Growing up without too much care about what does it really mean to consume exclusively healthy food, although coping with tons of allergies most of my childhood, I was lured into the pleasures of good and real food only a couple of years ago, when faced with the huge challenge of cooking and taking care of my house completely on my own - meaning no cooking lady to prepare my lunches or dinners. As I am also doing my very best to keep kosher - at least in the house - another couple of challenges were sent to me, starting from the ability to identify and select those products which contain clean ingredients, from the kosher point of view.
After reading this book by the food and travel journalist Larry Olmsted, I realize that in fact the time spent reading the list of ingredients of a product before taking the decision to buy is more than a religious obligation, but a healthy choice too. But it does it mean that we might be completely safe from purchasing 'fake' products, as I remember a couple of years ago a terrific story with tilapia fish which was not what it was introduced: not tilapia, not kosher, but some fish brought to America from China. Living in the EU protects at a greater extent the customers from being victims of such abuses, with detailed rules and regulations governing and protecting the selling and distribution of serious food brands, such as Champagne, various wines or cheeses.
Besides the educational value, this book by Larry Olmsted also has a very pleasant writing, with interesting food stories - my favorite ones are, no surprise, about cheese - and also some short recipes of genuine original cooking. A book done out of the feeling of responsibility to offer informed opinions when introducing foods, which offer valuable hints, especially for the readers which love to travel, taste and discover local tastes, but not every kind of touristy, fake alternatives, although it might be cheaper and in easy to reach places.
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