The changes of the meaning of “cooking” were studied with descriptions about its definition, objective and method, selected from the special books on food science since Meiji era. These changes were divided into five periods based on their characteristics. It was summarized as follows.
(1) From early years through middle years of Meiji era: Food scientists theoretically taught the people how to cook meat as new food materials. It was reflected in the definiton of “cooking”.
(2) From later years of Meiji era through Taisho era: Three kinds of cooking; Japanese, Western, Chinese and their mixtures were popularized among people in their common meals. So the definition of “cooking” reflected such various standpoints.
(3) From later years of Taisho era through early years of Showa era: People attached importance to the rational cooking with the high degree of nutritional efficiency, and the change of food components during cooking was investigated.
(4) The early period after the end of the World War II: Practical use of food materials and improvement of nutritional lives were required, and the studies on theoretical cooking were promoted. The science of cookery with engineering was proposed.
(5) In the later years after the end of the war: The advance of food production and food service businesses into the cooking field contributed to diversifying Japanese diet. The range of the definition of “cooking” expanded. “Cooking” enhanced its range from menu planning to dining table composition, and the theory of cooking to meet the changing lifestyle now are studied.
