Eating Exotic Foreign Foods

This paper will compare and contrast the different eating habits and examine the cultural dining of West Africa to East Africa. Africans like most of the world outside of American and London aren’t fanatical on fast food even though it is becoming more popular most people eat at home or at relatives or friends home. Even Africans living outside of Africa love to cook rather than dine out in most cases. This report was based on interviews from Africans who grew up in traditional African homes in Africa. All references have been crossed checked and stories verified on how most African dishes are prepared, and their history. More research was done by the books listed, as well as other references such as internet sites. Most of this data has

Around the globe there are many different types of unique and delicious food. In America it’s extremely diverse, people around the world come to America to share and spread their cultural food so that Americans can enjoy. There are several Vietnamese restaurants in America that Americans love to visit once or twice every week. Vietnamese food are usually defined as inauthentic in America. Vietnamese food in the U.S are highly different than the ones in Vietnam. In Vietnam, the food texture, taste, and color are authentic because the ingredients are freshly made. Moreover, in America the spices and recipes are not like the original ingredients. The taste and color of the food is exceedingly essential because if people come in and eat, they wouldn’t want to pay for foods that are plain boring, colorless, and tasteless. That would be awful.

Some say food is an exploration of culture, and taste evokes lush memories of the past. “ In An Island Passover” by Ethel G. Hofman, she described her life in the Shetland Islands. Every year, Hofman’s family celebrates Passover- a traditional Jewish holiday where time and effort to prepare a meal is like painting, and it takes months to reveal a masterpiece. While Hofman had a positive recollection of her family’s traditional cuisine, author of “Fish Cheeks”, Amy Tan did not share the same experience. Tan felt ashamed of sharing her traditional cuisine with a pastor's son whom she was in love with. Tan strived for her crush’s approval because she did not want to be deemed strange. Hofman and Tan had striking differences in

In an article written by Amy S. Choi entitled, “What Americans can Learn From Other Food Cultures,” Choi discusses food in ways that pertain to ones culture. Today, our younger generation has become less thankful for simple, traditional foods and more wanting of foods prepared in less traditional ways, almost as if, “the more outlandish the better.” Choi mentioned in her article that, “those slightly younger have been the beneficiaries of the restaurant culture exploding in Shanghai” (Choi, Amy. “What Americans Can Learn From Other Food Cultures.” Ideastedcom. 18 Dec. 2014. Web. 17 June 2015) being from America I agree with her statement. Food in many cultures has become a status symbol; I believe that dining in expensive restaurants that serve

This past Christmas Eve, my Polish grandmother joined us to make our traditional Polish dinner, and she insisted that we make pierogies, a Polish dumpling, from scratch. The process was long and messy, but worth it. During the nine hour cooking period I began to think that I have always loved Polish food, but I don’t know much about it. This experience points out my limited knowledge of my own culture. With better understanding of Polish traditions and culture, I can be more helpful next time Christmas rolls around. To prepare Polish dishes, an individual needs to learn about food customs and cultures, know about the cuisine's history, and know how to prepare the meal. These are all necessary so that I can become a better cook and share my

Food can partially shape a person's cultural identity. Geeta Kothari explores the cultural nuances between American and Indian food in the essay, “If You Are What You Eat, Then What Am I?” She expresses this through the symbolism of food, growing up and living between two different cultures. Kothari begins her story as a nine-year-old child curiously wanting to eat the same foods as American children: tuna salad sandwiches and hot dogs. She does not have the guidance from her mother regarding American food and culture. Kothari’s mom curbs the curiosity by reluctantly letting her daughter indulge in a can of tuna fish. Kothari describes the open can of tuna fish as “pink and shiny, like an internal organ” and she wondered if it was botulism (947). The way

In Jessica Harris’s “The Culinary Season of my Childhood” she peels away at the layers of how food and a food based atmosphere affected her life in a positive way. Food to her represented an extension of culture along with gatherings of family which built the basis for her cultural identity throughout her life. Harris shares various anecdotes that exemplify how certain memories regarding food as well as the varied characteristics of her cultures’ cuisine left a lasting imprint on how she began to view food and continued to proceeding forward. she stats “My family, like many others long separated from the south, raised me in ways that continued their eating traditions, so now I can head south and sop biscuits in gravy, suck chewy bits of fat from a pigs foot spattered with hot sauce, and yes’m and no’m with the best of ‘em,.” (Pg. 109 Para). Similarly, since I am Jamaican, food remains something that holds high importance in my life due to how my family prepared, flavored, and built a food-based atmosphere. They extended the same traditions from their country of origin within the new society they were thrusted into. The impact of food and how it has factors to comfort, heal, and bring people together holds high relevance in how my self-identity was shaped regarding food.

