The coronavirus health crisis has affected almost every part of daily human life, including what we eat.
Almost a year after distancing themselves socially, many people enjoy foods that have long been forgotten or once rejected for taste, feel, or smell. Some have added healthy foods to their diet to boost the body’s natural defenses.
Home cooking is happening all over the place due to restrictions on restaurants and other food stores. People are increasingly discovering new dining experiences in their own kitchen.
The joy of pears
Maeri Ferguson is a 31-year-old woman who lives in Brooklyn, New York. She got COVID-19 last year and recovered. But the disease damaged her sense of taste and smell for months. Many of her favorite foods no longer satisfied her.
Ferguson can feel sweetness, saltiness and spiciness again, although many foods still seem to lack a strong flavor – but not pears. The fruit was not part of her pre-COVID diet.
“I knew what a bad unripe pear tasted like, but not a good one,” she said. Thanks to a gift from a friend, she encouraged herself to find a good example. It was one of the first foods she could really taste again.
“I am a complete convert,” said Ferguson. “I will never forget to bite into a juicy red pear.”
Fermented foods
Fruits are simple pleasures. But fermented foods have also become popular. Fermented foods keep well in the refrigerator for a long time, which is useful if you go shopping less often than before.
Anastasia Sharova, a chef in Stuttgart, Germany, runs Happybellyfish.com. The company is an online cooking school that works on healthy food. At the end of 2019, it added fermentation classes. Then the coronavirus crisis hit.
Sudden interest in making kimchi and sauerkraut, two types of fermented cabbage; and miso, fermented soybeans, were on the rise. Previously, Kombucha, a fermented tea, had helped popularize fermented foods at home.
“Health became number one … for many last year,” said Sharova. She added that being at home caused many to make cooking discoveries. She said fermenting things is like a community activity done by families or in online classes.
Thirty-year-old Alicia Harper has also discovered fermented foods. She is a nutritionist in New York City. She initially did not like the strong flavors and smells of fermented foods.
“Since I recently tried them again, my opinion has changed completely. I have now come to love the taste and smell, ”she said.
Anne Alderete from Los Angeles, California now enjoys natto. Made from fermented soybeans, natto is popular in Japan but considered too unusual by many people.
“I’ve smelled it a lot since I was half Japanese and lived in Tokyo for seven years after college,” said the 47-year-old. But before COVID-19, she never liked eating natto.
‘I feel a little bit virtuous when I eat natto because the health benefits are many, but also because it has brought me closer to my roots, ”said Alderete.
Anxiety and comfort foods
Some experts believe that changes in the way we eat are also due to the fact that we have more time to think about how food ends up on our tables.
Ryan Andrews is a dietitian who wrote a book on plant foods. Ryan is also a consultant for Precision Nutrition, which trains nutrition coaches. He said many people are learning painful truths about the food system.
Andrews said, “People have learned about the unsafe working conditions in meat packaging plants, the unfair wages of farm workers.” He added that other problems include “nutrition-related” diseases, cruelty to farm animals and the costs of industrialized agriculture. “
At the same time, the research company Semrush has been studying Google searches related to changing food interests during the COVID-19 crisis. Their findings suggest comfort food and some unusual combinations are still in people’s minds.
The company found a 17 percent increase in searches for “peanuts and cola” in December compared to December 2019. It found a 33 percent increase for “prosciutto and melon.” And it found a 95 percent jump in searches for ‘bacon and jam. “
A service called WoodSpoon uses technology to connect people who cook at home with people who are willing to pay for a home-cooked meal. The company is based in New York. The chief, Oren Saar, spoke to the Associated Press. He suggested that before the health crisis, there was a strong interest in healthy, less processed foods. After that, orders for bread, pasta and fatty meat increased.
“In challenging times like this that diners are looking for authentic“homemade food,” said Saar.
I am Mario Ritter Jr.
And I am Ashley Thompson.
Leanne Italy reported this story to the Associated Press. Mario Ritter Jr. has adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.
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Words in this story
comfort –N. a state or feeling of being unconcerned, upset or unhappy, free from pain
fermented –Adj. a chemical change in food (and some industrial materials) that changes the nature of the food and often preserves it
jam –N. a sweet, sticky food made with fruits and sugar
challenging –Adj. difficult
authentic –Adj. really, really
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