Category Archives: Foodways

Birthday Noodles

Text:

The informant makes a special kind of noodles, often just called “birthday noodles” for their children and grandchildren. The most notable feature of these noodles is the noodles themselves- they’re supposed to be long noodles, meant to represent a long life. While she used to make the noodles by hand, the informant now just buys spaghetti or lo meij egg noodles.
As for the rest of the cooking process, the informant says to cut the meat small before sauteing it with corn starch, soy sauce, oil, and pepper. She also likes to put in a teaspoon of sake, and sometimes some teriyaki sauce. Two cups of cut vegetables, consisting of chinese cabbage, carrots, and fresh mushrooms are also sauteed with the meat.

Context:

The informant is a first generation Taiwanese American. She notes that she isn’t particularly superstitious.

Analysis:

Birthday noodles seem to be an example of homeopathic magic, and a rather simple one at that, with the long noodles representing a long life for the consumer. The informant talked a bit about why noodles are specifically used, as they are a very common kind of food found all across Asia, including China, Japan, and of course, Taiwan. There’s quite a long history with the dish, and this presence in culture, combined with the general ease and flexibility of obtaining the ingredients, makes for a meal that can be enjoyed by many regardless of class or wealth.

Moroccan Mint Tea Ritual

Text:

“In Morocco, mint tea ritual is one of the most special ceremony that occurs every day in households. My mom and aunts used to tell me funny stories about babajudu [ grandpa], a sit down mint tea gathering. Every day, not only babajudu prepared the tea in very elaborate manner but also, he had a special way how he drank his tea. The tea is prepared in a traditional crafted teapot with beautiful engravings and served in small glass cups with colorful decorations served on top of a silver artisanal tray.  He would sat in front of lowered legs table with the ingredients to make the most tasty tea with fresh rinsed mint leaves, gunpowder (dried green tea leaves), broken sugar loaf and hot water. First, he would put in the pot a table spoon of the gunpowder and rise it quickly with boiling hot water to remove its bitterness. He would pour it  in empty cup that would be disregarded. He would add a large handful of fresh mint leaves, sugar loaf, than he would pour hot water on top of all the ingredients. After a few minutes, he would stir the mixture and taste it to see if more sugar or fresh mint leaves needed to make sure it had just the perfect flavor . He would serve the tea from very high point, which allows it to be aerate and unveil all its aromas. It took almost an hour for making the tea and savouring it.  He loved to press the glass of tea on his forehead to feel it warmth treating it as if it was a sacred object.”

Context:

“Preparing and serving cup of tea is not just boiling water and adding green tea, fresh mint and sugar, but it it is ceremonial art that is passed from generation to generation. Not only, it is  an old tradition of hospitality but it is deeply rooted in every day’s family life. The tea can be sipped at any time of the day to finish a meal. It is also served in special events like wedding ceremonies, a birth or even other predicaments like funerals.  This ritual is a cultural phenomenon that brings families and people together not only in happy times, but also in  sad times  to show respect and honored guests.”

Analysis:

This is an example of ICH (intangible cultural heritage), meaning that it is traditions that are passed to the next generation. This ritual was passed down to me in a passive way when my mom and my family took me to Moroccan restaurants to have the tea prepared for us. Occasionally though, my family would cook some dishes at home, and I would make the tea myself. It is a ritual which is a form of greeting in a lot of Moroccan households, which didn’t happen as much in America since we didn’t have guests often. That is what differentiates Moroccan and American culture – people would be able to more freely stay at anyone’s house in Morocco compared to America, exemplified through this ritual. Since rituals symbolize a right of passage for individuals, mint tea represents this as it is always served at events such as weddings. Its sweet and energizing quality are always fit for greetings and celebrations.

Moroccan remedies for discomfort using Cumin

Informant is from Morocco

  • It is said drinking milk cinnamon cumin powder and honey will help with period cramps
  • Putting cumin powder on eggs will help you with digesting it

Analysis:
The spice trade has landed in Morocco, in which its regular dishes are full of spices.It only makes sense that cumin and other powders would be used for remedies. Nevertheless, Cumin is originally from Western Asia, in which it is used for various dishes and remedies there as well. This remedy could be an example of monogenesis. Even though it is a folk recipe, modern research has confirmed that cumin does in fact help with digestion. Perhaps that is not directly correlated to period cramps, but it would in fact help regardless.

Purim Jewish Religious Festival Celebration

Text 

Collector: “In your childhood, have you participated in any specific rituals or festivals?”

Informant: “I did a lot of Jewish religious holidays as a kid. During Purim at my temple — Temple Israel of West Hollywood— we eat different religious foods. There’s a cookie called the Hamantash which is like a triangle-shaped shortbread, filled with jelly. It’s so good. And then you have to do certain prayers and like community activities. The celebration is obviously like about one of the many genocides of the Jewish people, we overcame that, let’s party. And part of it has to do with this woman named Esther. Basically, she had to disguise herself as like, not being a Jew. So part of the ritual is to dress up in costume. So it’s like the Jewish Halloween!”

Context

The informant is a female Jewish undergraduate student at the University of Southern California who grew up in Los Angeles. She regularly attends on-campus Jewish religious events at Hillel. 

Analysis

Learning more about my friend’s religious traditions showed me how different my religious celebrations are in comparison. The costume ritual stood out to me the most. To make a Purim feel like a distinctly special day, inverted social rules are applied. People are expected to dress differently than in their everyday life. The Hamantash cookies were another tradition that piqued my interest. Indulging in this treat is reserved/associated with this special holiday. In my religion, I can’t recall any treats that have the same significance.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian American Christmas Eve celebration. J’s family has been celebrating with this feast just for the past few years, and he says it allows them to connect with their culture and ethnic community. In accordance with online descriptions of the grand meal, the “essentially have a dinner party with 7 different fish cooked into the dishes.”

According to Eataly, the tradition was started by Italian immigrants in the U.S. in the early 1900s and while the exact origins/meanings are difficult to trace, “the ancient tradition of eating fish on Christmas Eve dates from the Roman Catholic custom of abstinence from meat and dairy products on the eve of certain holidays, including Christmas. The number seven is rooted back in ancient times and it can be connected to multiple Catholic symbols…” Therefore, like for J’s family, one can presume that both the meals and symbolism present were reminiscent of “home” for early participants in the Feast.

He believes it to be a celebration of abundance and the “being better off” that comes with immigrating to the U.S. as well as a ritualistic acknowledgement by Italian Americans of their cultural history and the sacrifices and hard work of their ancestors.