Category Archives: Foodways

Hanish Family Gefilte Fish Tradition

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Tarzana, CA
Performance Date: April 18, 2018
Primary Language: English

Background: Lila is my best friend from high school. She has a tradition with her dad, Jon, and her younger sister, Sydney, to hand make apple pies for Thanksgiving together. They also have a tradition of making gefilte fish together for Passover in the springtime.

 

Context: I called Lila over FaceTime because she attends Drexel University in Philadelphia. I recorded our conversation and transcribed it below. She described this gefilte fish tradition in succession to her family’s pie tradition, published under the title “Hanish Family Pie Tradition”.

 

“So I feel like it’s pretty similar to our apple pie thing for our family. Every year my family hosts the Passover seder. We do all the cooking. It’s been a tradition for as long as I can remember that we make the gefilte fish with my dad. I feel like my dad really values having these little traditions with us that he can count on even as we get older. The apple pies and the gefilte fish. It’s honestly super disgusting and I hate it, but it’s just something we do every year so I’ve learned to deal with it. This one we have friends over for less, because friends don’t often want to rub their different fishes together with their bare hands, you know? There is something satisfying about it in a certain way.. that makes me sound so weird and creepy wow.”

 

I then asked Lila if she could elaborate on what gefilte fish is. This was her response.


“It’s like a traditional Passover, Jewish food. It’s Ashkenazi, I think. It looks like a matzah ball but it tastes like fishy fish. When we first started I think my dad got the different types of fish. But now he goes to a butcher that gives him the combination of the fish. We only make it for passover. We would NEVER make it any other time of year. That’s just gross and weird. My mom will do most of the other cooking for the seder, but this is the thing that the three of us take care of. It’s always on the first night, never second night, always first night. This tradition originated with my dad, I know he didn’t do this with his family growing up.”

 

Italian Christmas Food

Nationality: Italian
Age: 56
Occupation: Lawyer
Residence: Los Angeles
Primary Language: English

The informant is my father (referred to as FI) who is raised by two Italian parents and was raised in a very traditional Italian household. His parents have been married for 60 years and knew each other in their Italian towns since they were age 10. Every year for Christmas there is a huge celebration, and it has a lot to do with the days leading up to Christmas. On Christmas Eve there is a big feast. Below my father discusses what is traditionally eaten and made on Christmas Eve.

 

FI: “The meals and the foods eaten for Christmas are very important. In Italian culture food is everything. It is very important that on Christmas Eve you do not eat meat.  Italians avoid eating meat on Christmas Eve because it is apparently a way to prepare and purify for Christmas. So everyone eats fish. I think traditionally you’re just supposed to have fish, but we always had pasta with seafood. And then Christmas is even more food.  On Christmas Day, we have a huge dinner which is typically more of a lunch because it’s so early, but we eat pasta, roasts and then have panettone.  Panettone is very Italian and my parents would really only get it around Christmas time.”

 

Growing up with an Italian family, these traditions were definitely still carried down, but it is interesting because no other Italian traditions were really brought into my family- only the traditions surrounding food were carried on. Now I am vegan and do not eat, fish, eggs, dairy or meat and I remember when I became vegan 6 years ago, everyone in my Italian family was very upset and it was a big deal, especially around Christmas time because the question would always be “What are you going to eat?”

 

Soft vs. Hard Rice

I wanted to expand on the folklore explored in this collection beyond just American into other cultures. So, I asked one of my friends who is part Thai if she knew of any old folk tales that were from Thailand. Her mother was actually born in Thailand, and so my friend asked her about any folk tales she might know about. Her mother also provided a much shorter folk story about a rather slow man and his attempt to find subsidence for his family.

            As my friend recounted the tale to me, “there was a very dumb man who had trouble providing for his family. His wife was more intelligent than he was but trusted in her husband and did not want to always make him look like a fool. So, she sent him on a mission.” Apparently, that mission was to try to get rice grains from their helpful neighbors so they could plant for the next harvest. The wife told her husband to specifically puck up “the soft rice,” because that is what she knew how to farm the best. So, he went off to go buy “soft rice.” After he had made his purchase, he was on his way back home when he tripped over an uplifted blank on a bridge. My friend laughed and said, “when he tipped over, he dumped all of the rice in the river!” He was desperate to not let his family down, so he scooped up the rice that was still floating on the top of the water quickly before it got too wet and began to sink with the rice he had already lost to the depths of the river. When he returned home, his wife asked him if he was certain he got soft rice. He said, “yes! I even tested it when I fell and dumped it into the river! All of the hard rice sank, so there is only soft rice left!”

I have to admit, although shorter and with less of a moral lesson, this tale was quite funny. Both my friend and I started laughing on the phone together when she finished. I think because this tale was shorter and more comedic than the first she recounted from her mother, there was a bit more performance elements. She tended to slow her voice down when she was speaking for the dumb husband, as if she was mocking him. The tale to me seems like more of a Southern Thai joke, but apparently it is a folk tale that is told throughout the region her mother was raised in. It does have some interesting commentary on gender roles, however, as it is the husband who is dim-witted and makes poor decisions for the family. The wife is forced to accept her husband’s slow nature and has to work overtime in order to make up for his mistakes.

