Food. If you’ve read some of my other posts, you may know that my primary career was as a practicing anthropologist. Food was essential in that pursuit. A dinner or discussion of food might accompany an invitation into a home. To the uninitiated, it might seem that the anthropologist was some sort of dignitary; it’s not so. You are exchanging history and culture with them. What was in common and different?
Since I focused on communities right here in the United States, you might think I had it easy. I’ll be bold and reply that a concept of the culture of the United States as homogeneous is an error. This is not a matter of Lou being an old curmudgeon but a bit of observation over many years.
To continue on the topic of food, there are regional preferences and preferences for ethnic or national origin. Because the person you meet daily at work speaks English and seems like you doesn’t mean their language, culture and foodways at home are the same as yours.
I grew up eating a mix of Spanish, German, Hungarian, and American cuisine. Living in Coastal Maine, I learned to appreciate the relative blandness of the food. Many things I now love were extraordinary introductions to my diet. Two of my favorites – finnan haddie and large bowls of homemade fish chowder ( head and eye included – if you got the eye, it meant good luck) were pretty alien to me.
Food has added dimensions other than our gustatory pleasure. You find that food is at the center of the web of family culture. It leads to the garden where the food is grown. It shows you concepts of health and medicine. What foods are considered medicinal and healthful?
How a cook prepares and serves a meal may be important. How a family consumes a meal at the table can tell much about family dynamics and aesthetics. What is toast or a bagel customarily served with?
Don’t take food for granted.
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My husband grew up in Louisiana’s deep south, a bona-fide Cajun swamp boy, whereas I’m an East Coast rural Scottish lass through and through, so together we enjoy an interesting fusion of favourite foods that seems to be quite unique to our household! 🙂
Interesting. And by the way my favorite – Finnan Haddie – evidently came fro North East Scotland
Indeed it did! 🙂
I have thought for a while that one of the saddest aspects of the Interstate Highway system is the reststops with the ubiquitous Denny’s and McD’s. It’s was a cool part of travel when I was a kid to end up in a small town eating at a local cafe, discovering Pozole or something….
You are absolutly correct. Finding good truly local food is much harder than it was when we were young. Foodways have been homogenized by giant chains.
On a related topic much of the English dialect, pronunciation and unique lexical items have also been scrubbed from local areas. I personally can attest to at least five within a 125 mile radious of where I currently live – inland and coastal. They have by and large disappeared and are spoken normally by the very old or the very rural.
That’s true. I remember a long time ago filling up my car in Las Vegas NM. The kid that filled up my car was white but spoke with the local Spanish inflection. I loved it. I love the inflection and loved that his speech reflected the world around him. I moved here partly because a girl from Del Norte came to buy books from me — the books publishers send professors gratis — and she spoke in an absolutely pure Colorado accent.
It’s amazing the good things we voluntarily give up, but hang on to the hateful divisive junk that should be tossed out.
Crazy. Makes no sense.