Sunday, June 2, 2024
Islamabad (Urdu Point. DW Urdu. 02 June 2024) The activities of traders created mutual harmony among the nations in the early period and the nations got to know each other's culture. It also affected the preparation of food. Initially, the state of Venice had a monopoly on the import of spices. His ships brought spices from Asian countries and supplied them to European markets.
After Venice came Portugal in this trade. His trading ships used to go to India via Africa. They also became politically powerful after the Portuguese occupation of Gujarat. After the occupation of Malacca in Indonesia, they used to bring spices from there to Europe and profited from their trade. The spice trade changed the culinary tastes of England, France, and the Netherlands, which later joined, leading to the emergence of new cuisines in Europe.
Foods changed dramatically when America was discovered in 1492 and its crops became popular in Europe and Asia. Corn, potato and tomato are notable among them. The cultivation of potatoes in particular changed the food habits of people in Europe and other countries politically and socially.
Potatoes are nutritious and easy to grow.
The capitalists made potatoes the food of laborers due to their cheapness to make them work for less wages. Frederick II of Prussia realized the importance of potatoes and made them a must for his army. Potatoes were cheap for army food. Initially, the peasants refused to grow potatoes, whereupon Frederick II forced them to grow potatoes by threatening them.
Being cheap, potatoes became the staple food of the people of Ireland. Ireland was a British colony and its lands were occupied by British landlords. His peasants were poor and bankrupt. So they depended on potatoes. When the potato crops failed in 1843-45, there was a famine in Ireland. The British government did not help them, due to which these starving people migrated to America and some took refuge in Britain.
Societies that use potatoes use them in their cuisine in a variety of ways. Potatoes are also eaten fried or boiled. In France, French fries are made and eaten with other foods. In India and Pakistan, they are included in vegetarian dishes.
Food is also related to the class distinction between nobles and commoners.
The nobles employed cooks, servants trained in the field of food, who cooked delicious meals for them. While the common people and especially in the villages, the food was simple. For example, in the subcontinent, people used to eat roti with onion, melon, mango and pickled chutney, or they ate cheap food in Bhattiyar Khans and Saras.
Restaurants began to be established in France in the 18th century.
This was because the French Revolution had destroyed the aristocratic class and they were no longer able to employ trained chefs to cook a wide variety of food for them. This shortfall was made up by restaurants. Every restaurant used to attract customers by preparing special dishes.
There used to be etiquette for dining in restaurants.
Food was eaten leisurely. It had many courses. For example, there was a 15-course dinner and the dishes were brought to the guests one by one. It used to take two hours to finish the meal but the customers thoroughly enjoyed the food.
But with the passage of time, where political, social and cultural changes took place, the eating habits also changed.
In the cities, where the population grew, time became valuable for professionals and businessmen, so it was spent on earning money instead of spending it on food. The result was the era of fast food, which people used to fill their stomachs, not for taste and pleasure. Along with this, hotels were established, where people just go to eat and then get busy with their professional work.
Fast food has also changed the culture and habits of countries in Asia and Africa. Although traditional cuisines still prevail in the subcontinent, new American cuisines are slowly replacing them. Therefore, the question is whether our traditional foods and the spices used in them, while Coca-Cola and Pepsi will change our culture and will we lose the taste of our traditional foods? Will food in the future be just for filling the stomach and will we not be able to enjoy its nutrition and taste?
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