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Colloid

A colloid is a mixture in which one substance consisting of microscopically dispersed insoluble particles is suspended throughout another substance. Some definitions specify that the particles must be dispersed in a liquid, while others extend the definition to include substances like aerosols and gels. The term colloidal suspension refers unambiguously to the overall mixture (although a narrower sense of the word suspension is distinguished from colloids by larger particle size). A colloid has a dispersed phase (the suspended particles) and a continuous phase (the medium of suspension). The dispersed phase particles have a diameter of approximately 1 nanometre to 1 micrometre.

Some colloids are translucent because of the Tyndall effect, which is the scattering of light by particles in the colloid. Other colloids may be opaque or have a slight color.

Colloidal suspensions are the subject of interface and colloid science. This field of study began in 1845 by Francesco Selmi,   who called them pseudosolutions, and expanded by Michael Faraday and Thomas Graham, who coined the term colloid in 1861.

Classification
Colloids can be classified as follows:

Homogeneous mixtures with a dispersed phase in this size range may be called colloidal aerosols, colloidal emulsions, colloidal suspensions, colloidal foams, colloidal dispersions, or hydrosols.

Hydrocolloids
Hydrocolloids describe certain chemicals (mostly polysaccharides and proteins) that are colloidally dispersible in water. Thus becoming effectively "soluble" they change the rheology of water by raising the viscosity and/or inducing gelation. They may provide other interactive effects with other chemicals, in some cases synergistic, in others antagonistic. Using these attributes hydrocolloids are very useful chemicals since in many areas of technology from foods through pharmaceuticals, personal care and industrial applications, they can provide stabilization, destabilization and separation, gelation, flow control, crystallization control and numerous other effects. Apart from uses of the soluble forms some of the hydrocolloids have additional useful functionality in a dry form if after solubilization they have the water removed - as in the formation of films for breath strips or sausage casings or indeed, wound dressing fibers, some being more compatible with skin than others. There are many different types of hydrocolloids each with differences in structure function and utility that generally are best suited to particular application areas in the control of rheology and the physical modification of form and texture. Some hydrocolloids like starch and casein are useful foods as well as rheology modifiers, others have limited nutritive value, usually providing a source of fiber.

The term hydrocolloids also refers to a type of dressing designed to lock moisture in the skin and help the natural healing process of skin to reduce scarring, itching and soreness.

Components
Hydrocolloids contain some type of gel-forming agent, such as sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC) and gelatin. They are normally combined with some type of sealant, i.e. polyurethane to 'stick' to the skin.

Compared with solution
A colloid has a dispersed phase and a continuous phase, whereas in a solution, the solute and solvent constitute only one phase. A solute in a solution are individual molecules or ions, whereas colloidal particles are bigger. For example, in a solution of salt in water, the sodium chloride (NaCl) crystal dissolves, and the Na+ and Cl− ions are surrounded by water molecules. However, in a colloid such as milk, the colloidal particles are globules of fat, rather than individual fat molecules. Because colloid is multiple phases, it has very different properties compared to fully mixed, continuous solution.

Interaction between particles
The following forces play an important role in the interaction of colloid particles:
 * Excluded volume repulsion: This refers to the impossibility of any overlap between hard particles.
 * Electrostatic interaction: Colloidal particles often carry an electrical charge and therefore attract or repel each other. The charge of both the continuous and the dispersed phase, as well as the mobility of the phases are factors affecting this interaction.
 * van der Waals forces: This is due to interaction between two dipoles that are either permanent or induced. Even if the particles do not have a permanent dipole, fluctuations of the electron density gives rise to a temporary dipole in a particle. This temporary dipole induces a dipole in particles nearby. The temporary dipole and the induced dipoles are then attracted to each other. This is known as van der Waals force, and is always present (unless the refractive indexes of the dispersed and continuous phases are matched), is short-range, and is attractive.
 * Steric forces: A repulsive steric force typically occurring due to adsorbed polymers coating a colloid's surface.
 * Depletion forces: An attractive entropic force arising from an osmotic pressure imbalance when colloids are suspended in a medium of much smaller particles or polymers called depletants.

Sedimentation velocity
The Earth’s gravitational field acts upon colloidal particles. Therefore, if the colloidal particles are denser than the medium of suspension, they will sediment (fall to the bottom), or if they are less dense, they will cream (float to the top). Larger particles also have a greater tendency to sediment because they have smaller Brownian motion to counteract this movement.

The sedimentation or creaming velocity is found by equating the Stokes drag force with the gravitational force:

 * $$m_Ag=6\pi \eta rv$$

where

 * $$m_Ag$$ is the Archimedean weight of the colloidal particles,

 * $$\eta$$ is the viscosity of the suspension medium,

 * $$r$$ is the radius of the colloidal particle,

and $$v$$ is the sedimentation or creaming velocity.

The mass of the colloidal particle is found using:

 * $$m_A =V(\rho_1 - \rho_2)$$

where

 * $$V$$ is the volume of the colloidal particle, calculated using the volume of a sphere $$V = \frac{4}{3}\pi r^3$$,

and $$\rho_1-\rho_2$$ is the difference in mass density between the colloidal particle and the suspension medium.

By rearranging, the sedimentation or creaming velocity is:

 * $$v = \frac{m_Ag}{6\pi\eta r}$$

There is an upper size-limit for the diameter of colloidal particles because particles larger than 1 μm tend to sediment, and thus the substance would no longer be considered a colloidal suspension.

The colloidal particles are said to be in sedimentation equilibrium if the rate of sedimentation is equal to the rate of movement from Brownian motion.

Preparation
There are two principal ways to prepare colloids:
 * Dispersion of large particles or droplets to the colloidal dimensions by milling, spraying, or application of shear (e.g., shaking, mixing, or high shear mixing).
 * Condensation of small dissolved molecules into larger colloidal particles by precipitation, condensation, or redox reactions. Such processes are used in the preparation of colloidal silica or gold.

Stabilization
The stability of a colloidal system is defined by particles remaining suspended in solution and depends on the interaction forces between the particles. These include electrostatic interactions and van der Waals forces, because they both contribute to the overall free energy of the system.

A colloid is stable if the interaction energy due to attractive forces between the colloidal particles is less than kT, where k is the Boltzmann constant and T is the absolute temperature. If this is the case, then the colloidal particles will repel or only weakly attract each other, and the substance will remain a suspension.

