My Food Identity And My Identity

There are so much delicious foods in my heritage culture Mexico. Like there are tacos that me and my family eat so often. We mostly eat them on Tuesdays. I think? There are also tamales we eat but we only eat the beef kind. The last food is really important to me it's quesadillas because my family and I eat it 3 times a week cause it’s so delicious. The other thing that connects to me is activities that we do.

My family influences my culture by introducing me to new things from their culture. As I am growing up, I always think about how everything I have done in my life has led up to where I am as of now. Similarly, In the Springboard article, “Ethnic Hash”, written by Patricia J. Williams, she questions, “What were the flavors, accents, and linguistic trills that were passed down to me over the ages?” (Williams 11) My family has been teaching me new things everyday that help identify my culture. My name was given to me by my father and my grandmother and my mom chose my nickname. I like that my name was given to me by multiple family members who all worked together to find something that fits me perfectly. There are also many aspects of my culture that explain who I am. I grew up with my mom, so I mainly grew up around the filipino culture. I would have to say that food has to be one of the main aspects that have affected my culture. All my life, filipino food has been around and it helped me get to know part of my culture even better. The different foods introduced me to different flavors that are specific to their culture. The food can help explain who I am because it can determine what I do and don’t like. As a result of my family’s influences, I have been able to identify myself as who I am today.

Regarding my family heritage, a large part of my food identity is Polish. My great grandparents on my dad’s side immigrated from Poland in the early 1900s. When they came to the United States, they brought their culture with them. The one tradition that my family on my dad’s side has continued is making pierogies. Pierogies are potato-filled dumplings made in the shape of a semicircle. Even though we do not do it as frequently as we did in the past, I have many memories associated with the making of them. I love the smell of a frying pierogi, and I the taste of them is one of a kind. The process for making pierogies starts with preparing the filling. The filling for the pierogies is potato-based, and sometimes other ingredients such as my personal favorite, bacon or cheese, are added in. Next, after the filling has been made, the dough is prepared. The dough is then floured, rolled, and cut into little circles. This step is repeated until all of

Every family story and origin is unique to the members of the immediate group, while including the traditions passed from generation to generation. From the scent of their house and clothes, special holidays, vacation spots, memories, what they eat and how it is served; all of these elements of life are distinct to a family. These elements are incorporated into what is viewed as normal life in a way that we don’t see how our lives differ from those around us, until we are faced with a situation where things are done differently than us. Many families contain multi - cultural backgrounds, therefore providing generations with traditions that include folklore from different origins. One of the biggest elements of culture how dishes are served and prepared. If you ever travel, one of the biggest attractions to a new environment is the food that is served in that area. Some food traditions are difficult to explain and don’t make sense to outsiders, but to the family or local group it is a sense of definition and unity through foodways.

I feel comfortable talking about my favorite ethnic foods such as fish ‘n chips just about anywhere. Although the diverse ethnic diets of the American people do not always reflect my own, I, as well as others must be accepting of different ethnic diets. The acceptance and acknowledgement of different and diverse diets shaped by ethnic culture enables me to be comfortable talking about and eating my own distinctive foods, regardless of where I

“Dale, dale, dale, No pierdas el tino; Porque si lo pierdes, Pierdes el camino”. The classic piñata song that is sung at parties. It translates to “Go, go, go, don't lose your aim; because if you lose it, you will lose your path.” The phrase ties in with my identity because of my cultural background and experiences at parties. Who am I? What is my cultural identity? The questions that have me trying my best not to have an existential crisis. I am a Mexican American, my parents were born in Jalisco and I was born in California. As for my cultural identity, I am a NSHS student that has been shaped by music, technology, and sports.

We make assumptions of people based on where they live, what they eat, where they grew up and what occupation they have. Instead of forcing integration on people, personal interaction with cultural diversity could be more effective, which is illustrated by author Jessica Harris. In The Culinary Season of My Childhood, Harris describes her experiences in learning cultural diversity through food. She states, “…and these seasons of my personal and yet very New York childhood gave me the foods of the world on my plate,” (119) Her article discusses the different cuisines that played important parts in her childhood as well as developing her understanding of diversity.

