Category Archives: Foodways

Latkes

Nationality: Jewish-American
Age: 15
Occupation: Student
Residence: Seattle, WA
Performance Date: 29 Mar 2018
Primary Language: English

COLLECTOR: “Do you know how to make latkes?”
INFORMANT: “I mean, it’s like really easy.”
C: “So, how do you do it?”
I: “You just take a bunch of potatoes and an onion—or three or four if you’re my dad—and put them through the spinny grater thing in a Cuisinart. And then you can wring it out with a towel, and mix it with flour, and salt, and an egg, and I think sometimes baking powder. And then make… patties… and you fry them. In like a bit of oil—not too much.”
C: “How long do you cook them for?”
I: “Just, like don’t burn them. I mean, I like mine kinda crispy. And raw potato is disgusting. Don’t try it.”
C: “And do you just eat them plain?”
I: “Yes… I do. Remember to put them on a paper towel to soak up the oil, first. And most people like applesauce or sour cream or other weird stuff on them, but why?… I’m a potato purist.”

I decided it would be interesting to see if I could collect religious folklore from someone not particularly religious, so this recipe comes from teenaged girl, who is ethnically Jewish, but neither practicing nor bat mitzvahed. I simply asked her to explain different components of how she celebrates Chanukah. The cooking of latkes has become so ingrained in her as part of the Chanukah tradition that, from her nonchalant description, it seems an almost thoughtless process, now. The folkloric quality of this traditional recipe is clear, though the lack of any measurements, heats, times, or anything quantifiable in the instructions; a major part of being able to cook them properly is intuition gained from seeing and helping others cook them over and over again.

Italian Cookies and Christmas Celebrations

Nationality: Caucasian American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Carlos, California
Performance Date: 4/19/18
Primary Language: English

Interviewer: Do you have any holiday celebrations that you do every year?

 

Informant: So for Christmas every year we start celebrating Christmas Eve.  We get a new set of pajamas that we wear to sleep on Christmas Eve but before we go to sleep we do games and visit with family. Each year our cousins from my dad’s side of the family go to our grandpa’s house and we play white elephant while we are there.  We also make special cookies known as Pizzelles which are traditional Italian sweets.

 

Interviewer: Who makes the cookies? And are the first gifts you get for Christmas, the pajamas that you get to wear on Christmas Eve?

 

Informant: My mom used to make the cookies and now we make the cookies together.  It is something we get to do together and a way to spend time with each other. And the pajamas are the only gift we get to open on Christmas besides whatever we get in the White Elephant game. We get to open the pajamas when we come home from our grandfather’s house.  So it is something you just do with my immediate family.

 

Interviewer: What do you do on Christmas Day?

 

Informant: We sleep in and then the first thing we do is open our stockings. My dad always puts scratchers in our stockings so we scratch those right away.  Then we all have our “assigned” seats in the family room and my brother and I separate the presents out and then we kind of open our presents in a circle so we see what we got. My grandfather also used to dress up like Santa Claus and come surprise us while we opened gifts.

 

Interviewer: How long have you been doing this? And are any of things you do, things that either of your parents did as they were growing up?

 

Informant: I have been doing it for as long as I can remember.  When my mom was growing up, her and her mom used to make Pizzelles for the holidays and we still use our neighbor’s recipe.  I say “our neighbor” because my mom grew up in the house that we live in now so she’s still our neighbor.

 

Interviewer:  Wow that’s really sweet that you still use that recipe.  What do they taste like?

 

Informant: They are like thin crisp cookie with a design on the front, but we have to use a Pizzelle iron to make them so it takes a while and it’s a big deal when they are done.  But we put anise and lemon in them and then we do a lemon glaze on top.

 

Interviewer: That sounds delicious.  Thanks for sharing.

 

Background:  The informant is a sophomore in college and studying communications.  She still lives at home while attending school and is very close with her family which consists of her parents and one older brother.  She is a great friend of the interviewer and is often baking or engaging in other crafts.  This piece was very special to her because it is ongoing and reminded her of the way she and her family has kept these various traditions alive.  Christmas is also her favorite holiday and something she looks forward to every year.

