Experiences, Memories, Love, and Food
When you hear the word “food”, what
comes to mind? Is it a type of food, like steak or pizza? Do you possibly think
of a restaurant, such as the Olive Garden or PF Chang’s, or the casual trip
McDonalds? Maybe your favorite food comes to mind, or perhaps your least
favorite (for me that would definitely have to be sour kraut.). Our meanings and interpretations of food
differ from person to person. However, you
just might be the type to go a little deeper into the word, not just imaging
the plethora of tastes. Instead, maybe a
memory comes to mind. A place you
visited, a certain outstanding experience, a reminder of something about your
life. Just think of all the places and
experiences you have had while eating food.
Some stand out more than others, but in all, every food we have eaten in
our lives has made some small impact, and has with it, a memory or story. That is where we find that food is not just a
smorgasbord of various tastes, colors, and types. It is, in fact, a larger part of our lives
than we might imagine. Hopefully, after
reading this piece on the relationship between our lives and differing foods,
you will not look at the word “food” ever the same. In fact, you will have a whole new meaning of
the effects food can have on our everyday lives.
Think about where is it you come
from. The places we grew up can have
enormously significant impacts on the types of foods we enjoy eating. My family is very much Italian on my mother’s
side. My grandfather’s mother came to
America from Naples, Italy, and brought with her many Italian cultural practices
that my grandfather strives to keep alive with us today. One of the largest aspects of Italian culture
is serving grand meals. These meals are
massive in quantity, consisting of hearty, fattening traits, including
varieties of noodles, breads, and sauces.
My family knows my grandfather’s homemade spaghetti sauce as Papa’s
Sauce. To make Papa’s Sauce, so much
time and energy is needed to prepare it, starting up the ingredients in the
morning and letting them cook all day long in order to be ready for dinner that
night. The smells that absorb the house
are completely outstanding, and it is a time for my family to help each other
in the kitchen and spend time together, while anxiously awaiting yet another
one of my grandfather’s mouth-watering Italian feasts. The same experiences can apply to
anyone. Maybe a person with Hispanic
culture enjoys their mother’s homemade tamales and enchiladas, or people of
Japanese culture love devouring a plethora of traditional sushi types. People relate well to foods that make them
feel at home and that give them a recognition of something from their
past. For me, that is homemade spaghetti
sauce and noodles. This, in turn, brings
people who care about each other together. So now, ask yourself: What foods make you feel
at home?
Last week I was given the assignment
of going to a restaurant and observing the setting, clientele, and food of that
restaurant. My roommate and I decided to
go to the Black Eyed Pea. While there, I
made in interesting discovery in regards to the present clientele. As I stated earlier, people are drawn to
familiarity and comfort foods that make them feel at home. The Black Eyed Pea serves home-style southern
foods, such as chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, roasts, corn bread, and so
on. Immediately when we walked in, I
noticed that over half the customers already eating were probably between the
ages of 55-80. At first I was moderately
surprised because that was not what I had expected to see. However, after doing more research, I was
able to understand why so many elderly people were eating there. It turns out that just like my love for
Italian foods, many elderly people get that comfort feeling from home-style
cooking such as that of the Black Eyed Pea.
I found a certain article that
discussed a study on elderly people’s views on foods from the Journal of Aging Research of the Hindawi
Publishing Corporation. In the study, 12
elderly people over the age of 60 were interviewed on their take in regards to
food and meals. Several of the
participants were eager to express their love for home cooked foods, which
helps to explain my observations at the Black Eyed Pea. For example, one 84-year-old woman discussed
her opinions of what food she perfers: “I am used to home-cooked
dishes since I was a child, not macaroni and spaghetti.” For that particular
woman, “home-cooked dishes” are to her what homemade spaghetti sauce and
Italian meals are to me. We all have
different tastes in food, but there are always those that have a special place
in our hearts.
