Connections between food and family

In both the readings, the authors strongly tied significant foods in with the importance of their families.  In the first reading, the author, Nicholson, discusses the foods that were important to his mother.  He ties in her purity, and the symbolism of her strong tie to white foods, such as white bread, rice, milk, and creme.  When the average person thinks about foods such as these, they normally would not have "pure" thoughts about them.  Rice, bread, and creme are all loaded with carbs, which are looked at in a negative manner.  However, in the writing piece, Nicholson explains that his mother had a different connection with this group of white food, and saw it for its pureness, versus its negative attributes.  In turn, Nicholson was able to tie in memories and thoughts of his mother by discussing this white food, and the impact it had on his mother's life.
In the second piece, the author, Ahn, discusses more his cultural attachment to Korean food.  Ahn himself is Korean, and therefore he is able to have an automatic connection with types of Korean cuisine.  Likewise, he explains his love for American foods, such as ice cream and restaurants like Carl's Jr.  Because he was a Korean boy growing up in America, he was able to experience both cultural pulls regarding food from America, as well as Korea.  In the paper, he is able to connect the food of his childhood with memories of his Korean parents and his life as a young man.  He adds accounts from his past, including watching his father eat rice with ketchup, and how Ahn used to come up with reasons to be around his mother in the kitchen while she cooked, even though the kitchen was not a proper place for Korean boys.  It is through his accounts and his examples of important foods in his life that he is able to strongly connect the two together, just as the Nicholson did in his piece on his mother.