A book on food, that has a few pieces of history and a lot more about how certain foods through globalization, and better economic and weather conditions have made the plants and food thrive in countries that otherwise we had no idea were so resourceful. But the question remains – How much food changes in taste and Quality and how with hybridization, food has been growing across the World?
Some of the insightful details from the book.
Did you know?
Certain food items like barley are used to the fullest of the 100% –
2% of barely is eaten by humans.
60% of barely is used as Animal
Feed.
While 38% is used for brewing and Distilling beer.
0.50% barely is used for Soy Sauce and Miso.
So many things are made of just one food item.
The world’s largest collection of banana diversity is in Belgium
There are about 8 varieties of citrus fruit and lemon, oranges, Grapefruit and lime have been produced through hybridization
Lemons is actually A hybridization of citron and Sour Oranges.
Oranges come from a hybridisation of Mandarin and Pomelo
Lime is hybridization a Citron and Mandarin cross
Grapefruit Is a Hybrid between a Sweet Orange and a Pomelo.
It’s interesting to know how the fruit changes and how through hybridization we have produced so much in the world.
These are some of the details, but there is a lot more in the book.
Does India Read? Do Indians Read? And if they do what do they read? Well, India is slowly getting into the habit of reading books! And a lot of them have been enjoying reading books. But, this India that I am talking about is not the one that is into literature books. But, a new emerging audience of readers is discovering reading books is not for the joy of it. But, to improve my English speaking skills, Vocabulary and diction. These readers are the ones who make up the large population that we have. But again are we growing in numbers? Who enjoy reading Mythology, Romance, and Young Adult books. The authors who have successfully managed to capture their audience are the likes of Chetan Bhagat, Preeti Shenoy, Durjoy Datta, Ravinder Singh, Anuja Chauhan, and Robin Sharma to name a few…Others like Amrish Tripathi and Devdutt Patnaik are Gaining popularity amongst new readers who are interested in reading books. But, what are the avid literary Indian readers reading today? They are the ones who like reading Amitav Ghosh, Sudha Murthy, Chitra Banerjee, Arvind Adiga, and Arundhati Roy, which are some of the books which the other Indian audiences are reading. But, the positive side of the reader reading in India is they have started reading books of Indian authors from India.
The 25+ Hours journey through the UK to Sao Paulo was slightly tiring.
The first impression, Sao Paulo is a huge city!
The architecture and construction are lovely.
Water! No Water in the rooms! This was going to become a common observation as we would travel around the country!
The restaurants too don’t serve you water.
This was quite alarming, Maybe the water isn’t quite hygienic here! Or maybe they aren’t hospitable or maybe they are going through a Water Crisis.
Sao Paulo had the appeal of New York, Wall Street and Fifth Avenue. The Liberade, Japanese Neibhourhood did remind me of being lost in Japan!
The Food whether it was the local Brazilian Meat, Mexican Gucaomole, American Burgers, Italian Pizza, Thai or Japanese was the best in Sao Paulo. In the places we visited, we realised they were either part of the best Restaurants in the World and Latin America or were part of the Michelin restaurant guide.
The Cafes and coffee were also some of the finest we had here in the city!
Rosewood in Sao Paulo. Ranked #25 in the Worlds best was truly an experience. Walking into the lush green arches and being welcomed by books at the entrance/Waiting area. As you make yourself comfortable through the hotel you pass through a couple of more coffee table bookshelves before you reach the restaurant, which you feel is in the middle of the forest.
The Acai Berry Smoothie, Pastrami Sandwich and Burger were the juiciest, healthiest and most satisfying meals of our trip.
Rosewood was a nice experience.
The city, Was so clean with ample of dustbins, unlike Japan. Where you struggle to find even one.
The shopping malls, Each one competing with the size and the interiors.
The weather, Yes, we did feel the heat waves.
The roads were so broad and well-maintained. It was a challenge to find even one pothole in the country.
Rio was a tourist hub, and so was our instruction. Be extra careful while walking on the streets of Rio, After 5 pm avoid strolling on the street with Mobile Phones, Jewellery or Watches/Smart Watches.
