It only depends on you!

Let me tell you something: every dish is unique. When I say unique, I mean each one has different ingredients, history, origins, cooking and baking time, mixing, recipe and secrets. After reading some of “Secret Ingredients’ (The New Yorker - book of food and drink) short stories, I realized how special can be common food like casseroles, bagels or chicken wings. Each dish has its own spot in food world. It doesn’t necessarily need to be expensive or be prepared by a chef, it can be really simple. They are just special because are made with effort, dedication and creativity. That’s why each one is irreplaceable.

M.F.K. Fisher in her “Nor Censure Nor Disdain” story talks about how popular are casseroles in homes where there are not servants and why people make them every day. Actually, I didn’t know how to prepare a casserole at all. I would never imagine the “formula” of this dish will be based in not completely fresh ingredients or leftovers and blend of “dozen of indistinguishable hints of exhausted flavors” (116). This means that you can use anything in a casserole. However, Fisher says “casseroles are here to stay a long time, and they are, for good or for ill, a part of our living patterns, and I think it is dastardly to reduce them to mediocrity” (116). I agree Fisher. Even though casseroles are easy, we can evolve new ways or use our creativity to make them the most “luxury” and delicious dish ever! It only depends in how special we want to make it.

On the other hand, Calvin Trillin decided to compile a short history of the Buffalo chicken wings. Ironically, they don’t have a long history. They appeared less than 20 years ago. The end of this mini story is that Trillin never finds the true origins of Buffalo wings. What I like wasn’t the investigation he made, was its conclusion. It is almost impossible to fix an exact date or precise Buffalo wings beginning. Establish food origin’s is something impossible because different people, including different countries, could have invented this special recipe. The fact that matters, it’s that Buffalo wings are one of the many chicken wings versions and they are delicious because of its sauce and deep fried component. That’s what made them special!

Trillin tells other of his great stories about his efforts to find a bagel’s place in New York. In this new trip he called people, walked all around New York and explored the city in order to locate this place. The principle reason of his entire mission is he and his daughters have always loved these bagels. According to him, there is a big difference between these bagels and those you can find in American supermarkets. The authentic ones had been hand rolled and boiled in a vat and then carefully baked. Even though the original place doesn’t exist anymore; he is concerned in finding the perfect bagels to share with his family. “How was I to know that bagels can be instrumental in keeping families intact?” (299), says. Yes, bagels or just other food stuff can be special because they can be the click that joins us to our families or simply because it brings us good memories together!

Don’t worry if your daily dishes are undemanding or simple. You can always make them special!

Choose My Own Adventure: Fast- food Chains Adapt to Local Tastes

All of us have been, at least once, in fast food restaurants like: McDonalds, Taco Bell, Subway, Pizza Hut or Wendy’s. We know by hard their combos, their promotions, their menus, even their commercials. But, have you ever realized how these fast food chains are in other countries? How different they are from the United States junk food restaurants? One of the Globalization phenomenons was the introduction of food chains all around the world. You can find a McDonalds even in the smallest village in Philippines. That’s why, American founded - fast food chains are considered multinational corporations.  In several countries like England, Israel o South Africa many home based fast food companies were closed in the 1970’s and 1980’s, after McDonald’s became the number one in the market.

One multinational corporation’s characteristic is that they usually modify their menus to satisfy local tastes. Mc Donalds in India for example uses lamb, rather than beef in its burgers because Hinduism forbids eating beef. In Israel Mc Donalds respect the Jewish dietary laws. In France they have implemented baguettes and wine to their menus.

Why do you think this type of food is so popular in other countries, as in the United States? Do you think fast food restaurant’s quality doesn’t change in the States, like in France, because its population doesn’t demand it? Do you resent the persistent intrusion of this mediocre and commercially based food?

