The threat to us all with drought and warming temperatures is something we see on the news and think it won’t affect us, but the earth is warming at an alarming rate which is worrying. The threat to our food and what we are able to eat is also worrying, and the old adage, if you don’t use it, you lose it should be remembered. Dan Saladino has written a fabulous book called ‘Eating to Extinction, The World’s Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them’.
This book is a great read, it brings out the activist in me, makes me want to use more local, seasonal produce and furthermore, makes me want to tell more people about the great history, recipes and food we have here. Dan is a great guy, and I was involved with him on a Slow Food project a while back. He is a broadcaster and programme maker at BBC Radio 4 and The World Service and covers many food related subjects.
This is not a recipe book, but it delves in to the history, back story and archives about how certain food items are at great danger of becoming extinct. The research that has gone into this book is very impressive. The power of how food can make countries great, how food can showcase human creativity and invention, account for the rise and fall of empires and expose the causes and consequences of disasters, like flood and fire by intensive farming and bad land management, the historical side of grains, all fascinates me.
One subject he touches on is the small village in northern Turkey that he finds, which some 12,000 years ago first started cultivating grains mainly wheat. Dan focuses in different chapters on wild cereals, vegetables, meat, sea, fruit, cheese and so on. Bringing it closer to home, he talks about beremeal from Orkney which I mentioned earlier. Very tricky to find but production is mainly milled on Orkney at Barony Mill. A classic bannock can be made and served with good unpasteurised cheese, and a drizzle of honey, or served simply warm with some rich good butter whilst still warm. There is too much to tell you about this book, and many stories of interesting, almost lost food and drink items, so I suggest you order a copy and read it.
