Science assignment essay on: Gastronomy
The art of eating food is termed as “Gastronomy”. Sometimes the field of study of food and culture with focus on gourmet cuisine particularly, is also covered under gastronomy. The word “gastronomy” has been derived from the Ancient Greek word γαστήρ (gastér) which means “stomach”, and νόμος (nómos) “laws that govern”. On combining the two words one get literally meaning word – “the art or law of regulating the stomach”. Under gastronomy one explores, relishes, senses, researches, understands and imprints about various techniques involved in preparing food and sensory qualities of human nutrition as a whole (Archestratus,1994).
Indian cuisine is majorly categorized in five forms, these are – the North Indian, the South Indian, the East Indian, the North East Indian and the West Indian. Apart from regions, climatic conditions of different areas, different religions and their beliefs and diverse cultures, all are combined together to form Indian cuisine (Barthes,1979).
A visit to India enhances one’s gastronomy in a big way. From wholesale spice market to whole range of cuisines, everything is beyond imagination. The real taste of food are the spices in it and to find out that real taste the best place which I have found till date is the largest wholesale spice market of Asia – Khari Baoli. This market is located in one of the most crowded place of India, i.e. Lal Quila in Old Delhi. This market is a hub for all types of spices, nuts and herbs. Apart from spices, one will also find huge range of rice, sugar and other kitchen related items in this place. This is one of the must visit place for a person related to gastronomy as it will help him/ her to enhance the knowledge about the number of flavors and aroma that one can add to the food items.
A visit to an old and renowned cooking school in Delhi brought out some interesting facts about the Indian cuisine. Vital role has been played by history in the formation of Indian cuisine. In the era of Indus valley, the amount of forestation was vast. Vegetables like eggplant and sesame was the basic diet. The art of growing herbs and spices came to India in Vedic era. Spices like cardamom, pepper, mustard, turmeric were discovered during this time only.
A visit to the farmer’s market in India brings out many interesting information related to Indian cuisine. Rice, whole wheat flour and pulses are the staple food of the Indian cuisine. Red lentils, pigeon pea, Bengal gram, black gram, green gram are some of the most commonly used pulses. Some of the pulses are further processed to make flours for example “besan” one of the most commonly used flour in Indian homes is derived from Bengal gram.
Pepper, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric, ginger, garlic, asafoetida, fenugreek, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves are some of the most commonly used spices in India. These spices are used in various forms, for example chilies; chillies are used in whole and powdered forms. Then there is red chilli powder and green chilli powder. Strength of pungency of chillies also differ from region to region in which they are grown. Curry leaves, coriander leaves, mint leaves, fenu greek leaves and cassia leaves are some commonly used leaves where as commonly used flavorings are Nutmeg, rose petal essence and saffron.
The manner in which food is consumed in India again differs from region to region and largely depends upon the custom followed in that region. Generally people sit on floor and eat food with the fingers of right hand without using cutlery. In some parts of Southern India banana leaves are used to serve food.
The arable area in India is second largest one in the world. Globally, India stands out as one of the major food producer. The production of sugarcane, milk, pulses and tea is largest in India in comparison to rest of the countries in the World. However, India comes second when it comes to production of wheat, rice and fruits and vegetables. Total food industry in India is estimated at around $200 billion while the food processing industry is worth about $70 billion. Food processing industry contributes around 7% to the Indian GDP.
India is world’s largest producer of milk. During 2007-08, 33.56 lakh litres of milk was produced in the country and the figure is further expected to rise to 44.60 lakh litres by 2011-12. Milk is, in percentage terms, is largest segment of food processing industry with 37% of the produce being processed.
The range of fruits and vegetables produced in India is very wide in comparison to the other parts of the world. India accounts for 9% of the total fruit production in the world and stands third when it comes to fruit production globally. As far as vegetable production is concerned, 11% of the vegetable production in the world comes from India and in case of vegetable production India stands on second position. Installed capacity for fruits and vegetable processing in India has been expanding during the deregulation period and stood at 2.5 million tonne in 2006. These fruits and vegetables are then further processed in the form of pulps, pickles, chutneys, canned foods, concentrated pulps and juices and vegetables and are thyen exported in other parts of the world. Out of total processed food, 20% are exported from India.
