Everything about Staple Food totally explained
A
staple food is a
food that forms the basis of a
traditional diet. Staple foods vary from place to place, but are typically inexpensive
starchy foods of
vegetable origin that are high in
food energy (Calories) and
carbohydrate and that can be stored for use throughout the year. The staple food of a specific
cuisine may commonly be served as part of every meal, and its name may be used synonymously with "food" in some contexts, such as the reference to "our daily bread" in
The Lord's Prayer, and a common greeting of "Have you eaten rice?" denoting "How are you?" in certain cultures.
Most staple foods derive either from
cereals such as
wheat,
barley,
rye,
maize, or
rice, or starchy
root vegetables such as
potatoes,
yams,
taro, and
cassava. Other staple foods include
pulses (dried
legumes),
sago (derived from the
pith of the sago palm tree), and fruits such as
breadfruit and
plantains.
Rice is most commonly eaten as cooked entire grains, but most other cereals are milled into
flour or
meal which is used to make
bread;
noodles or other
pasta; and
porridges and "mushes" such as
polenta or
mealie pap. Mashed root vegetables can be used to make similar porridge-like dishes, including
poi and
fufu. Pulses (particularly
chickpeas) and starchy root vegetables, such as
Canna, can also be made into flour.
Although nutritious, staple foods generally don't by themselves provide a full range of
nutrients, so other foods need to be added to the diet to prevent
malnutrition.
It has been hypothesized that some staple foods may act as a
Giffen good in conditions of extreme poverty. This was first noted by
Robert Giffen who argued that potato demand actually rose during the
Great Irish Famine (1845-1849). While theoretically possible, this is a controversial view among economists as studies have failed to find much evidence of Giffen good behaviour in actual markets.
Further Information
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