 

Context: This interview took place over the phone since it was not possible for the interviewer to see the informant in person and it was past Christmas so the interviewer was unable to be a part of the celebration.  The informant has been experiencing this holiday and these rituals for as long as she can remember and some were even passed down and experienced in similar ways by her mother as stated in the interview.

 

Analysis:  I found this piece to be really interesting because it is not often that you encounter someone who lives in the same house as their mother did when she was young.  I think the fact that the informant is able to recreate these traditions in a similar setting as when they were first started is really special for all involved and an important part of folklore.

Chinese New Year

Nationality: Half Chinese Half Caucasian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Burlingame, California
Performance Date: 4/20
Primary Language: English

Interviewer: Are there any cultural celebrations or holidays that you engage in?

 

Informant: Chinese New Year is a big part of my culture and it’s a big holiday that I usually spend with my family. We usually celebrate at my grandmother’s house and the first thing we do is exchange red envelopes. And my grandmother makes “long life noodles” and then “gold bars” which are actually spring rolls that symbolize money.  There are also eggs with oysters for fertility and then we have a Chinese candy to stand for a sweet life.

 

Interviewer: What do the red envelopes symbolize? And is there any part of the celebration that you directly do or a role that has been passed on to you?

 

Informant:  The red envelopes stand for good fortune and they are usually filled with cash money, and the elders of the family or the older generation like parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles hand out the envelopes.  And then my grandmother used to make spring rolls every year but now my sister and I are the ones who make them.

 

Interviewer: And how long does the celebration usually last?

 

Informant: We usually just celebrate one the actual day of Chinese New Year, or if it doesn’t fall on a weekend, then we celebrate on the Friday of the closest week.  My grandmother also gives everyone a stuffed animal of whatever animal or zodiac sign of that year.

 

Interviewer: And do you have a special meal or prayer or ritual?

 

Informant: We usually do a special meal and my mother’s whole side of the family comes to my grandmother’s house for dinner.

 

Interviewer: And that meal is the same as the noodles and the spring rolls and?

 

Informant: Yes, it’s the same just larger portions so that the whole family can eat.

 

Interviewer: Wow that sounds good! Thank you for sharing.

 

Background: The informant is a sophomore at Loyola Marymount University studying psychology.  She is half Chinese and half Caucasain and her grandparents on her mother’s side immigrated from China when they were young.  Her and her sister have been raised with many of the traditional Chinese holidays and often share their customs with friends.  For the informant, this piece was relating something that takes place every year and is often a way for her to spend time with extended family.  It is also a reflection of the Americanization of the holiday given the way her and her family celebrate.

 

Context:  This interview was done while in the car on the way to Disneyland to take part in the Chinese New year celebration theme.  She has been celebrating the holiday since birth and her family has also been celebrating the holiday both back in China and in the states.

 

Analysis: It was not the first time I had heard of the various traditions but the first time I understood their meanings and reflected on the importance for my friend’s culture. It is also fun to the different variations of the celebration and the added twist of giving out stuffed animals or engaging in other things.

Family Gorditas

Nationality: Mexican American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Culver City, California
Performance Date: 4/20
Primary Language: English

Interviewer: Is there any food or dishes that have been passed down through your family and that you share with others?

 

Informant: Well we do this thing every year for the past twelve years where we make Gorditas and my whole extended family is invited as a way for us to get together and celebrate being a family.

 

Interviewer: And when did the tradition start?

 

Informant: One of my uncles died and my family was more spread out so it was sort of a way to reconnect.

 

Interviewer: And who started it?

 

Informant: My mom started doing it because the uncle that died taught her how to make the dough for the gorditas and no one else knew how to do it.  So from then on each year we have a night at my house.

 

Interviewer: Has your mom passed down the skills to you?

 

Informant:  I know how to make them now after helping her for so many years but I don’t know the ingredients off the tops of my head just because she is always there to help me.  So I guess f my mom was older and she wanted was worried about the recipe getting forgotten, then she would right it is down but for now it’s more of something we do together.

 

Interviewer: And do other members of your family help?

 

Informant: Usually everyone does something to help.  My aunts, or my mom’s sisters, usually help assemble the gorditas or help with other food that they want to bring.  And my uncles usually take the time that the food is cooking to gossip and catch up. My youngers cousins and siblings usually all stay in the living room or something to just eat and play.  And then the middle kids or like the older kids around my age with help to do dishes and clean up.  So everyone pitches in in some way or another.

