Physics and food go way back together. The eating of high‐energy, high‐protein animal flesh may well have made civilization and science possible, by providing adequate nourishment for the evolving, enlarging human brain. And prehistoric cooks were certainly among the world's first applied scientists. They transformed matter through the controlled application of thermal energy, turning tough, microbe‐ridden, bland animal flesh into softer, safer, more flavorful food.

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