Food is vitally essential for our ives, and hence it is a major focus of commerce and advertisements. Food choices change from time to time. A large section of the population makes its livelihood around food, and its prepared form gets sold in cheap as well as expensive restaurants, in food outlets near highways, in hand carts on streets, and so on. Serving food is a good source of income. Several food outlets also gain a lot of popularity due to the tasty food they serve. A large variety of foods is readily available in markets.
Preservation of food items is essential for their long-term use. Most food items in the market are sold in packets and hence they do not get spoiled until their seals are opened. They also have a ‘best before use’ date imprinted on their containers; so, it is good to use them before that date. Packed food does not get spoiled because they contain different types of chemical preservatives also. Though health hazards of food preservatives are often hotly debated, and several research studies have established various kinds of risks caused by them. Still, without them, the survival of the food industry is impossible. So, they continue to be used everywhere.
Amongst commonly used items in the kitchen, salt, sugar, vinegar, spices, oils, etc. also have preservative qualities and are used in preparing pickles, jam, etc. But these are not called food preservatives. Food Products Order 1955 (revised in 1980) by the Indian government permits only two preservatives to be added to products made from vegetables and fruits. Also, it fixes the amount that can be added. Sodium benzoate is a very commonly used preservative. Second saltbased preservative used is Potassium Metabisulphite. Since benzoic acid-based, or sulfur dioxide based or other forms of preservatives are all poisonous chemicals, only carefully measured small quantities of these are permitted to be added in all forms of foods.
Eating healthy food every day is an important issue for everyone, so its bazaar is also vast. Every day some new so-called healthy food product or cookware is introduced in the market on the premise that lack of time in our busy lives should not impact our health. However, we must think whether we are not becoming puppets in the market’s hands for our eating patterns?
For example, one or two decades back, non-stick cookware came into vogue and became immensely popular with housewives because they were convenient to use and seemed suitable for health. People were attracted to these because of aggressive marketing. However, after studies were conducted and harms they caused to health became known, people began to choose steel-based utensils made with newer technology.
Similarly, different types of refined oils are available in the market today. People buy them and use them regularly. In previous decades pure ghee, non-refined pure mustard oil, groundnut oil, sesame oil, etc. were used for cooking. As compared to non-refined oil, refined oil appears more transparent and light. However, research studies indicate that the chemicals used for refining are often harmful to health. So, people are now getting attracted back to non-refined oils. For modern lifestyles, only those oils are healthy for the heart that have only poly or monounsaturated fats in them. Olive oil is a rich source of monounsaturated fats, and it controls the level of cholesterol in the blood, so its popularity has grown these days. In terms of health, pure, cold-pressed oils of mustard, groundnut, coconut, and sesame seeds are considered particularly good. Oils refined using harmful chemicals or refined by any other process are dangerous for health and should be avoided to the extent possible.
Earlier food used to be cooked only on stoves using firewood or coal, and later natural gas became popular. Now there are more options like heaters, microwave ovens, induction heaters, etc. for cooking. In these devices, food gets cooked in a quick time. But studies are again indicating the health benefits of cooking food at a slow pace, and as a result, special devices for slow cooking are getting available in the market at steep prices.
Advanced techniques for purifying water like Reverse Osmosis are also being questioned now, and people are again emphasizing the need to purify water by traditional means. This is the reason why machines equipped with techniques to purify water using traditional methods are being aggressively marketed now. So, in this way, after every few years, popular foods and cooking methods come under a circle of suspicion. This troubles us and forces us also to make changes in our eating/cooking habits. Even if we believe that we have adopted these by choice, we do not realize how much we get influenced by marketing. We may adopt a few healthy trends, but these will not be of any use if most of the other items in our kitchen are bought after being swayed by marketing. For example, the benefits of almonds for the heart and brain are well known, but we must also know that we cannot depend only upon almonds for the excellent health of the heart. If we eat them and adopt a lifestyle with regular exercise and simple food habits, almonds will greatly benefit. But there is also a limit on how many we should eat, as carelessness in this regard can harm more than benefit.
This discussion is not only on foods and vessels but also on the styling of the kitchen and habits of cooking, which also is a big market. With time, as homes became smaller and the culture of the apartment grew, the concept of modular kitchens and cooking while standing came into vogue. According to a survey, the market for modular kitchens in India has grown in 2018 to 14.5 billion rupees and continues to grow. But health experts say that the traditional cooking method while sitting is much better for health even today.
Despite so many attractions and aggressive advertising related to food and cooking, we must choose thoughtfully and logically. Though everything available in the market is not bad, we must give place to them in our cooking and eating only aftercareful consideration. We must know that foods and cooking methods get developed according to climatic conditions also. The hot and spicy foods of deserts are not necessarily suitable for the climate in the plains of Ganga. In South India, foods based on rice and tamarind are popular because these regions remain hot throughout the year. In the middle and northern India, wheat-based delicacies, pulses, and vegetables are liked more. The fruits, vegetables, grains, and spices grown in the north, south, east, and west India are all different, but the food markets make them available for all in all parts of the country. What is good for health and what is not always need to be considered carefully before we make choices from the markets that offer such a wide variety of food and related items.
Source: akhand jyoto magazine 2020 Nov-Dec