tell me what you eat and i'll tell you who you are

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Andrew Albert Food Across Culture A renowned gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin once said, in 1825, “Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are,” I can’t agree with him more on this statement. There are a lot of cultures and customs in this world. The different people in these cultures in turn have different palates and also taste preference. Some may like cheese; another person may find it unbearable. And some eat chicken feet, while others can’t stand looking at it. That is not all, there are also food, fruits and vegetables that are indigenous to certain regions in the world, this further ensures that people in different parts of the world consumes different kinds of food. In this report I am going to focus on how the food we eat is dependant on our geographical location and also our history. Affected by History Vietnam was under the French colonial rule for almost a century, 1858 – 1954. During this century long occupation, the two cultures have interacted and learned a lot from one another. A very good example is that if you go to most Vietnamese restaurants around town, there is a very good chance that you will find French bread on their menu; of course it is French bread with a little touch of Vietnam, but still French bread none the less. Another example of how history affected what people eat, we have to go back to the slavery days in America to see this. During the slavery days, the African Americans did not have any rights and were controlled and fed by the slave masters. The slave masters would only gave the slaves parts of the animals that they did not want to eat, and that were mostly innards, not the meat. The African Americans have perfected their way of cooking these innards and passed it down to the younger generations. Now, mostly in the south,

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Page 1: Tell Me What You Eat and I'll tell you who you are

Andrew Albert

Food Across Culture

A renowned gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin once said, in 1825, “Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are,” I can’t agree with him more on this statement. There are a lot of cultures and customs in this world. The different people in these cultures in turn have different palates and also taste preference. Some may like cheese; another person may find it unbearable. And some eat chicken feet, while others can’t stand looking at it. That is not all, there are also food, fruits and vegetables that are indigenous to certain regions in the world, this further ensures that people in different parts of the world consumes different kinds of food. In this report I am going to focus on how the food we eat is dependant on our geographical location and also our history.

Affected by History

Vietnam was under the French colonial rule for almost a century, 1858 – 1954. During this century long occupation, the two cultures have interacted and learned a lot from one another. A very good example is that if you go to most Vietnamese restaurants around town, there is a very good chance that you will find French bread on their menu; of course it is French bread with a little touch of Vietnam, but still French bread none the less.

Another example of how history affected what people eat, we have to go back to the slavery days in America to see this. During the slavery days, the African Americans did not have any rights and were controlled and fed by the slave masters. The slave masters would only gave the slaves parts of the animals that they did not want to eat, and that were mostly innards, not the meat. The African Americans have perfected their way of cooking these innards and passed it down to the younger generations. Now, mostly in the south, innards like pig intestines are loved by people of all colors, even the Caucasian Americans love them. These pig intestines are known by another name in the South, they are called chitlins. They have various ways of serving this dish, but the most famous two are stewing them or deep frying them.

We can also look at China for bizarre foods. Back in the day, the people in China were oppressed and controlled. China was overpopulated and also poor. The people had to eat to survive and they did by eating most parts of the animal. The animal of choice here is pig. In China today, there is no part of the pig that would go to waste. Here in China, people eat the intestines, blood, ears, livers, legs and even their brain and private parts!

Affected by Geographical Location

The countries that are in this section are usually in extreme conditions; whether it is extremely cold, dry or wet. A very good example is Japan. Japan’s diet consists of mostly seafood. One of the main reasons is that Japan is surrounded by the ocean and it is

Page 2: Tell Me What You Eat and I'll tell you who you are

only economical and smart for them to eat a lot of seafood. First because they can get good seafood for a lesser price and there are vitamins and minerals that you can’t get with just eating beef.

Another good example is Alaska. Alaska is covered in ice, so diets for people living there must consists of high contents of fat to keep them warm through the cold winter. Their staple diet consists of whale blubber, seal and also fish.

Different ways of Preserving

Back when the refrigerator was not yet invented, people around the world have to come up with different but effective ways of preserving their food. In Asia, spices like curry powder, chili, cinnamon and cumin are used to enhance flavor and also essential in preserving food. That is why nowadays curried food can be traced back to Asia. In America, meat has always been a staple diet. Back then, people in America salt their meat in order to keep them from going stale. But later on they found a better way of preserving their meat, which is by smoking them. This in turn gave birth to the barbeque craze, which is so essential in today’s American food.

Bizarre Food

There are a lot of crazy foods in this world. For some one it might be a delicacy, for others it is just plain bizarre. Here are some food and fruits that are bizarre.

Balut Eggs

It is a half developed duck eggs that is eaten raw. This food is indigenous to Philippines and it is a delicacy which can get almost anywhere.

1000 Year Old Eggs

It says 1000 years old, but it is actually a duck egg that is preserved for a hundred days. It has a musky smell and taste to it and not a lot of people can stand it. It is usually eaten as a salad or with porridge. It is very popular in Asia.

Tripes

Tripes are essentially the inner lining of a cow’s stomach. It has an almost jelly like texture and before they are sliced, it looks like a giant honeycomb. It is usually cooked in a curry sauce or fried and is very popular in South East Asia.

Brain

This is not for the faint hearted, most people in South East Asia doesn’t like it, but there are also a lot of people that loved it. It is usually fried or cooked in a curry sauce. In

Page 3: Tell Me What You Eat and I'll tell you who you are

my research I found an article about people in Indiana, USA eating deep fried brain sandwich. I guess the Asians are not the only crazy people that eat brain.

Durian

It is a tropical fruit found in South East Asia. Literally translates as spiked fruit. This fruit is very sweet but it also has a pungent smell to it. It is so bad that it is banned in public places like the airport.

Rambutan

This is also a tropical fruit. Literally translates as hairy fruit. This fruit is very sweet and unlike the durian, it has no pungent smell.

Page 4: Tell Me What You Eat and I'll tell you who you are

http://www.pbs.org/opb/meaningoffood/food_and_culture/

http://travel.discovery.com/tv/bizarre-foods/show-description.html

http://www.new-agri.co.uk/02-1/focuson/focuson8.html