If the interaction energy is greater than kT, the attractive forces will prevail, and the colloidal particles will begin to clump together. This process is referred to generally as aggregation, but is also referred to as flocculation, coagulation or precipitation. While these terms are often used interchangeably, for some definitions they have slightly different meanings. For example, coagulation can be used to describe irreversible, permanent aggregation where the forces holding the particles together are stronger than any external forces caused by stirring or mixing. Flocculation can be used to describe reversible aggregation involving weaker attractive forces, and the aggregate is usually called a floc. The term precipitation is normally reserved for describing a phase change from a colloid dispersion to a solid (precipitate) when it is subjected to a perturbation. Aggregation causes sedimentation or creaming, therefore the colloid is unstable: if either of these processes occur the colloid will no longer be a suspension.

Electrostatic stabilization and steric stabilization are the two main mechanisms for stabilization against aggregation. A combination of the two mechanisms is also possible (electrosteric stabilization).
 * Electrostatic stabilization is based on the mutual repulsion of like electrical charges. The charge of colloidal particles is structured in an electrical double layer, where the particles are charged on the surface, but then attract counterions (ions of opposite charge) which surround the particle. The electrostatic repulsion between suspended colloidal particles is most readily quantified in terms of the zeta potential. The combined effect of van der Waals attraction and electrostatic repulsion on aggregation is described quantitatively by the DLVO theory. A common method of stabilising a colloid (converting it from a precipitate) is peptization, a process where it is shaken with an electrolyte.
 * Steric stabilization consists absorbing a layer of a polymer or surfactant on the particles to prevent them from getting close in the range of attractive forces. The polymer consists of chains that are attached to the particle surface, and the part of the chain that extends out is soluble in the suspension medium. This technique is used to stabilize colloidal particles in all types of solvents, including organic solvents.

A method called gel network stabilization represents the principal way to produce colloids stable to both aggregation and sedimentation. The method consists in adding to the colloidal suspension a polymer able to form a gel network. Particle settling is hindered by the stiffness of the polymeric matrix where particles are trapped, and the long polymeric chains can provide a steric or electrosteric stabilization to dispersed particles. Examples of such substances are xanthan and guar gum.

Destabilization
Destabilization can be accomplished by different methods:
 * Removal of the electrostatic barrier that prevents aggregation of the particles. This can be accomplished by the addition of salt to a suspension to reduce the Debye screening length (the width of the electrical double layer) of the particles. It is also accomplished by changing the pH of a suspension to effectively neutralise the surface charge of the particles in suspension. This removes the repulsive forces that keep colloidal particles separate and allows for aggregation due to van der Waals forces. Minor changes in pH can manifest in significant alteration to the zeta potential. When the magnitude of the zeta potential lies below a certain threshold, typically around ± 5mV, rapid coagulation or aggregation tends to occur.
 * Addition of a charged polymer flocculant. Polymer flocculants can bridge individual colloidal particles by attractive electrostatic interactions. For example, negatively charged colloidal silica or clay particles can be flocculated by the addition of a positively charged polymer.
 * Addition of non-adsorbed polymers called depletants that cause aggregation due to entropic effects.

Unstable colloidal suspensions of low-volume fraction form clustered liquid suspensions, wherein individual clusters of particles sediment if they are more dense than the suspension medium, or cream if they are less dense. However, colloidal suspensions of higher-volume fraction form colloidal gels with viscoelastic properties. Viscoelastic colloidal gels, such as bentonite and toothpaste, flow like liquids under shear, but maintain their shape when shear is removed. It is for this reason that toothpaste can be squeezed from a toothpaste tube, but stays on the toothbrush after it is applied.

Monitoring stability

The most widely used technique to monitor the dispersion state of a product, and to identify and quantify destabilization phenomena, is multiple light scattering coupled with vertical scanning. This method, known as turbidimetry, is based on measuring the fraction of light that, after being sent through the sample, it backscattered by the colloidal particles. The backscattering intensity is directly proportional to the average particle size and volume fraction of the dispersed phase. Therefore, local changes in concentration caused by sedimentation or creaming, and clumping together of particles caused by aggregation, are detected and monitored. These phenomena are associated with unstable colloids.

Dynamic light scattering can be used to detect the size of a colloidal particle by measuring how fast they diffuse. This method involves directing laser light towards a colloid. The scattered light will form an interference pattern, and the fluctuation in light intensity in this pattern is caused by the Brownian motion of the particles. If the apparent size of the particles increases due to them clumping together via aggregation, it will result in slower Brownian motion. This technique can confirm that aggregation has occurred if the apparent particle size is determined to be beyond the typical size range for colloidal particles.

Accelerating methods for shelf life prediction
The kinetic process of destabilisation can be rather long (up to several months or years for some products). Thus, it is often required for the formulator to use further accelerating methods to reach reasonable development time for new product design. Thermal methods are the most commonly used and consist of increasing temperature to accelerate destabilisation (below critical temperatures of phase inversion or chemical degradation). Temperature affects not only viscosity, but also interfacial tension in the case of non-ionic surfactants or more generally interactions forces inside the system. Storing a dispersion at high temperatures enables to simulate real life conditions for a product (e.g. tube of sunscreen cream in a car in the summer), but also to accelerate destabilisation processes up to 200 times. Mechanical acceleration including vibration, centrifugation and agitation are sometimes used. They subject the product to different forces that pushes the particles / droplets against one another, hence helping in the film drainage. Some emulsions would never coalesce in normal gravity, while they do under artificial gravity. Segregation of different populations of particles have been highlighted when using centrifugation and vibration.

As a model system for atoms
In physics, colloids are an interesting model system for atoms. Micrometre-scale colloidal particles are large enough to be observed by optical techniques such as confocal microscopy. Many of the forces that govern the structure and behavior of matter, such as excluded volume interactions or electrostatic forces, govern the structure and behavior of colloidal suspensions. For example, the same techniques used to model ideal gases can be applied to model the behavior of a hard sphere colloidal suspension. Phase transitions in colloidal suspensions can be studied in real time using optical techniques, and are analogous to phase transitions in liquids. In many interesting cases optical fluidity is used to control colloid suspensions.