 

Interviewer: And does this happen the same time every year, like is it a set holiday?

 

Informant: No, it’s more of a healing thing.  Like the food and the coming together helps people feel better and we usually plan it around something happening in the family and the food helps us come to terms with how we heal and move on.

 

Interviewer: That’s interesting because a lot of people have specific dishes to help them celebrate good things or like birthday and things like that but it makes sense that it could also be to comprehend and deal with more serious things as well.

 

Informant:  Yeah like it would seem off for me to eat the gorditas or prepare them other than in that context and with those people.  It’s kind of sacred now.

 

Background: The informant is a Junior at USC studying Non-Governmental Organizations and Social Change.  She is Mexican American and comes from a large family and extended family based in the greater Los Angeles area.  The informant is also the roommate of the interviewer and a close friend who shares many cultural traditions. This piece to her was very special and personal but also something she enjoys sharing with her friends because it provides a glimpse into her own family history.

 

Context: This interview occurred during a lunch meal with friends where we discussed similar cultural practices. However, the informant and interviewer happened to also be roommates earlier in the year and were able to experience the family tradition together.  The informant invited the interviewer to participate and engage in the gathering at her home and was able to witness first-hand the power of the food.

 

Analysis: For this piece, I was lucky enough to experience it in person and then interview the informant after the fact just to gain a better understanding of why and how the tradition came to be.  It was great to see similarities in the family gatherings that I have in my own home and them compare it to what I was witnessing.  Also to understand the meaning behind it after having already experienced it made it more special that she had invited me in the first place.  And it was important to see that food has many different aspects for those who create it, it is often wholly different to have something from a restaurant and then to have something homemade and the effect it has on the person consuming it.

 

Thanksgiving Celebrations

Nationality: Mexican American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Francisco, California
Performance Date: 4/6/18
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Interviewer: Do you have any holiday celebrations or traditions that have been passed down to you or throughout your family?

 

Informant: Thanksgiving has always been a culturally confusing holiday for my family.

 

Interviewer: Why is that?

 

Informant: The majority of my family is Mexican and in Mexico and culturally, Thanksgiving is not something that we really celebrate.  It is often seen as an American holiday rather than a global holiday.

 

Interviewer: So how do you celebrate Thanksgiving?

 

Informant: Growing up, my family always made pozole and tamales for Thanksgiving. I loved it, so good. But us, cousins, the younger generation in our family, were confused when we were younger because at school, kids always talked about turkey and mashed potatoes. Eventually the adults in our family found out about our little culture confusion and there was a point where we started having pozole and tamales but also turkey and mash potatoes. The recipes have been passed down to us cousin as were older, and though we don’t cook them alone (it takes village, trust me), we’ve learned how to help cook all these dishes.

 

Interviewer: So your holiday traditions adapted as you started to mix one culture with another?

 

Informant: Yeah, it was also like a generational difference that caused others in my family to think about how the celebrating of a holiday in a specific way, affected the younger generation.  Now we do both and in a way it acknowledges the new and the old and works together.

 

Interviewer: I didn’t know that other families have pozole on Thanksgiving, in my family we have on Christmas as well as tamales.

 

Informant: Yeah the tradition definitely varies.

 

Background: The informant is a student in college studying Political Science.  She is half Mexican and often shares holidays like these with her family on her Mother’s side who still use traditional recipes to cook holiday meals.

 

Context: This interview took place when at home for a weekend.  The holiday celebrations discussed here were first celebrated when the informant was little and then changed around the age of 6 or 7.  From then on her family has adapted the tradition to include both kinds of food as a mixing of cultures and histories.

 

Analysis:  I really related to this piece because I have similar traditions with my own family.  It was also important for me to understand the reason why the celebration was adapted and to realize that outside forces and experiences have a lot of influence over our cultural productions and folklore.  When I was younger, I would not have shared that my family made tamales or other traditional meals because it was different from what everyone around me was doing.  But as I have gotten older and through interviews like these, it is important to note that through sharing we often build a much larger community than we started out with and produces more of a widespread network.