Letter to the Editor

Our daily bread

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Dear Editor,

Bread is considered to be "the staff of life." At any rate, it ahs played an important part in the history and food of various countries and cultures.

Lehem is the Hebrew word for bread. Bethlehem means "the house of bread." Jesus Christ is quoted as saying "Man shall not live by bread alone," in Matthew 4:4. In Matthew 5:11, "Give us this day our daily bread" is a verse from the Lord's Prayer.

Modern Israel exports dates, Jaffa oranges, olives and olive oil. Olive groves were guarded by watchtowers in ancient times. Still, the production of bread has remained an important occupation from the days of Moses until the present time.

Nineteen years ago, when I was part of a tour group in Israel, I was amazed to see at least ten types of bread at the Seasons Hotel near the Mediterranean Sea.

The earliest types of bread were flat bread baked on hot rocks. We saw an example of that in a stone house that existed during biblical times.

Egyptians baked the first bread using yeast. Armenians bake lavas, a thin, flat bread. Germans make pumpernickel, a dark rye bread. Jewish rye bread is baked in a round loaf and has sweet flavored wheat.

Before the 1900s, 95 percent of bread was baked at homei n the U.S. French, Italian and Swedish breads are sold in most American supermarkets and bakeries.

Whole wheat bread is advertized as being healthier than white bread.

A friend of mine who lived in England told me that people there eat scones and crumpets instead of bread. Palestinian Arabs eat pita bread with a pocket full of rice and vegetables.

Helen Ruth Arnold,

Trenton, Nebraska

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