Crystals
A colloidal crystal is a highly ordered array of particles that can be formed over a very long range (typically on the order of a few millimeters to one centimeter) and that appear analogous to their atomic or molecular counterparts. One of the finest natural examples of this ordering phenomenon can be found in precious opal, in which brilliant regions of pure spectral color result from close-packed domains of amorphous colloidal spheres of silicon dioxide (or silica, SiO2). These spherical particles precipitate in highly siliceous pools in Australia and elsewhere, and form these highly ordered arrays after years of sedimentation and compression under hydrostatic and gravitational forces. The periodic arrays of submicrometre spherical particles provide similar arrays of interstitial voids, which act as a natural diffraction grating for visible light waves, particularly when the interstitial spacing is of the same order of magnitude as the incident lightwave.

Thus, it has been known for many years that, due to repulsive Coulombic interactions, electrically charged macromolecules in an aqueous environment can exhibit long-range crystal-like correlations with interparticle separation distances, often being considerably greater than the individual particle diameter. In all of these cases in nature, the same brilliant iridescence (or play of colors) can be attributed to the diffraction and constructive interference of visible lightwaves that satisfy Bragg’s law, in a matter analogous to the scattering of X-rays in crystalline solids.

The large number of experiments exploring the physics and chemistry of these so-called "colloidal crystals" has emerged as a result of the relatively simple methods that have evolved in the last 20 years for preparing synthetic monodisperse colloids (both polymer and mineral) and, through various mechanisms, implementing and preserving their long-range order formation.

In biology
Colloidal phase separation is an important organising principle for compartmentalisation of both the cytoplasm and nucleus of cells into biomolecular condensates—similar in importance to compartmentalisation via lipid bilayer membranes, a type of liquid crystal. The term biomolecular condensate has been used to refer to clusters of macromolecules that arise via liquid-liquid or liquid-solid phase separation within cells. Macromolecular crowding strongly enhances colloidal phase separation and formation of biomolecular condensates.

In the environment
Colloidal particles can also serve as transport vector of diverse contaminants in the surface water (sea water, lakes, rivers, fresh water bodies) and in underground water circulating in fissured rocks (e.g. limestone, sandstone, granite). Radionuclides and heavy metals easily sorb onto colloids suspended in water. Various types of colloids are recognised: inorganic colloids (e.g. clay particles, silicates, iron oxy-hydroxides), organic colloids (humic and fulvic substances). When heavy metals or radionuclides form their own pure colloids, the term "eigencolloid" is used to designate pure phases, i.e., pure Tc(OH)4, U(OH)4, or Am(OH)3. Colloids have been suspected for the long-range transport of plutonium on the Nevada Nuclear Test Site. They have been the subject of detailed studies for many years. However, the mobility of inorganic colloids is very low in compacted bentonites and in deep clay formations because of the process of ultrafiltration occurring in dense clay membrane. The question is less clear for small organic colloids often mixed in porewater with truly dissolved organic molecules.

In soil science, the colloidal fraction in soils consists of tiny clay and humus particles that are less than 1μm in diameter and carry either positive and/or negative electrostatic charges that vary depending on the chemical conditions of the soil sample, i.e. soil pH.

Intravenous therapy
Colloid solutions used in intravenous therapy belong to a major group of volume expanders, and can be used for intravenous fluid replacement. Colloids preserve a high colloid osmotic pressure in the blood, and therefore, they should theoretically preferentially increase the intravascular volume, whereas other types of volume expanders called crystalloids also increase the interstitial volume and intracellular volume. However, there is still controversy to the actual difference in efficacy by this difference, and much of the research related to this use of colloids is based on fraudulent research by Joachim Boldt. Another difference is that crystalloids generally are much cheaper than colloids.

title: Colloid


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Chinese

Chinese may refer to:
 * Something related to China
 * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
 * Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China.
 * Zhonghua minzu, the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
 * List of ethnic groups in China, people of various ethnicities in contemporary China
 * Ethnic minorities in China, people of non-Han Chinese ethnicities in modern China
 * Ethnic groups in Chinese history, people of various ethnicities in historical China
 * Nationals of the People's Republic of China
 * Nationals of the Republic of China
 * Overseas Chinese, Chinese people residing outside the territories of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan
 * Sinitic languages, the major branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family
 * Chinese language, a group of related languages spoken predominantly in China, sharing a written script (Chinese characters in traditional and simplified forms)
 * Standard Chinese, the standard form of Mandarin Chinese in mainland China, similar to forms of Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan and Singapore
 * Varieties of Chinese, topolects grouped under Chinese languages
 * Written Chinese, writing scripts used for Chinese languages
 * Chinese characters, logograms used for the writing of East Asian languages
 * Chinese cuisine, styles of food originating from China or their derivatives
 * "Chinese", a song about take out meals by Lily Allen from It's Not Me, It's You

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Chinese


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Riding shotgun

"Riding shotgun" was a phrase used to describe the bodyguard who rides alongside a stagecoach driver, typically armed with a break-action shotgun, called a coach gun, to ward off bandits or hostile Native Americans. In modern use, it refers to the practice of sitting alongside the driver in a moving vehicle. The coining of this phrase dates to 1905 at the latest.

Etymology
The expression "riding shotgun" is derived from "shotgun messenger", a colloquial term for "express messenger", when stagecoach travel was popular during the American Wild West and the Colonial period in Australia. The person rode alongside the driver. The first known use of the phrase "riding shotgun" was in the 1905 novel The Sunset Trail by Alfred Henry Lewis.

"Wyatt and Morgan Earp were in the service of The Express Company. They went often as guards—'riding shotgun,' it was called—when the stage bore unusual treasure."

It was later used in print and especially film depiction of stagecoaches and wagons in the Old West in danger of being robbed or attacked by bandits. A special armed employee of the express service using the stage for transportation of bullion or cash would sit beside the driver, carrying a short shotgun (or alternatively a rifle), to provide an armed response in case of threat to the cargo, which was usually a strongbox. Absence of an armed person in that position often signaled that the stage was not carrying a strongbox, but only passengers.

Tombstone, Arizona Territory
On the evening of March 15, 1881, a Kinnear & Company stagecoach carrying US$26,000 in silver bullion was en route from the boom town of Tombstone, Arizona Territory to Benson, Arizona, the nearest freight terminal. Bob Paul, who had run for Pima County Sheriff and was contesting the election he lost due to ballot-stuffing, was temporarily working once again as the Wells Fargo shotgun messenger. He had taken the reins and driver's seat in Contention City because the usual driver, a well-known and popular man named Eli "Budd" Philpot, was ill. Philpot was riding shotgun.

