Updated on 20190902

Weekly Class Topic Schedule

Course
Date Lectures
Instructors

1 Wednesday Lecture 1: Introduction to Food Culture, and Dr. Mak

4th September Sensory Evaluation
Food in a cultural context. Producers, traders, and
markets. Basic sensory science – what do we like and why?
Course requirements and expectations.

2 Wednesday Lecture 2: Sugar (part 1) Dr. Mak

11th September The origin and growth of sugar cane and sugar beet. Sugar
as a commodity. Demand for sugar and its role in the slave
trade. Development of commodity markets

3 Wednesday Lecture 3: Sugar (part 2) Dr. Mak

18th September Sugar consumption and health. The sugar-based dietary
culture in the West and the rise of obesity.

4 Wednesday Lecture 4: Salt (part 1) Mr. Will CHENG

25th September Salt in history. Mining, purifying and processing
salt. Physiological necessity

5 Wednesday Lecture 5: Salt and Soy sauce (part 2) Mr. Will CHENG
2nd October Salt commission in China – mainstay of imperial taxation
revenue flow – key to development of a unitary state. The
symbolism of the Siberian Salt Mine, salt and political
oppression.

6 Wednesday Lecture 6: Tea Dr Pickett

9th October History of tea from China to the world. The biology and
chemistry of bitterness: tea production, processing and
brewing. Traditional and new producers of tea. The business
of tea. World trade.

7 Wednesday **Reading Week** - No Class!

16th Oct.

8 Wednesday Lecture 7: Chili Dr Pickett

23rd October The New World crops: how the Americas transformed global
food. The Spice Trade. Capsaicin: evolution and effects.