Food cultures and traditions

Fermentation is nature’s way of letting friendly microbes, such as bacteria, yeasts, and sometimes moulds, do some of the hard work in the kitchen for us. 

The fermentation process is usually anaerobic, meaning it happens without oxygen. This is why people pack food tightly into jars or bury it underground to keep air out and let the right microbes get to work.

Fermentation isn’t the same as food going off. When food spoils, harmful microbes make it unsafe, but in traditional fermentation, helpful microbes transform the food to create new flavours and make it more nutritious. On a microscopic level, these invisible yeasts and bacteria create environments where harmful bacteria cannot grow. They also boost nutrition by making vitamins and minerals easier to absorb, and many of these microbes act as probiotics.

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For much of history, coffee remained a relatively simple drink of ground beans brewed with hot water, occasionally accompanied by a splash of milk or sugar. It wasn’t until the 1990s that global coffee chains revolutionised the beverage by introducing flavoured lattes, blended chilled drinks, and seasonal specials. 

Beyond added sugar, modern coffee drinks are sweetened in several ways that often mask the origin and quality of the underlying beans. These include:

Roasting: A process that brings out naturally sweet flavours in the coffee.
Flavoured syrups: Additions such as vanilla, caramel, or hazelnut.
Sweetened plant-based milks: Options like oat, almond, or soy.
Toppings: Creamy foams, whipped toppings, and dessert-style additions like chocolate drizzle or biscuit crumbs.

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The ancient Celtic festival Samhain (pronounced “sow-en”) inspired many of the Halloween traditions we celebrate today.

Samhain was a significant time for the Celtic people of Ireland, marking the end of the harvest season and the start of winter. It was also the beginning of the Celtic New Year, a moment of change when the boundary between our world and the otherworld seemed thin. Long ago, Irish people believed that spirits from the past could cross over into our world on October 31st. To welcome these ghostly visitors, people came together during Samhain to offer food, gifts, and treats, while lighting huge bonfires and wearing costumes and masks to ward off dark forces.

Harvest food was central to Samhain celebrations, which served as a major feast for connecting with family, community, and remembering those who had passed away. People made extensive preparations for these communal feasts, sometimes leaving doors and windows unlatched to let spirits in or leaving offerings of fruit and nuts outside to keep mischievous spirits happy.

Because food was plentiful after the autumn harvest, it was a time for celebration. Many Samhain feasts included late-growing potatoes, greens like cabbage and kale, as well as wild hazelnuts and bilberries. Some of these foods were even used in games and were deeply connected to beliefs about the spirit world.

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Historically, it was common for Christians to fast or avoid foods like meat and eggs for up to 40 days before the Christmas feast as a way to practice self-control. Christmas Eve was known as the ‘vigil of Christmas’, marking the last day of fasting when meat was often banned. This explains why fish remains a popular choice for Christmas Eve dinner in countries like Germany, where the festive feast is still eaten the evening before Christmas Day.

In the past, a large Christmas feast made sense after a long period of fasting or eating modestly. Today, while most of us no longer fast before the holiday, we often tend to overeat and buy food shipped from all over the world. We can revive the true spirit of the holiday by choosing local, more sustainable foods, just as our ancestors once did.

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