Legend Has It…
Food has always been an expression of culture. Woven into the fabric of humankind, culinary dishes are a reflection of the environment and circumstances that punctuate mankind’s battle with survival. While meals started as a means of nourishment and sustenance, humans began passing on recipes from generation to generation as a legacy, imbibing repeated dishes with cultural mythos in the process. It’s through legacy dishes that we can experience a culture first-hand, traveling around the world or back in time with our tastebuds to show us the way. “Since ancient times, food has been a cornerstone of cultures worldwide,” says psychology professor at the University of British Columbia, Dr. Ara Norenzayan. “It is essential for our survival, which is why preoccupation with food is a human universal that connects us all.”
When my husband first moved to America from his French homeland, I was eager to cook him a dish from my childhood: Chili. In Europe, they have chili, of course, but it’s not like ours here in the good ‘ole U S of A. Often spooned over a bed of rice, saucy European chilli is nothing like the chunky, meaty, thick, and spicy bowl of my family’s generations-old recipe—which, of course, is paired with a homemade brick of honey-sweetened corn bread. Sharing the experience of my family’s chili recipe with my would-be husband not only validated my cultural identity but also offered him a glimpse into the traditions, cook-style, and history of my family. According to Shirley Ting, a cultural professor from the University of British Columbia, “food is often the first point of contact in experiencing and learning about the different food cultures that exist between and within communities.”
Although, I’m sure we’ve all tasted some version of chili before, being brought into the folds of an old family recipe is far more meaningful because of the social context of that recipe’s origin. Ting points out that, “by exploring diverse cuisines, we can gain insights into various societies’ history, traditions, and social structures.” Culinary insight is easily overlooked, but when you read between the lines of a recipe, food becomes an inspired glimpse into the twists and turns of human survival while simultaneously shaping the way we live in real time.
As fortune would have it, we live in an age where the infinite knowledge of thousands of family recipes are accessibly posted online. With a little digging and some skill in the kitchen, we can dive into cultural secrets passed down for centuries, infusing human history with our own through a well-attended sauce reduction, a bone broth braise, or a fiery flambé.
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We Got the Sauce
“Beyond sustenance and beyond basic nutrition, food is social,” says Insight Vacations travel blogger, Jason Braisier. “In every civilization around the world, humans use food as a tool to bond, socialize and connect.” Although we’re all very different, humanity has one key similarity across the globe: We all need to eat. And while the way that we express this primordial necessity is as diverse and complex as our varying cultures, mealtime is a sacred commonality that everyone on earth shares.
I’m not saying that sharing a culturally significant meal with your mortal enemy will cause you to put aside your differences, shake hands, and end all conflict, but perhaps attempting to understand one another is a step in the right direction. Food is a window into the soul of humanity and through that lens we can put ourselves in the shoes of our ancestors for a moment, picturing what it was like to cook butter chicken over an open fire instead of from the comfort of a cast iron sauce pan and your Bosch stovetop.
Tales of cultural lore on recipe websites are more likely born from SEO-focused ramblings. That being said, there may be a shred of merit to the backstory that makes the recipes more meaningful. Perhaps an online chef’s beef noodle soup is their childhood comfort food, or this Italian omelet has been used for decades to cure a hangover, or perhaps this coleslaw was JFK’s favorite barbecue side dish—we’ll never know unless we read.
Scrolling for five minutes is worth the 1000s of years it took to create culturally iconic recipes, curating their ingredients and inventing new techniques to assemble the perfect meal to satisfy our craving. And although your butter chicken masala will probably never be as good as the real thing, your wholehearted attempt to cook it will make you respect those gifted enough to create culinary magic in the kitchen—just like their meemaw used to.
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