Category Archives: Foodways

California Lemon Ritual: Visiting Family On The East Coast

Nationality: American
Age: 63
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Alameda, California

Informant Information

Age: 63

Date of Performance: 2/18/2025

Language: English

Nationality: American

Occupation: Retired

Primary Language: English

Residence: Alameda, California

Text

“If you grew up in California and all your family lives on the East Coast, you grow a lemon tree. When you visit family there, you bring lemons because it’s very exotic because you can’t grow lemons on the East Coast. You put them in a bag and then pack them in your suitcase. Eventually, some family members began visiting us on the West Coast when they got older, and they’d pick their own lemons from our lemon tree. I have a lemon tree in my backyard as a present for my husband because he’s from the South, and you also can’t grow lemons there.”

Context

The informant was born and raised in California, while her extended family remained on the East Coast. Her parents were originally from the East Coast, and she made frequent visits throughout her life. As part of those visits, she carried a seemingly simple but meaningful gift — fresh California lemons. This act became ritualized within her family, rooted in the regional differences in agriculture and climate. Lemons, while technically possible to grow in parts of the East and South, are far more common and thriving in California’s mild climate. In colder or more humid regions, lemon trees are vulnerable to environmental damage and rarely flourish.

For her family, receiving these lemons symbolized a piece of California, a vibrant, fragrant token of the West Coast lifestyle. When family members later visited her in California, they cherished the opportunity to pick lemons from her tree themselves. The ritual became a two-way cultural exchange, a reflection of rootedness and connection to place. Later, she planted a lemon tree in her own backyard as a housewarming gift to her Southern-born husband, making the tree not only a familial tradition but also a personal and romantic gesture.

Analysis

This lemon-gifting ritual illustrates how everyday items can carry deep cultural and emotional meaning, especially across geographic boundaries. What begins as a practical act of bringing fresh produce to family transforms into a ritual that marks identity, nostalgia, and care. The lemon tree functions as a living symbol of California, and its fruit becomes a physical expression of home, warmth, and abundance.

The act of transporting lemons across coasts shows the significance of regional differences in agricultural production while also emphasizing how natural resources can become symbolic commodities in family relationships. The ritual communicates more than just gift-giving. It speaks to the longing for home, the pride in one’s origin, and the desire to share that with loved ones who live far away. Furthermore, the informant’s continuation of the tradition by planting her own tree and offering it as a gift to her husband reflects how rituals evolve to include new meanings. The lemon tree is now both a bridge to her past and a symbol of unity in her marriage, showing how folklore adapts to new contexts while preserving its emotional roots.

Twelve Grapes, Twelve Wishes: A Central American New Year’s Ritual

Nationality: American
Age: 31
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California

Informant Information

Age: 31

Date of Performance: 04/18/2025

Language: English

Nationality: American

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: Los Angeles, California

Text

“It’s basically just a New Year’s tradition that, growing up, my mom always did. I thought it was just something unique to my family, but later I realized that a lot of families actually do it, especially Central American ones. My parents are Salvadoran, but I also know Guatemalan and Mexican families that do this too. So basically, for New Year’s Eve going into New Year’s Day, you get 12 grapes, and you eat them right at midnight, at 12:00 AM. Each grape represents a wish for the new year. It’s one wish for each month, 12 months, 12 grapes. Every year we do it, hoping those wishes come true.”

Context

The informant first learned this tradition from her mother when she was around 7 years old, which was around the time she learned to write. Her mother included a writing element in the ritual, having her write each wish down on a piece of paper as she ate each grape. This additional step not only reinforced the intention behind each wish but also allowed her to reflect on her aspirations later in the year and see whether they had come true. Writing the wishes gave the ritual a deeper sense of meaning and permanence. The informant originally believed the ritual was exclusive to her household, but she later discovered it was a widespread cultural practice shared by many Central American communities.

Analysis

The practice of eating 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight is a well-known New Year’s ritual in many Latinx communities, rooted in Spanish and Latin American cultural traditions. In the informant’s experience, the ritual serves as a bridge between personal belief and cultural heritage. What began as a family custom reveals itself to be part of a larger collective identity that transcends borders.

Her family’s unique addition of writing down the wishes transforms the ritual into both an oral and written tradition. This adaptation highlights how folklore evolves over time and reflects the values and practices of individual families within broader cultural norms. Writing down the wishes adds an intentional, reflective dimension to the practice, reinforcing ideas of goal setting and emotional renewal. The ritual embodies hope, aspiration, and the human desire for a better future, encapsulated in a symbolic and communal act.

