Category Archives: Foodways

Apples & Honey: Jewish New Year Ritual

Age: 63
Occupation: Retired
Language: English

Informant Information:

Age: 63

Date of Performance: 2/18/2025

Language: English

Nationality: American

Occupation: Retired

Primary Language: English

Residence: Alameda, California

Text:

“Both my parents were Jewish, and at the new year—which, in Judaism, is a holiday in the fall when apples are in season—you cut apple slices, dip them in honey, and that will give you a sweet, prosperous new year.”

Context:

The informant, a California native from a fully Jewish background, grew up celebrating the Jewish New Year with her parents.

Analysis:

Eating apples dipped in honey is a Jewish tradition during Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Their round shape symbolizes the cyclical nature of the year, while the honey’s sweetness represents hopes for a prosperous and joyful future.

Before eating, participants often recite a blessing expressing their wish for a “sweet new year,” reinforcing the ritual’s symbolic nature. For the informant’s family, this ritual was a celebration of their Jewish identity and means of passing down traditions to future generations. The timing, coinciding with apple season in the fall, also reflects the natural alignment between cultural customs and the regional produce available in California.

Taylor Ham vs Pork Roll

Nationality: American
Age: 47
Occupation: Homemaker
Residence: Morris Plains, NJ, USA
Language: English

Text:

“Taylor ham is North Jersey and Pork Roll is Central and South Jersey.  I grew up in Central NJ (Somerset County) so I grew up calling it Pork Roll.  There is no difference between the items.  I first heard it from my parents.  The Plaza diner in Morris Plains calls it Taylor ham but we are in North Jersey.”(LeRoy)

Analysis:

Knowing either of these is already a marker that one is from or has familiarity with New Jersey. This breakfast meat isn’t sold widely across the US, mostly in New Jersey and in a little bit of Pennsylvania. I interviewed my mother, who is a New Jersey native. She has moved around a little bit and gotten the whole experience of the importance of this debate. Where you are determines what it’s called and some people take it more seriously than others. This means if you order taylor ham/pork roll and call it by the “wrong” name for the region, some people won’t answer or will expect you to correct yourself. 

The importance of this debate is really a testament to where you are from. There is such a distinction between Central/South Jersey and North Jersey that this is part of the divide. There are many factors such as Mets vs Yankees, Jets vs Giants, Philadelphia vs New York, and Pork Roll vs Taylor Ham. There is pride in where you are from and where you live, so these debates are a healthier way to engage in this mock rivalry. Having pride for one’s home comes out in many ways, including healthy rivalry and one-upping. 

JoJos – Saying/Synonym for Food

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Seattle, Washington
Language: English

Saying/Culture: “JoJos” as Potato Wedges

Context: Hailing from Seattle, Washington, I was told about her and childhood friends referred to potato wedges as jojos in elementary school. Growing up with this, she was able to reflect on how this has evolved and how her friends laughed about this in high school. According to her, there was a sort of irony to it. Reading an article from Willamette Week, a newspaper based in Oregon, the name ‘Jojo’ comes from the middle-class industrial working man in the 1900s. Coupled with the invention of the pressure fryer, and an ideal combo of batter, spices, and frying, jojos were born. The pressure fryer was nicknamed Jojo, giving these wedges a northwest nickname.

Analysis: I find it interesting that the historical upbringing of this region of the United States can have such a large cultural influence, primarily because we normally find history rooted in museums or some buildings left behind by those who came before us. This unconventional naming speaks to how the working class back then was inventive and thought of cultural and food-related items through a lens that can heavily relate to their own everyday life. Traditionally, I have heard fries referred to by different names rooted in different ethnic or demographic cultures but one that comes from historic divides is truly fascinating. Furthermore, the Jojo is a testament to how history remains intact even from a 2-year-old to a senior citizen in Oregon and Washington, as they have been brought up with this reference. When these individuals go elsewhere and exit this limited box, seeing the mixture of cultures truly comes to fruition.

Tangyuan (Sticky Rice Ball), Chinese Dessert Served at Dongzhi Festival

Text: 

“I remember my mom staying up on the eve of Dongzhi to make Tangyuan without filling, so everyone of our family could get up the next morning with a bowl of hot Tangyuan boiled with brown sugar and water. Our Dongzhi day started with soup Tangyuan. And that night when our family celebrated reunion, everyone joined in molding Tangyuan into balls as a family event. The ball shape, or round shape in China, is usually associated with the wish for ‘团圆’, which literally means reunion. The Tangyuan we made during Dongzhi dinner actually didn’t matter as a food, you could eat them whenever you wanted, because what actually mattered was the process of our family making Tangyuan together.”

