Sunday, September 18, 2011

When I arrive, what should I eat? Boerewors? Kadayif?

With all the questions one has to answer when traveling to a new destination,
What should I eat is one of my favorites. It’s much more interesting to contemplate than what vaccinations I need and how many pages must there be in the passport for the visa that’s required.

Because I’m about to embark on a journey that will take me within the span of two weeks to South Africa and then to Turkey food is very much on my mind.  There will be
Boerewors, a spicy sausage to sample in Cape Town and Kadayif, a handmade "shredded" pastry in Istanbul to say nothing of  dozens of other dishes and drinks.  To get an idea of the possibilities two sites I discovered are:  Explore South Africa, (http://www.exploresouthafrica.net/culture/food.htm) or Turizm.net (http://www.turizm.net/turkey/tips/storyfood.html).

It’s exciting to have the opportunity to sample cuisines with such rich and long standing traditions.  Settlers and traders brought their food, spices, grains and livestock to both countries.  New foods were added to the traditional meals.  The selections and menus evolved.  History, tradition, culture and contemporary society come to life through understanding the foods of each place.  Sampling, exploring the markets and the restaurants and discovering the answers to What shall I eat? will be a delightful form of experiential learning.

If your travels take you to other places you may may want to check out the website Food In Every Country (http://www.foodbycountry.com/index.html.  It provides fascinating information about the cuisine of sixty-eight countries and regions ranging from Algeria to Zimbabwe. 

Before you go, now there's one more question to ask?  What should I eat when I arrive?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

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