Travel tip #120: Why you should always eat local food

Hi Reader,

How is the week going?

Have you taken any time off this summer (or winter if you are in the southern hemisphere)?

I am just back from a few days in Porto and the Douro Valley, in Portugal, with my best friend.

It was a short trip filled with the things I love: Food, wine and culture.

If you'd like me to share tips for Porto, reply to this email and let me know.

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Why you should always eat local food

I don't really plan much when I travel solo for fun (not for work). I love th freedom this gives me and the space for serendipity. I also care less and less about sites and famous landmarks, and more about meeting people, learning about the local culture and experiencing it in an immersive manner.

Food is one of the most important and authentic ways to discover a destination, and it's also probably the only part of the travel experience that I still research before a trip: What to eat and where.

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Support the local economy

Instead of lining the pockets of international chains, I prefer to eat locally, and dine at a combination of hole in the wall places, street food stalls, regular restaurants and cafes and fine dining restaurants.

I also try to avoid local chains, unless there is something particularly interesting about them.

This way, I make sure my money stays with small businesses instead of generic or internationally-owned businesses.

Additionally, I also seek restaurants, and food-related activities, that are trying to bring back old recipes, keep traditions alive, preserve cooking techniques or update old recipes.

For example, in Bogota, I ate at Leo, a female-owned restaurant that is investing into recovering lost ingredients, mostly fruits, vegetables, grains and herbs, that are no longer grown or used and that had instead been replaced by international varieties or more efficient crops.

In their words, "A gastronomic journey through the ethnobotany of the cultures that inhabit the various Colombian biomes"

The restaurant's menu was incredibly interesting, explaining each ingredient, its origin and taste, and the dishes it was used in. The meal was enriching and fascinating, though I needed help to choose as almost every dish was made of ingredients I had no idea about, and could not predict how they would taste.

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Learn about the history of a place

By eating, and learning more about the gastronomy of a destination, I also get to learn a lot about its history.

The cuisine of a place is always the result of the civilisations that invaded them or that they traded with, their traditions and heritage, as well as their weather, landscapes and eco-systems.

This is why so many Balkan countries eat similar foods that are also common in Greece and Turkey, because they were part of the Ottoman Empire; or why so many Spanish dishes have Arabic influence as a result of the 800 years of the Caliphate; or why cuisine can vary dramatically even within the same country, when unification happened later and regions evolved separately, as is the case in India.

The Mediterranean diet in the South of France, Italy or Spain shares a common set of ingredients that are the result of what grows naturally: cereals, olive oil, legumes, vegetables, fish and fruits.

In Japan, rice is the basis of its cuisine, but in some regions, other ingredients are equally important; For example, in the northern ski resorts areas, dairy is king as the green pastures are the perfect environment for cows to graze freely. In Okinawa, which enjoys warm tropical weather year-round, the gastronomy is completely different.

Religion will also tell you a lot about a place's cuisine; Most of India is vegetarian owing to the Hindu religion, but predominantly Muslim states eat meat, though not pork.

Island destinations like Sicily, enjoy micro eco-systems that are also the result of rich trade. Its strategic location between Europe and Africa and Europe and the Middle East brought nuts, honey and filo pastry to the island, among many other ingredients.

Destinations in the far northern parts of the Earth, where the land is frozen for the majority of the year, have had to develop techniques to preserve food by smoking, salting or fermenting, something other parts of the world where agriculture can happen year-round did not need to do.

Fish and seafood are common near bodies of water, and harder to find inland. The typical Tuscan diet does not feature fish for this reason, while in the Amalfi Coast they eat plenty.

At the same time, vegetables and fruits are grown differently depending on the landscape and soil. In the Amalfi, fruit trees are grown in umbrella shape so that vegetables can be grown underneath, in the shade.

Some destinations follow seasonal patterns, eating what grows at different parts of the year and importing little, while others such as Singapore or Dubai, where little grows locally, everything is imported and un-seasonal; You can find strawberries or mangos year round.

The Cycladic islands (eg Mykonos and Santorini) receive minimal rainfall, so vineyards are grown on the ground, in basket shape, so grapes can be placed in the middle, protected from the winds. Vegetable gardens are watered by the condensation of morning dew.

While commerce and invasions have brought food traditions across the world's main trading routes, countries like Georgia have managed to maintain a unique cuisine with little in common with any other country. This uniqueness indicates a strong sense of identity, a staunch sense of independence and a location between hard to access mountains and bodies of water.

I could go on, but you see where I am coming from.

I love reading about the origin of the most famous dishes of the place I visit, and taste them, because they tell me a lot about a place.

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Learn about traditions and customs

Food is a window into the traditions of a destination.

Every place has one or various dishes that are a unique insight into its identity.

If you visit Morocco and meet locals, you will no doubt be offered sweet tea and biscuits. This is a sign of hospitality, and should never be rejected.

I remember when I was designing our itinerary and visited many hotels, restaurants and sites. At every stop, tea and biscuits were offered, and I had to at least have some of it. By the time evening arrived, my blood had turned to syrup as a result of the huge amounts of sugar I had consumed.

I tried to ask my host if we could simply say no thanks at any of the stops, but he insisted I had to have at least a bit because it would be rude to decline.

In Spain and in Italy, we enjoy "aperitivo", a pre-meal drink accompanied by snacks that is a social gathering with friends. You could meet them just for this and then go back home for lunch with your family.

As part of our Bali tour, we go on a wild foraging morning in the forests of the highlands, looking for fruits, herbs, tree sap, vegetables and roots that we then use to make a fresh and native lunch.

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More sustainable, lower carbon footprint meals

When you eat Japanese food in Egypt, you are most likely eating ingredients that have been flown into, and that are not indigenous.

This means that the carbon footprint of your meal is much higher than when you eat koshari, a traditional Egyptian meal with pasta, lentils, tomato, and onion. Or when you eat sushi in Japan.

Eating what proximity food, aka, what is local to the city or the region you are visiting, is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint and what is more sustainably and environmentally responsibly grown.

It is also much fresher and tastier, and also probably more nutritious than food picked early, packaged and flown thousands of miles across the world.

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New experiences

The world's gastronomy is varied and diverse, and isn't trying new experiences why we travel in the first place?

Food is a very important part of the travel experience, and to me, a fantastic way to try new things I probably don't have access to back home.

For example, Oaxaca mole is deliciously rich, and I can't find the same quality in Barcelona, not to mention the grasshoppers and giant ants that are often part of the dishes are just not available.

Any homemade dim sum in Singapore, Hong Kong or China is flavorful and delightfully light, and it just does not taste the same at any Asian restaurant elsewhere.

In the Swedish Arctic, I can eat lean reindeer meat and in Australia, a fantastic kangaroo steak.

Lobster in Cuba is not just large, but also extremely fresh.

Balinese fresh herbs and fruits in season are nothing like what I can buy in the supermarket at home.

Eating local food is taking your sense on a journey, and that is such an important part of the travel experience.

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Do you eat local when traveling? What has been your most memorable meal?

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See all the previous 119 newsletter travel tips here and don't forget to forward this email to a friend who may find it useful.

Have a wonderful weekend and talk to you next week !

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SOLO FEMALE TRAVELERS CO-FOUNDERS