Near Drew's Station, just outside Contention City, a man stepped into the road and commanded them to "Hold!" Three cowboys attempted to rob the stage. Paul, in the driver's seat, fired his shotgun and emptied his revolver at the robbers, wounding a cowboy later identified as Bill Leonard in the groin. Philpot, riding shotgun, and passenger Peter Roerig, riding in the rear dickey seat, were both shot and killed. The horses spooked and Paul wasn't able to bring the stage under control for almost a mile, leaving the robbers with nothing. Paul, who normally rode shotgun, later said he thought the first shot killing Philpot had been meant for him.

When Wyatt Earp first arrived in Tombstone in December 1879, he initially took a job as a stagecoach shotgun messenger for Wells Fargo, guarding shipments of silver bullion. When Earp was appointed Pima County Deputy Sheriff on July 27, 1881, his brother Morgan Earp took over his job.

Historical weapon
When Wells, Fargo & Co. began regular stagecoach service from Tipton, Missouri to San Francisco, California in 1858, they issued shotguns to its drivers and guards for defense along the perilous 2,800 mile route. The guard was called a shotgun messenger and they were issued a Coach gun, typically a 10-gauge or 12-gauge, short, double-barreled shotgun.

Modern usage
More recently, the term has been applied to a game, usually played by groups of friends to determine who rides beside the driver in a car. Typically, this involves claiming the right to ride shotgun by being the first person to call out "shotgun" when everyone is in view of the vehicle; in some regions, calling shotgun too early disqualifies one from the game. Variable rules may apply such as users needing to be within view of the car, or having to be on the same level as the car (the same parking lot, garage, etc.). The game creates an environment that is fair by forgetting and leaving out most seniority except that parents and significant others automatically get shotgun, and this meanwhile leaves out any conflicts that may have previously occurred when deciding who gets to ride shotgun.

title: Riding shotgun


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Talk:List of sovereign states

Denmark's link is wrong
The entry on this page for Denmark links to the page for Metropolitan Denmark, although it should link to the Kingdom of Denmark article. MossW268 (talk) 20:44, 23 March 2024 (UTC)

I agree. The sovereign state is the Kingdom. TheLegendofGanon (talk) 22:45, 21 April 2024 (UTC)

I've changed it. The link now points to the Kingdom, not the constituent country. TheLegendofGanon (talk) 20:50, 22 April 2024 (UTC)

 * just saying, if you spot a mistake like that, you have all my permission to change it yourself. Iamamodforjellymario (talk) 06:18, 10 June 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 21 May 2024
at the top of the table Afghanistan is officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and should be changed to Afghanistan - Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Sobble432536 (talk) 11:18, 21 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Pictogram voting question.svg Question: why do you want to change the common name? M.Bitton (talk) 22:24, 21 May 2024 (UTC)
 * I think the request is to add the formal name. However, as it is not clear WHICH formal name should be applied, I support the current solution of not listing one. PianoDan (talk) 23:04, 21 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done for now: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the template. M.Bitton (talk) 16:50, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 25 May 2024
X=A de facto independent state, recognised by Russia, Nicaragua, Nauru, Syria, Venezuela, Abkhazia, and Transnistria. Claimed in whole by Georgia as the Provisional Administration of South Ossetia. Y=A de facto independent state, recognised by Russia, Nicaragua, Nauru, Syria, Venezuela, Abkhazia, Transnistria and Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Claimed in whole by Georgia as the Provisional Administration of South Ossetia. Sahrawi recognise South Ossetia. 80.4.77.150 (talk) 08:32, 25 May 2024 (UTC)
 * ✅ Charliehdb (talk) 10:21, 25 May 2024 (UTC)
 * You did it for Abkhazia. Not South Ossetia. Sahrawi doesn't recognise Abkhazia. They only recognise South Ossetia. 80.4.77.150 (talk) 12:46, 25 May 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 25 May 2024 (2)
X=For Abkhazia: Recognised by Russia, Nicaragua, Nauru, Syria, Venezuela, Abkhazia, Transnistria and Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. For South Ossetia: recognised by Russia, Nicaragua, Nauru, Syria, Venezuela, Abkhazia, and Transnistria. Y=For Abkhazia: Recognised by Russia, Nicaragua, Nauru, Syria, Venezuela, Abkhazia and Transnistria. For South Ossetia: recognised by Russia, Nicaragua, Nauru, Syria, Venezuela, Abkhazia, Transnistria and Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. 80.4.77.150 (talk) 15:49, 25 May 2024 (UTC)

 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. My real namm  (💬talk · ✏contribs) at 17:58, 25 May 2024 (UTC)
 * It says Sahrawi recognises Abkhazia when they don't. They recognise South Ossetia. 80.4.77.150 (talk) 18:41, 25 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Do you have reliable sources supporting this statement? My real namm  (💬talk · ✏contribs) at 18:44, 25 May 2024 (UTC)
 * https://eurasianet.org/semi-recognized-western-sahara-to-recognize-south-ossetia 80.4.77.150 (talk) 19:01, 25 May 2024 (UTC)
 * ✅ ABG (Talk/Report any mistakes here) 08:22, 29 May 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 17 July 2024
As South Korea now has three autonomous regions and one self-governing city, it has to be changed from "South Korea has one autonomous region, Jeju Province." to "South Korea has three autonomous regions, Jeju Province, Gangwon State, and Jeonbuk State, and one self-governing city, Sejong city." Hyujm (talk) 15:39, 17 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. - FlightTime  ( open channel ) 15:43, 17 July 2024 (UTC)
 * I'm not the original requestor and I don't want to make a change here without consensus, but this article seems to suggest that Gangwon and Jeonbuk are now autonomous "states" with a similar status to Jeju. https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20240118000682 Astrofreak92 (talk) 17:03, 17 July 2024 (UTC)
 * I agree regarding the provinces/states, they are presented as autonomous and at the least more autonomy than the 'normal' provinces. Unfortunately sources seem scarce, and I can't find anything great on the Seoul/Sejong. CMD (talk) 01:19, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:List of sovereign states


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Wikipedia:Status of the porting of U.S. Dept of State info

Here's a list of the countries with info on the Dept of State site. The information at this site is in the public domain unless it explicitly says otherwise on whatever page you are viewing there.''

The CIA site and the Dept of State site don't cover all of the countries; each of them is missing info on various countries; also they are not in agreement on what name to link to the countries under--that is the source of the various anachronisms on the List of countries page. Furthermore, they are not always in agreement on various figures including population and GDP, even (on occasion) when supposedly taken from the same year. If you notice a discrepancy, it's probably best to use the more cautious figure.

user:-- April suggested adding bits on contentious relationships between countries, including e.g. the U.S. and Afghanistan, but not including the more U.S.-centric bits about countries with amicable relations (e.g. location of U.S. embassies in Jamaica, Ireland, etc.)

