Dog food history
Have you ever wondered how things were invented? Things that you are familiar with in your life? TV, Internet, Computer,Video, Microwave etc etc?
Every products you are familiar with has its own history. I would think that if caveman heard about the Internet, it would have been jaw-dropping news for them. The period that left their stories on the cave for others about their lives would not believe that words can be sent with one click button “Send” in your computer.
Sometimes, people can get used to convenience and, forget about importance of the detail.
For many dog owners here in the states, dry dog food is very familiar items in their lives. You go buy a bag of “Ready to eat” dog food. Then, when feeding time comes, you will open up the bag and,with not much thinking what you really are feeding to your dogs, you will scoop up the portion recommended and pour it into your dog’s bowl and serve.
Back home in Japan, people we know who had dogs such as my cousins, friends, all fed homemade food made with fresh ingredients, and it was what I thought as “food” for dogs.
Therefore, I had to ask what it was when Palette’s breeder gave us a bag of kibble. She made frown face as if I was asking a strange question, but I did not understand/think it was food for dogs. To me, it was weird stuff.
Feeding kibble is convenient but, have you looked at it really close?
In this entry, I rewind our time way back to 1800’s, and look closer how the dry food was born.
Interestingly, according to web-rover.com, person who came up with original idea of “dog food” is an American named James Spratt.
To make it more interesting, he was an electronitian from Ohio state. He visited London once, and saw the dogs there were fed table scraps or leftover meal from ship, and he wanted to make the meal better.
After he experimented with his guess work to make his “better food”, his dog cake was born.
The products sold very good over in England. Therefore, in other words,the first dog food was born in England, not in USA.
The Spratt’s dog food arrived in USA in 1890. That is when dogs in America first tasted convenient dog food.
By 1900’s, using the base of Spratt’s idea, dog biscuits were born. Later, dry dog food appeared. Then, company started studying more on how to preserve their products with stable shelf-life.
They studied on additives,which makes food palatable and keep the food longer.Then, to make the fat in the dry food not goes rancid, they started using BHT (preservatives) etc.
To read full stories on history of dog food at web-rover website, please click here.
To learn more on BHT, please click here.
As you can see, the history of dry food is not long.
Modern people today are in busy life-style. Therefore, many may not think about taking a time to read the label of the products, but I personally think that knowing what you really are giving to your dogs is very important.
I take a time to read label of human food as well.
You would think that you are getting frozen shrimp if you buy a bag of frozen shrimp. Look closely, it is with sodium even if it is raw shrimp!!
A lot of food you are familiar with contains BHT, too. Cereals, hot dog etc etc
After switching Palette’s diet to raw diet, I find myself more conscious about what we eat as well. I cook meal everyday, and I use EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Cold press is better.EVOO is good to prevent your artery from clogging up), and I do not fry foods much. I try to bake food when I can.
Here is one good tip for kids’ favorite Fried Potato.
When you make nice crunchy fried potatoes, you would want to fry twice.
The very first fry time is done until it gets a little bendy and then, you will put the potatoes back into oil as second fry time at much higher temperature to make it crisp up.
Using this concept, you can make nice fried potato using oven. Here is how.
<Crispy Oven bake potatoes sticks>
1. Preheat oven 425F
2. Line up the baking sheet with non stick foil, and place cut-up potato into sticks, and drizzle EVOO, sprinkle a little bit of “Steak seasoning”(recommends McCormick brand)
3. Mix the potato with EVOO and steak seasoning very good on the foil, and line them single layer on the cookie sheet
4. Bake them until fork-tender
** I usually lift the potato- sticks and shake the cookie sheet a little to make sure potatoes are not stuck with foil
5. Turn off the oven. Put the oven with “Broil” with setting HIGH
6. Broil them until edge gets brown and crisp to touch.
I made this fries the other day, and me and my husband liked it a lot. You can make sweet potato fries this way too.
It is very interesting that having a dog effected my life this way..
Since I have Palette, I go for walk daily now.
Now and then,when we come closer to our house, we jog the last distance to home and race with Palette who arrives home faster.
She speeds up when I try to pass her, and it is tiring,but fun.
I would think that if I did not have her, I maybe not going for walk. If I did not have Palette, I probably frying foods a lot (I did not think I used to fry foods a lot, but my husband says when I first came over to the states, I fried foods a lot, and he told me I was like next Paula Deen, lol. I probably cooked more Chinese food than Japanese food back then, but it seems,I fried a lot.)
I am now more conscious about what we eat, and what she eats. She provides us comfort, laugh, joy and everything else and, I am very grateful having her in our life….
