I know that I’ve already written extensively about food, but it’s a big part of my world here! I’ve recently made banana pancakes, cinnamon rolls which were quite yummy. I’m pretty proud of myself considering I have no measurement tools…I’m not sure what they would be officially called in the culinary world. I’ve decided that my plastic mug is similar in diameter to a cup and my small cup is similar to the half-cup diameter and therefore estimate the heights that would be equivalent. These estimates would be easier had I cooked at all prior to coming to Nigeria, yet I seem to be faring quite well!
Upon suggestions from a friend, I brought some popcorn. Sadly to say, I had never cooked popcorn in anything but a microwave. Since it was popcorn from the US, it had instructions! I heated what seemed like an excessive amount of oil then popped what looked like a small amount of kernels into a surprisingly large amount of popcorn! I was shocked to see the excessive amount of oil was almost all gone! I know about the law of conservation of mass…that oil went into my popcorn. I decided to ignore the fact that I was consuming an obscene amount of cooking oil, added some salt and enjoyed some decadent popcorn!
As I was savoring each kernel, I began to think about the 100 calorie bags of butter flavored popcorn I used to eat back home. How can they make it pop with so little oil? What strange chemicals was I consuming to have it taste so good yet only cost 100 calories? This is the second time the question of additives, chemical preservatives, synthetic food has come to the forefront of my thinking. Back home, tomatoes would last for a week or so before starting to spoil. Here, if you get 2 days before spoilage it’s a victory! Maybe it’s the superiority of the tomato genes in North America, but I venture to bet that it has something to do with some artificial chemical added along the way. I’m not sure how I feel about this. I definitely enjoyed the fact that I got a bigger widow than 36 hours to use my tomatoes, but at what cost? It’s a quandary.
My final food reflection (for now) is that food that I consumed in the US must have significant amounts of sugar and salt and flavorings added to it because I feel like I add copious amounts of these condiments to everything!
4 comments:
Interesting observations.
I think most produce here is bio-engineered.
ah, simple pleasures.
Okay, lets start with the popcorn -- you know the oil...yes, some is on the popcorn but a great deal of it is all over the lid, the sides of the pan as well as the bottom. So not all of it is in your system!
The tomatoes, not only are they bio-engineered but they are gassed with wonderful chemicals to stop them from ripening so quickly.
So of the spoiling may be because of the bacteria in the air and soils that get onto the tomato skin. You may get a little better shelf life if you wash the tomato in a mild bleach solution -- there again, you would be consuming a little bleach. Some folks argue that it isn't so good for you, I beg to differ -- some of those bugs one can pick up when bacteria isn't killed isn't so good for you!
Carolyn, these adventures in food and everything else is so cool. When you get back to the USA you will not forget your abilities! Happy cooking tonight!
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