*[Enwl-eng] Foods We Love
enwl
enwl at enw.net.ru
Sat Feb 3 19:25:45 MSK 2024
Many of our favorite foods are linked to family and culture. What if they
disappear?
News of the world environment
NEWSLETTER | FEBRUARY 02, 2024
Vanishing Foodways
IN THE VERY EARLY HOURS of the morning, when
the community is still asleep, Juana is already in action. It is three in
the morning and her gastronomic corner, the Kiosco Luís Elián, is getting
ready to open its doors. Soft music fills the air as she concentrates on her
culinary work. At 5:00 AM, customers begin to arrive in search of a warm and
comforting breakfast.
By lunchtime, a line has formed with people
waiting for Juana’s cooking. The menu of the day offers a variety of
options, from stewed chicken to fried ripe plantains. But it is the rice
soup that attracts everyone’s attention. It is the star dish, a simple but
satisfying combination that promises to keep stomachs full for hours. In
this corner of Panama, as in the entire country, rice is an essential
component of daily life.
Thousands of miles away, in Santa Cruz de la
Sierra in Bolivia, a similar scene occurs every morning. There, Dorys Peña
runs a small food stall known locally for the preparation of majadito batido
or graneado passed down from generation to generation.
Like her Panamanian colleague, Dorys learned
the amounts of ingredients and cooking times when she was a child. Her
secret is to diversify the use of rice. Whether as a majadito graneado
(toasted rice) or majadito batido, which is not grained and is seasoned with
a spoonful of urucu, which adds a saffron-like color, her preparations
include onion, paprika, pepper, cumin and shredded charque (dehydrated
beef), and are complemented with eggs, plantains and served with boiled
yuca.
Juana, on the other hand, prepares the soup
with a smaller amount of seasoning, but the result is just as effective. She
mixes the rice with meat and vegetables to submerge it in a fragrant broth
which gives it an unmistakable homemade flavor. She modestly says, “Today it
didn’t turn out so well.” But one of her diners is quick to contradict her.
“Please give me a little more rice.”
Certainly, rice represents a bond with
tradition and culture that is shared in almost all of Latin America and the
Caribbean. According to data provided by the Regional Fund for Agricultural
Technology (FONTAGRO), it is the fourth most consumed food in the region and
contributes on average 11 percent to the per capita caloric intake in Latin
American countries. Panama and Bolivia are worthy representatives of this
abundance which, despite the indispensable role of rice in many recipes,
could face various risks in the not-too-distant future.
Food brings us together. Our mouths water
for a dish that is part of our gastronomic tradition and our history. They
are dishes that have been on our palate for generations. But what if that
was no longer so?
This article is part of a three-part series
produced by InquireFirst that looks into traditional foodways in Latin
America that are now at risk.
READ MORE
Photo by 2010CIAT/NeilPalmer
SUGGESTED BROWSING
Search Theory
“In a field where even minutes matter,
efficient search tactics can mean the difference between life and death.”
Which is why researchers in the relatively new field of “lost person
behavior” are “following the data where it forks.” (Undark)
A Concrete Problem
Any guesses about what’s the world's largest
extraction industry? Nope, it’s not oil. It’s sand — the main ingredient in
concrete. And thanks to ballooning demand and organized crime, we are
dredging river sand worldwide at rates that far outstrip nature's ability to
replace it. (Scientific American)
Faking It
Female northern myotis bats take turns
looking after each other’s pups under the bark of old trees — just the sort
disappearing in a rare British Columbia rainforest. Scientists have come up
with a rather unique solution to help these endangered animals. (The
Narwhal)
Unwelcome Returnees
“The reintroduction of musk oxen to Alaska
was the result of a decades-long campaign by early 20th-century settlers and
promoters … drawn up without the consent of Indigenous people.” Now the
animals pose a threat to local lives and property. (High Country News)
Not a subscriber yet?
You can get 4 issues of our award-winning
print magazine delivered for $20 ($25 for international addresses) by
clicking this secure link.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Earth Island Journal is a nonprofit
publication. Our mission is to inform and inspire action. Which is why we
rely on readers like you for support. If you believe in the work we do,
please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our Green Journalism
Fund.
DONATE TODAY!
Did a thoughtful friend forward you our
newsletter? Keep up with the latest from Earth Island Journal!
SIGN UP TODAY
Follow
Follow
Subscribe
You are receiving this email newsletter because you
signed up on our website.
If this newsletter was forwarded to you, you can
sign up to the email newsletter here.
Support our work by subscribing to our quarterly
print magazine.
--------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 2024 Earth Island Journal, All rights
reserved.
Our mailing address is:
Earth Island Journal
2150 Allston Way Ste 460
Berkeley, CA 94704-1375
Add us to your address book
From: Editors, Earth Island Journal
Sent: Saturday, February 03, 2024 4:45 AM
Subject: Foods We Love
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.enwl.net.ru/pipermail/enwl-eng/attachments/20240203/65baf135/attachment-0001.html>
More information about the Enwl-eng
mailing list