Yet,
our favorite foods are not always those that come from our cultural
background. Foods can have other
meanings that make us feel a strong connection to them, perhaps from an
experience or just the way that food makes us feel. Have you ever eaten something that you
created that was unique and special in its own strange way? Or have you tried
something new and its deliciousness made you feel alive and free? Believe it or not, food can do that to people
as well. One unique case of how food can
give people a sense of self, and freedom occurs in an article by Sandra Cate
called “Breaking Bread with a Spread” in
a San Francisco County Jail. In the
article, Cate interviews inmates of a prison in San Francisco who are experts
in making prison “spread”. Most spreads
consist of ingredients such as Ramen Noodles, Cheetos, beans, and cheeses. The inmates have figured out special, unique
ways of mixing these types of various ingredients to create a distinctive meal
that strongly differs from the meals they are served on a regular basis from
the prison. The prisoners discussed how
the food provided by the facility is generally overcooked, soggy, and not
something they enjoyed eating. Spread is
a way for them to break away from the control of prison rules and to feel a
sense of freedom and individuality from what they are able to create. On a regular basis, prisoners will create
their variations of spread, and share them with fellow inmates, bringing them
closer together. It is in this way that foods of all kinds have the potential
to create greater feelings in the people that eat them, and that bring people
of all kinds together.
As
I stated earlier, eating an Italian dinner around the table with my family makes
me feel a home, and like I am a part of something special. Family meals are meant to bring people
together, to enjoy each other’s company, and to spend quality time as a unit
while enjoying a feast. This phenomenon
also is a way in which food has a greater impact than just its tastes. The idea of a conventional family dinner is
something that was very important for our older generations today. Look back at my experience at the Black Eyed
Pea for example. The clientele as a
whole was mostly comprised of older generations of people, who grew up eating
traditional meals in the company of their families. This was something extremely pure about their
younger years in life in that they have memories of spending quality time with
their family while surrounding a table full of home-cooked foods.
However,
this idea of quality mealtime with family and friends is something that is
slowly being lost with our growing, fast paced society. A family meal is meant to bring precedence to
the food being eating while enjoying the company of those you love and care
for. It is clear that foods can have
immense impacts on our lives.
Nonetheless, as our society continues to pride itself on work, entertainment,
and technology, the meaning of family time and dinners around the table
together will steadily keep declining. When
food is an additive to a situation, rather than a definitive, author Jamie
Horwitz refers to this as “eating at the edge”.
With the increase of products aiding in this idea of “eating at the
edge”, it is becoming much easier for people to just eat “on-the-go” to keep
their busy lives on track. In the
Horwitz’s article Eating at the Edge, she
provides examples of these sorts of easy, quick foods, including the Swanson TV
Dinner and Campbell Soup’s Soup at Hand, and how it is products like these that
are a crucial aspect to the downfall of traditional family dinners.
Now,
I cannot say that I am not guilty of this spectacle as well. There have been many days when I am rushed to
get to class on time, so I grab a pre-made breakfast burrito from our
refrigerator, toss it in the microwave, and devour it as quickly as I can
before I reach class just so I don’t have an empty stomach. However, on the days that I am able to get up
early enough to sit down and enjoy a breakfast with my roommate, my day
automatically has a better start because not only am taking the time to enjoy
my food, but I am also spending time with someone I care about. Many people wouldn’t think that just a simple
sit down breakfast with a friend can make your day that much better, but it
certainly does. This, in turn, is the
same idea with family dinners. The more
of a priority they become, the more relationships grow and memories can be
made, just from the simplicity of enjoying a meal collectively.
So now tell me: What does food mean to you? There are so many ways in which it can impact
our lives, from the individualistic feelings it provides, the memories it brings
to surface, the experiences it aids in, and the way it can bring families even
closer together. However, with our
quickening world brings quicker meals, which overall could ruin the traditional
pureness of family dining, and thus becoming a detriment to experiences and
memories that could potentially arise from spending time together to eat. There are several families that do still keep
their love for family and culture alive through foods, just as my Italian
family does. It is my hope that after expressing
to you the importance that food has in our world that you take appreciation for
all that food has done for you, and to look at it as more than different tastes
and types; but rather, a crucial part of making connections and experiences
that much more memorable in our daily lives.
Sources
Edfors, Ellinor. Westergren, Albert. “Hindawi Publishing Corporation.” Home-Living Elderly People’s View on Food
and Meals. Journal of Aging Research, 2012. 23 April 2013. http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jar/2012/761291/
Cate, Sandra. Breaking Bread with
a Spread in a San Francisco County Jail. Gastronomica: The Journal of Food
and Culture, 2008. 23 April 2013.
Horwitz, Jamie. Eating at the Edge.
Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, 2009. 23 April 2013.
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