 * If anyone wants to help, please don't hesitate. :-)

 * Afghanistan -- bits added under History, Economy, Demographics, Transportation, and Foreign relations
 * Albania -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, and Foreign relations
 * Algeria -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, and Foreign relations
 * Andorra -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, and Foreign relations
 * Angola -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, and Foreign relations
 * Antigua and Barbuda -- bits added under History, Politics, and Foreign relations
 * Argentina -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, and Foreign relations
 * Armenia -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, and Foreign relations
 * Australia -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Military, and Foreign relations
 * Austria -- added bits under Demographics, Politics, Economy, and Foreign relations
 * Azerbaijan -- added bits under History, Politics, Economy, Military, and Foreign relations
 * Bahamas -- added bits under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, and Foreign relations
 * Bahrain -- added bits under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, and Foreign relations
 * Bangladesh -- added bits under History, Politics, Economy, Military, and Foreign relations; moved para under "Economy" to "Geography"
 * Barbados -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, and Foreign relations
 * Belarus -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, and Foreign relations. did not add extensive section on the U.S.' efforts to assist militarily.
 * Belgium -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, and Foreign relations
 * Belize -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Benin -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, and Foreign Relations, though I suspect the source page may have been truncated, and so someone knowledgeable about Benin should check that "Demographics" and "Politics" are comprehensive
 * Bermuda -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Communications, and Transportation; added parts of "U.S.-Bermuda relations" to Bermuda's main page.
 * Bolivia -- bits added under History, Demographics, Government, Foreign relations
 * Bosnia and Herzegovina -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Botswana -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Transportation, Communications, Military, Foreign relations
 * Brazil -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Brunei Darussalam -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Bulgaria -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Burkina Faso -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Transportation; put "Foreign relations" and p. of "U.S.-Burkina Faso relations" under Transnational Issues
 * Burundi -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Cambodia -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy; created subpage "Architecture" and bits added there, Foreign relations
 * Cameroon -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Canada -- bits added under Government and Economy; put "U.S.-Canada relations" under Transnational Issues
 * Cape Verde -- bits added under History, Demographics, Geography, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Cayman Islands -- not a country, but so what? I'm not keeping several lists to get this done -- bits added under History, Politics, and Economy
 * Central African Republic -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Chad -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Chile -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Peoples Republic of China -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations. Left quite a lot of info on U.S.-China relations unadded, available here if anyone's interested in adding it
 * Colombia -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, and Military, and created "Foreign relations." bits from U.S.-Columbia relations in re: trade added to the Economy page.
 * Comoros -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, and Foreign relations
 * Democratic Republic of the Congo -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Republic of the Congo -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Costa Rica -- bits added under Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Ivory Coast -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Croatia -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Cuba -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Cyprus -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, and Foreign relations
 * Czech Republic -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, and Military, and created "Foreign relations."
 * Denmark -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Djibouti -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, and Foreign relations
 * Dominica -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * at this point I've quit adding the "current govt officials" bits as they won't generally be timely for long; also I'm not adding the "embassy in U.S. bits" as I haven't added e.g. "embassy in UK" or "embassy in Greenland" bits
 * Dominican Republic -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Ecuador -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * El Salvador -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Equatorial Guinea -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Eritrea -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Estonia -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Ethiopia -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Fiji -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Finland -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * France -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Gabon -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * The Gambia -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Georgia -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Germany -- bits added under Demographics, Politics, Economony, Transnational issues, History of Germany.
 * Ghana -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Greece -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Grenada -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Guatemala -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Guinea -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Guinea-Bissau -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, and Foreign relations
 * Guyana -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Haiti -- bits added under History, Demographics, Economy, Foreign relations. much history of the government of Haiti put under History, not Government.  Also parts of an extensive section on U.S.-Haiti relations were left unadded here, though some of it was added to Economy and another part of it was added to Military
 * Holy See -- bits added under Vatican City's main page, as well as under its Government; put "Foreign relations" under its Transnational issues
 * Honduras -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Hong Kong -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Hungary -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Iceland -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Transportation, Military, Foreign relations
 * India -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Indonesia -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy (including part but not all of U.S.-Indonesian relations), Military, Foreign relations
 * Iran -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Iraq -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Ireland -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy
 * Israel -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Italy -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military (including part of U.S.-Italian relations), Foreign relations
 * Jamaica -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Japan -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Jordan -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Kazakhstan -- bits added under Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations; bits on environmental concern added to the Kazakhstan article itself
 * Kenya -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Kiribati -- bits added under History, Geography, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Korea -- bits added to history from the Dept of State's page on North Korea
 * Kuwait -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, and Foreign relations
 * Kyrgyzstan -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, and Foreign relations
 * Laos -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Latvia -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Lebanon -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Lesotho -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Liberia -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Libya -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Liechtenstein -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy
 * Lithuania -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Luxembourg -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Macau -- not fully independent, but oh well. bits added under Demographics, Politics, Economy; section on History added to the subject's main page
 * Madagascar -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Malawi -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Malaysia -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Maldives -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, and Foreign relations.
 * Mali -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations (the "HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL HIGHLIGHTS" section was split and added into the History, Demographics, and Economy pages as seemed appropriate)
 * Malta -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Marshall Islands -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Mauritania -- bits added under History and Politics
 * Mauritius -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Mexico -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Communications, Transportation, Military, Foreign relations. quite a bit on U.S.-Mexican relations left out.
 * Micronesia -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Moldova -- bits added under Geography, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Monaco -- bits added under History, Geography, Politics, Economy, Demographics, Foreign relations
 * Mongolia -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Demographics, Foreign relations
 * Morocco -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Demographics, Foreign relations
 * Mozambique -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Demographics, Foreign relations
 * Namibia -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Demographics, Military, Foreign relations
 * Nepal -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Demographics, Military, Foreign relations
 * Netherlands -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations, Drugs policy page
 * New Zealand -- bits added under History, Politics, Demographics, Economy, Foreign relations; also added bits re: nuclear testing from U.S.-New Zealand relations page to the foreign relations here
 * Nicaragua -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Niger -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Nigeria -- bits added under History, Demographics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * North Korea -- bits added under Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations; quite a bit of info about U.S.-North Korean relations left unadded for lack of knowledge enough to render it NPOV
 * Norway -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Oman -- bits added under History, Demographics, Economy, Politics, Foreign relations
 * Pakistan -- bits added under History, Demographics, Economy, Politics, Military, Foreign relations
 * Palau -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Economy, Politics, Foreign relations
 * Panama -- bits added under History, Demographics, Economy, Politics, Military, Foreign relations
 * Papua New Guinea -- bits added under History, Demographics, Economy, Politics; some but not all of the "Foreign relations" section added (parts of it seem too U.S.-centric, and maybe I should have added less of it than I did. I don't want to bias the 'pedia any more than it's biased already by being written predominantly by people from the U.S.)
 * Paraguay -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Peru -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations; part of the Demographics section broken off into the waiting (empty) page Culture of Peru
 * Philippines -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Poland -- bits added under Politics, Demographics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations; bits under History left unadded; I see there's been a lot of controversy around this page. The U.S. Department of State has a writeup of Poland's history available to anyone who cares to incorporate it.
 * Portugal -- bits added under Economy, Foreign relations
 * Qatar -- bits added under History, Politics, Demographics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Romania -- bits added under History, Politics, Geography, Economy, Demographics, Foreign relations
 * Russia -- bits added under Politics, Economy, Demographics, Military, Foreign relations; "population aging" and "HIV/AIDS" put under demographics rather than "Economy of" because to follow the Dept of State's example seemed inhumane; "human rights" section put under "politics of" (because tucking it under "foreign relations seemed quite the slight towards Russian residents); many bits available at the Dept of State site were not added to the several articles on Russian history and so await a more knowledgeable wikipedian.
 * Rwanda -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Samoa -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * San Marino -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * São Tomé and Príncipe -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Saudi Arabia -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations (including bits from U.S./Saudi relations, put under the heading "human rights")
 * Senegal -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Seychelles -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Singapore -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Communications, Transportation, Military, Foreign relations
 * Slovakia -- bits added under History, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations
 * Slovenia -- bits added under History, Geography, Demographics, Politics, Economy, Military, Foreign relations

