Around NC, students receive the opportunity to experience a taste of common dishes from various cultural backgrounds. To activate this, assorted meals to choose from and a Curbside Cravings food truck. Traditional dishes play a crucial role in various cultures. They represent the culture’s identity and allow people to form a memorable moment with loved ones by connecting people with diverse backgrounds to share the dish. Throughout different cultural backgrounds, people all share one commonality: the importance of family. The U.S., commonly referred to as the melting pot, incorporates different cultures like spices to create its own blend. For decades, the U.S. has existed as a common place for people around the world in hopes of opportunities such as jobs, reuniting with family, and economic and educational benefits. Each of these people comes with their own experiences with food.
Known for its shareable serving size, the Spanish paella attracts relatives to come together. The dish consists of saffron-infused short grain rice, various meats, seafood and vegetables. The dish provides a flavor-filled delight to consumers. Frozen paella changed the significance by transitioning to an Americanized style. It holds a different consistency than fresh, as the quality decreases after thawing and reheating. Consumers complain that the rice exhibits a soggy texture and a lack of flavor. Eating frozen paella not only removes the traditional seasoning, but it also limits the opportunities for cooking with loved ones. Spending time with nearest and dearest plays a crucial role in Spanish culture. This encroaching power of frozen meals extends far beyond paella, with everything from pizza to tika masala finding its way into the freezer aisle.
Italy’s rich culture of cuisine inspires numerous young chefs to develop new recipes globally. People associate the country with its creation of pizza, pasta and lasagna. Numerous individuals commonly perceive pizza as a U.S. staple. In America., styles of pizza vary across the nation, as exemplified by Detroit style, Chicago style and New York style. Coincidentally, margherita pizza represents Italy’s identity, associated with its flag. Tomatoes, basil and white mozzarella all represent the tricolor of Italy. An example shows pasta as an Americanized food, as well as variations of the foods located around the nation. The Vending Market Watch found that 59% of Americans enjoy a meal including pasta weekly.
The classic, well-loved breakfast food, the croissant, originated in France. Foreigners adore the pastry’s flaky, buttery exterior and careful craftsmanship. Though plentiful store bakeries attempt to recreate it, the removed versions lack the authentic flakiness and flavor, resulting in them tasting chewy and bready. For example, various bakeries attempt to replicate a vast number of French cuisines located throughout various places around the U.S. Despite the bakeries’ efforts, the pastries turn out not as the same as the authentic pastry in France. In comparison, French bakeries showcase further experience and authentic ingredients than typical American grocery store chefs, who use ingredients to cut corners to earn a profit.
“The traditions of today are made from the cultural exchanges of the past. So, for instance, would the dishes that are part of the tradition of Indigenous peoples from northern Mexico not be considered “American?” Those peoples historically traded and migrated across what is now the border between Mexico and the United States,” Georgia State University Anthropology professor Steven Black, Ph.D, said.
Over time, these different cuisines were integrated into American diets, even representing options at fast food places as the chains evolved drastically. From cutting-edge technology to savory recipes, fast food provides quick and easy meals for American families to enjoy instead of cooking dinner. When major fast food chains and other companies attempt to replicate traditional food, numerous Americans believe it snatches the cultural significance from the food, as it no longer brings loved ones together, to use cooking methods and techniques passed down from one generation to the next.
“I sometimes see ads that show their interpretation of certain traditional dishes, but they are often created with American versions of ingredients. I feel like the use of different ingredients changes the style and the real flavor of the dish. For example, I know a lot of Mexican traditional dishes, and all of them have unique ingredients that make the dish have a special flavor that makes it stand out from other cultures,” magnet junior Itzel Gomez de la Rosa said.
Consumers fail to realize the negative effect fast food chains impose on traditional dishes and their corresponding cultures. The convenience meals remove the bonding that families usually experience when sitting down together. Eating homemade meals instead of fast food provides nutrition, both physical and emotional. Overconsumption of these foods can lead to increased blood pressure and unhealthy eating habits. Frozen and fast food focuses on processed foods that contain a high density of calories, sodium, saturated fat and sugar.
Preserving frozen foods provides convenience to busy families. Side effects of frozen foods include nutrient loss, high sodium and environmental harm. In the process of freezing food, companies risk freezer burn to speed up the process, resulting in nutrient losses. While delivering the food, companies emit major greenhouse gases into the environment to preserve the food. As these foods come to America, they lose their nutritional and cultural connection, and the companies that produce them negatively impact the environment.