Check out this two articles that explains better how fast food changes among different countries:

CNN Article

The Salt Article

Tata's world

Maria, get out of the kitchen! said Grandma Tata. This is how all her grandchildren called her. Actually, I did not know her real name until I was 14 years old. Tata was nervous because the pots with hot water could drop over me while I was running around the kitchen. Her kitchen was my favorite place to play. It was relatively small but full of conceivable things. Through an enormous cupboard you could see different types of dinner sets and all kinds of cooking utensils, Tupperwares of all sizes, millions of recyclable plastic containers. Next to the cupboard were shelves with little bottles full of condiments and species like cinnamon, cardamom, black and pink peppercorns, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, achiote (it’s yellow and gives color to food), saffron, coriander, tarragon, basil and mustard seeds. Each time Tata opened these little bottles, a mix of smells floated in the air, making me feel giddy. Fresh corn excelled itself in big wooden plates. Corn is something that you will always find in Ecuadorian kitchens. Its red, yellow and black colors brightened with the little light that came through a tiny window. Big and small pans and pots hung from the walls as if it was an exposition. There were two stoves; maybe because Tata usually had to cook for so many people. One stove wasn’t enough. During weekends she invited around 25 people: her six children, her 12 grandchildren and all her sons in law. I must say her several dogs weren’t considered guests, but they were also eating with us.

This world always has produced a dizzy feeling inside me: too many people, too many things… Everything is so messy but at the same time everything has its own order. It was almost impossible to walk there. The 1940’s fridge plus a small wooden table worsened the panorama. Finding a way through the kitchen was something only my Grandma could do. You had to be careful not to drop the several pots that were on fire. That is why she was yelling at me all the time: Maria, get out of the kitchen! I had the ability to drag myself through the floor and skipped most of the obstacles. I loved to imagine myself selling all kinds of products in the Indian market, of course using my Grandma’s foodstuff. I recreated my games in one of the kitchen’s corner or under the wooden table, when Tata was mad at me. I talked alone pretending to be the best stallholder and I stole one of the many aprons in the kitchen. I took all the jars full of rice and other grains, the vegetables and fruits that were stored in the kitchen’s entry, and of course the mini bottles with spices and condiments. Sometimes, my cousins wanted to play with me. However, the place was so small, it was so intimate, so mine, that I didn’t want to share it with anyone. I didn’t like to play outside. That was when I heard it again: Maria, get out of the kitchen. Go play outside with the other kids! My grandmas’ kitchen was really old and full of things but to me, it was the coziest place ever. It was the place where my imagination took place.

A daily routine was accomplished in Tata’s kitchen. When I slept at my grandma’s house, mostly during my summer vacations, she woke up at 6 am to pick up the newspaper from the kitchen’s door. I was still between my dreams and reality. I could feel her steps and the first noises she was making in the kitchen. For sure she was beginning with her first tasks. I was always wondering what she was making. Once I was awake, the first thing I always did was to go to the kitchen. A delicious but simple breakfast was waiting for me! A hot and steaming cinnamon tisane, hot bread, fresh cheese and homemade jelly were served. Now, I think and realize that my Grandmas’ breakfasts were not the biggest feast but each thing was so well prepared that simplicity made it so tasty. Especially bread!

 Tata didn’t bake the bread. Every day at 5 pm., Grandma took out her apron, brushed her white and short hair, put her red cherry lipstick on and changed her shoes for going to the bakery. To me, this was a whole adventure. We walked together, holding hands. I always took with me a big straw bag sewed by Tata to carry the fresh bread. During our way, we met all my Grandma’s neighbors. All of them were old, like her. I hated those women because each time they saw me, they loved to pinch my cheeks and asked me tons of questions. The worst of all was they always complained about everything; and even worse than that was the fact that I never understood what they were talking about. Luckily, Tata was a woman of few words. The smell of the bread could be perceived two blocks away, and that was when I began to walk faster. The bakery seller- Cecilia Criollo- had known my grandma and most of our family for a long time. I couldn’t control my anxiety. I only wanted to tear up that hot greasy croissant and feel how the butter melted in my mouth. While Tata selected the type of bread she wanted, Cecilia gave me small bread called rose (like the flower) that is made basically of water and salt. It wasn’t the croissant I wanted so badly! That’s why breakfasts were so delicious - because it was the moment I could taste my croissants. Maria, stop eating so many croissants, this is going to be your fourth one! said Tata. I pretended not to hear her!

Grandma Tata was obsessed with her daily routine. She always wanted to complete everything at a particular hour. Currently, this can be defined under a psychologist perspective as an obsessive compulsive disorder, but at that time Tata was happy with all the housework she had to do. I always wanted to be part of her daily routine. I always wanted help her buy bread, go together to the supermarket, wait for the milk truck, cook all kinds of stuff, harvest fruits and vegetables. It was a world full of imagination. It was a parallel world away from my real school life. It was the place where the mind of a child flew away and where there was no space for boredom.

