Revision as of 05:29, 21 May 2013

This is a database of food, which includes all the necessary information to permit automated selection, based on defined criteria, of optimum foods based on locally available resources, such as land surface, soil fertility, availability of water, per person calorie target, etc.

Nutrients

There are several categories of food nutrients. The common ones are water, energy (measured in (kilo)calories or kilojules), carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins and minerals. The minerals are directly absorbed by the plant from the soil, therefore any minerals a plant has must be present in the soil for the plant to grow. Vitamins are organic compounds that an organism doesn't produce in sufficient quantities and must be ingested; although different organisms have a different set of compounds considered vitamins, any references to Vitamins in this database assume these are for Humans. All foods have some degree (or ratio, per energy output) of carbohydrates, fats and proteins; all fats and protein can be absorbed and digested, and used to produce energy or other metabolic functions; only simple carbohydrates can be absorbed and turned into energy, whilst some complex carbohydrates can be absorbed onced cooked; Humans cannot absorb or use complex carbohydrates like uncooked starches, soluble fibre or celulose for producing energy, however some of these may feed gut bacteria, some of which produces vitamins and other nutrients as by-products.

The nutrient database used by this wiki is sourced, at this time, solely from the USDA publicly available database.

Food Database

The Food entries in this wiki implement a database system. This database enables the storage of records in different pages, and the ability to display all records unified in the page Table:Food. The infobox Template:Infobox food defines the format that each individual food's general information displays as.

Culinary Vegetables

In culinary terms, a vegetable is an edible plant or its part, intended for cooking or eating raw. Some vegetables can be consumed raw, some may be eaten cooked, and some must be cooked to destroy certain natural toxins or microbes in order to be edible, such as eggplant, unripe tomatoes, potatoes, daylily, winter melon, fiddlehead fern, and most kinds of legume/beans (such as common beans).

Many plants or plant parts are eaten as food. There are around 2,000 plant species which are cultivated for food, and many have several distinct cultivars. See the definition of vegetable in the Wikipedia, which includes the different parts of plants used as vegetables.

Edible seeds include cereals (maize, wheat, rice, et cetera), legumes (beans, peas, lentils, et cetera), and nuts. Oilseeds are often pressed to produce rich oils - sunflower, flaxseed, rapeseed (including canola oil), sesame, et cetera.

Fruits are the ripened ovaries of plants, including the seeds within. Some botanical fruits, such as tomatoes, pumpkins, and eggplants, are eaten as vegetables.

Vegetables are a second type of plant matter that is commonly eaten as food. These include root vegetables (potatoes and carrots), leaf vegetables (spinach and lettuce), stem vegetables (bamboo shoots and asparagus), and inflorescence vegetables (globe artichokes and broccoli and other vegetables such as cabbage or cauliflower).

See the full list of culinary vegetables in the Wikipedia.

• /Fruits/: In botanical terms, a fruit is the ovary of a flowering plant (sometimes including accessory structures) which includes many poisonous fruits, whilst in culinary terms, a fruit is any edible part of a plant with a sweet flavour. This list includes all the edible botanical fruits, regardless of their sweetness. See List of fruits and list of culinary fruits
  • /Gourds and Squashes/: see list of gourds and squashes
• /Herbs/: see herbs and list of culinary herbs and spices
  • /Arils/: see arils
  • /Basils/: see list of basil cultivars
  • /Barks/: such as cinnamon and cassia
  • Capsicums: see list of Capsicum cultivars
  • Dried Flower Buds: such as cloves
  • Dried Fruits or Seeds: such as fennel, mustard, and black pepper
  • /Resins/: such as asafoetida
  • Roots and Rhizomes: such as turmeric, ginger and galingale
  • /Stigmas/: such as saffron
• /Seeds/: Seeds in this context are edible seeds, whereas raw or cooked, or seeds that can have edible oil extracted. Edible seeds can also be used to produce oils and/or flours and/or butters.
  • /Cereals/
  • /Legumes/: see podded vegetables (legumes) and types of beans
  • /Nuts/
  • /Oilseeds/: Oilseeds in this context are seeds that can produce edible oil, but which are inedible themselves.
• /Sea Vegetables/: see sea vegetables
• /Vegetables/
  • /Buds/
  • /Flower Buds/: see flowers and flower buds, and edible flowers
  • /Fungi/
  • /Leafy Vegetables/: see leafy and salad vegetables, and list of leaf vegetables.
  • /Leaf Sheaths/
  • /Roots/: Roots are rich in sugars and other carbohydrates, and usually fast growing. Possibly easily grown in greenhouses and vertical farming. See root and tuberous vegetables, and list of root vegetables
    • /True root/
      • /Taproots/
      • /Tuberous Roots/
    • /Root-like stem/
      • /Root-like Stems/
    • /Modified plant stem/
      • /Corm/
      • /Rhizomes/
        • /Tubers/: Tubers are rich in starchy carbohydrates, and usually fast growing. Can be easily grown in greenhouses and vertical farming.
    • /Bulbs/: see bulb and stem vegetables
      • /Allium/
  • /Stems of Leaves/: see bulb and stem vegetables
  • /Stem Shoots/
  • /Whole-Plant Sprouts/

Animals

• Mammals
• Birds
• Reptiles
• Amphibians
• Land invertebrates
• Marine vertebrates
• Marine invertebrates
  • Oysters: Oysters are a source of protein, vitamins and zinc, and are widely considered a delicacy. Their luxurious appeal might improve morale and desirability for the project. They are thought to contain a lot of cholesterol but this is disputed (six medium sized oysters = 57 calories). They contain a lot of salt which can be dangerous to heart patients. They can be grown by setting out seed and then harvesting. Oysters might require a lake. Their shells can be used to improve gardens.

Meals and foodstuff

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Several meals and foodstuff are staple foods of many cultures, and desirable for maintaining familiarity with foods. This section describes all these types of food that are prepared by baking or other cooking methods using processed or fractioned foods such as flours, oils, essences, etc.

Plants in tropical climates

• Sugar palm: Willie Smits talks about sugar palms in this video: http://www.ted.com/talks/willie_smits_restores_a_rainforest.html

Agriculture

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