Jihyun Ryou, Design Academy Eindhoven graduate, did his Master Thesis about food preservation. By accumulating traditional oral knowledge, he looked at a feasible way to bring the knowledge into everyday life.

“Through the research about the current situation of food preservation, I’ve learned that we hand over the responsibility of taking care of food to the technology, refrigerator. We don’t observe the food any more and don’t understand how to treat it.

Therefore my design looks at re-introducing and re-evaluating traditional oral knowledge of food, which is closer to nature. Furthermore, it aims to bring back the connection between different level of living beings, us as human beings and food ingredients as other living beings.”

Verticality of Root Vegetables -carrot, raddish, leek…etc.
Keeping roots in a vertical position allows the organism save energy and remain fresh for longer time. This shelf gives a place for them to stand easily, using sand. At the same time, sand helps to keep proper humidity.

Dryness of Spices
Rice absorbs the humidity easily. The spice container with rice inside helps spices stay dry without forming into a mass.

Humidity of Fruit Vegetables -zucchini, aubergine, pepper…etc.
We tend to think zucchini, aubergine, cucumber, etc. as vegetables. But they are biologically fruits. This shelf gives them a space to be outside the fridge. Also through the ritual to water them everyday, they will stay fresh.

Breathing of Egg
Egg has millions of holes on its skin. It absorbs the odor and substance around very easily. This creates a bad taste if it’s kept in the fridge with other food ingredient. This shelf gives a place for eggs to be outside the fridge. Also the freshness of egg can be tested in the water. The fresher, the more they sink horizontally.

Symbiosis of Potato Apple
Apples emit a lot of ethylene gas. It has the effect of speeding up the ripen process of fruits and vegetables kept together with apples. When combined with potatoes instead, apples prevent them from sprouting.

“Observing the food and therefore changing the notion of food preservation, we could find the answer of current situation such as overuse of energy and waste of food. My design is a tool to implement that knowledge in a tangible way and slowly it changes the bigger picture of society. I believe that once people are given a tool that triggers their minds and requires a mental effort to use it, new traditions and new rituals can be introduced in our culture.”

… and the cheat sheet:
http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/best-pictures.html