Japan with Anthony Bourdain

In the second part of his book “A Cook’s Tour”, Anthony Bourdain continues travelling around the world. He tells us about Cambodia, Mexico, Vietnam, England; but the country I enjoyed the most was Japan. Bourdain visits only Tokyo; however he explores all the aspects of its gastronomy. He goes to every place, from sea food markets, most exclusive restaurants, to the most traditional places of the city. He also talks with fishermen and tries the most exotic Japanese food. I think this is the best way to cover all the food aspects of country. It gives us a general perspective of the different culinary cultures, but at the same the most specific details.

One of the most interesting things that Anthony Bourdain does in Japan was visiting the Sumo school, as they live all together. He wanted to evidence how much food Sumo wrestlers usually eat. One of the characteristic food has are that people always create stereotypes around it. For example, we typically say that Mexicans only eat spicy food or that Germans have the best beer or that hamburgers are American. All these ideas are no necessarily true. I have met in Kalamazoo a German girl and the first thing I asked her was “Do you miss sausages?” and she respond me “I hate sausages”. Most of the food stereotypes are false, and Bourdain had also that wrong idea about what Sumo wrestlers est. “I would assumed they eat in order to blow up the refrigerator – sized grappling machine of fat and muscle, vats of fatty pork and lasagna – density starches” (157). Nevertheless, their nutrition is based on chicken, fish, tuna and vegetables soup. The only difference is that they eat several times per day.   

This book is also really interesting because Bourdain is genuine with what he thinks. Although, Japan has one of the best gastronomies; he hated Japanese breakfast food. “Nothing not bugs, not iguana, not reptile parts, nothing I would ever eaten approach the horror of these few not unusual Japanese breakfast items” (153). He is always praising food, but there are also certain circumstances he carps it. Some times when we try new foodstuff it’s hard to get use to its flavor, texture, even smell. Once you have experimented several times the same dish or food, probably it will be more delicious. It takes time, though! That happened to me with Chinese food and sushi when I was little. Each time I went to a Chinese restaurant, I cried because all their food was based on vegetables. While the years passed, I began to enjoy Chinese. Now I am the best client of Spice and Rice here at Kalamazoo!

Finally, I loved the Tokyo’s chapter because the author didn’t describe only food ingredients and composition; it also illustrates the culture that surrounds food. The geishas are part of Japan’s culinary culture; they are the ones who serve food in a special and particular way and entertain their customers with music and dance. During the meal you have to fallow a set of traditions. For example, people including guests, have to hold chopsticks like Japanese and wear elegant clothes. Anthony Bourdain book show how rich and different is food and how our culture is reflected in what we eat. Definitely, gastronomy is an incomparable world!

Food Magic

The best pleasure in life is to eat. This is what Anthony Bourdain’s try to explain us in his book “A Cook’s Tour”. He travels to the most exotic places around the world like Morocco, Portugal or Vietnam to describe the food diversity all these places have. This book it’s not especial only for its descriptions, but because Bourdain’s show hidden aspects of different cultures. Besides, his anecdotes and his personal life flashbacks make more enjoyable everything he eats!

 “The buildings, the layout, the walls, the location, as well as the city’s agricultural and culinary traditions, all reflect an ancient siege mentality”, says Bourdain (106). I think this is the principle aspect in this memoir. It helps us understand that food it’s not only a group of ingredients cooked and placed on a plate. By the contrary, food has a long history that has maintained all through years. The way of living of a particular culture is reflected on the food they eat. Usually the ingredients they use are native vegetables or fruits, its preparation are based in the technology their ancestors developed like ceramic pots or wood fire stoves, the mix of flavors came from their creativity, and their dishes presentation comes from their religious traditions or their personal believes. Bourdain’s explains better this when he says the Portuguese or the Spanish have adopted the bacalao - a method of preserving fish for long periods- as a way to ensure naval power. Another example is how Fez (Morocco) citizens have a culinary repertoire developed around survival, food preservation and self sufficiency (106). I loved these historic hints! It made me value food origins and understand its beginning.