As people migrate to a foreign country, they often look for ways to connect culturally with their new home country. Unfortunately, sometimes immigrants have trouble dealing with an identity crisis, either identifying with their old culture or with their new culture. One way of coping with this cultural change is through food. Food can help give people a sense of belonging and identity. What Was Served by Douglas Bauer, “We Are What We Now Eat” by Ivan Darias Alfonso and Black Dog of Fate by Peter Balakian’s shows a correlation between food and identity. Alfonso, Bauer and Balakian show how food allows people reconnect with their native culture meanwhile, Alfonso and Balakain also show how food can help immigrants adapt to a new one.

With every bite of a Mexican dish it shows what kind of person I am. It reflects my beliefs, my culture and my tradition. My belief, my culture and my traditions have been influence by my parents. My parents are both Mexican therefore I am Mexican. My culture has affected my personal identity positively by introducing delicious Mexican food. My family’s customs and tradition definitely shaped me because I prefer certain foods .Food has the power to categorize me. Mexican food influenced my personal food identity and identity influenced my food preferences.

Food plays a major role in defining our identity. Whether one is aware of it or not, our food preference gives a sense of one's culture. Many times, when ask someone what they like to eat; they will fluently dictate the food, the kind, and the taste. However, if you ask them why, they are usually inarticulate in explaining it. Therefore, since food is intertwined with culture, then, by scrutinizing and knowing one's taste of food would surely direct us to his cultural background. And it happens because as human beings, authenticity matters to our identity as a cultural group, or even personal. But if we ponder on that, it is quite mind-blowing the fact that we can by simply look at one taste of food, and can tell about their background.

Sleep, sex, and food are the three most important aspect of a human life. Each of them represents resting, reproducing, and surviving – essential elements that form the foundation of human culture and society. The status of these elements always represents the social stature and cultural ideology, of the desire or dislike of people. Some standards are universal, while some are uniquely formed through generations of different cultural traditions. Food in this case might be the most simple and yet the hardest ideology of desire for anthropologists to catch. Its meaning is never as plain as a recipe of a cooking book, but always attached with the cultural and psychological ideology that is connected with individual and cultural identities.

Food is a big part of my cultural identity especially one dish. Menudo, a traditional mexican dish something that was only for special occasions, at least in my family. It would always bring memories flooding back in my head whenever i smelt it. The smell of good times, the savory flavor and the values it brings. Who knew food could remind of values. This dish and the way it's cooked

XV). My husband and I are Canadian, as are our children, and yet I think of us as hybrids in the sense that Montanari describes. Our identities and the culture that exists in our Italian-Irish-Swedish-German-Canadian home are a culmination of a rich history, rife with trials and tribulations, joys and successes, trans-Atlantic migration and settlement: an evolution of identities and cultures creating the hybridization that my family is today. I could go as far as to say that depending on what we are cooking on a given day reveals our cultural identity or alliance of the moment. I’m not suggesting that one can assume an identity or ethnicity based upon a meal plan – I don’t feel “Indian” when I make butter chicken. Rather, it is the Italian-specific meals that come to mind on particular occasions such as panettone at Christmas, or minestrone in the fall and winter so my kids don’t get sick, or when there’s not much in the fridge and I need to improvise; these are the times and meals that reveal my Italian cultural identity in relation to food. My mother was famous among our family and friends for her spaghetti sauce. I can’t eat spaghetti without thinking of how it is just

The subject of food is as diverse and complex as the many dimensions that encompass it. We need food to survive, but once we get beyond the basic needs of nutrition, the subject of food takes on an entirely different character depending on ones values. People associate food with their own personal lifestyles, culture, history, values, heritage, history, identity, and other attributes that make them unique.

"You are what you eat" mother says as her child begs for more candy. Now, while people may not turn into jumbo lollipops when they eat too much candy, it is true that what they eat has a lot to say about their background. I, for example have been raised in a very American family, and thus I like what is typically labeled American food, as well as some Italian and Mexican food. On the other hand, I have some friends who enjoy more oriental food, but may not like a burger and fries. The food people eat also says a lot about where their history lies.