Chapter 336: East African Cuisine?
Promoting a swine-raising industry is very well-suited to East Africa. Ernst plans to make pork one of the kingdom's main consumed meats in the future.
As for beef and mutton, East African pastures face higher risks than in other countries. In America, Argentina, Europe, or Asia, most grazing areas are in the mid-latitudes, with moderate climates. Between latitudes 40° and 50°—the "golden prairie belt"—conditions are especially good. In Africa, however, grasslands stretch along the equator, forming scattered savannas. The biggest problem hindering East African ranching is pests and diseases, most notably tsetse flies. Defending against them requires careful management and upkeep.
Tsetse flies mainly live in humid rainforests and river valleys, which is why East African pastures are set in Kenya's north and in Highland Province—both of which get little rain and stay fairly dry. Actually, the African region best suited for large-scale ranching is South Africa, located farthest south and at higher latitudes.
Of course, there's no need to fear the tsetse flies too much. They aren't exclusive to Africa; the Middle East and North Africa have them too, but Arabs suffer less harm, partly because of better hygiene practices. Many African tribes don't even bother shooing flies off their own bodies, let alone grooming their livestock.
Because of the African savanna's special features, rearing cattle and sheep is harder—not in numbers, but in quality. If you raise animals, people want the best beef, so on the international market, herds from North and South America or Europe are more competitive.
In our previous world, Western media often created a false impression that Westerners dine on red wine and steak every day, and Americans eat fried chicken and hamburgers nonstop. This misled many. For instance, Westerners also eat pork chops, though you rarely see it advertised—and it might not taste so great. In fact, Americans consume more chicken than any other meat. American capitalists also raise pigs, but to boost lean percentages, they add harmful substances, and since Americans themselves rarely eat pork, it ends up mostly for export.
Presently, pork and mutton still rank as the main meats among common people in Europe. That remains true even into the 21st century. North and South America differ, as their advanced ranching leads to more beef.
Why did Europeans gradually replace pork with beef, with steak becoming a symbol of high-end Western dining? Fundamentally, Europeans don't have many ways to handle pork. First, they don't castrate pigs, leaving a strong odor. Second, their cooking methods for pork are too plain. In Ernst's eyes, Germany is Europe's biggest pork lover precisely because of sausage, bacon, smoked cuts, and ham—those processes make pork more appetizing.
German sausage is famous worldwide. Germans love sausages, producing them in at least a hundred ways, usually categorized as grilled, boiled, or raw sausages. Nuremberg sausages, currywurst, smoked dark-beer sausages, Vienna sausages, and blood sausages were all created by Germans. If we add the Far Eastern-style cured sausage to the mix, it would be amazing. In his past life, Ernst enjoyed the spicy Sichuan sausage because he loved hot flavors. If someone doesn't like spicy food, then sweet Cantonese-style sausage can be tried.
Another powerful way to cook pork from the Far East is "lu," a style of simmering in seasoned broth—truly a specialty. Such "lu" products can also become military rations in cans. Ernst's food factories have tried this. During the Austro-Italian War, the Vienna facility introduced stewed beef and pork versions. The troops loved them. But production was low, so in the later stages it was basically reserved for Austrian officers.
Flavor-wise, these military rations easily beat British salt beef, yet their shelf life is only about one year and the cost is high, limiting output. After all, a modern army can't rely solely on cans; most of the time they still cook fresh meals. Field rations generally reflect the cook's skill, which often ends up rather grim. So once tinned "lu" meat arrived, it won the hearts of Austrian units—at least for those who could get it.
Now the Vienna and Berlin food factories are stepping up research (or "copying" from Far Eastern stewed dishes) to launch new products. For Hechingen Food, "copying" is routine. Ernst, as a member of a "foodie superpower" in his former life, wouldn't honestly invest in developing new recipes from scratch. Most of the company's R&D funds go into figuring out how to preserve food. As for taste, if it already exists, they'll just borrow it. Europe hasn't seen most of it, anyway.
Beyond "lu" products, East African home cooking uses plenty of methods. Europeans typically fry or grill pork, whereas East Africans can fry, grill, deep-fry, steam, or stew. Immigrants from the Far East and Italy, the biggest "foodies," enjoy a high standard of flavor, and East Africa's abundant resources let them be creative.
Deep-frying is a hallmark of East African cooking. East Africans mainly use vegetable oils, with many choices available. Sesame oil is best because Africa is perfect for sesame; indeed, Africa has a massive advantage in that crop. Butter basically doesn't exist in East Africa, or only in tiny amounts—milk yields are too low for big-scale production. Some small settler groups might make a little butter, but that's it. Meanwhile, at First Town, a special herd of Dutch dairy cows caters to the capital's privileges, but large-scale expansion is unrealistic.
In the previous era, some said the world's "three great cuisines" were Chinese, French, and Turkish. If we just talk about global impact, you can also mention British-Indian "curry masala," Japanese food, and American fast food. East Africa already has Chinese food (mostly Shandong-style), while the European side is mostly Italian. But if nobody organizes them, East African cooking remains disjointed. Ernst hopes eventually to form an "East African cuisine" mixing the best parts of global cooking.
Use the four major branches of Chinese cuisine as a base, add German influences, and incorporate the best from various world cuisines. East Africa is well-suited to that—it can reproduce nearly anything except extreme cold-zone foods. Not that the cold zone offers many delicacies anyway: salted auk? Fermented herring?
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