Friday 13 September 2013

Cooking My Way

World map of grain on plate
"One factor in the origin and persistence of foodways is that they often represent an important expression of our identity, both as individuals and in reference to a broader ethnic, class or religious grouping." (Atkins & Bowler, 2001, p. 273)

In this day and age all the food we eat at one time or another has come from or been influenced by a certain culture or cultures. In Australia we enjoy foods such as pasta, something Italian; curries, something Indian; and Tacos, something Mexican. As Kuttainen (2013) said "food is not just food... [it's] also an expression of our identity." (p. 2 & 6) Atkins and Bowler (2001) state that "in the early twenty-first century we might be tempted to think that the emergence of a global culture will annihilate local differences". (p. 280)

As an expression of our identity that could mean anyhting from culture, ethnic background or just the general preferences towards food that your parents have. In StumbleUpon there is a whole category dedicated to food and all things culinary. There are literally hundreds of thousands of different kinds of food and recipes to make these foods and each style is unique. As mentioned above, the emergence of a global culture may impact on differences in cooking, but in fact it has actually enhanced the different styles available. With the start of recipes on StumbleUpon they will often state either, this is"my favourite", this is how "my mother did" it or this is "how I do it". So from watching the influence of StumbleUpon fodd and cooking it can be seen that with regards to food, the online social networks are able to bring a person personal style and indetity to be seen by the world.

Until next time,

Aaron.


Reference List
Atkins, P., & Bowler, I. (2001). Food in Society: Economy, Culture, Geography. London, England: Arnold

Kuttainen, V. (2013). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narrratives and The Making Of Place, Lecture 7: Food Networks. Week 5 Notes [Powerpoint] Retrieved from: http://learnjcu.edu.au
Image Credits:
World Map of Grain on Plate [Image] (2013) Retrieved from: http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-44069140/stock-photo-world-map-of-grain-on-plate.html
 

2 comments:

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  2. Hi Aaron,

    I really enjoyed your blog post this week. I agree with you that all food we eat has been influenced by a certain culture at some point. I think that was a very good observation.

    I also believe that “food is not just food” (Kuttainen, 2013). It is an expression of identity which is shown through what we tell others is our favourite food, or where our favourite places to eat are. I also believe that food is an expression of culture, determined by the way we eat, at what times we eat, with who and for what certain events.

    I think you made some very good points this week. Happy blogging!


    References:

    Kuttainen, V. (2013). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narrratives and The Making Of Place, Lecture 7: Food Networks. Week 5 Notes [Powerpoint] Retrieved from: http://learnjcu.edu.au

    ReplyDelete