Revision as of 02:15, 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.

Buds

Flower Buds

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.

Fungi

Leafy Vegetables

Leaf Sheaths

Roots

Roots are rich in sugars and other carbohydrates, and usually fast growing. Possibly easily grown in greenhouses and vertical farming.

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

Allium

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

Nuts

Oilseeds

Oilseeds in this context are seeds that can produce edible oil, but which are inedible themselves.

Stems of Leaves

Stem Shoots

Whole-Plant Sprouts

Animals

Mammals

Birds

Reptiles

Amphibians

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

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

Land invertebrates

Agriculture