Page 1 of 1

Variety is the Spice of Life

Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 11:18
by markjass
I am a Registered Nurse. I work on a very busy acute Medical ward in a large metropoltatan hospital. I think there are about 45 Nurses, Nurse aids and ward clerks that work on the ward. The staff vary from working 2 days a week to full time (I have no idea how many Dr's, Physio's, Social workers, cleaners, engineers, electricians, food service staff etc do their bit to keep things going on the ward). Without thinking to hard I can think of people from about 15 different nationalities.

The diversity of the staff and range in age make it an amazing place to work. I always enjoy it when staff bring in snacks and foods that come from their culture. A while back a colleague brought in some sausages (were fresh) that their visiting mother had made. They were fresh and much to my surprise had cure in them. The other thing that I found interesting was that they were cooked in a little oil and water. They were poached and when the water evaporated they fried in the oil until they were browned.

Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 20:02
by Butterbean
Speaking of diversity in foods and cultures it occurred to me one day that in general each culture cooks in essentially the same manner with the differences mainly being in the available meats, spices etc. Not sure if I'm expressing this the way I have it in my head but I've found it more enjoyable to cook and make things if I don't get too hung up on trying to follow a foreign recipe to the letter. Personally, I think we are doing a disservice to others wanting to learn to be hung up on say a spice like Himalayan Sorrel Pepper picked by Tibetan monks on the east face of K2 like some of these celebrity chef's do.

The thread about gumbo reminds me of a basque dish. I forget the name but it sounds really catchy. Something the elite would pay serious coin for but essentially the dish is gumbo. Granted a few different pepper types but the bottom line is its just the same only a fancier sounding name.

What I get from these other cultures are their different techniques. Some of the are ingenious and some are just the same as what we do. Its interesting none the less but I think we share similar differences but mainly in name.

Sorry for the brain fart.

Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 22:02
by Gulyás
Very interesting, and also very true.
We in Hungary have lots of pork dishes, because the country was occupied by foreign army, for 150 years who did not like pork.......(Turkish invasion 1526)
I'm growing Hungarian peppers....in name only, because everything is different here.
And now here, it makes bigger differences HOW we make it, instead of what kind of meat we use. (thinking about sausages)
People cook whatever is available, and mostly whats in season.
Some cultures cook the same thing differently at different times, for the sake of different way, just so it's not as boring.

Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 22:15
by unclebuck
In northern Alberta, beef, pork, moose, elk, deer, chicken, turkey, supplemented by mallard ducks and Canada geese make up our staple diet. Only the imagination controls what you can or are able to do with it!!!