Food habits and dietary patterns in human nutrition

Food

Recently I had the opportunity to try an Ethiopian restaurant that is fairly new to the neighborhood. I have eaten Ethiopian food before, and so was very familiar with the tastes, textures, and overall eating experience. This restaurant had an Ethiopian flag outside, and inside it was decorated with photographs of Ethiopia and handicrafts from the country. The atmosphere was casual, relaxed, and homey. On the stereo played Ethiopian music of many different varieties including songs with captivating vocals. As with the menus of most Ethiopian restaurants, this menu listed a variety of meat and vegetable dishes and explained how to eat the food properly. Most menus do not need directions, but for those who have never eaten Ethiopian food before, some advance knowledge is helpful. Ethiopian food is eaten entirely with the hands and fingers: no utensils are used at all. The stable starch of the Ethiopian diet is injera: a large, paper-thin, crepe-like bread made from fermented teff flour. Similar to an Indian dosa, the injera has a pleasant tang that enhances the flavor of all the food. To eat, the diner breaks off a piece of injera and with it, scoops up some of the delicious curry on the platter. The curries are of all colors and textures: including yellow and brown lentil dishes, vegetable curries, and several different types of meat curry. Everything is richly flavored, with layers of lovely spices.

The day after the Ethiopian feast, we went to a traditional English bakery for brunch. Relatively uncommon outside of the United Kingdom, a traditional English bakery boasts savory pies and "pasties" that are filled with things like cheese, onions, meat, and vegetables. The dough is a flaky crust, and the filling is seasoned well mainly with salt and pepper. Many people drink tea with their English pies and pasties, but we opted for coffee instead.

Comparing Ethiopia with England is like comparing an antelope with a lemon. The two countries are different in terms of their culture, geography, history, and of course, cuisine. The population growth of Ethiopia is among the highest in the world, at 3.179%, according to the CIA World Factbook. This is compared with 0.553% for the United Kingdom. There are 2.739 physicians per 1,000 people in the UK, and only 0.022 physicians per 1,000 in Ethiopia.