WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2024
K S S Pillai
Cooking is as old as civilization. Even when man was a hunter, he made food tender and tasty by cooking it over the fire. Unlike the modern man, he did not have any choice of cooking fuel and did not have to worry about frequent hikes in their price.
Nowadays, petrol and diesel must be jealous that they are not alone in getting a prominent place in newspapers and television broadcasts almost daily. Natural gas used in vehicles, cooking gas cylinders and piped natural gas are also vying with them in the matter of price rise. As expected, political parties have been protesting against the hike, though they know it is useless unless important elections are round the corner when there may be a mysterious break.
That reminds me of my childhood days in my village when no one had heard of cooking gas or any other fuel for cooking. Electricity was a new entrant, and its supply was erratic. There used to be a hearth in every kitchen for cooking food, using anything dry as fuel. If the fuel was not fully dry, the whole house would be filled with smoke from the kitchen, women working there being the worst victims. Men would chop firewood and spread the cut logs in the open to dry.
Almost every household had coconut trees in the compound. Every part of that tree was used as fuel. Since there were several other trees in the compound, their dry leaves lying on the ground were also collected and used in the hearth.
The majority of the houses had thatched roofs with braided coconut leaves seasoned by keeping submerged in water bodies for a few days. The thatch would be replaced every year with a new one, and the old coconut leaves would be stored for use in the kitchen. The thatch changing, a day-long affair, was a cooperative effort by all healthy men in the neighbourhood. Womenfolk would also assemble and cook food for all. Children, free from parental control, would play throughout the day.
As most of the villagers had paddy fields, they used to keep cows, whose dung and urine were used as fertilizer. They would also dry some dung in the sun for use as fuel. Rice was prepared at home by pounding the paddy in the pestle by women. The chaff and husk were also used as fuels.
The modernisation of kitchens started with the advent of kerosene stoves. Some were of pumping type that required intermittent pumping and cleaning with pins, while others had wicks. Though electric cooking appliances made their appearance later, they were not popular, as they were expensive, electric supply was disrupted several times a day, and there were reports of some people getting electrocuted while using them. Cooking gas was a popular medium of cooking.
The advent of the solar cooker has given more respite to housewives as we have many sunny days in a year, and the fuel is free. Somehow, they have not found a place in most of the kitchens despite the government’s campaign. Some households with cows have started biogas plants, using the gas for cooking and the slurry as fertilizer.