When the U.S. started constructing world markets, officials intended the purpose to bring traditional foods, seasonings and opportunities for people to experiment with exotic flavors. Various immigrants travelling to the U.S. view food markets as a positive influence, while others feel they overwork farmers with the constant pressure of meeting the demand for produce and livestock.
“If you look at the history of the United States, it has truly been a nation of immigrants, as well as a nation of forced migrants and Indigenous peoples. Italy and Ireland examples suggest, people have always been trading, exchanging ideas, and borrowing or appropriating foods. The traditions of today are made from the cultural exchanges of the past as a push and pull—between keeping things the same and “traditional,” versus changing and innovating in exchange with others is really how culture gets made,” Black said.
In opposition, several argue that farmers receive the chance to experiment with new livestock. Farmers increase their profits by raising their trading. When farmers experiment with exotic livestock, it benefits not only them but also local food markets. The markets depend on local farmers to plant the produce, with the continuous cycle of enjoying the satisfaction from each other.
The benefits of the food market advantage consumers by providing real, authentic food rather than produce from the local grocery store. Foreigners migrating to America commonly face homesickness while adjusting to a new environment, but farmers’ markets provide a sense of comfort from their home country. The markets’ products consist of various options for consumers to choose from, such as exotic foods, spices and fresh produce. Beyond the profits, residents enjoy creating bonds with their community, including farmers and other vendors.
Additionally, farmers’ markets provide services beyond generating revenue; they also bring the community into a close-knit community through events. The community events include cooking demonstrations of a variety of cultures’ dishes. Hosting these types of events strengthens bonds with the community and exemplifies the cultural sharing of cuisine as it travels to America.
As immigrants migrate to America in hopes of wider opportunities, they experience the different stages of culture shock. In the beginning, their feelings consist of optimism and hope for their new home. As time progresses, they endure the various negative feelings of uncertainty. The newcomers are left with no choice but to try to adapt to the new culture. As a result, they fall victim to America’s standards, including discrimination and cultural assimilation of their practices to fit in. This factor leads them to feel divided between their culture and the U.S.’s. Toward the end, they experience the acceptance of their environment.
In the meantime, when trying to adjust to their new life, foreigners attempt to recreate their traditional foods to provide a sense of comfort from their home country as an escape from the pressure of America. As they attempt to recreate their cuisine, they hope to find the ingredients. They soon realize that countless food markets lack the offerings for their cuisine. Even if they happen to find ingredients to replicate the dish, the closest food market that sells them tends to exist in city centers, inaccessible to rurally located immigrants who cannot visit at the drop of a hat.
“When I first moved to Cobb County in the early 90s, late 80s, they didn’t have any food markets that would sell traditional ingredients. None at all, you saw more in more dense areas or Hispanic areas like Miami and maybe Orlando, but it wasn’t even booming in Orlando yet; it was more in New York. So for us to even have any kind of access to Spanish food, it was very difficult,” Spanish teacher Brenda Garcia said.
In another effort to find their traditional foods, immigrants resort to visiting a restaurant that possesses the product. Various restaurants and companies attempt to replicate traditional dishes in hopes of bringing diversity to the nation. A wide range of chefs’ efforts prove successful at bringing recognition to the dish, while the unsuccessful platters reflect the lack of insight into the significance. The people who share the same cultural heritage as the food feel disappointed that their food lacks the important aspect of cultural identity in the heritage. To fix this, numerous restaurants enforce intense training for their apprentice chefs by understanding the culture efficiently, and in doing so, they help others experience a new culture.
Americanization can hold various pros and cons for cultures. For example, recreating a dish may provide cultural recognition; however, improperly preparing the cuisine can lead to cultural appropriation. This usually occurs when individuals alter the dish’s ingredients to fit into American culture. Immigrants also fall victim to Americanization. They hope to recreate their dish by visiting various food markets, but unfortunately, none of those markets sell the ingredients. This leads the farmers’ markets to step in, but the markets possess a limited supply of products. To earn a significant amount of revenue, the markets rely heavily on their local farmers, which causes them constant pressure due to the demand for products. In various cases, farmers cannot perform the same act frequently due to crop rotation. This then leads to the disappointment of consumers when they want to recreate their traditional meals.
Americanization affects a culture in numerous ways, whether positively or negatively; it acts as an important factor to reconsider. Anyone who attempts to recreate a recipe, preserve a cultural identity or promote a culture benefits from learning the heritage efficiently rather than cutting corners.
