MEMO FROM NARA...

 

Someone said that cooking is not just about mixing ingredients together, it is a fine art. Most of us do not bother about even the ingredients of the food. We eat the food without trying to know what the food consists of. People eat food by looking at TV or reading a book or magazine or talking seriously with others or watching a program in a tablet. Then how is it possible for anyone to look at and think about the food they eat? The fine art of cooking is known to hotel chefs or some of our grand-mothers who are good at preparing aromatic and tasty food. Whether it is breakfast, lunch or dinner, the items they prepare will be really tasty if one understands the components and composition of the food. Food is often processed to suit the taste buds of our tongue. The raw food, as the animals eat does not taste much for humans. Even the salads are seasoned with vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. At the same time fruits are eaten as such in most cases.

In fact, the food we eat is grown by someone out there in the farm known as the farmer who is the ‘annadada’ for all of us. The farmer sows the seeds, irrigates, fertilizes, protects, harvests, threshes, boils, mills and makes into the white rice and it is sold in the market. We, the consumers go to the shop and buy depending on our preference for fineness and aroma. In the real sense, farming is the biggest job on earth. Although we all know it, most of us are reluctant to do this job, because of obvious reasons. It involves hard work in the sun and rain. One has to be careful all through the season to bring out a better crop. The profession of farming is harder than any other profession. People nowadays try to avoid hard physical work. New technologies invent machineries to help man to lead an easy and comfortable life. That is how the farming in every country is progressing and we get our food without much problem. Farming in future is going to be revolutionized for producing bumper crop yields to feed the ever increasing population. However it is our duty to acknowledge the efforts of farmers who feed us every day.

I used to think of the food I eat every time. What is in the plate? How each item is produced and how it reaches my plate? Which item is good for me? How much I have to eat? – are the simple questions I pose myself whenever I eat my food. It is fascinating to go into the details of food producing, processing and serving. Nowadays food processing has taken a lead in every country. Processed foods are costly and they are exported to other countries to earn more money. Thus the trade flourishes. In fact, in the Western world, serving food itself is an art. The French people as far as I know are very good at it. They usually take considerable time on the table discussing the food they prepare. I learned from them the importance of thinking about what I eat. So it will be worth trying for all of you who read this memo. Bon appetite!