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| Street Food in Madeira |
With the continuing focus in the National Press on the food we eat it's becoming apparent that not is all as it should be. Obviously we have had the Horse Meat Scandal recently, but in this morning's papers and on the TV news are more articles about processed meats such as cheap bacon, ham and some mince and the health risks inherent in some of them.
It must be remembered that the constitution of processed meats has been tampered with, especially the cheaper range that some supermarkets provide. In an effort to give longevity, additives are included and in an effort to make up the weight, water is added. It's not difficult to assimilate - if it's cheap, it's not necessarily good and if it has been processed, it's not necessarily the natural product you thought it might be.
On a recent trip to Madeira I noticed that many teenagers, young adults and more generally, the native population steered clear of the Burger King outlet and made for the Street Food counters selling baked bread, and the local favourites, the equivalent to British Fish and Chips I guess - and while Fish and Chips is not a meal to be eaten everyday due to the high fat content, one might hope that the ingredients are at least fresh and unprocessed.
I don't understand why Brits head straight for the McDonalds, KFC or Pizza Hut "restaurants" rather than cook a meal from scratch, perhaps it stems from a lack of parental education; if your parents took a box out of the freezer and called it "Dinner", perhaps their children will as well. As I said in a previous blog, one can only hope that from the recent discussions of food origins will come a better awareness of what we are eating and where it is sourced.
But street food is not necessarily fast food and in Madeira it mostly was NOT fast. The Bolo de Cacao, a bun made with sweet potato flour was cooked in front of you while you waited and if you wanted a burger with it - well you waited for that too. No Bacon sandwiches here, but the local ham is well regarded and expensive, not filled with water and chemicals, just naturally cured and tasty.
It's the "fast" that causes problems really; frozen foods re-heated, reconstituted and served quickly; foods manufactured to make its preparation quick and 'convenient', or modern, chemically enhanced food items. The best recipes are those that have been around a long time, the best foods, those that have been prepared with time and care and the best methods, those that have been in use for centuries.
Bread has been made for millenia, yet to make bread only TWO ingredients are required; flour and water, to make leavened or risen bread you'll need to add yeast, and to make a tasty risen bread you might want to add salt. All natural, all cheap, all healthy and all have been around for a very long time.
The final ingredient though, the one that causes all the problems, the one thing that makes food really healthy, tasty and appreciated?
Take a guess....
