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Course title: Food: Technology, Trade and Culture Course code: CCGL9017

Course Instructors: Dr. Tanja Sobko (Course Coordinator)

tsobko@hku.hk
Dr. Karen Mak (Course Manager**)
mkwkaren@hku.hk
Dr. Evan Pickett epickett@hku.hk
Dr. Lawrence Ramsden ramsdenl@hku.hk
**
Please address any questions about the course to Dr. Mak

Lecture Schedule: Every Wednesday 12:30-14:20 Venue: MB217

23 Nov Saturday 11:00-12:50 Venue: MB217

Laboratory and tutorial sessions ** Please refer to Moodle

End of Semester group presentation: times and groups ** Please refer to Moodle

Course description: https://commoncore.hku.hk/ccgl9017/

Theme of the course:

Why do we eat what we eat? Where does the food come from? What makes for
“desirability” or sensory quality in food? How and why did global trade develop
around the production and shipping of food? What are the historical roots of the
modern-day globalized food industry? This course will offer an in-depth look at key
issues in the economic history of global trade in food, in processing foods for
optimum quality, and the development of markets for new products. Examples will
be drawn from commodities – such as salt, sugar or spices; major beverages – such
as wine or coffee; and newly globalized products – such as pizza or chocolate. The
major themes of the course are:
• The historical development of food commodity trading
• The globalization of food preferences
• The definition, development and spread of “new” products
• The understanding of some basic underlying technology/science in the
production and processing of major foods.

Course Contents & Topics:

Topics are subject to variation from year to year.
1. Food in a cultural context. Producers, traders, and markets.
2. Basic sensory science – what do we like and why?
3. Salt - Mining, purifying and processing salt. Physiological necessity. Salt in
history and politics. Roman ‘salarium’, Chinese imperial taxation, oppression
and the Siberian salt mine.
4. Sugar - The origin and growth of sugar cane. Sugar beet. Sugar consumption
and health. Sugar as a commodity. Development of commodity markets.

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Demand for sugar and its role in the slave trade. The sugar-based dietary
culture in the West and the rise of obesity.
5. Tea – 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.
6. Chili – The New World crops: how the Americas transformed global food. The
Spice Trade. Capsaicin: evolution and effects.
7. Beer - Beer and its multiple origin stories. Beer shaping the history of disease.
What makes a beer? Chemistry and fermentation. Modern production - big
brands to craft breweries.
8. Milk and dairy - The production and properties of milk. Problems of
preservation and storage. Milk processing and products. Basics of cheese.
Rising demand in China. Ice cream – marketing luxury.
9. Pizza - Properties of dough- formulation and effects. History of the pizza
tradition, its spread. “Chinese people don’t eat cheese” – marketing pizza in
HK and China.
10. Cod – influence on the world history. Frozen, salted and dried. From staple of
the medieval diet to luxury restaurants. The tragic story of environmental
failure.

Course learning outcomes

On completing the course, students will be able to:
· Describe and explain the origin, production, and processing of a range of key
food materials and food products.
· Outline the history of global trade in selected food commodities and
products, showing an understanding of how this impacted economic
development and cultural change.
· Appreciate the massive changes in the dietary culture of a “global city” such
as Hong Kong over the past 30 years.
· Demonstrate the ability to investigate a topic within the subject matter of the
course, and apply new methodologies and paradigms to summarize and
present the results.

Assessment Tasks/Activities
Type of Assessment Tasks/ Activities Weighting in final
course grade (%)
Tutorial participation 10
Lab participation 20
Project development 20
Project outcome and presentation# 50

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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.

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9 Wednesday Lecture 8: Beer Dr. Pickett

30th Beer and its multiple origin stories. Beer shaping the history
October of disease. What makes a beer? Chemistry and
fermentation. Modern production - big brands to craft
breweries.

10 Wednesday Lecture 9: Cod Mr. Will CHENG

6th November Cod influence on the world history. Frozen, salted and dried.
From staple of the medieval diet to luxury restaurants. The
tragic story of environmental failure.

11 Wednesday Lecture 10: Milk and Dairy Products (part I) Dr. Ramsden
13th November The production and properties of milk. Problems of
preservation and storage. Milk processing and products. Basics
of cheese. Rising demand in China.

12 Wednesday Lecture 11: Milk and Dairy Products (part 2) Dr. Ramsden
20th November Ice cream - Physical properties of milk and processes of
freezing related to quality. Ben and Jerry’s – marketing luxury

12 Saturday Lecture 12: Wheat, bread, starch Pizza Dr. Ramsden

23rd November Application of principles to a real product. History of the
11:00 – 12:50 pizza tradition, its spread in the USA. Make your own pizza!

13 Presentation week Supervised by

Pls see Moodle for the final arrangement of presentation Dr Mak and Dr
for various groups. Pickett

Approximate lecture coverage is indicated above. The lectures cannot deal in detail
with each topic. References will be posted on Moodle.

Recommended Reading List

• “The World That Trade Created: Society, Culture, and the World Economy,
1400 to the Present” (2005) by Kenneth Pomeranz and Steven Topik.
• "An Edible History of Humanity" (2009) by Tom Standage.
• Kurlansky, M (1997). Cod A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World

#
Digital Media Production with Oral Presentation

Work in groups of 5 (preferred) (exceptionally you may request a different size

group) AND from the same tutorial group. Identify an important topic within
the general theme of:

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“Traditional Foods Redefined”.

A good topic would be one that draws on the academic background and interests
of group members. The topic should focus on trade or culture or marketing,
rather than on technology.

The topic should be discussed and agreed with Dr. Mak or Dr. Pickett and a
preliminary written outline submitted BEFORE Reading Week.

You should prepare a 10 minute digital media presentation (either a video OR a

narrated slide show), followed by a 5-10 minute Q&A or discussion.

You will present your work to other students at the last tutorial class.

The assessment of the project will be mainly based on:

• Quality of research and analysis

• Clarity of presentation and focus in summarizing the subject in an informative
way
• Innovative and appropriate use of media technologies

Course Level Grade Descriptors

(Letter grades may be adjusted with ‘+’ or ‘-’ to reflect finer differences in
performance)

• Grade A is given to students who meet with conspicuous excellence every

demand that can fairly be made by the course.
• Grade B is given to those students who add to the minimum of satisfactory
attainment excellence in not all, but some of the following: organization,
accuracy, originality, understanding, insight.
• Grade C is given to those students who have attained a satisfactory familiarity
with the content of a course and who have demonstrated ability to use this
knowledge in a satisfactory manner.
• Grade D is a passing grade, indicating some competence with the material but
presenting major omissions or errors of fundamental understanding.
• Grade F Failure.