Anthony Bourdain’s sense of humor is definitely good! I think one of the best ingredients if you are looking for a perfect meal is having good company, and as I can evidence, Bourdain is one… I laughed so loud when he considered putting reindeer in his Christmas menu and said “Can you picture it? All those crying kids, wondering if that’s a chunk of Rudolph or Blitzer lying on their plates?” (93). It was also really hilarious how he pays the same attention to women as to food, while he visits different countries. He describes girls’ features and at the same time he tastes new food. For me this was fascinating, I loved how he compared food with women beauty! His words were mixed with the two types of flavors.

Food expressions are part of every culinary culture. I think this is one of the greatest traditions. Before eating or when you want to make a toast, people have different sayings when they refer to food. For example, in Ecuador, when we drop food to the floor by accident and we want to continue eating it, we have an expression that can be translated like this: “That which does not kill us make us stronger”. Sometimes, and Bourdain agrees, this type of expressions lost their real charm when we try to translate them. However, I consider them magic food spells!

Anthony Bourdain’s book reminded me that the perfect meals are not those really expensive and in fancy restaurants.  A homey environment, good company, good food presentation and good music make the difference. What elements do you need in order to have a perfect meal?

Food and identity

Other of the amazing qualities food has its making our imagination fly away. In the second part of Bich Minh book “Stealing Buddha’s Dinner” she tells how she envisaged food through books she read, commercials she saw or different games she played during her childhood. Her favorite parts in books were those related with food: “I lingered over my favorite parts – descriptions of Turkish Delight, fried chicken, hamburgers with onions, thick hot chocolate” (Minh 151). She was able to imagine food’s texture, flavor, smell, even its taste. All her fictional friend liked to eat. Bich preferred to imagine all these things when she was alone, in this way no one will interfere with her thoughts. She also played pretending being a waitress and she had her own menu and food’s description. This episode remind me that times when we are really hungry, or bored, or stress out and the only thing that can make us feel better is imaging homemade food, or our favorite dish or simply mom’s best dessert. During these moments, our imagination can recreate very well the food we desire so much!

One really interesting thing in this book is how the author talks about food commercials, advertisements and mass consumption. I identified myself with Bich in this aspect. When I was little, each time I saw Ronal McDonald, or Captain Crunch or Chetoo’s tiger, I thought the food they were eating was the best. They had such a big influence on me that I related this type food with coolness. When I went to the supermarket with my mom I cried because I wanted snacks and candy, even if I didn’t like them so much. However, I wanted to have what I watched in TV.  

I really enjoyed the part when Bich talks about food and religion. She prayed, so can Buddha give her a chocolate cake and Rosa buys her many sweets as she liked. The biggest miracle God can make her was giving her food. One of her big and most ironic memories is when Bich celebrated Christmas and Thanksgiving, even they weren’t Christians. She can remember that mixed cultures celebration with tamales, tortillas, ham and turkey.

Personally, I think that one of the reasons why Bich craved so much junk food was because she didn’t have easily access to eat it. Her stepmother Rosa was always complaining about American food and never bought it. Actually, I believe she only like this food as a resentment feeling against Rosa, she refuses to be like her or the rest of her family. Years later, when she was an adult, she went back to the restaurant she loved –Ponderosa- and she felt unsatisfied. She lamented the false hope of all those “vats” of food (Minh 220).

This memoir shows us how food can be part of our identity. Bich fought all her childhood and adolescence to be accepted between two cultures. She was always surrounded with white literature, commercials and people; that were her dilemmas. Bich only wanted to make herself into the whitest girl possible, but “in wanting to belong everywhere I ended up belonging nowhere at all” (Minh176).

Food blending

It is inevitable; food is part of our culture. Our home country dishes, ingredients and traditions represent who we are. Gastronomy is one of the elements that make us different from other countries.  It will be hard to find Kaeng (Thailand curry chicken) in America, or Peruvian ceviche (sea food cold soup) in Philippines or Coqueille Sainte Jacques (a type of shellfish) in Mongolia. However, when we travel around the world, one of the best experiences is to try unknown food. I think it help us appreciate differences and open our minds.

