Bon Appetit

Bon Appetit
The Chef

Friday, March 11, 2011

Food and Culture: What Came From Where?

Eurasia
By: Richard Jordan


Look to the sky, because that is how diverse food and culture is in the
world! I am going to discuss some of the plants and foods that originated in the
Asian, Middle Eastern, and European cultures. All three of these regions are
located on the continent of Eurasia. Many of the traditions and culture
expressed in the US is from the European region due to the United Kingdom
settling here and cultivating the land. Even with that being the case, all types
of food and culture manages to find its way to the US and makes a home here,
maybe even becoming a staple food or tradition among most Americans. Expand your knowledge and appreciation of food by learning of different cultures and don't be secluded to just one area of the world.

*The overwhelming majority of food and ingredients available in each region is so vast that one article could never be enough to satisfy ones' appetite. I could have specialized in a particular region and dish, but that wouldn't show much about the culture tied into food if I did! For that reason, I've listed some dishes from each main region with a brief description of it and the area it comes from.

Food from Asia:

  • Rice - This food can be seen in the vast majority of Japanese and Chinese styles of cooking. I'm not entirely sure of its origin, but it is either from Japan or China. The best time I have for it is around 2000 years ago Japan began to harvest it. Most likely, however, it is from the Chinese region.

  • Chow Mein - This is a dish or stir fried noodles. It is traditionally from China and is a very popular food item from Asia.

  • Shchi - A Russian soup that is popular in the colder climates. Most of the cuisine Russia has is due to outside help from French and Austrian cooks, but this dish is purely Russian made.

  • Oats - These are such a staple in many foods. They have possibly originated in the Asian region due to the diverse species of oats available around there.

  • Kimchi - Also can be spelled kimchee, it is a Korean dish. Layered with peppers and spices, this cabbage is a favorite! It is eaten with every meal.


Food from Europe:

  • Pizza - Food thought to have originated around the country of Italy. Records date it possibly existing as far back as the Ancient Greeks. This is also considered a Middle Eastern dish.
  • Sandwich - Amazingly enough, the sandwich was first introduced in the United Kingdom. Ironically, a town named Sandwich is there and named this popular food. It is so popular in American dishes I just had to mention its origins!
  • Fabada Asturiana - Known normally as just Fabada, it is a rich Spanish bean stew. One of its main ingredients is white beans. It is a very heavy soup and is normally eaten during lunch.
  • Ratatouille - A French dish that is served as a side or by itself as a main dish. It is a soup made with tomatoes, garlic, onions, zucchini, eggplant, peppers, carrot, marjoram, and basil. There are many variations and much debate over the traditional method to make this fine soup.
  • Flying Jacob - This is a Swedish dish that was invented in the 60s that is much more recent than most of my other listed foods. It is a casserole based on chicken with bananas, peanuts, andbacon that is cooked in the oven as is most casseroles.
  • Schnitzel - An Austrian dish that is made with an escalope(thin meat) lightly breaded. It is traditionally made with veal, but is now more commonly made of pork. The traditional version that is made of veal is called the Weiner Schnitzel.

Food from the Middle East:

  • Wheat - This crop is dated back to its earliest recordings in places such as Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. It is used in so many ways it is hard not to try and think of where it originated from. Common uses for it are for bread and cereals.
  • Kebab - Also known as a kebob or a shish kebab, this food originated in Persia. There are many different variations of it. The traditional meat for it, however, is definitely lamb. Other meats you will find on it are: chicken, pork, seafood, fish, beef, tofu, etc.
  • Beans - There are a wide variety of beans in use today. Even many other seeds are classified by Americans as beans such as soybeans, chickpeas, lentils, coffee beans, etc. The earliest date of cultivation of beans is in the Middle Eastern/European areas.
  • Hummus - This is an Egyptian food that is a dip/spread used for many dishes. It uses chickpeas as its ingredient.
  • Falafel - This is another very popular Middle Eastern dish. It is sold like hot dogs in America and is Israel's national dish. Falafel is fried balls of chickpeas added with some spices. The wonders of chickpeas! Who would think that a pea could be used for so many different things?


Food from the continent of Eurasia is definitely prominent in most of the world and America is no different. Walk around town and you will most likely see a restaurant that specializes in a specific culture or type of food. For example, in Connellsville, PA, along one of the main roads is a Chinese restaurant. Not only that, but down the road from there is a Chinese take-out place! For a small town such as Connellsville, there is a couple of places to try your appetite at some different cultures even in the Italian and Mexican scenes. If you can't find a food you want to try, you just aren't looking hard enough. Get out there and start eating with some diversity and culture in mind!

About the Author

Richard Jordan is a college student attending Westmoreland County Community College. This article was provided as a requirement for the Advanced Composition course.

