Food for thought

Preparing food with heat or fire is a task exclusive to humans. We are the only species who cook and it is when we cook that we become truly human. Cooking is deep within us. Homo erectus evolved when an ape learned to cook and discovered fire, consequently developing a small mouth and small teeth, intestine became shorter, as less chewing was required and brain size increased. Similar sized primates who survive on a raw diet have not evolved as we have .
Cooking should not be taken for granted. It is an act of generosity and love towards you and your family that is still very powerful; it is bonded within our DNA. Gathering together around a table or around a fire/barbecue with delicious properly home cooked food is something we should never leave behind, it is part of our blood and origins. In a remote part of our brain the thought of cooking meat over fire still makes us “greedy”, our mouths water whenever we think of cooking over fire. Barbecuing or wood-firing is linked to primordial fire, it reconnects us with the land and traditions. Whenever people say “we’re having a barbecue today”, you can see the smiles on their faces as it is about socialising, traditions and the legacy of our ancestors. We should really cook animals that have been raised in a natural setting, however.
Traditions usually survive because they keep people healthy and happy so we should not give multinational companies the opportunity to destroy all this. “Fire” as a primary element, as a symbol of our legacy, should not disappear from our lives.
Nowadays, there are lots of TV programmes about people cooking everywhere we look, but how much do we cook ourselves? Less and less. Is it really all about time? Time is everything; everything has to be instant, time is important in our recipes as well as in our meals and shortcuts are undoubtedly more attractive. As a result we find spending time in the kitchen difficult.
We all need to relearn to give cooking the consideration it needs. Eat what is grown locally, high in nutrition, full of flavour and in season! Take your time! You won’t regret it!
H. Balzer an expert on food said: “The future of the food and beverage market will not be so much about the foods and beverages we’ll consume but about who will prepare them”. Who will do the cooking then? The answer will be: not me! Everywhere you go, you can get food. Processed, prepared food. Corporations undermine cooking, using the cheapest possible raw ingredients to make it attractive to the consumer, spending less money, engineering our desires and providing unhealthy labour food. We consumers are the focus of all food-related research. Did you know that there is a relationship in some Western countries between rates of obesity and rates of cooking? Less cooking more obesity. As simple as that.
We need to get our kids back into the kitchen, we need to pass the value of food on to new generations. We are what we eat! It is crucial to our independence and our health.
It is vital we do not lose our basic knowledge about food and how to cook it; processed food is becoming less and less expensive and you can buy as many calories as you want for a pound. Corporations are there to attract you into their nets and to satisfy your taste buds, making your life easier. But is it really worth it in the end?
And why does organic, wholemeal food have to be more expensive?
“Industry doesn’t feeds  us, nature feeds us”. What we need is real food. Swim against the tide, use your brain, be free and think green. Don’t let yourself become addicted to corporations. Make a small effort for future generations.
In the end if you really, really don’t have time to cook or spend time in the kitchen, order a delicious, lovely, healthy, real, homemade meal from recipesonthego.com Soon cookery classes for kids on Sunday morning. Stay tuned!
Email me at: info@recipesonthego.com to order your meal! 😉