人們常說「民以食為天」，「皇帝不差遣餓兵」，相比過去，我們其實已經過著豐衣足食的生活了，然而，不管是忙碌的上班族、努力讀書的學生，或者是退休後享受生活的長輩，每天都得面對一個簡單卻難以逃避的問題：「今天要吃什麼？」，我之前在某個展覽上還看過有團隊開發一個 手機 APP 應用程式,透過抽獎方式，幫助有選擇障礙的人，決定今天午餐要吃甚麼，可見得這個問題，可能比工作上的難題還要讓人傷腦筋。
以前的人吃飯，最大的考量可能是「吃得飽」，只要有白飯、青菜和一點肉，就謝天謝地了，隨著生活水準提高，現代人對吃的要求也越來越多，不但要吃得飽，還要吃得好，吃得健康之外，還要能兼顧美味，詭異的是，越美味的食物，通常用的添加物越多，俗稱的「科技與狠活」，食物使用的添加物越多，通常較不健康，這次的美食展，不出意外，也吸引了不少人前來觀展，有一家來自宜蘭的攤位，主打水果乾，水果乾理論上是健康的食物，不過為了延長保存期限、改善口感與維持鮮豔顏色，是有可能加入糖精、防腐劑與人工色素等添加物，不過，我在這家試吃金棗乾，酸酸甜甜的滋味，還蠻好吃的。
其實，展場裡的美食種類真的很多，從傳統糕餅、肉乾、果乾、堅果，到茶葉、咖啡、醬料、零食等，甚至還有一些平常不太容易看到的特色食品，有些攤位的店員非常熱情，一看到有人靠近，就開始送試吃物，例如，徐家蛋捲是一家來自屏東的手工蛋捲品牌，就把現做的蛋捲，剪成一小段一小段的，發給來往路人試吃，帶著餘溫的蛋捲，還真好吃，逛美食展真的是一件讓人開心的事情，除了看得到美食、聞得到香味、吃得到試吃物之外，還可以知道有甚麼新口味的美食又竄出了。
People often say, “Food comes first” or “You can’t expect hungry soldiers to fight”. Compared with the past, we’re actually living pretty comfortable lives with more than enough food to eat. Anyhow, whether you’re a busy office worker, a student working hard at school, or a retiree enjoying life, there’s one simple but unavoidable question that everyone has to deal with every day: “What should I eat today”? I actually once saw a team at an exhibition that had developed a mobile app to help people who have a hard time making decisions. The app basically uses a random-draw system to help you decide what to have for lunch. That just shows how this question can sometimes be even more difficult than problems at work!
In the past, people’s biggest concern when it came to food was probably just, “Is there enough to eat”? As long as they had some rice, vegetables, and a little bit of meat, they were already thankful. But as our standard of living has improved, our expectations for food have also gotten higher. We don’t just want food that fills us up. We want it to taste good, be healthy, and, of course, be delicious. The strange thing is that the tastier the food is, the more additives it often seems to contain. In Taiwan, people sometimes jokingly call this “high-tech and hardcore ingredients”. The more additives a food contains, the less healthy it usually is.
This food expo, as expected, attracted quite a lot of visitors. One booth was from Yilan and specialized in dried fruit. In theory, dried fruit should be a fairly healthy snack. But in order to extend its shelf life, improve its texture, and keep its bright color, some dried fruit products may contain sweeteners, preservatives, or artificial coloring. Anyway, I tried some dried kumquats at this booth, and they had a nice sweet-and-sour flavor. I have to admit, they were pretty tasty.
There were actually all kinds of food at the expo, including traditional pastries, dried meat, dried fruit, nuts, tea, coffee, sauces, snacks, and even some specialty foods that you don’t normally see in stores. Some of the vendors were really enthusiastic, too. As soon as people walked past their booths, they would start handing out samples. For example, Xu Family Egg Rolls is a handmade egg-roll brand from Pingtung. They made fresh egg rolls right there, cut them into small pieces, and handed them out to passersby. The egg rolls were still warm when I tried one, and they were surprisingly delicious! Visiting a food expo really is a fun experience. You get to see all kinds of food, smell all those tempting aromas, and try free samples. On top of that, you get to discover what new flavors and interesting food products have recently hit the market.