Bich Minh Nguyen in her memoir “Stealing Buddha’s Dinner” tells us the transition she lived when she migrated from Vietnam to Grand Rapids, Michigan. The cultural shock she experimented is principally explained from food perspective. For me was extremely interesting to evidence the process how Bich was introduced to American food like Burger King, ice cream, chocolate cookies, pork chops, etc. The funniest thing is that she didn’t only crave American food, she dreamed on it. She was ashamed of telling her friends the Asiatic food type her grandmother cooked for dinner. This was because she thought she will be accepted among her classmates only if she eats United States food.  Hence, junk food became a fantasy to her. This reality can be applicable to current society. A lot of times we create people stereotypes depending on what they eat. For example if a person usually eats sushi, we think that person is really fancy. By the contrary, if someone eats every single day tacos, we think that person doesn’t have much money. My personal experience in the States has been hard. I am not used to eat cooked vegetables, mix sweet with salty things and eat a lot of potatoes. However, I’m learning about this food culture, as Minh Nguyen!

Bich became an American Vietnamese, not only because she came to live in Michigan, but because she suffered a cultural blending in all aspects. She likes cha gio or green sticky rice cakes and at the same time she loves fried chicken. She speaks English and Vietnamese. She has black hair and yellow skin, but she wears American fashion. That’s why she says “I worried that the girls were calling us – yellow on the outside, white in the inside. Was that what I had longed to achieve, after all?” (Bich 105). Even though, she didn’t figure out, I think what she was experiencing was great because she was able to combine different food traditions and flavors in only one day.   

            Now at days, globalization has allowed food franchises to place all around the world. You can find Starbucks, McDonalds or T.G. I. Fridays in many countries. I think this is good because you don’t have to travel to try American junk food. Nevertheless, some people have replaced their traditional food into this one because it is cheaper and faster. We can talk about glocalization when some food enterprises adjust their menu options to a particular country taste. For example, in Ecuador, Kentucky Fried Chicken has added rice with beans to their combos because this is essential in Ecuadorians daily diet. Personally, I think this food exchange makes gastronomy richest and more diverse. What do you think about combining different countries’ recipes and ingredients?  

Express yourself

 Food is unique. It makes us feel different smells, textures, tastes, flavors and sensations. It is always a new experience and adventure. That’s why it becomes an important part of our memory. Jane Kramer in her article The Reporter’s Kitchen talks about how food is related with her work as a journalist. She compares her cooking experiences with her ability to write. This article helped me realize the importance of food in our daily lifes, not only because it is essential for surviving, but because each time we eat something new is happening to us.

Kramer describes how different ingredients or dishes have kept in her memory and helped her narrate stories. According to her, food memories make words flow away. I think we don’t have to try food from all around the world in order to experience valuable memories. Simple meals sometimes turn into big moments. Food can take us to special episodes of our childhood, can make us remember forgotten incidents, can take us several years back, can make us fly to other places. That’s why the author of this article says “the lesson for me, as a writer, was that I had to burrow back into my own life before I even start thinking someone else’s” (Remnick 163). Each of us has his or her own memoirs. For me, hot bread smell reminds when my mom was coming back from work or the crème brulé cover texture reminds me those days when I lived in France. Jane Kramer says that when she writes about art, she likes to cook rabbit or when she is starting a politics piece she thinks in a chicken tagine: “dishes like these become invocations, little rituals you invent for yourself, in the hope that your life and your work will eventually taste the same” (Remnick 165). Food can also remind you bad moments. This journalist explains how her mind connects particular food with poverty or injustice. I remember clearly, what I was eating when I received a letter saying that I was no accepted in the university I wanted to go: tomato soup with parmesan cheese. I will always associate that soup’s taste with a bad feeling.

On the other hand, sometimes we attempt to reply certain dishes or recipes we once tried, but after all it results impossible. The ingredients, the environment, the place, even our mood are not the same. As Kramer says “some dishes just don’t travel”. Food can make us feel something we won’t ever feel again. That’s the incredible power it has!

Food can also help us to develop social relationships. Sometimes sharing recipes, preparing or eating a meal together, or describing a dish can be the beginning of a new friendship or conversation. It is always the principle element in marriages, community celebration and familiar meetings. It is a key connection between people. Jane Kreamer tells in her article how she got closer to many people thanks to food during her traveling experiences. Eating is something all human beings’ share.

This article shows us how food can be helpful in our life. Kramer uses her kitchen anecdotes as a hint to her writings. Her principle is to double the quantity of the best ingredients and then cut some adverbs while she writes (168). I think food is a way of living. Have you ever think how food can be comparable with your real life?