if someone asked you what you ate while you were in italy, you would probably rave about the oven-fired pizzas, the homemade pesto from the little market, the handmade gnocchi. maybe truffles, if they’re in season. the olive oil! the wine!
likewise, if you just came back from thailand, you are probably sharing photos of street pad thai, yam wunsen kung, and green curry.
the spanish traditionally eat tapas; the french love their baguettes and brie; and hot dogs are the all-american food. food is a part of any country’s national identity: we talk about the mediterranean diet, and everyone knows what we mean. if someone says they want traditional british food, you’re going to find an english or irish pub to take them to for fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, or a sunday roast.
cuisine, from the latin coquere (to cook,) is a style of cooking that is influenced by terrain and weather, ingredients (through growth or trade,) religious dietary laws, and socio-economics.
the environment plays a huge role in cultural food identity. terrain and weather are only two factors that determine what can grow in any given place. in the poisonwood bible (my favourite book,) the family tries to grow their seeds from the states in the congo. time after time, they failed because they did not understand how to form hills for the seeds so that they would not be washed away by the rain. corn will not grow in the tundra, nor will plants that need an excessive amount of rain do well in the midwest. so, in order to understand why certain foods are associated with certain countries, we need to understand the above.
food can also be obtained through trade – how the pilgrims learned how to cook corn, for example, and venison. in ancient mesopotamia, traders brought island-grown foods into places like turkey, syria, egypt and persia. when marco polo traveled the silk road, he brought back spices – something that had never been seen in europe before. if you have the resources to make bread, and your neighbour has a cow to make butter, it’s (hopefully) inevitable that you will share some of your food with them and they with you.
we also need to look at the socio-economic values of a country. foods that are easier to grow/make in batches tend to be less expensive than foods that take effort to obtain. this – in a super dumbed-down version – is why potatoes are less expensive than truffles. diaspora plays a huge role in bringing new foods to another country. immigrants (and emigrants) bring the foods and the style of cooking they are familiar with to their new homelands.
finally, dietary laws. the jewish keep kosher, where meats and dairy products cannot touch the same plates, cooking utensils, etc. a devout jew will own two sets of everything for cooking and serving. islam has some requirements as well, known as halal. muslims avoid alcohol; even westerners might not be able to purchase alcohol in a muslim country and some muslims avoid alcohol in food, even when it has been cooked out. catholics avoid meat on fridays during lent, and some older catholics don’t eat meat for the entirety of lent.
in addition to a national food identity, plenty of cultures have a “national” drink, something you think of when you hear the country name (and it doesn’t have to be alcoholic.) in turkey, tea – çay – is huge. it’s a social thing. while shopping, you may be asked if you would like tea and it’s rude to say no. your business will be conducted over the second or third glass of tea, not the first. it’s a ritual. other countries, alcoholic beverages are what defines a culture. take ireland, for example. they have built an industry out of guinness. tourists literally go to dublin JUST FOR the guinness brewery at st james gate. i have. and it was everything i wanted it to be. the same goes for scotland: there are whisky tours.
food and drink around the world is a complex network of trade, diaspora, economics and social life. this week, we’re talking about how to mesh food and travel, what foods to try where, and the craziest foods from around the world. check back every day around 3pm for a new foodie week post!