Food

Spain occupies most of the Iberian Peninsula, on the western edge of Europe. It is nearly surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Spain’s dry climate and poor soil make farming difficult. Extensive irrigation allows farmers to raise strawberries and rice in dry areas. Vegetables and citrus trees grow on the coastal plains, and olives and grapes grow in the river valleys.The grasslands of the large dry central plateau are used for grazing sheep, goats, and cattle. People in this region eat roasted and boiled meats. They also raise pigs for ham and spicy sausage called chorizo. And people all over the country eat lots of seafood from the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

One classic Spanish dish, paella, includes sausage, mussels, lobster, or chicken, plus red pepper, peas, tomatoes, and saffron rice. Peasants were the first to make paella, using whatever food was available. But this dish and others also reflect Spain’s history of traders, conquerors, and explorers who brought a variety of food by land and by sea.

Phoenicians from the Middle East introduced grapes to Spain in about 1100B.C. Hundreds of years later, Romans brought olives from what is now Italy. In the 8th century A.D., Moors (Muslim Arabs and Berbers from Africa) introduced shortgrain rice and za faran, or saffron – the spice that colors rice yellow. And in the 1400s, 1500s, and 1600s, Spanish explorers and traders returned home with nutmeg and cloves from the East Indies: and peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, and chocolate from the Americas.

From High in the Mountains.[7]

Nepal is a landlocked country in the Himalayas, the highest mountain range in the world. Nepal has three distinct geographical zones – lowlands; hills, mountains, and valleys; and the Great Himalayan Range – with subtropical to alpine-arctic temperatures and wide variations in vegetation and animal life.

Most people in Nepal are farmers. They grow fruits, fruits, and other crops in the lowlands, where temperatures are the warmest. Rice and corn grow in terraced, or stairlike, fields in the cooler hill regions. And potatoes and barley are the staple, or chief, crops at higher elevations, where temperatures are the coolest.

The Nepal raise goats, cattle, and yaks for dairy products. Meat is eaten mostly on special occasions. Religious rules affect which meats people in Nepal eat: Hindus, who make up almost 90 percent of the population, do not eat beef, and Muslims do not eat pork. The Buddhist religion prohibits the killing of any animals but allows the eating of meat, so Buddhists hire butchers to slaughter animals for food.

A typical family meal in Nepal might include daal bhat (rice with lentil gravy) or chapati (a flatbread), steamed vegetables, and achaar (a paste of spiced pickled fruits). About 90 percent of the Nepalese people live in rural areas. They often lack electricity for refrigerators or for cooking, so they rely on dried foods such as grains, lentils, and beans.

People carry traditions and foods with them when they move from one place to another. You might recognize examples when you look at your classmates’ special family foods or at specialty restaurants in your community.

Meals in Great Britain.[8]

The two features of life in England that possibly give visitors their worst impressions are the English weather and English cooking.

A traditional English breakfast is a very big meal – sausages, bacon, eggs, tomatoes, and mushrooms. People who do have a full breakfast say that it is

quite good. The writer Somerset Maugham once gave the following advice: “If you want to eat well in England, eat three breakfasts daily.” But nowadays it is often a rather hurried and informal meal. Many people just have cereal with milk and sugar, or toast with marmalade, jam, or honey. Marmalade and jam are not the same! Marmalade is made from oranges and jam is made from other fruits. The traditional breakfast drink is tea, which people have with cold milk. Some people have coffee, often instant coffee, which is made with just hot water. Many visitors to Britain find this coffee disgusting!

For many people lunch is a quite meal. In cities there are lot of sandwich bars, where office workers can choose the kind of bread they want – brown, white, or a roll – and then all sorts of salad and meat or fish to go in the sandwich. Pubs often serve good, cheap food both hot and cold. School-children can have a hot meal at school, but many just take a snack from home – a sandwich, a drink, some fruit and perhaps some crisps. British kids eat more sweets than any other nationality.

“Tea” means two things. It is a drink and a meal! Some people have afternoon tea, with sandwiches, cakes, and, of course, a cup of tea. Cream teas are popular. You have scones (a kind of cake) with cream and jam.

The evening meal is the main meal of the day for many people. They usually have it quite early, between 6.00 and 8.00, and often the whole family eats together.

On Sundays many families have a traditional lunch. They have roast meat, either beef, lamb, chicken, or pork, with potatoes, vegetables, and gravy. Gravy is a sauce made from the meat juice.The British like food from other countries, too, especially Italian, French, Chinese, and Indian. The British have in fact always imported food from abroad. From the time of the Roman invasion foreign trade was a major influence on British cooking. Another important influence on British cooking was of course

the weather. The good old British rain gives us rich soil and green grass, and means that we are able to produce some of the finest varieties of meat, fruit and vegetables, which don’t need fancy sauces or complicated recipes to disguise their taste. People often get take-away meals – you buy the food at the restaurant and than bring it home to eat. Eating in Britain is quite international!