Copied and pasted (but did not wikify) the text for the remainder (21 Dec 2003):
 * Solomon Islands
 * Somalia
 * South Africa
 * South Korea
 * Spain
 * Saint Kitts and Nevis
 * Saint Lucia
 * Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
 * Suriname
 * Swaziland
 * Sweden
 * Switzerland
 * Syria
 * Taiwan
 * Tajikistan
 * Tanzania
 * Thailand
 * Togo
 * Tonga
 * Trinidad and Tobago
 * Tunisia
 * Turkey
 * Turkmenistan -- bits added under History, Politics, Economy, Foreign relations
 * Tuvalu
 * Uganda
 * Ukraine
 * United Arab Emirates
 * United Kingdom
 * Uruguay
 * Uzbekistan
 * Vanuatu
 * Venezuela
 * Vietnam
 * Yemen
 * Yugoslavia
 * Zambia
 * Zimbabwe

 * See also : Countries of the world


text:
Cooking

Cooking, also known as cookery or professionally as the culinary arts, is the art, science and craft of using heat to make food more palatable, digestible, nutritious, or safe. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire, to using electric stoves, to baking in various types of ovens, reflecting local conditions. Cooking is an aspect of all human societies and a cultural universal.

Types of cooking also depend on the skill levels and training of the cooks. Cooking is done both by people in their own dwellings and by professional cooks and chefs in restaurants and other food establishments.

Preparing food with heat or fire is an activity unique to humans. Archeological evidence of cooking fires from at least 300,000 years ago exists, but some estimate that humans started cooking up to 2 million years ago.

The expansion of agriculture, commerce, trade, and transportation between civilizations in different regions offered cooks many new ingredients. New inventions and technologies, such as the invention of pottery for holding and boiling of water, expanded cooking techniques. Some modern cooks apply advanced scientific techniques to food preparation to further enhance the flavor of the dish served.

History
Phylogenetic analysis suggests that early hominids may have adopted cooking 1 million to 2 million years ago. Re-analysis of burnt bone fragments and plant ashes from the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa has provided evidence supporting control of fire by early humans by 1 million years ago. In his seminal work Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, Richard Wrangham suggested that evolution of bipedalism and a large cranial capacity meant that early Homo habilis regularly cooked food. However, unequivocal evidence in the archaeological record for the controlled use of fire begins at 400,000 BCE, long after Homo erectus. Archaeological evidence from 300,000 years ago, in the form of ancient hearths, earth ovens, burnt animal bones, and flint, are found across Europe and the Middle East. The oldest evidence (via heated fish teeth from a deep cave) of controlled use of fire to cook food by archaic humans was dated to ~780,000 years ago. Anthropologists think that widespread cooking fires began about 250,000 years ago when hearths first appeared.

Recently, the earliest hearths have been reported to be at least 790,000 years old.

Communication between the Old World and the New World in the Columbian Exchange influenced the history of cooking. The movement of foods across the Atlantic from the New World, such as potatoes, tomatoes, maize, beans, bell pepper, chili pepper, vanilla, pumpkin, cassava, avocado, peanut, pecan, cashew, pineapple, blueberry, sunflower, chocolate, gourds, green beans, and squash, had a profound effect on Old World cooking. The movement of foods across the Atlantic from the Old World, such as cattle, sheep, pigs, wheat, oats, barley, rice, apples, pears, peas, chickpeas, mustard, and carrots, similarly changed New World cooking.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, food was a classic marker of identity in Europe. In the 19th-century "Age of Nationalism", cuisine became a defining symbol of national identity.

The Industrial Revolution brought mass-production, mass-marketing, and standardization of food. Factories processed, preserved, canned, and packaged a wide variety of foods, and processed cereals quickly became a defining feature of the American breakfast. In the 1920s, freezing methods, cafeterias, and fast food restaurants emerged.

Ingredients
Most ingredients in cooking are derived from living organisms. Vegetables, fruits, grains and nuts as well as herbs and spices come from plants, while meat, eggs, and dairy products come from animals. Mushrooms and the yeast used in baking are kinds of fungi. Cooks also use water and minerals such as salt. Cooks can also use wine or spirits.

Naturally occurring ingredients contain various amounts of molecules called proteins, carbohydrates and fats. They also contain water and minerals. Cooking involves a manipulation of the chemical properties of these molecules.

Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates include the common sugar, sucrose (table sugar), a disaccharide, and such simple sugars as glucose (made by enzymatic splitting of sucrose) and fructose (from fruit), and starches from sources such as cereal flour, rice, arrowroot and potato.

