Many years later, standing in front of the special banquet hall of Tiansheng Foods Manufacturing Company, food designer Shi Tian remembered the distant afternoon when his father showed him the first generation of carbon dioxide starch machines.
But soon, he tried hard to get that picture out of his mind, because today he was going to take the whole family to a super luxurious meal, a real classic food in human history that only 50 tables of guests all over the world can enjoy every year. Package, which is the reward for his 20 years of hard work and outstanding contribution to the company.
Because of environmental problems that lasted for many years, when Shi Tian was born, the warm sunshine and clear water had disappeared from human life, and replaced by the scorching sun and the torment of drought. At the same time, there are also wheat and rice that humans were familiar with. Humans have been feeding on them for tens of thousands of years. In Shi Tian’s memory, the only food he ate when he was a child was corn.
”This is the biggest difference between C3 plants and C4 plants. C3 plants are too squeamish.” My father always said, “So, now we have to eat corn every day.”
Shi Tian didn’t like to eat corn when he was a child. He didn’t understand the helplessness in his father’s words. He didn’t know until he learned the relevant knowledge that it was all related to photosynthesis.
Whether it is rice, wheat or corn, their growth depends on photosynthesis. However, plants do not photosynthesize in exactly the same way, nor do they use sunlight with the same efficiency. Rice and wheat are both C3 plants, and corn is C4 plants. Unfortunately, C3 plants are much less efficient in photosynthesis than C4 plants, less productive than the latter, and their survival in hot and arid conditions is more challenging. So, rice and wheat were the first to disappear from the table, along with the vast majority of food crops and vegetables (95% of plant species are C3 plants), as well as meat.
However, it is not accurate to say that it disappears, because with the blessing of high technology, it is not too difficult to maintain a small amount of these foods, but the price is sensational.
So, the poor can only eat corn? It’s a joke, if you can really eat corn every day, it’s good. Before Shi Tian, who doesn’t like corn, grows up, even corn has begun to reduce production on a large scale. Fortunately, scientists invented the carbon dioxide starch machine, and it is the natural food manufacturing company that owns the patented technology.
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Shi Tian remembers that the whole world was a sensation at that time. Science and technology museums in all cities were exhibiting this kind of machine, and his father also took him to visit. The virtual reality next to the machine constantly demonstrated its working principle, which deeply attracted Shi Tian.
The production of starch in nature requires about 60 steps of metabolic reactions and complex physiological regulation, while using artificial synthesis, carbon dioxide can be converted into starch in only 11 steps. The way to artificially synthesize starch is to build carbon-one compounds into multi-carbon compounds like building blocks. First, a chemical catalyst is used to reduce high concentrations of carbon dioxide to carbon-one compound – methanol, and then methanol is built into carbon-three compounds. The carbon three compound is built into a carbon six compound, and finally it is built again to obtain the required multi-carbon compound, that is, starch. All this can be done in a carbon dioxide starch machine, a 1 cubic meter machine can produce starch equivalent to 5 acres of cornfields per year!
From that day on, Shi Tian was determined to contribute to the cause of human food. In college, he studied the most fashionable food design major. After graduation, he entered the Natural Food Manufacturing Company with excellent grades and became a designer of designing food. At that time, people’s food was basically based on this artificial starch. Raw materials, the responsibility of food designers is to use various technical means to restore those disappearing delicacies and develop more novel foods.
With his love for the food of his dreams, Shi Tian quickly became the “soul man” among the company’s designers. The food he designed has both a sense of history and a sense of modern fashion. As for the taste, then he doesn’t know.
However, the company’s senior taster said, “It’s quite real and a little interesting.”
The main business of Tiansheng Food Manufacturing Company is to produce and sell these designed foods, but at the end of each year, the company will launch 50 tables of real food. Every time at this time, the whole world will be sensational, rich people rush to book, and there are even news that some people would rather apply for a food loan from the bank, and have a 5-year or 10-year loan on their back, but also come and taste it.
Shi Tian’s luck lies in the company’s welfare. Every year, the company will give out a quota to reward particularly outstanding employees. After 20 years, the reward finally falls on Shi Tian’s head.
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Shi Tian brought the whole family to the banquet in full costume. When he watched the waiter bring the dishes to the table, he only felt the smell of happiness in the air.
”This is the real braised pork. Judging from its oily color and its fragrant, soft and glutinous texture, I can’t mix it…”
”This is green vegetables, not fake vegetables mixed with seaweed powder. , how crisp and tender the taste is!”
”Ah, this must be the classic representative of Sichuan cuisine – Kung Pao Chicken! Not only chicken, but also peanuts, such fascinating little nuts, your grandfather once said to put oil on it. Frying it is the best appetizer.”
Shi Tian thought of his dead father, he couldn’t help feeling sad, the food in his mouth didn’t seem to taste good, his throat was still a little tight, his chest was tight, and he couldn’t breathe.
”What’s wrong with me, is it too sad?”
Shi Tian only felt that his consciousness was beginning to blur.
The wife also noticed Shi Tian’s abnormality. She supported her husband in panic and asked him if he was being too sensitive.
The word “allergic” flashed across Shi Tian’s mind instantly. “Is it a food allergy? Damn, it must be a peanut allergy, turns out I’m a peanut allergy sufferer.”
”Symptoms of a peanut allergy include low blood pressure, swelling of the face and throat, which can block breathing and cause shock.” In medical and food science books, there are records about peanut allergy, but Shi Tian never paid attention to it, because peanuts have long disappeared from the public table.
Shi Tian turned his head to look at the children with difficulty. Fortunately, the children are all normal. “It seems that I’m the only peanut allergy sufferer in the family. Maybe there’s something wrong with my genes.”
”My classic food set in human history is all messed up.” This was Shi Tian’s last thought before he passed out. .
