COVID-19 has had a huge impact on life for people around the globe. There’s been a lot of changes to work schedules, schools, and life in general. But have you given any thought to how COVID-19 has changed the way we eat? Access to food, stay-at-home orders, and perceived food shortages have all caused people to make some interesting changes in food habits. It remains to be seen whether these changes will be permanent or were just reactions to a time of crisis. But it’s interesting to see how a global pandemic can cause so many differences in everyday life, especially in the way we eat.
Back to basics
Many people have returned to the fundamentals of cooking while being home during the pandemic. Some people focused on baking, especially when it comes to homemade bread. In fact, searches for bread were trending higher than ever on Google as people had more time at home to devote hours to the lengthy bread-making process. Sourdough starters and recipes for no-knead bread were hot commodities. Mayonnaise has also seen a huge spike in sales since people have been making more sandwiches and other foods at home. SPAM also had a rise in popularity and was actually hard to find in many grocery stores. Some Americans also turned to beans and other plant-based protein options since meat was scarce for many weeks. The closing of restaurants also meant that many people were cooking all their meals at home for the first time.
Preparing for the future
The pandemic caused a lot of people to realize that they aren’t prepared for emergencies when it comes to their food supply. While many don’t have the option to have a large emergency food supply, the pandemic has caused people to learn new ways to stock up on non-perishable foods. COVID-19 also led to a huge increase in growing vegetable gardens at home. Many of the online sites that sell seeds had longer ship times than normal and they were also out of stock of some popular seed varieties. So, what are people going to do with all that home-grown produce? That’s where canning comes in. This old-fashioned way of food preservation is gaining popularity again. Canning supplies were hard to find in the stores and were sold out on many websites as people who had never considered canning decided to give it a try.
COVID-19 has caused a lot of changes in the way we do things. Some of those changes aren’t necessarily bad. Some people have used their extra time at home in a productive way by learning new skills in the kitchen. The virus has also made people think more about the future when it comes to food. COVID-19 has changed the way we eat, but some of those changes can actually improve our way of life. Learning to bake, preserving food, and keeping more nonperishable food on hand means being better prepared for future emergencies. Plus, there is a lot of satisfaction that comes from learning new skills.