Being able to do this, brought me the feeling of joy of unity with my friends. It has become a tradition for my friends and I to bring authentic foods of our culture to share with the table. It is a joy to see their reactions of the pleasure to taste the new substances. I’ve had the opportunity to engage myself in intercultural pursuits as the Vice-President of SHS in order to influence underclassmen to continuing growing to be proud with where they came from; and for the seniors to carry on their culture to college, with the acknowledgment of being

Paula J. Johnson, a curator at the National Museum of American History, says that foods such as wasabi, Sriracha, and hummus would have been considered “foreign foods” 50 years ago, but today they are common, everyday staples for many people across America. Ramanathan briefly states before this that the only constant in American foods is global influence and then goes on to say that it’s not uncommon in modern times for people to eat, for example, Thai food for lunch and then Italian for dinner. She writes that America has people from all backgrounds, cultures, and countries and their influences are present everywhere, especially the food. In America today, there are so many influences on our foods that using the term ethnic to describe them makes it sound foreign when the food is something people eat every

In The Culinary Seasons of my Childhood, Jessica B. Harris- the author- attempts to help readers understand the relationship between food and identity. Harris gave a detailed, but relevant, description of how how food portrayed different cultures in her life and how it taught her many lessons about her family history and who she is; she also described how food brings people together as one and creates a connection that nothing else can. The author helps readers initially understand her ideas by showing examples of how food, even in the same culture, can reflect different social classes.“ Even though chitterlings might be on the menu, they could equally likely be accompanied by a mason jar of corn liquor or a crystal goblet of champagne”( Harris

Firstly, the author states her personal narrative to support her point. Tam, who has a Chinese background used to enjoy spending her time to cook ngau lam, a Cantonese braised brisket stew, as well as other dishes even though they smelled until one of her friends called her family dishes "Chinese grossness" (2015, para. 5). In according to Tam, her friend's words "clung to her". She recalls she was so embarrassed that she tried to be distanced herself from family food (2015, para. 6). Tam's personal narrative is effective because it is reflective of her real life, which gives credence to her article.

Spending much of her childhood in the German Coast of Acadiana, Darleen Jenkins holds on tightly to her family traditions. Moving from Luling to Houma, down to Dularge and back up to Houma again, she has been able to spot differences in the regions’ foods based on both time and place. She reminisces fondly of times when her family came together to share in meals and memories. Speaking with her one couldn’t help but to want to hear more about her childhood and transitions through adulthood.

Food and vegetables are the important part of the South Asian culture and their culturally appropriate diets (Kahane et. al., 2013, Campbell, 2016, and Sharma et. al., 2014). The lack of culturally appropriate food may cause the intake of unhealthy or highly processed foods and may affect the health condition (Burns, 2004). On the other hand, the sufficient fruit and vegetables lower the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart diseases (Quadir and Danesh, 2010, Kandola et. al., 2016). They think that culturally appropriate food is healthier and fresher and nutritious. However, the price of the ethnic vegetables is often higher than regular Canadian stores. It affects the affordability of immigrants, especially those who are new in

There are so many more food that relate to other cultures. I just discussed the one I have seen. I have African and Native American friends and I have tried their cultural foods. I would think the food are delicious. Plus, they are quite similar to the food I grew up with. This assignment helped me to see the cross cultural between all the cultures especially in

This paper will discuss the multifaceted relationships among food, and culture. I will be looking at the relationships people have with food, and explore how this relationship reveals information about them. Their food choices of individuals and groups, can reveal their ideals, likes and dislikes. Food choices tell the stories of where people have travelled and who they have met along the way.