The interaction of heat and carbohydrate is complex. Long-chain sugars such as starch tend to break down into more digestible simpler sugars. If the sugars are heated so that all water of crystallisation is driven off, caramelization starts, with the sugar undergoing thermal decomposition with the formation of carbon, and other breakdown products producing caramel. Similarly, the heating of sugars and proteins causes the Maillard reaction, a basic flavor-enhancing technique.

An emulsion of starch with fat or water can, when gently heated, provide thickening to the dish being cooked. In European cooking, a mixture of butter and flour called a roux is used to thicken liquids to make stews or sauces. In Asian cooking, a similar effect is obtained from a mixture of rice or corn starch and water. These techniques rely on the properties of starches to create simpler mucilaginous saccharides during cooking, which causes the familiar thickening of sauces. This thickening will break down, however, under additional heat.

Fats
Types of fat include vegetable oils, animal products such as butter and lard, as well as fats from grains, including maize and flax oils. Fats are used in a number of ways in cooking and baking. To prepare stir fries, grilled cheese or pancakes, the pan or griddle is often coated with fat or oil. Fats are also used as an ingredient in baked goods such as cookies, cakes and pies. Fats can reach temperatures higher than the boiling point of water, and are often used to conduct high heat to other ingredients, such as in frying, deep frying or sautéing. Fats are used to add flavor to food (e.g., butter or bacon fat), prevent food from sticking to pans and create a desirable texture.

Fats are one of the three main macronutrient groups in human diet, along with carbohydrates and proteins, and the main components of common food products like milk, butter, tallow, lard, salt pork, and cooking oils. They are a major and dense source of food energy for many animals and play important structural and metabolic functions, in most living beings, including energy storage, waterproofing, and thermal insulation. The human body can produce the fat it requires from other food ingredients, except for a few essential fatty acids that must be included in the diet. Dietary fats are also the carriers of some flavor and aroma ingredients and vitamins that are not water-soluble.

Proteins
Edible animal material, including muscle, offal, milk, eggs and egg whites, contains substantial amounts of protein. Almost all vegetable matter (in particular legumes and seeds) also includes proteins, although generally in smaller amounts. Mushrooms have high protein content. Any of these may be sources of essential amino acids. When proteins are heated they become denatured (unfolded) and change texture. In many cases, this causes the structure of the material to become softer or more friable – meat becomes cooked and is more friable and less flexible. In some cases, proteins can form more rigid structures, such as the coagulation of albumen in egg whites. The formation of a relatively rigid but flexible matrix from egg white provides an important component in baking cakes, and also underpins many desserts based on meringue.

Water
Cooking often involves water, and water-based liquids. These can be added in order to immerse the substances being cooked (this is typically done with water, stock or wine). Alternatively, the foods themselves can release water. A favorite method of adding flavor to dishes is to save the liquid for use in other recipes. Liquids are so important to cooking that the name of the cooking method used is often based on how the liquid is combined with the food, as in steaming, simmering, boiling, braising and blanching. Heating liquid in an open container results in rapidly increased evaporation, which concentrates the remaining flavor and ingredients; this is a critical component of both stewing and sauce making.

Vitamins and minerals

Vitamins and minerals are required for normal metabolism; and what the body cannot manufacture itself must come from external sources. Vitamins come from several sources including fresh fruit and vegetables (Vitamin C), carrots, liver (Vitamin A), cereal bran, bread, liver (B vitamins), fish liver oil (Vitamin D) and fresh green vegetables (Vitamin K). Many minerals are also essential in small quantities including iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium chloride and sulfur; and in very small quantities copper, zinc and selenium. The micronutrients, minerals, and vitamins in fruit and vegetables may be destroyed or eluted by cooking. Vitamin C is especially prone to oxidation during cooking and may be completely destroyed by protracted cooking. The bioavailability of some vitamins such as thiamin, vitamin B6, niacin, folate, and carotenoids are increased with cooking by being freed from the food microstructure. Blanching or steaming vegetables is a way of minimizing vitamin and mineral loss in cooking.

Methods
There are many methods of cooking, most of which have been known since antiquity. These include baking, roasting, frying, grilling, barbecuing, smoking, boiling, steaming and braising. A more recent innovation is microwaving. Various methods use differing levels of heat and moisture and vary in cooking time. The method chosen greatly affects the result because some foods are more appropriate to some methods than others. Some major hot cooking techniques include:

 * Roasting
 * Roasting – Barbecuing – Grilling/Broiling – Rotisserie – Searing

 * Baking
 * Baking – Baking Blind

 * Boiling
 * Boiling – Blanching – Braising – Coddling – Double steaming – Infusion – Poaching – Pressure cooking – Simmering – Smothering – Steaming – Steeping – Stewing – Stone boiling – Vacuum flask cooking

 * Frying
 * Fry – Air frying — Deep frying – Gentle frying – Hot salt frying – Hot sand frying – Pan frying – Pressure frying – Sautéing – Shallow frying – Stir frying – Vacuum frying

 * Steaming
 * Steaming works by boiling water continuously, causing it to vaporise into steam; the steam then carries heat to the nearby food, thus cooking the food. By many it is considered a healthy form of cooking, holding nutrients within the vegetable or meat being cooked.
 * En papillote – The food is put into a pouch and then baked, allowing its own moisture to steam the food.

 * Smoking
 * Smoking is the process of flavoring, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering material, most often wood.

Indoor air pollution
As of 2021, over 2.6 billion people cook using open fires or inefficient stoves using kerosene, biomass, and coal as fuel. These cooking practices use fuels and technologies that produce high levels of household air pollution, causing 3.8 million premature deaths annually. Of these deaths, 27% are from pneumonia, 27% from ischaemic heart disease, 20% from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 18% from stroke, and 8% from lung cancer. Women and young children are disproportionately affected, since they spend the most time near the hearth.

Security while cooking
Hazards while cooking can include
 * Unseen slippery surfaces (such as from oil stains, water droplets, or items that have fallen on the floor)
 * Cuts; about a third of the US's estimated annual 400,000 knife injuries are kitchen-related.
 * Burns or fires

To prevent those injuries there are protections such as cooking clothing, anti-slip shoes, fire extinguisher and more.

