08 July, 2008
The tale of two capsicums
04:29:16 | Little Things, Random Musing | 
Was staring very intendedly at the dishes during my dinner today, and made an interesting observation.
Apparently, a lot of ingredients being used in our food are simply there to add flavour, and not for actual consumption. Take for example, the chicken dish I had this evening. Two green capsicums were sliced and boiled together with the gravy but as far as I am concerned - no one in this family eats capsicums.
So, the capsicums were thrown out together with the rest of the gravy after all the chicken was finished.
Likewise, Singaporeans like to drink Bak Kut Teh - which according to Wikipedia, consists of pork ribs in a complex broth of herbs and spices, boiled together with pork bones for hours. My grandma prepares it every now and then, and what I often notice is how everyone gobbles up all the soup, but all the meat gets left behind.
Everything’s just for the flavour, it seems.
And people are now complaining of rising food prices. Does this mean that we should start cutting back on food wastage which occurs just the sake of extracting its flavour?
Then, an interesting idea struck me.
Is there a possibility that a brand new food industry will emerge in the coming years - which involves extracting the essence and flavour from foods and selling the au naturale ‘bottled essence’ to the masses?
As for the remaining, unused parts of the food, they can be donated to impoverished countries such as Africa and whatnot.
Minimizes the wastage, doesn’t it?
One may argue that such an industry already exists - but these are mostly artificial flavours often nowhere close to the real thing. Even if there are flavourings that uses real extracts, they are often tainted with poisons such as MSG. So there seems to be no real option for the health conscious who seeks the best so far.
But ah, well. It was just a random thought. I have no intention of heading into the food industry anyway - so if you are, my idea is yours to steal. (Hehehe.)
Okay, off to sleep.
And I don’t know why am I sitting here and rambling about capsicums at 4 in the morning.
C O M M E N T S (5)
Because you like to think. A lot. Wayy more than me, anyway. ^^;
Though I think once you suck out the essence of food, there won’t be much stuff left. They’ll probably be tasteless and … smell-less? =X So it might be a good idea to use the whole thing as it is, and if possible, not throw it away afterwards. Capsicums are quite tasty, are they not?
Humm I’ve never really noticed that, but that could be because I grew up hearing that I better finish everything on my plate. :/
Good idea…but I’m not going into the food industry either. :)
No way!!! I don’t want to eat spiceless food and I’m sure impoverished people don’t wanna eat tasteless and nutrition-less food either!! Hahaha!! After being cooked for so long, all the nutrients in whatever spices we leave over is gonna go into the gravy/soup! Hahaha.
I agree with Ivy. Those in impoverished countries should be able to get flavourful and quality food as well. =P
Maybe the leftover meat can be collected and then made into another dish. Let’s see who can come up with a delicious dish made from leftover Bak Kut Teh meat. =P It’ll be a contest, held island-wide! Hahaha! =)
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and I kind of wonder why I’m sitting
here at almost 5 in the morning
reading your little entry on capsicums
which you wrote at 4 in the morning
XD