Wait
a minute before rushing through with your food! Ipsita Deb takes the time to
explain why it's important to take time out of a hectic day for a well-balanced
meal
In
today's fast-track world, where is the time to find any leisure in food? Being
reduced to mere survival, we scurry like ants and pick up whatever we can before
rushing to what's next on our agenda. Having a quick bite has displaced the very
art and pleasure of eating.
Slowness
Is An Art
Slow
food ensures an ambience created for the sake of the meal, service for its
presentation and a relaxed time zone, which enhances the stimulus for healthy
conversation. Can such a thing ever exist?Yes, of course it can!
Think
about this. Why is it that we take out our best cutlery only for guests and not
for ourselves? Does it not matter that we, who eat off our plates every day,
will be enjoying them the most, while the guests, apart from a quick glance,
could not care less? Is it impossible to provide the right kind of lighting at
dinnertime or use candles every now and then or even buy flowers just for our
own pleasure? It takes time yes, but would certainly be worth it. We can also
stop complaining at restaurants when the service is slow. Instead, we can
simply enjoy the slowness as bonus time spent in conversation with one another.
The
Slow Food MovementThe international movement was founded in Paris in 1989. Its
80,000 members from more than 100 countries define themselves as
eco-gastronomes, who continually strive to maintain the balance of food with
nature and culture and fight against modern fast food joints and vending
machines.The movement adopted the snail as its symbol and promotes gastronomic
culture, develops taste and education, conserves agricultural bio-diversity and
protects traditional food at the risk of extinction.
Slow
Food - A Full Course Meal
The
first course is always light; taste buds are being honed, appetite fuelled and
conversation minimal. Usually a light soup, which leaves you craving for
something solid, likes a date ending with a handshake. The second course is
solid but leafy comprising a salad in some form or the other. It is the ultimate
teaser for what is about to happen.
The
main course comes next, comprising a filling dish with all the garnishing and
spices the previous courses lacked. After this, satisfaction seeps in. The final
course is a dessert, completing the meal on a sweet note. Each bite of the
course is sacred; it is a pleasure for all senses.
Indian
Cuisine Culture
Slow
Food is essentially about celebrating authentic regional traditions and Indian
food is renowned for its diversity in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuisine
and as expected, every region in India has its own unique dish. Slow food need
not just be consumed at a fancy place at exorbitant rates, it can often be the
'ghar-ka-khana' our grandparents fed us or that which we eat at weddings or on
any auspicious occasion.
The
ingredients are as per the culture of the cuisine.
However,
in India, the abundance of cheap, fast food joints has now changed our lives.
Moreover, most of us in a restaurant order merely the main course with a
supplement, be it roti or rice, leading to a complete absence of the
ritual.
It's
All In the Heart
Happy
and successful cooking doesn't rely only on know-how; it comes from the heart,
akes great demands on the palate and needs enthusiasm.
Slow
food is an art that needs to be nurtured. Like the snail, it pauses every now
and then, looks around and once rested, continues to embark on life's
trail.
How
To Slow Down During A Meal
•
Set
yourself a fixed time and duration for meals at dinner-time.
•
Create
the most feasible ambience in your dining room, in terms of dim lighting (which
could also save electricity)
•
Use
forks and spoons as opposed to the hands as it slows down the process of eating
and allows you to actually savour each bite.
•
Make
sure there is variety in food and the items are taken on the plate, one at a
time.
•
Ensure
that it is a sit-down affair and rule out television watching or reading while
eating.
•
Having
a soup or salad 10-15 minutes before a meal steps down the pace automatically
and is healthy as well.
Some
Alarming Global Statistics
•
In
Europe, 75 per cent of the food product diversity has been lost since
1900
•
In
the United States, 93 percent of the food product diversity has been lost in the
same time period.
•
Today,
33 per cent of livestock varieties have disappeared or are near
disappearing.
•
In
the last century, 30,000 vegetable varieties have become extinct, and one more
is lost every six hours.
Femina Archives