Miyeok Guk (Seaweed Soup)

Text:

Seaweed soup is traditionally eaten every year on someone’s birthday. Historically, seaweed soup was eaten by mothers who were about to give birth or just had given birth, as a way to boost their iron levels in their blood–seaweed has exceptional levels of iron. This would help the mother’s body heal or prepare for the birth, as at the time it would be dangerous, with high mortality rates.

Context:

The informant has eaten seaweed soup every year for their birthday; not only have they eaten it every year, they also learned how to make it from their mother.

Interpretation:

Because miyeok-guk is traditionally consumed by women after childbirth due to its rich nutrients like calcium, iodine, and iron, and belief that it helps with recover and milk production, the soup is now closely associated with mothers, maternal care, and birth. I assume that it is eaten on people’s birthdays(regardless of whether they are or plan to become mothers) as a way to honor the mothers who gave birth, recognizing the sacrifices that one’s parents–especially the mothers–make. Beyond its symbolic meaning, miyeok-guk is also a regular part of everyday meals due to its nutritional value and accessibility. This highlights Korea’s traditional food culture, which often views food as medicine—a concept rooted in hanbang, or traditional medicine that reflects the often health-oriented approach to food in Korean society.

On a personal note, for many Koreans, whether they live in Korea or are part of the diaspora, miyeok-guk can evoke a strong emotional pull for family, home, and heritage–many have grown up eating it together with their families–serving as a cultural anchor and linking personal identity with tradition.

Hongsam (Red Ginseng)

Text:

Hongsam is an herbal tea made from the root of a red ginseng plant. It is supposed to raise your body temperature, giving you energy and improving blood circulation, and getting rid of infections/illnesses and boosting natural immunity.

Context:

The informant grew up with their own mother giving hongsam to them. As Korea began to modernize, they began to see hongsam change from a medicinal herbal tea to more widespread consumption types(tea, capsule, powder, and even candies)

Interpretation:

Hongsam is very popular among today’s generation in Korea. I personally think this is an interesting phenomenon, as many other traditional medicinal practices are usually met with skepticism and a growing mistrust, or are simply dismissed as pseudo-medicine/treatment. However, unlike some traditional remedies that have declined in popularity, hongsam has sustained and even increased its status due to both cultural trust and the Korean government investing heavily in researching and standardizing ginseng products, showing a blending of traditional knowledge with modern science. The industry is both a point of national pride and a strategic economic sector. Its success reflects Korea’s broader tendency to commercialize and globalize cultural assets—turning tradition into a competitive modern product, much like K-pop or Korean cosmetics. It also shows how wellness has been integrated into consumer behavior.

Canadian Nanaimo Bar Recipe

The Informant

The following recipe was shared by CM, a Canadian from Alberta, with verification from his mother.

The Text

A common Canadian dessert/treat composing of three layers, commonly found confectionary stores, supermarkets, and occasionally bakeries, and served at gatherings or laid out as snacks.

Base Layer Ingredients

  1. Cocoa Powder
  2. Graham crackers (CM originally recalled this as quick oats before verifying with his mother)
  3. Shredded coconut (sweetened)
  4. Butter
  5. Sugar

Firm Custard Ingredients

  1. Custard powder
  2. Mix with butter, powdered sugar, and milk
  3. Hold back on liquid

Chocolate Ingredient

  1. Semisweet chocolate (or sometimes dark)

Instructions

  1. Mix crushed graham cracker, sugar, cocoa butter, and shredded coconut into melted butter
  2. Fill and chill in inch deep baking pan to set for base of bar
  3. Spread an inch of firm custard over base
  4. Melt and temper semisweet chocalate and fill into the baking pan and chill to set
Image

Analysis

The simplicity of the dessert’s composition, with no baking required, being any variable base of sweet grains from wafers to crackers to oats sometimes mixed in with nuts, a filling that can vary from custard to flavored icing, and a chocolate finish of various chocolate variety lends itself to various ecotypes as it spreads, all identified with the unifying identity of coconut flavor being somehow included in the base and sometimes the icing. Its post-war emergence and rise in popularity after being presented in a global event like Expo 86 leading to it being dubbed “Canada’s Favorite Confection” in a National Post reader survey may hint to Canada’s search for a stronger national identity after the events of WWII reshaping the dynamic of the world powers as Canada enjoyed reinvigorated economic prosperity, general optimism from post-war victory national pride, and greater global political influence during the formation of the United Nations.