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?