All about BREAD

by Sumana Saparamadu

How important bread is in the diet of the people of Britain can be gauged, from the many English phrases in which the word bread is used. Give us this day our daily bread is part of the Lord's Prayer. Here bread does not mean the loaf made of kneaded dough and baked. It means livelihood, means of living.

Here are some well-known phrases using bread to convey the idea of "means of living."

Bread-winner is the one who supports the family by finding the money for family expenses. One's bread and butter is the routine work to ensure an income, it means to live. To take the bread out of one's mouth is to deprive a person of his means of living, his livelihood, especially by competition.

Bread buttered on both sides is, prosperity that comes easy, and to know on which side your bread is buttered is to know where one's advantages are.

At one time, bread lines were common in England. There were queues of poor people waiting to receive food. In Russia it was the custom to receive guests with bread and salt, symbols of prosperity. The Portuguese introduced bread to Sri Lanka as far back as the 16th century.

Locals who observed the strangers who had landed at the Port of Colombo reported to the King in Kotte, that there were some white men they had never seen before, in the Port, eating stones (bread) and drinking blood (wine).The Sinhala and Tamil word for bread is parn, which is Portuguese. The Sinhala word for oven poranuwa, is also from the Portuguese - forno.

Although bread was introduced to our country five centuries ago, it did not come down to the people and become part of our diet. It remained a "special item of food" until the mid 20th century. My mother told me that the Ayah returning after the New Year holiday brought in addition to the traditional sweetmeats, a loaf of bread as a gift, she bought in the town. It was something special.

That was way back in the 1930s. Today they might bring a Swiss Roll.

During the World War II (1939-45) especially after 1942 there was a great shortage of rice, as we were dependent on rice imports from Burma (Myanmar) was being attacked by the Japanese.

Our people had to make do with yams and it was then that bread became a part of our daily diet. Bread was made with wheat flour which was readily available.

That is how we all became bread eaters from the rich in the cities to the poor in small towns.

I was surprised to read in a newspaper published in England, that before dinner plates became common place in England, bread was the platter on which the food was served, the way we serve poached eggs on a slice of bread.

The rich who feasted on meat served on a platter, were expected to leave the bread uneaten. It was the etiquette observed in rich homes.