One of the more constructive things to have come about as a result of COVID-19, is a return to home cooking. With lockdowns, the shuttering of many eating (and drinking) establishments; markets and supermarkets opened for reduced hours with access only on specific days dictated by the letter of your surname, and snaking queues at bakeries, we have had no choice. Nevertheless, with these constraints have come opportunities to connect, reconnect, learn, share and discover talents we didn’t even know we had.
Prior to the pandemic, a hot home-cooked meal was for many something they only had on the weekend. However, forced to work and study from home with no access to eating establishments, many were now enjoying (yes, enjoying) the delights of daily homecooked meals. In conversation with a friend last week, he remarked that he did not realise what a good cook his wife was, because prior to COVID, almost no cooking took place at home as they mostly ate out during the week and on weekends, they ate at the home of family or friends. There are so many people I have been in conversation with who have said the same thing or something similar. Our busy lives meant grabbing food on the go and never having the time to make it ourselves.
Homecooked meals meant a return to the dining table, sitting, not just to share a meal but the fellowship it brings. I’ve heard many accounts of people rediscovering the dining table, instead of eating in front of the television or taking food and heading to the bedroom. Families were sitting around the table, and in many cases, opening up, slowly at first, about their lives and how they were coping and experiencing the pandemic.
Some of those doing the cooking were discovering skills they did not know they had, while others were finding joy in cooking. The sheer delight through show and tell by first-time cooks and bakers exhibiting their exploits, especially on social media, was a daily dose of good-feels amidst these strange and at times perplexing days and months.
For those of us living abroad, a taste of home provided much comfort as we replicated and sought to create dishes from home. For me, making and eating Pepperpot during the August holidays provided hope and a sense of belonging. Food, as I have repeatedly said, is more than satisfying physiological needs, it also assures, reassures, identifies and comforts, among other things.
While banana bread was the most made dish around the world and the most searched for recipe online, it is the humble loaf of regular bread that was really the star this year. Many people made their own bread, but an equal number of people, if not more, were, for the first time, making their own bread and finding out how easy it was to do so. With long lines at bakeries along with various restrictions, people were buying more than 1 loaf to stock up and freeze for later use. Therefore, resorting to making bread, seemed, and was, the most sensible thing to do. Many marvelled at the difference in the quality and taste of their homemade bread compared to the shop-bought, even vowing to never buy commercial bread again.
The increased homemade bread making meant that flour and yeast became prized items with some supermarkets and shops running out of both, and in some cases, flour being limited to only a couple of sacks depending on the quantity.
It was not just home cooking that was a positive from 2020, but also kitchen gardening. Lots of people decided to use whatever space they have, including creating potted gardens, to grow their own vegetables and herbs. Seedlings are continuing to be a big seller as people seek to find ways to feed themselves. Living in countries where one depends on food imports, and the threat of borders shutting, the ability to grow 1 or 2 quick-crop vegetables is vital; lettuce, spinach (callaloo), beets, scallions, okra, squash are among some of the quick growing vegetables.
Another dimension to eating in 2020 is the rise of many home-based cooking/catering businesses. With many people losing their jobs and working hours reduced, they have turned to what they know, and a skill they have – cooking and baking.
This pandemic has wreaked havoc on economies, lives, and living, and we still do not know where and how things will be in the New Year and beyond. However, it has also taught us a lot – about life, living, adapting, adjusting, needs, wants, priorities, and so much more. Among the things we’ve learnt are not to waste, that we can cook and that we can grow some of our own food. One can only hope that as times goes on, that we do not lose sight of the things we have learnt.
All the very best for the New Year!
Cynthia
cynthia@tasteslikehome.org