Context: 

The informant is a 22-year-old female who currently studies in Singapore and grew up in Swabue, a coastal city in Guangdong, China. The informant spent every Dongzhi festival (Winter Solstice dated in the Chinese solar calendar) with her family before attending college. Tangyuan is a Chinese dessert made of sticky rice containing filling such as sesame paste, molded into balls. Whereas Tangyuan is usually associated with the Yuanxiao festival, the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, the informant remembers Tangyuan as a signature dish for Dongzhi. The Dongzhi dinner is an annual reunion commonly seen in Chinese families, and the informant’s family is from Swabue specifically, where people traditionally favor Tangyuan without filling.

Interpretation: 

Dongzhi is a special day of the year according to most Chinese families. Historically in ancient agricultural practice, Chinese farmers planned their years working in the fields according to the Chinese solar calendar. As a marker for the beginning of winter when farmers usually ceased agricultural work, hence Dongzhi is traditionally a time for family members to gather and start spending the rest of the winter together. To celebrate a year’s hard work and the family’s reunion, Dongzhi dinner is an identifying Chinese folk experience, but the experience can vary among different locales. In the informant’s case, her signature Dongzhi food is Tangyuan without filling, whereas people from different parts of China may have Tangyuan with sweet filling, or savory, meat filling, or even enjoy other food at Dongzhi such as dumplings. 

In addition to her filling-less Tangyuan, the informant found her Dongzhi experience special because Tangyuan was enjoyed twice with nuanced intentions. On the morning of Dongzhi, the family enjoyed soup Tangyuan prepared last night by her mother, and this was when the food itself mattered the most. During or sometimes after the Dongzhi dinner, the family made Tangyuan together again, but this time the process mattered more. The round shape of Tangyuan is usually associated with the Mandarin word “Tuán Yuán” (“团圆”, both characters mean roundness separately, when joined together they usually suggest family reunion). Consequently, starting the day with Tangyuan symbolized when the best wishes for “Tuán Yuán” began, and this is when “团圆” was reflected symbolically through consuming Tangyuan. Whereas, in the latter case, family members joining each other to work towards the same goal reflected “Tuán Yuán” factually. As a result, the informant remembers Tangyuan with the theme of “Tuán Yuán” in mind ever since she was little, making Tangyuan the central part of the Dongzhi festival experience.

Poon Choi, One-Pot Cantonese Festival Dish

Text: 

“Since I can remember, my family has been ordering Poon Choi from local Cantonese restaurants on the eve of Chinese New Year, and I’ve always considered Poon Choi as the centerpiece of the dinner we had on New Year’s Eve. Poon Choi is this one-pot Cantonese dish made up of ingredients such as chicken, fish maw, crab, dried fungi, and other expensive proteins and seafood. I believe each ingredient was usually cooked in a way that symbolized something, or the name itself was a pun for a wish, such as ‘may you be prosperous’. I can’t remember every wish in Poon Choi, and the ingredients can differ, but the point is Poon Choi is a luxury that is usually enjoyed on New Year’s Eve only.”

Context: 

The informant is a 22-year-old female who was born and raised in Foshan (a city in Guangdong province, China) and currently studies at USC. Before attending USC, the informant spend every Chinese New Year with her family, and as a typical Cantonese family, her family considered Poon Choi as a New Year’s Eve “must-have”. According to the informant, Poon Choi (“盆菜”, “盆” refers to the pot containing the dish, “菜” means dish literally) is usually not delicious because when cooked in one pot, the ingredients’ taste mixed up. However, Poon Choi assembles a variety of expensive ingredients and has traditionally been the most significant Cantonese dish to wrap up a year.

Interpretation: 

Though the name Poon Choi was literal, the ingredients in Poon Choi are usually puns referring to different New Year’s wishes. The informant listed a few ingredients she remembered seeing in the Poon Choi she had, and each of them was there for a reason. For instance, in Poon Choi there usually was this dish called “Pig Trotter Brewed with Fat Choy”, and Fat Choy is a dried vegetable named “发菜”, traditionally used in the pun for “发财” (pronounced as “Fā Cái”, which is similar to the pronunciation of Fat Choy and means becoming rich). The combination of pig trotter and Fat Choy symbolically represents the wish for “wealth in the grip”, with “grip” reflected in the pig trotter and “wealth” suggested in the pun. 

Besides symbolism, the expensive ingredients in Poon Choi were included to highlight the luxury theme, including dried fungi, fish maw, shark fin, and dried abalone. Ending the past year with a luxurious meal involving Poon Choi was considered a reward for a year’s hard work and the best way to celebrate the coming year. Surprisingly, none of the informant’s family actually enjoyed Poon Choi’s flavor, but they never spend one New Year’s Eve’s dinner without Poon Choi. Self-identified as a typical Cantonese family, the informant thought her family prepared Poon Choi to uphold a renowned Cantonese tradition fully intentionally because Poon Choi must be ordered weeks in advance.