By Rysha Sultania
Scrolling through Instagram, I often come across a plethora of ooey-gooey brownies, luscious pastas and delectable goodies in-the-making, complete with upbeat songs and crisp instructions. I, as a viewer, am automatically drawn in and mystified, yes because I am a complete foodie but also because of how splendid and immersive technology has made the experience of sharing the love of eating.
Online platforms and forums have taken up the mantle as Virtual Grandmas, fostering a hub for tips and tricks for all kinds of recipes that once only an elder’s “magic” hands would be able to teach.
Through immaculate videographers and their high tech equipment, technology manages to wriggle itself onto our tables. Complex but efficient video and graphic editing software have managed to make even clumsily cooked up stews to look Masterchef worthy. Videos are also playing a much more significant role in cooking culture. Three quarters of the women who took its survey, AllRecipes reports, watch cooking videos online. And the same percentage consider instructive videos to be an integral component of recipe websites. In 1999, only 45 percent of women (yep, the report is limited to women here) said the same. And nearly half of all cooks surveyed -- 43 percent -- believe that, in 15 years, more people will learn how to cook from videos than from their parents.
Food photography and editing has also become a major hobby for the masses where people enjoy producing literal eye candy. Other than the expected flair for the camera, one must also be proficient in software that make pictures pop more, appeal to the audiences and pull attention to their page. With the sheer volume of recipes and other F&B info out there, bloggers often use the handy features of social media, virtual engagement strategies and web design to push their content into the front file. This takes a cumulative skill in marketing, psychology and most of all, technology. Robots like Bimby have revolutionized the way of cooking, since they perform several functions, which were once done manually. Fridges have multi-temperature drawers, ovens can tell you when your meat is fully cooked through and connected apps can keep you up to date on what is currently in what.
There are smart kettles that boil when you tap on your app, heated butter knives, Nutribullets and automatic stirrers. Recipes have moved from books to screens, with the below infographic from Noeldempsey.com showing that well over half of 25-34-year-olds cook with a smartphone or tablet handy.
I guess it is safe to say that with the coming of splendid technological creativity in
the field of gastronomy, now people are eating better than ever, or at least seem to.
In fact, I guess this new phase of invention is just the icing on the cake!
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