Lesson video

Hello, thanks for choosing this lesson.

My name is Mr. Ballam, and this lesson is all around eat local to taste the world.

Let's get started.

So what are we going to learn today? By the end of the lesson, you'll be able to locate the origin of ingredients for different worldwide cuisines.

And there's a few key words which I want to go through first of all, which we're going to pick up in the lesson.

The first one is cuisine, which is a style or method of cooking in a country, region, or even a restaurant.

The other word is import, and this is bringing goods in from another country for sale.

The other one is export, which is to send foods to another country for sale.

And the last one, cooking technique, which is the way food is prepared and cooked.

Okay, so let's get started with the first part of the lesson, which is all around the food we use, import, and export.

So while the UK grows, rears, and catches its own food, some of what it produces is exported or sold to other countries.

In addition, the UK imports or buys food from other countries, and this is due to a lot of different factors such as season, cost, climate, and also to add some variety to our diet too.

And for the food consumed in the UK, around about 58% is actually produced in the United Kingdom.

23% of that food is from Europe, and 19% that we get is from the rest of the world.

So true or false, the UK produces all of its own food.

Well, that's false, isn't it? And why is that? Well, the UK produces about 58% of its own food, and 42% is imported from other countries.

And this is due to things like season, cost, climate, but also to add some variety to our diets too.

Now 90% of all the food that's imported to the UK comes from just 33 countries around the world, and 80% comes from just 22 countries around the world.

And it's worth noting that there are 195 countries which are recognised by the United Nations.

So you can see just a few countries help to provide the food that we eat.

And we're also reliant on some countries or regions to provide particular foods, such as bananas from the Caribbean or Central America.

And if there are problems with food production in other countries, this means that we can't import the food that we need, and we'll have to buy it from different countries if we can.

Now, in 2023, the UK imported 13.

2 billion pounds' worth of food and drinks.

In the same year, we exported 1 billion pounds' worth of food and drinks.

So the value of the imports was greater than the value of the exports.

So generally over time, we import more food than we export.

And this chart here shows us, so, for example, we might export 1 billion pounds' worth of fruit and vegetables, but we import 13.

2 billion.

And the chart shows us the type of foods which we export and import from around the world.

Now, food exported or sold from the UK can help businesses expand and also to make money.

However, some of that food could have been consumed in the UK, such as seasonal fruit and vegetables or fish, for example.

And also, it's worth noting that there might be an environmental impact of packing, storing, and shipping the food to other countries too.

And there are advantages of buying food produced around the UK such as less environmental impacts and lower costs too.

And food grows seasonally, and when it's not in season in the UK, is imported, so consumers can easily buy what they want.

However, consumers are encouraged to buy and use seasonal food from the UK to be more sustainable.

However, some food cannot be grown in the UK, such as rice, due to its climate, so it is imported.

It's also worth noting that reducing the amount of food wasted from farm to fork also has environmental and financial benefits too.

And it's been estimated about 60% of food wasted in the UK comes from the home, costing the average UK household around about 720 pounds each year.

So, true or false? 40% of food waste in the UK is from households.

Well, that's false, isn't it? And why is that? Well, it's been estimated that 60% of food waste is from households, and the cost of this waste per household is 720 pounds a year.

Now sometimes food is imported from other countries to add variety to our diet, to cook an authentic dish, or because sometimes consumers believe the food is of a better quality.

And a mix of food from the UK, as well as around the world, is used to prepare a range of dishes from different cuisines.

So I've got a quick task for you here.

So what I want you to do is to create a chart showing some of the pros and cons for the food we produce in the UK as well as import and export.

So good luck to you, pause the video, and we'll come back very soon to look at some examples.

Okay, so how'd you get on? I bet you did really well.

Let's look at some examples together, shall we? So thinking about the pros and cons, first of all, for food we produce in the UK, you could have put things like it's cheaper as it's in season, or perhaps it's better for the environment, or maybe it lacks variety, for example.

And also that some foods just don't grow in the UK.

And what about import? Well, first of all, we could then get foods, can't we, at different times in the year when they're not in season in the UK? Secondly, this adds variety to our diet, however, they might cost more, and they may also be a bigger impact on the environment too.

And lastly, export.

Well, we could be selling food that could be eaten in the UK.

We could make money, but also there might be a bigger environmental impact.

I'm sure you came up with some other great answers too.

Well done to you.

So now let's move on to the second part of the lesson, which is all around worldwide cuisine from UK food.

So around the world, there is a wide range of cuisines as well as ingredients, cooking techniques, and equipment too.

And a mix of these four things are used to plan, prepare, cook, and eat different dishes and meals.

Now a cuisine is a style or a method of cooking from a country or region.

And there are many different popular cuisines from around the world.

Here's just some examples.

So it could be Mexican.

I'm sure many of you had Mexican food before.

