for lard in packaged foods. At the time, these must have seemed like harbinger of the future, and, looking back, they were.

If there is such a thing as "steampunk cuisine", I think that these early artificial food products, along with such novelties as tinned meats, would be a part of it.

[J. Wilhelm]

"And the chemists' triumphs of synthesis, which could now give us an entirely artificial food, remain largely in abeyance because it is so much more pleasant and interesting to eat natural produce and to grow such things upon the soil."
...The World Set Free, by H.G. Wells.

I created a topic in this section on the invention of saccharine a while back. I think that there is something very steampunk about artificial, synthetic, and imitation foods.

Early 20th century science fiction, including Things to Come by H.G. Wells, predicted that common foods like milk would eventually be produced artificially.

The aforementioned saccharine was a sensation when it was first introduced, and adopted by President Theodore Roosevelt as part of a weight loss regimen. Hydrogenated vegetable oil was invented in 1901 and first used to make soap before being rapidly adopted as a cheap long-shelf-life substitute for lard in packaged foods. At the time, these must have seemed like harbinger of the future, and, looking back, they were.

If there is such a thing as "steampunk cuisine", I think that these early artificial food products, along with such novelties as tinned meats, would be a part of it.

Should we merge the saccharin and American Cheese threads into this one?