The 20 most significant food inventions of all time

By Caroline Scott-Thomas

24-Sep-2012 - Last updated on 24-Sep-2012 at 16:40 GMT

Modern inventions tended to do better than prehistoric ones, with refrigeration taking the top spot, when Fellows of the Society and experts in the food and drink industry judged innovations on four criteria: accessibility, productivity, aesthetics and health.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below...

19: The microwave oven

16: Eating utensils

13: Crop rotation

12: The fishing net

11: Fermentation

9: Grinding/milling

8: Selective breeding / strains

6: Combine harvester / threshing machine

Pasteurisation / sterilisation

1: Refrigeration

Related tags science

1 comment

How about salting?

Posted by Tapio Viljava, 27 September 2012 - 13:33 GMT

I think preserving meat in saturated salt solution, also pickling of vegetables, should have been included in the list, replacing e.g. eating utensils which, although being important, are just one example of the use of tools by man.

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