On the Taste Streets

 

Let's face it, food is the sole most significant commodity in any of our shopping baskets and street food shapes a major chunk thereof. For instance, studies have found that the poorest section of the society uses up to 40% of their food budget and 25% of their total spending budget on street food.

 

Street food is the creation of crowded cities and signifies different things to different people, be it the schoolchildren on their way to school or the holidaymaker staying in a big city or the vendor selling the food. It is ready-to-eat foods or beverages, which comprises many types of foods ranging from cereal and fruits to cooked meats and beverages. It is generally sold in busy intersections and public areas and is served with the minimum amount of fuss in single portions dished into take-away containers. These containers come in a variety of materials such as disposable plastic, paper and Styrofoam or even clay plates, bowls, cups and utensils. It has become a main food for the commuters, workers, students and schoolchildren, migrants and tourists who find themselves far from home when hunger hits at mealtimes, because it is cheap and sold in flexible quantities. Anywhere you go, you will find street food as an interwoven part of the local economy.

 

People want to know that the food they buy and eat is safe. The test is therefore to develop the safety of street food by working with vendors. Certain simple practices like using potable water for preparing the food and using clean and hygienic utensils for storing and serving the food go a long way in meeting this very just consumer demand.

 

Haute cuisine is an indulgence, but street food is where it's at! It is part of an individuality expressed through culinary terms. It is a natural idiom of culture that cannot be found anywhere else. Enduring consumer fondness reflects this strength of cultural identities articulated in the cuisine and culinary traditions found on the streets.

 

Stay tuned to travel the world with me on a gastronomical journey with a difference! Know the very souls of the countries we visit because the street foods in these lands reflect their culture like nothing else can.