Food safety
Cooking can prevent many foodborne illnesses that would otherwise occur if raw food is consumed. When heat is used in the preparation of food, it can kill or inactivate harmful organisms, such as bacteria and viruses, as well as various parasites such as tapeworms and Toxoplasma gondii. Food poisoning and other illness from uncooked or poorly prepared food may be caused by bacteria such as pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Campylobacter, viruses such as noroviruses, and protozoa such as Entamoeba histolytica. Bacteria, viruses and parasites may be introduced through salad, meat that is uncooked or done rare, and unboiled water.

The sterilizing effect of cooking depends on temperature, cooking time, and technique used. Some food spoilage bacteria such as Clostridium botulinum or Bacillus cereus can form spores that survive boiling, which then germinate and regrow after the food has cooled. This makes it unsafe to reheat cooked food more than once.

Cooking increases the digestibility of many foods which are inedible or poisonous when raw. For example, raw cereal grains are hard to digest, while kidney beans are toxic when raw or improperly cooked due to the presence of phytohaemagglutinin, which is inactivated by cooking for at least ten minutes at 100 C.

Food safety depends on the safe preparation, handling, and storage of food. Food spoilage bacteria proliferate in the "Danger zone" temperature range from 40 to 140 F, food therefore should not be stored in this temperature range. Washing of hands and surfaces, especially when handling different meats, and keeping raw food separate from cooked food to avoid cross-contamination, are good practices in food preparation. Foods prepared on plastic cutting boards may be less likely to harbor bacteria than wooden ones. Washing and disinfecting cutting boards, especially after use with raw meat, poultry, or seafood, reduces the risk of contamination.

Effects on nutritional content of food

Proponents of raw foodism argue that cooking food increases the risk of some of the detrimental effects on food or health. They point out that during cooking of vegetables and fruit containing vitamin C, the vitamin elutes into the cooking water and becomes degraded through oxidation. Peeling vegetables can also substantially reduce the vitamin C content, especially in the case of potatoes where most vitamin C is in the skin. However, research has shown that in the specific case of carotenoids a greater proportion is absorbed from cooked vegetables than from raw vegetables.

Sulforaphane, a glucosinolate breakdown product, is present in vegetables such as broccoli, and is mostly destroyed when the vegetable is boiled. Although there has been some basic research on how sulforaphane might exert beneficial effects in vivo, there is no high-quality evidence for its efficacy against human diseases.

The United States Department of Agriculture has studied retention data for 16 vitamins, 8 minerals, and alcohol for approximately 290 foods across various cooking methods.

Carcinogens
In a human epidemiological analysis by Richard Doll and Richard Peto in 1981, diet was estimated to cause a large percentage of cancers. Studies suggest that around 32% of cancer deaths may be avoidable by changes to the diet. Some of these cancers may be caused by carcinogens in food generated during the cooking process, although it is often difficult to identify the specific components in diet that serve to increase cancer risk.

Several studies published since 1990 indicate that cooking meat at high temperature creates heterocyclic amines (HCAs), which are thought to increase cancer risk in humans. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute found that human subjects who ate beef rare or medium-rare had less than one third the risk of stomach cancer than those who ate beef medium-well or well-done. While avoiding meat or eating meat raw may be the only ways to avoid HCAs in meat fully, the National Cancer Institute states that cooking meat below 212 F creates "negligible amounts" of HCAs. Also, microwaving meat before cooking may reduce HCAs by 90% by reducing the time needed for the meat to be cooked at high heat. Nitrosamines are found in some food, and may be produced by some cooking processes from proteins or from nitrites used as food preservatives; cured meat such as bacon has been found to be carcinogenic, with links to colon cancer. Ascorbate, which is added to cured meat, however, reduces nitrosamine formation.

Baking, grilling or broiling food, especially starchy foods, until a toasted crust is formed generates significant concentrations of acrylamide. This discovery in 2002 led to international health concerns. Subsequent research has however found that it is not likely that the acrylamides in burnt or well-cooked food cause cancer in humans; Cancer Research UK categorizes the idea that burnt food causes cancer as a "myth".

Scientific aspects
The scientific study of cooking has become known as molecular gastronomy. This is a subdiscipline of food science concerning the physical and chemical transformations that occur during cooking.

Important contributions have been made by scientists, chefs and authors such as Hervé This (chemist), Nicholas Kurti (physicist), Peter Barham (physicist), Harold McGee (author), Shirley Corriher (biochemist, author), Robert Wolke (chemist, author.) It is different for the application of scientific knowledge to cooking, that is "molecular cooking" (for the technique) or "molecular cuisine" (for a culinary style), for which chefs such as Raymond Blanc, Philippe and Christian Conticini, Ferran Adria, Heston Blumenthal, Pierre Gagnaire (chef).

Chemical processes central to cooking include hydrolysis (in particular beta elimination of pectins, during the thermal treatment of plant tissues), pyrolysis, and glycation reactions wrongly named Maillard reactions.

Cooking foods with heat depends on many factors: the specific heat of an object, thermal conductivity, and (perhaps most significantly) the difference in temperature between the two objects. Thermal diffusivity is the combination of specific heat, conductivity and density that determines how long it will take for the food to reach a certain temperature.

Home-cooking and commercial cooking
Home cooking has traditionally been a process carried out informally in a home or around a communal fire, and can be enjoyed by all members of the family, although in many cultures women bear primary responsibility. Cooking is also often carried out outside of personal quarters, for example at restaurants, or schools. Bakeries were one of the earliest forms of cooking outside the home, and bakeries in the past often offered the cooking of pots of food provided by their customers as an additional service. In the present day, factory food preparation has become common, with many "ready-to-eat" as well as "ready-to-cook" foods being prepared and cooked in factories and home cooks using a mixture of scratch made, and factory made foods together to make a meal. The nutritional value of including more commercially prepared foods has been found to be inferior to home-made foods. Home-cooked meals tend to be healthier with fewer calories, and less saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium on a per calorie basis while providing more fiber, calcium, and iron. The ingredients are also directly sourced, so there is control over authenticity, taste, and nutritional value. The superior nutritional quality of home-cooking could therefore play a role in preventing chronic disease. Cohort studies following the elderly over 10 years show that adults who cook their own meals have significantly lower mortality, even when controlling for confounding variables.

"Home-cooking" may be associated with comfort food, and some commercially produced foods and restaurant meals are presented through advertising or packaging as having been "home-cooked", regardless of their actual origin. This trend began in the 1920s and is attributed to people in urban areas of the U.S. wanting homestyle food even though their schedules and smaller kitchens made cooking harder.

title: Cooking