India has the largest population of livestock in the world accounting for 50% of buffaloes and 16% of the goat population. Meat production has been growing at a CAGR of 30% and stood at 2768 tonnes during 2007-08. The figure is further set to increase to 6150 tonnes by 2011-12. Egg production is expected to rise from 14 million eggs currently to 20 million eggs over the same period (Baudrillard, 1998).
The wine industry has witnessed a CAGR of over 25% over the last three years, mainly fuelled by the strong growth in the domestic wine consumption and is further expected to grow at an annual growth rate of 30 %, making it one of the fastest growing industry in the country. Analysts are saying that Indian wine industry will challenge world’s oldest and established wine industries in next couple of decades and sensing this, some of the global majors are looking to enter the market which is currently dominated by Kingfisher and SABMiller.
Almost every Indian spend major part of its household’s expenditure on the edible oil. If history is to be believed, major need of the edible oil in India was met through imported edible oil. Almost 30-40% need of the country was met through edible oil which was imported ffrom other parts of the world. In 1986, government launched ‘Oilseeds Technology Mission’ (OTM) ; the aim of this program was to make the country self sufficient in the field of production og edible oil.
5% percent of the global coffee production comes from India. Almost 6 lakh people have been employed through this industry. Karnataka is the largest coffee growing state in India and it contributes almost 70% of the total coffee produced in the country. After Karnataka comes the Kerala which account for 22% of the total coffee production and then comes Tamilnadu where this contribution stands at 7%. India is a net exporter of the commodity and Europe is the major buyer of Indian coffee.
Despite the fact that historically tea has been India’s favourite hot drink, domestic coffee consumption has been on the rise during recent years. However, owing to volatile international markets, coffee exports have been rather volatile.
India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of tea and accounts for nearly 27% of the total world production. Tea plantations in India are mainly located in hilly areas of North-eastern and Southern states. Major tea growing states of the country include Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
India has been the main supplier of tea to world in the past. However, the situation has changed dramatically since last couple of decades. India’s international competitiveness in tea exports has been on the decline. From being a pre-eminent supplier of the world’s tea, India has lost ground in virtually every export market.
India faces stiff competition from other producers like Sri Lanka, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Kenya. Most recently, Sri Lanka, due to its cheap high quality tea, has caused decline in the India’s share of tea export to the world.
In my summer holidays I went to San Francisco and explored their “green Cuisine”, though with so many choices available, exploring this cuisine was not an easy task. Thanks to my two local friends because of them I was able to leave my gastronomical mark in this great city.
Much of my time was spent in the motherland of the area’s local bounty San Francisco’s Ferry Building. This is a farmer’s market which takes place on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday which is a heaven for good eaters. I explored some innovative and extra ordinary products like kohlrabi (a member of the cabbage family), sunflower sprouts, and micro beets. I also had sweet baguette from Acme Bread Company coated organic cheeses from renowned Cowgirl Creamery which are sourced locally, was a splendid experience. The exceptional cuisine of The Slanted Door is very popular, but my favorite thing there was the local spearmint laced bourbon cocktail, the Bourbon Smash (Coveney,1996).
The Pier 3 destination has branded itself as a very minimalist organic café and juice bar but when one will go there, he/ she will be surprised to see what all it has to offer. The local produce offered by the restaurant allows one to indulge with negligible impact. The seasonal bruschetta with a simplistic yet divine heirloom tomato atop salted local cheeses and PLANT Burger made in house with lentils, mushrooms, beets, cashews, and bulgur wheat, while sipping on a glass of local biodynamic producer Robert Sinskey’s Abraxas.
To conclude, these site visits have opened many new channels in my mind as far as food is concerned. In India the same basic food is cooked, served and eaten in several ways. The way production of these food items take place and the beliefs associated with them is very interesting and mind boggling. New ingredients and ways of cooking has been discovered and many new facts have come to my knowledge.
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