"An avid cook, I decided to join this blog out of curiosity. I love food and thought that expressing that love in my writing is something I can do in this class."

Currently seeking a degree in Computer Programming, expecting to graduate with it in the end of the summer 2011 semester.

Bibliography

Fayed, Saad. "How to Make Falafel." About.com. 11 May 2011. http://mideastfood.about.com/od/middleeasternfood101/a/felafel.htm.

Fayed, Saad. "Hummus Recipes." About.com. 11 May 2011.
http://mideastfood.about.com/od/middleeasternfood101/a/hummus101.htm.

Anonymous. "Schnitzel." Wikipedia.com 11 March 2011. 11 May 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schnitzel.

Anonymous. "Flying Jacob." Wikipedia.com 25 November 2010. 11 May 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Jacob.

Anonymous. "Ratatouille." Wikipedia.com 23 February 2011. 11 May 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratatouille.

Anonymous. "Ratatouille." Wikipedia.com 11 March 2011. 11 May 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bean.

Anonymous. "Kebab." Wikipedia.com 10 March 2011. 11 May 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kebab.

Anonymous. "Kimchi." Wikipedia.com 10 March 2011. 11 May 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimchi.

Anonymous. "Japanese Cuisine." Wikipedia.com 9 March 2011. 11 May 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cuisine.

Anonymous. "Chow Mein." Wikipedia.com 9 March 2011. 11 May 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chow_mein.

Anonymous. "Shchi." Wikipedia.com 28 February 2011. 11 May 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shchi.

Franklin, Rebecca. "Ratatouille Recipe." About.com 11 May 2011.
http://frenchfood.about.com/od/maindishes/r/ratatouille.htm.

Barrow, Mandy. "British Life and Culture." 2010. 11 May 2011.
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/food/foodhistory.htm.


Gibson, Lance, and Garren Benson. "Origin, History, and Uses of Oat and Wheat." Iowa State University. Rev. January 2002. 11 May 2011. http://www.agron.iastate.edu/courses/agron212/readings/oat_wheat_history.htm.

Hill, Patti. "Cultural Diversity: Eating in America Asian" Ohio State University. 2010. 11 May 2011.
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/pdf/5253.pdf.

10 comments:

  1. I think you chose a very diverse topic. I like how you took all these different countries and their foods and related them. Very interesting topic. Good job on keeping your reader's attention.

    Alison

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love to try different foods. I was hunting once at a supermarket for some ingredient I couldn't find for this Mexican dish once and the clerk who is usually helpful said "try Mexico." That was some time go and now there is one whole row of different foods form Mexico,Italy,etc.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Richard,
    Great post. Its so interesting to know that some of the food we consider "American" really came from a different continent. I like the content of the information you added. The length was good and I could follow the information very easily. The bullets really helped kept the post look "tidy" and not over-whelming.

    Our blog is looking great!
    Good job,
    Kristen Mummert

    ReplyDelete
  4. Richard,
    I liked the topic and the information in it, it kept my interest and I learned a lot from it. I agree people should try other foods atleast once they might be surprised and like it. Good job.

    Donald Findley

    ReplyDelete
  5. Richard, this blog made me hungry! Many of your group members have a tendency to do that to me! I should really plan to bring a snack to the computer when I come to read this blog. I think one of your goals was to open people's minds to different foods. I think you succeeded there. Many of these sound appealing to me. Nicely done.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Richard,
    The information was really interesting, it made hungry too! Can't wait for your next blog.
    Alisha O.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you Ali, Kristen, and Don. Sorry for the late response. I am glad you enjoyed the article and am pleased it made everyone open their eyes a little bit to the foods out there in this world. I thought for this topic the bullets would be the best idea. I wasn't sure if I would keep people's attention on the article or not; I think I could use more improvement in that sector of my writing. And lastly, I'm glad Don that you agree with the statement I made about others trying other foods. If only poeple would they might find much more out there that they enjoy.

    Thank You,
    Richard Jordan

    ReplyDelete
  8. Tamara and Alisha, I am happy to hear I could make you two a little hungry in the posting. : )
    It's nice to hear that I opened you two up to other foods in the world if only a little. I will have to try harder in my next postings to make sure I give you even better content to read!

    Thank You,
    Rich Jordan

    ReplyDelete
  9. Richard,
    You are definately right about the U.S. being a mixture of things that came from everywhere else in the world. I myself enjoy Mexican food. Nice job on this.
    Samantha Cribbs

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks Samantha,

    I have times when I really feel the urge for Mexican foods. I have to say that Taco Bell ruined my love for Mexican food.

    Richard Jordan

    ReplyDelete