Art of Cooking
by S. Kumar
This story dates back to thousands of years ago, when the art of cooking was still unknown. Man had learnt to make fire, but he used fire only to keep himself warm and to keep wild animals away. He still ate raw flesh and wild roots and berries. But he could domesticate goats and pigs and also make huts of straw and grass and bamboos.
In a certain hut in a Chinese village, there lived a father and his son. They lived in a small hut and, during winters, often lit a fire to protect themselves from the severe chill. All they had was a boar that they had managed to catch alive. It was tethered in one corner of their thatched hut. Later, it would be tamed, fattened and one day slaughtered for a grand feast.
On winter nights, the man often used to go out alone, for it was biting cold outside, and leave the son to guard the house. They had to specially see that wind did not cause flames to leap or spark to fly and set the whole house ablaze. After the father returned with some prize hunt or a collection of fruit, they would sit down to a superb meal.
However, one winter night, the man was away much longer than usual, and the son, tired after the day’s ramble, fell fast asleep. Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew and tongues of flame shot up, causing sparks to fly out here and there. Before the boy woke up, the hut had caught fire and was burning.
The poor boy ran out of the hut in fear. He stood helpless, watching the inferno consume his fragile dwelling. Soon it was reduced to ashes.
The boy was not so much worried about the hut being ruined, but felt really miserable about the loss of the animal. He dreaded what punishment his angry father would mete out for his carelessness. At last, when the embers had died down, he plucked enough courage to go and investigate into the fate of the unfortunate boar.
The boar lay still, and merely by looking at it, one could not say whether it was dead or alive. This question pestered the young boy, and at last he decided to poke his forefinger into its sides to see whether there was any trace of life left in the badly burnt boar.
He suddenly thrust his finger into its sides. But as the boar was burnt and the flesh was soft, the finger penetrated quite deep into its body. His finger was badly scalded, and he immediately withdrew his finger and put it into his mouth, almost as a reflex action. The pieces of flesh sticking to his finger gave him a tasty surprise.
Finding the cooked flesh very agreeable and palatable, he thrust his finger into the boar’s flesh again and again and savored it.
While he was still indulging at his newfound treat, his father returned, and was horrified at his son’s ‘cannibalism’ - much as a present day parent would be horrified to see his son tasting uncooked meat. He chided him badly, whereupon the boy thrust his father’s finger into the flesh.
The man flinched at the heat of the flesh, which nearly scorched his forefinger, and Nature made him apply the same remedy, so he put his finger into his mouth to soothe it. The pleasant taste so overwhelmed him that he forgot everything and began to relish the unique delicacy.
He strictly forbade his son from mentioning it to anyone else, lest they be ostracized for their horrendous taste and atrocious ways. However, the neighbours were greatly baffled as to why their hut was frequently afire.
After sometime, their secret was discovered, but they were not punished; instead, everyone decided that cooked meat was more appetizing and yummy than raw flesh. But they also showed ways to roast and cook without setting the house ablaze every time. That was how cooking started, and even today, Man is the only creation on the earth who cooks food.
S KUMARINDIA
