Food Culture

Why Is Food Part of Culture?

Many people around the world eat dishes everyday that they do not realize are a part of the culture they live in. The food that is typically served to a table of a Japanese person and an Italian person can vary greatly but for each individual those dishes are a constant in their routines. However, when they travel abroad and visit communities that are differently from them culturally, they may find some things other people eat unusual, interesting and overall different. Due to this unique quality, food can tell you a lot about the culture it comes from.

Firstly, food becomes part of culture because people grow up with it. From a young age you are familiarized with certain dishes and they become part of your life, something that you know well and can always come back to. More often than not, dishes’ from a person’s childhood are considered comfort food and usually despite how adventurous and curious a person may be, in order to feel content and safe they will come back to their childhood, and thus culture’s dishes, even if they find other culture’s food just as delightful.

Secondly, cooking said food allows for family bonding time and traditional value transmission. By engaging in a shared activity which allows for family or culture traditions to be distributed to the younger generation, it preserves the part of culture that is engraved in food. Additionally, other cultural aspects such as stories, myths, legends or even on a more local-scale, family secrets, can be shared while cooking.

Thirdly, traditional dishes and their display is a means of showcasing pride. Even when travelling through different countries and exploring various cultures, people bring their own food traditions with them, therefore demonstrating the value that it holds to them. Traditional dishes and foods in general help preserve cultural identity in people who are away from home by allowing them to keep a part of their culture near them.

How Did Food Culture Come To Be?

Food is an essential part of every being’s life because without it, they cannot live. However in human culture, food is also a key to unlocking traditions, community values, heritage and even our beliefs.

There is even a branch of science called Food Anthropology which explores the development of food culture in different parts of the World. Food anthropologists employ archaeological skills to find remains of culture which would have physical evidence in the form of food.

One of the biggest reasons why food became such an individual matter in each culture that it allowed for an opportunity to form continuous strands of tradition passed down from generation to generation, was local supply. Different parts of the world are capable of growing only certain types of foods which account for ingredients in national dishes.

In North America such food items as corn, potatoes, beans and tomatoes are grown regularly and could be considered native to the land allowing us to have a pretty clear idea of what kind of food items we might find in the cuisine of the US, Canada or Mexico and other North American countries. On the other hand in Asia, rice and sugarcane are widely grown cultures that are featured in many of the national dishes created by different countries across the continent.

Due to these differences in foods that can be grown in various parts of the world, food culture was born. While North Americans introduced the rest of the world to potatoes, Asian countries are one of the biggest suppliers of rice, a comparison which showcases a great difference between food cultures in these areas. Food culture allowed you to identify and spread your heritage, food could be easily transported by immigrants and easily assimilated in other countries. These qualities of food made it one of the key ideas of what culture is.

Want to learn more about various foods? Lesson on food vocabulary part 1 or part 2.

Food Culture Across the Globe

National food culture

Every country in the world has its own national foods and dishes that are considered customary to serve to guests, present at holiday celebrations or pass down as family recipes from parents to children. However in many regions the dishes are shared between several nations with small or non-existent variations due to the same reason that is discussed before – product supply. Because these countries are in the same regions the food supply available to them is the same or very similar, thus feuds are born trying to determine who came up with a certain dish first.

Slavic countries share many of the similar dishes that in each country are considered traditional and unique. These dishes include stuffed animal intestines, pork jelly, beetroot soup and others.

Many Asian countries have very similar dishes… at least for an insider’s eye, however in these countries the dishes are considered individual creation of each nation and have varying ingredients and cooking techniques, which make these dishes unique. For example, Japan is known for its noodle and meat soup called Ramen, while Vietnam has its traditional noodle and meat soup called Pho. These two soups are different both in ingredients and cooking process, not to mention the cultural background, but they are created in the same area and have similarities that could be narrowed down to the already mentioned noodles and meat. Similarly, China is famous for its delicious stir-fries but one of the most popular fried dishes comes from Thailand and is called Pad Thai. This goes to show that culture can be very similar in many countries but it is also varying and unique to each place.

Religious food culture

Religion, just like food, can be a big part of certain culture and in many cases much more powerful and widespread. That is why it is not uncommon for religion to have a great influence on food choices in specific communities. It is a very selective process, as a religion, while influential, does not determine people’s choices in food unless people are committed to it. However it is quite evident in the world that people choose to commit to dietary restrictions of certain belief systems.

In Hinduism for example, cows are considered sacred therefore the consumption is beef is prohibited but also foods such as garlic and onion are believed to hinder spiritual growth and are not eaten by hindus. On a more extreme level of meat avoidance, many Bhuddists choose to be vegetarian, it is however optional and again depends on a person’s commitment to the religion.

In contrast, not only meats and vegetables can be found to be prohibited in varying religions. For example the Mormon Church has banned the use of alcohol and tobacco, they also avoid hot drinks like tea that come from China and coffee which was first created in South and Central Americas.

Diet culture

Aside from national and traditional dishes, cultural and religious food, across the globe a fairly new trend is emerging – Diet Culture. Diet culture is a set of beliefs which is rooted in people’s body image and food consumption habits. Diet culture suggests that some foods are better for a human body, healthier, less fatty and filling in a safer way. It also relies on superiority of thin and lean bodies that are primarily categorized as ‘healthy’.

Diet culture is considered a toxic turn by many which destroys people’s confidence and even is a threat to cultural heritage in the form of food, but it is also embraced by a large number of people all over the world. Diet culture does not end with food, but is largely based on the type of dishes people choose to eat. Over the recent years, especially, it has become a deeply engraved part of food culture and culture as a whole.