Source: Tian Reynolds

Taco Caserole

Nationality: American, caucasian
Age: 58
Occupation: Housewife
Residence: 5031 Mead Drive/ Doylestown PA, 18902 (Suburban Home)
Performance Date: 4/8/18
Primary Language: English

Title: Taco Caserole

Category: Recipe/Food

Informant: Lisa L. Gabbard

Nationality: American, caucasian

Age: 58

Occupation: Housewife

Residence: 5031 Mead Drive/ Doylestown PA, 18902 (Suburban Home)

Date of Collection: 4/8/18

Description:

Ingredients:

– 1 -1 1/2 lbs ground beef

– 1 pkg taco seasoning

– 1 can stewed tomatoes

– 1 can sliced mushrooms

– 1 med. onion, chopped fine

– Shredded Mexican cheese

– 1 can cut green beans

– 1 can wax beans

– 1 can kidney beans

– Tortilla chips

– Cottage cheese or sour cream

– Sliced or whole black olives

Directions

– Cook meat and onion together until meat is brown and onions are opaque. Drain well. Add taco seasoning, simmer several minutes until well blended (10-15min). Drain all beans well— removing as much moisture as possible. Add all remaining ingredients to meat mixture, except cheeses, and mix well. Place casserole in a pre-heated 350 degree oven until very hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and cover with Mexican cheese. Return to oven until melted. Crush tortillas in plate. Cover with casserole mixture. Add cottage cheese or sour cream to garnish.

Context/Significance:

Lisa L. Gabbard was in a relationship with a man by the name of James Weathersby in her late twenties/early thirties (1980s). As she grew closer to this man she began attending dinner at his family’s home along with James’s brother Brad Weathersby and mother. During this time The Weathersby Family lived in Columbus Mississippi. Mrs. Weathersby introduced the recipe to Lisa L. Gabbard where she then introduced the recipe to her own mother, Gladys R. Lewis. After the conclusion of Lisa L. Gabbard and James Weathersby’s relationship, Gladys R. Lewis then took the recipe and claimed ownership in her Pilot’s Club annual recipe book without Lisa L. Gabbard’s knowledge.

The recipe has existed and altered throughout the past 30-40 years. Lisa L. Gabbard then introduced the recipe to her current spouse Kurt A. Gabbard and their three children Hunter A Gabbard, Mallory A. Gabbard, and Schuyler A. Gabbard. At one time the recipe included “bacos” as garnish— this garnish has not existed in the Gabbard Family recipe for the past 21 years. The recipe has been shared with houseguests and friends of The Gabbard Family.

This recipe has become a staple of The Gabbard Family household. The children have been unaware of the origin of the recipe with the exception of Mallory A. Gabbard after questioning her mother for information regarding prior relationships before her eventual marriage to Kurt A. Gabbard. This recipe is often served on busy weeknights because of its speedy and easy preparation or on hispanic inspired holidays such as Cinco De Mayo. This recipe is either served on a plate or in a bowl and is often accompanied by queso and tortilla chips.

Personal Thoughts:

Taco Casserole has been a favorite of mine since childhood. The recipe includes a variety of vegetables that come canned, making it relatively cheap and somewhat healthy in moderation. It’s easy to make and I’ve personally altered the recipe: I do not include bacos, or kidney beans. Instead of draining the pot between steps, I create a faux stew that infuses the vegetables with the meat juices and taco seasoning. I do not bake the final product and instead serve the cheese on the side to be placed on an individual’s serving at their own discretion. I only ever use whole black olives.

Wedding Cake Charms

Nationality: American, caucasian
Age: 58
Occupation: Housewife
Residence: 5031 Mead Drive/ Doylestown PA, 18902 (Suburban Home)
Performance Date: 4/8/18
Primary Language: English

Title: Wedding Cake Charms

Category: Charms/Magic

Informant: Lisa L. Gabbard

Nationality: American, caucasian

Age: 58

Occupation: Housewife

Residence: 5031 Mead Drive/ Doylestown PA, 18902 (Suburban Home)

Date of Collection: 4/8/18

Description:

Wedding Cake charms are served in a woman’s bridal shower cake. The charms may include: A baby, plane, ring, etc. These charms are attached to ribbons and pushed into the cake before being iced. At the bridal shower, each woman attending, or bridesmaids in particular, will stand around the cake during the specified time and grab ahold of a ribbon at random. When instructed to do so, each woman will pull on their ribbons to unveil the charm attached to their ribbon.

Context/Significance:

Wedding charms are placed into the cake by whoever makes it, in this case, the bride in particular. The cake charms are pulled out by the bridesmaids or women close to the bride-to-be. The symbols of the cake charms are meant to represent what a woman will experience in her future. If a woman pulls out a baby it means that she will be expecting a child soon, a plane symbolizes future travel, and a ring may symbolize that the individual will be getting married soon. Each of these symbols represents something that will happen in future events.

Personal Thoughts:

I believe that wedding charms are a fun and interesting way to incorporate your friends and loved ones into your wedding ceremony. The charms themselves are used as magic token that have the ability to read your future. Because they are hidden in the cake, they are representative of how no one knows what their future may hold. The charms themselves also only seem to include optimistic and ideal situations of future events. This seems appropriate since the occasion they are used at is a celebration in preparation of joyous occasion. Marriage itself is a milestone and each of the charms also represent milestones (Marriage is even represented in the charms via a ring symbol). The charms give the bride a sense of control over the unpredicted future post marriage and allow for her friends to be both involved in the celebration of her union while also having something to look forward to in their personal lives.