The Sugarloaf Mountain & Christ The Redeemer have to be our typical tourist highlight. One for the sunset view and the other for getting the structure to the top.
Copacabana Beach was going through a post-event pack-up! Madonna had performed a free concert two days before we planned to reach Rio de Janeiro.
Language is a huge barrier! The locals don’t understand English and as Tourist, we had no understanding of Portuguese.
Brazil has their measurement too!
P being M , The universal Medium size, G being large, GG being Extra large in clothing. For Footwear too, they are normally a size or two smaller than the Typical US sizes one Wears.
Salvador was a small quaint colourful city that would remind you a lot about Europe’s small towns.
While travelling across the city we flew through GOl or Latam. The local airlines of Brazil were always on time and internally we travelled through the Uber App with minimum communication!
Oh! One thing that was a huge disappointment was Google Maps! Often they did not take us at the right location, either 100 meters away from our location or would be pinned at another entrance/Exit of the same location.
The Google Maps, were always not updated with locations that had been permanently closed or had being relocated to another location.
In both of these times, We were faced with challenges on how to communicate to the exact location.
While planning Brazil I had also noted a few bookstores I wanted to visit in Brazil!
To my disappointment both of the bookstores that were listed for the longest time as the most beautiful bookstores in the world had been closed now! One in Sao PauloAnd the other in Rio. While I visited other bookstores across the cities. There weren’t any books available in English at all.
Brazil with two of the most prominent global events like FIFA and the Olympics in the past decade is still not considered a Tourist Destination. With Food options, the Weather being pleasant, Globally recognised homegrown Fashion brands and Warm and friendly people you wonder if the Country’s not being Safe Image is playing a key role in tourism.
Eat: #saopaulo @ranchoportuguessp @nbsteak @michelinguide @aizomerestaurante – Part of @theworlds50best #latinamerica @pingyangsp – #11 Best Place to eat in #Brazil
Taro Sushi – Michelinguide
@rosewoodsaopaulo -#25 Worlds Best Hotel @theworlds50best @sisenorbrasil @brazpizzaria – #4 best pizzeria brand in the World @pecorinoteresina @apizzadamooca – #77 in the Worlds Best Pizza
Chocolates: #brazil @dengochocolates @kopenhagen_
Personal favourite for Shopping : @farmrio @osklen
Taste by @stanleytucci. A book, that you would enjoy reading not just if you like eating, but if you like cooking too! The tone used in the book, the way it has been written, takes us back to his childhood days and memories! This book has Taste on every page, while some pages are sweet, some are Bitter. The whole read is a meal! You wouldn’t like to miss it!
The Food Mood Connection by @drumanaidoo Haven’t you always said or heard? I am in the mood to eat this meal today for lunch, Breakfast or Dinner. Well! Food and Mood does have a connection and this book highlights how it affects us. An interesting book on focusing correlation between Mental Health, Food and Diet. Research and written by Uma Naidoo who has studied nutritional & lifestyle psychiatry at Harvard.
Pancake in Paris by @craigcarlsonauthor A story of an American who lived his American dream in Paris! By starting a cafe – Pancake in Paris! This story is about how he succeeded in living his dream and the challenges he faced in getting the right ingredients and introducing a Breakfast meal that wasn’t part of the French culture. A good American breakfast.
How I Quit Google to Sell Samosas @munafkapadia The Story about Borhi Kitchen – A home experience of cultural cuisine, that started a decade ago and gained popularity for the food and the experience it, it later also grew with food experience as a delivery service and for Catering at events! With a simple idea of bringing in local cultural food. This is an inspirational story set in India, Mumbai since it’s also a challenge to diversify from well-paid jobs to starting something of your own. This book also highlights the challenges one faces in the Food & Beverages and Hospitality business.
Forgotten Foods @taranahusainkhan A book on looking back at some of the food specialities that aren’t very popular these days and are well known only in certain parts of the country.
A K H I L N A N D A 