undefined | Better HN

0 pointsthaumasiotes1y ago0 comments

> Even in this case, when some kind of flour has been used since the beginning, instead of whole grains, the evolution from coarse floor and porridge to fine floor and bread has increased the amount of work required for eating wheat.

There are two concepts of "work required to eat [something]".

You might be talking about the amount of labor that goes into preparing the food.

Or you might be talking about the amount of labor that goes into digesting the food.

Bread from fine flour may be harder to make, but it's much easier to eat.

0 comments

adrian_b1y ago

Bread from fine flour may be easier to digest, but not easier to eat than porridge.

Unlike porridge, bread still requires vigorous chewing, especially in the case of the kinds of bread available to the ancients, which were not as fluffy as many modern kinds of bread.

Ancient Rome is an example of a society that has transitioned from eating porridge to eating bread during historical times. While during the late Roman Republic and during the Empire the staple food of the Romans was bread made of (triploid) wheat flour, the staple food of the earlier Romans was "pult" made of "far", i.e. porridge made of emmer wheat.

This transition was also a transition from porridge made by each family at home to flour and bread made by professionals, because that required much more work.