食品科技與飲食文化

Food Science and Technology in China's Dietary Culture

陳存傑(T. C. Chen)

《中國飲食文化學術研討會論文集》 第2屆 (1993/07) Pp. 165-188

https://doi.org/10.6641/PICCFC.1-8.1993.02.11

摘要

文化是人們工作與思想活動產物的總稱，飲食是人們活動最主要的原動力，人們因飲食而活著，而活著也為了飲食。由於地域、種族經濟背景的差異，加上個人、科技、宗教的因素產生了不同的飲食文化。中國的飲食文化除了地域性的特色外，還有許多突出的地方，包括了地方小吃、節慶飲食、進補食療等。科技的發展是促進人類文明進步的主要力量，早期人們科技的發展可說是為了滿足民生的需要，在民以食為天的前提下，食品科技可說有著悠久的歷史，不過食品科技的發展可以用工業革命作為一個分野，1750年工業革命前的是以技術的成份居多，工業革命後加入了科學與工程，首先是冷藏與冷凍技術的發展，接著是罐頭工業的開始，把食品科技帶入另一個境界，十八世紀，人們鼓勵新製造技術的發明，許多新的食品加工技術也應之而生，新的方便的食品生產與銷售改變了人們的飲食文化。食品工業是農業的下游工業，經由加工處理使農產品能作較長期的儲存並擴張了利用的空間。早期除了傳統食品外，中國大陸與台灣的食品工業都不太發達，二十世紀的發展大體上能滿足人民的需要而且食品工業在海峽的兩岸都是國民經濟的第三大產業，台灣地區的食品工業發展可以由個體的層次觀察，由政府的統計資料中可以看到人們食物結構的變遷，近年的發展使人們的飲食重質不重量，飲食朝向少量多樣化、高級化及營養衛生化。展望食品科技引導下的中國飲食文化，筆者認為將來的發展包括了：傳統烹調技藝的現代化，食物銷售方式的變化，營養健康與安全食品的開發，食療的發展，生物科技在食品的應用，新食品資源的開拓和新食品加工技術的應用等。科技的發展改變了人們的經濟活動和社會型態，食品科技的發展無疑的豐富了人們的生活使飲食文化更加燦爛。

並列摘要

Culture is a result of human activity, the way of life in a society. Food sustains life, and securing food has been the main activity of man since early history. Man lives because of food and lives for food. Due to the differences in geographic location and environment, race, and economic condition, as well as individuality, science, and religion, diverse dietary cultures are formed. In addition to the many famous regional cuisines, Chinese dietary culture has many other characteristics such as festival feasts, snacks, local food specialities, medicinal foods, and health foods, etc. The development of science and technology is the main driving force for human culture. Early technology has centered around the satifying of basic needs of human beings. Since man lives because of food, no technology can claim a longer history than food technology. However, modern food science and technology is a relatively young discipline. Historically, the Industrial Revolution which began in 1750, may be consideredl a starting point for the development of modern food science and technology. Prior to this period, technology revolved around processing methods. The Industrial Revolution added science and engineering aspects to food technology. Real innovations in food preservation did not evolve until the turn of the nineteenth century. Until this time, the ancient techniques of salting, drying, smoking, natural freezing, and so on, stood undisputed. With the development of refrigeration and freezing, followed by canning and other new technologies, food industries have created many new products and marketing systems that have changed man's way of life and enriched dietary culture. These new methods have done more to increase world population and to create better social conditions than any other revolution recognized by historians. Processing and preservation of foods have added to the values and utilization of raw agricultural products. The export of processed agricultural products has played an important role in the development of Taiwan's economy. In the last decade, both China's and Taiwan's food industries have srown, now ranking third among all their respective industries. One can observe the changing pattern of their dietary habits form government statistics such as the national food balance sheets. Fast economic growth and increased national income have created structural changes in the food industry in Taiwan. The current trend in food consumption has been toward more convenience, variety, nutrition, and safety. In line with the development of food science and technology, future Chinese dietary culture will see a modernization of traditional foods and preparation methods, changes in food marketing systems, development of nutritious and healthy products, development of medicinal and health foods, application of biotechnology in food production and processing, and development of new food sources as well as new food technologies. The development of food science and technology would certainly alter the socioeconomic activities of Chinese society and enrich its dietary culture.