Urbanisation and street food go hand in hand.
As people’s palate change, and we become receptive to a variety of different ingredients, flavours and cuisines, we are seeing an extraordinary leap in innovation concerning flavour combinations and the ways in which food is served.
The roots of street food date far back in history, to the birth of civilisation. In fact, it is believed that the first ever distribution of such street food began on the streets of Ancient Greece, with the sale of small fried fish. Having said this, there is an ongoing debate whether in fact it originated in Greece or whether its roots are in Asia, where it is more widely found. Regardless of this, the reason it transpired remains the same. It began as a way to cater for poor urban residents, whose tenement homes did not have ovens or hearths. And so provided nourishing dishes that were affordable by all.
Street food has evolved alongside civilisation, ever so discreetly. However, it’s most often out of poverty that the best of human ingenuity emerges, and so forth emerged the eternal recipes that would provide the foundations of an entire culinary culture.
So let’s take a minute to delve into a few different areas and their integration into street food… in Paris there were the “pâstĂ©s”; pastry cases with various fillings, usually stewed meat or vegetables. These then lead to the term “patisserie”. The anglo-saxon lower class also worked on the same principle of pies: a crust made of flour, lard and water containing a cooked filling, and in Britain, fish and chips were sold on the streets wrapped in newspaper.
Due to the fact that street food was born with the primary need to feed the poorer community, cheaply, it has always been considered of little worth. But this is far from the case. Street food is often the last defence for a place’s traditions and identity. It’s what identifies and distinguishes one area from another.
Those that have not been exposed to the street food culture tend to shy away from it thinking it is unhealthy and unhygienic. However, despite concerns about contamination at street food vendors, the incidence of contamination is very low with a number of studies showing rates comparable to those of restaurants.
Today, while some street foods remain regional, many are not, having spread wide and far.
So why do we love to eat fast food? Well, It’s economical, easily accessible, often nutritious, and offers an endless culinary variety of traditional dishes for every taste. Although we may recognise that the majority of street food is not extremely healthy, we love the fact that there are large varieties available at a cheaper price, and that the food is served ‘on the spot’. In most places, street food also represents the local cuisine, in a more authentic manner.
The contribution of street food vendors to the economy has been greatly underestimated and neglected, as is vital for the economic planning and development of many towns.
Remember:
It’s fast food, NOT junk food.
It’s a way of life!
QuIrKaLiCiOuS 