Couscous is the food of choice suring Covid times.

Why Couscous is your perfect meal choice during a lockdown

The terror of contagion changes the way people buy and consume packaged products. In supermarkets, consumers leave out loose products, exposed to invisible contamination, and return to prefer food made safe by packaging such as packaged couscous.

“You can have a food crisis even with a lot of food available. This is the situation we are in.” said Abdolreza Abbassian, a senior economist at the FAO, told the Wall Street Journal. The explanation for this paradoxical situation is that the pandemic has hit the world at a time of abundant harvests and large food reserves. 

However, a series of protectionist restrictions, transport disruptions and turbulent price changes have recently created rifts in the food chain and global food supply, endangering the most vulnerable regions of the planet and making it harder to find suitable groceries even in the most developed countries. With rising disruptions to supply chains, stocking on non-perishable items such as couscous becomes more and more important. 

Covid-19 and waste

Vegan, sustainable, and African foods: these were some of the gastronomic trends of the year announced at the end of 2019. Who knows, maybe they would have turned out to be correct, if only 2020 hadn’t started with a global pandemic that forced most of the countries to quarantine, with forced closure of all premises and many restrictions on exits, including expenses. Thus, revolutionizing everyone’s consumption habits. 

The spread of coronavirus has created distortions on both the demand and supply of food. The prices of basic necessities have risen in many cities, also due to the panic that has led to a rush to buy. The lockdown forced many people to eat at home and cook meals several times a day. For many this posed a significant challenge 

Cooking couscous during Coronavirus

We have also seen a substantial rise in purchases of couscous, seen as this product is not only extremely easy to prepare, but also very durable. Furthermore, couscous allows for the preparation of many different recipes and fills up the stomach pretty quickly. Let’s see the main reasons why couscous is so suitable for the pandemic:

• Couscous is easy to prepare
• Couscous is non-perishable
• Couscous is good for you
• Couscous is versatile

Fresh couscous is quite difficult to find, but precooked couscous that we find in supermarkets is also fine to prepare a good dish: in this case the preparation is very simple. Put the grains in a large dish and pour boiling broth or water, the proportion is 1: 1 and it is important that the couscous is covered but not submerged by the liquid. Cover with a cloth and let it rest for 3 minutes, then gently shell the couscous with the help of a fork. 

You won’t need to spend too much time on cooking, and you won’t have to dirty stove, pots and pans!

• Quickly filling

In this period none of us have been able to go to the gym, and staying at home brought many of us to gain some weight. Couscous is ideal for losing weight, because couscous quickly fills up, swelling in the stomach, while vegetables, rich in fiber and water, eliminate cellulite and deflate the fat pads. 

• Versatile 

You can transform couscous into anything: if you dress it with mint, lemon and oil, it becomes a salad; if you add onion, chickpeas and tomato sauce, it becomes a pasta dish; if you add some raw vegetables, you make a tabbouleh; if you have leftover cooked couscous, you can make meatballs, and so on!

• Low Price

Couscous is very affordable: a box of couscous won’t cost you much and will allow you to cook several meals, with the addition of a few other ingredients. In this period of growing poverty and economic difficulties because of Covid, this is an important characteristic for many of us.

• Durability

Couscous can last up to three years, depending on the brand, and once cooked it can be conserved in the fridge for a day. If you have already seasoned it, however, it is recommended to consume it immediately. 

Why Martino’s Couscous is the perfect meal during lockdown

When looking for a versatile, non-perishable product during lockdown, Martino’s Couscous is the perfect meal. With a wide range of couscous products, they cater to a wide range of dietary restrictions and tastes. Easy to store and prepare, cooking during lockdown is fun and easy with Martino’s Couscous.