Or perhaps Italian, or how about Japanese, French, Thai, Chinese, Indian, Turkish, or perhaps Mauritian? So there are lots of different types of cuisines, or a style or method of cooking, from around the world in different countries and regions.

So, true or false? A cuisine is a style or method of cooking from a country or region.

True or false? That's right, that's true, isn't it? And why is that? Well, cuisines use distinctive ingredients and cooking techniques from a country or region around the world.

Well done.

So cuisines use distinctive ingredients or cooking techniques.

And these are based on the ingredients traditionally produced in the country or region due to its climate or geography and are influenced by history, customs, culture, and religion too.

And even within a country, the cuisine can change depending on the area, or several countries might share similar styles, such as the Mediterranean cuisine, or perhaps African or Korean.

Now, there are lots of different ingredients that are used to make meals and dishes around the world, and many of these are synonymous with certain cuisines.

And this is due to many factors, such as climate, culture, and ingredients that are plentiful, for example.

So, for example, it might be different spices from India, or perhaps rice and fish in Japan, or perhaps cassava from Nigeria, or how about pasta from Italy? So what do you think the main types of ingredients used in cooking are? Well, there are so many, aren't there? You could loosely describe it as fruits and vegetables or starchy foods, for example.

Or you could come up with some of the examples on the screen here.

And different cuisines in different countries often use certain types of ingredients.

Now, the cooking technique, or the way in which a food is prepared and cooked, can also change depending on the cuisine.

And originally the cooking technique was based on the ingredients available.

Now, global cooking techniques include the following.

So it might be stir-frying, for example, or tandoori, or perhaps teppanyaki, or perhaps the tajine, for example, or perhaps en papillote.

So there are different types of cooking techniques around the world.

So let's have a quick check for understanding, shall we? So what I want you to do is match the cooking technique label to the correct image.

So how did you get on? Yep, the first one's stir-fry.

Well done.

Second one, teppanyaki.

And that leaves tandoori.

Well done.

So now we're gonna move on to equipment.

And although there are many general pieces of equipment used for cooking, cuisines often use special items. Let's just have a look at a few examples together, shall we? So, for example, it might be a pasta machine, or perhaps a tandoor oven, or perhaps a tajine, or a wok, or perhaps a tortilla press, or how about a bamboo steamer or a Chamba pot, or a masala dabba? So these are all different pieces of equipment, used in different cuisines around the world.

And while traditionally cuisines require certain ingredients from different countries, many ingredients now are either produced or easily available in the UK.

Many non-native vegetables are now grown in the UK, such as pak choi, okra, and ginger too.

And some foods are made in the UK too, where they may have traditionally been imported, so things like noodles and pasta.

And when we're shopping, we can see that supermarkets and shops also import a wide variety of ingredients, so we can pretty much cook any dish at any time.

And this means a mix of ingredients produced in the UK and from around the world are used in modern cooking.

So I've got a task for you here, and what I want you to do is to create a food map of the world showing six cuisines and the traditional ingredients used.

So good luck to you.

You might need to get some books or use the internet, but I'm sure you'll do brilliantly.

So pause the video, and we'll see how you've got on very soon.

So how did you do? Well, let's look at some examples together.

There's so many countries and so many ingredients, I'm sure you did really, really well.

But let's look at six examples together, shall we? Well, the first one could have been Italian cuisine, things like pasta, tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, garlic, and porcini, which is a type of mushroom.

Or how about Mexican? You could have had corn, tortillas, beans, chilies, avocados, and limes, for example.

Or how about Ghanaian cuisine? You could have had cassava, millet, Bambara beans, garlic, ginger, and nuts.

Or perhaps Japanese cuisine, rice, fish, noodles, soy sauce, dashi, and miso.

Different types of ingredients again.

Or how about Spanish cuisine? Saffron, rice, seafood, chorizo, ham, paprika, and peppers.

And lastly, how about Indian cuisine? Chickpeas, rice, ghee, garam masala, lentils, and cardamon.

So you can see, even through these six examples, the different types of ingredients that are used in different cuisines around the world.

And some of these we can easily get in the UK, some there might be made here or grown here, but some we still need to get from around the world from different countries.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed the lesson today, all about eating local to taste the world.

And we've learned so much, haven't we? Let's have a quick summary together.

Well, the first one is that we know that the UK produces 58% of its food, with 23% being imported from Europe and 19% from the rest of the world.

And we also know that UK exports food too.

And we also looked at that there are advantages to buying food produced from the UK, such as less environmental impact and lower cost too.

However, some foods cannot be grown in the UK due to its climate, such as rice, so is imported.

Also, we've learned that around the world there is a range of cuisines, ingredients, cooking techniques, and equipment too.

And lastly, we looked at a mix of food from the UK and also around the world is used to prepare a range of dishes from different cuisines.

Well, we've learned so much today, and I really hope you enjoyed the lesson and you come back very soon for another cooking and nutrition lesson with me.

Thanks a lot.

Bye.