Project for

English Final Paper

15th of May, 2012

FOOD AS A CULTURAL ELEMENT

Costea Sabin

XII A

National Highscholl “Mihail Sadoveanu”, Pascani

Teacher:

Elisabeta Haratu

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Rel ig ion o f ten dep ic ts sacred spaces in the food and tab le se t t ings , the p repara t ion and consumpt ion o f food be ing mank ind ’s o ldes t r i t ua l . A l l re l ig ions agree to the fac t tha t food , as the e lement tha t a lows l i f e th rough the energy i t g i ves , i s a connec t ion to na tu re , be ing worsh iped no t fo r i t s tas te , bu t fo r the symbo l tha t i t rep resen ts .

Food i s de f ined as be ing any subs tance  consumed to p rov ide nu t r i t i ona l suppor t fo r the body . I t i s usua l l y o f  p lan t  o r  an ima l o r ig in , and con ta ins essen t ia l  nu t r ien ts , such as  carbohydra tes ,   fa ts ,  p ro te ins ,   v i tamins , o r  m inera ls . The subs tance i s inges ted by an o rgan ism and ass im i la ted by the o rgan ism 's ce l l s in an e f fo r t to p roduce energy , ma in ta in l i f e , o r s t imu la te g rowth .

Food i s o f ten as d ive rse and as in t r i ca te and mank id i t se l f , t rac ing back i t s o r ig ins to the very f i r s t men, accompany ing human i ty ’ s deve lopment over thouzands o f years . A l though p re t t y much every th ing can become food , a l l d i shes fa l l under some s t r i c t ca tegor ies , and there a re 5 ma jo r tas tes recogn ized by everybody . These a re sweet , sour , b i t te r , sa l t y and umami . In our evo lu t ion , we have educa ted ourse lves to l i ke p r imar ly the tas tes assoc ia ted w i th h igh energy amounts (espec ia l l y sweet ) , wh i le we tend to consume th ings w i th a h igh perce tage o f sa tu ra ted fa t fo r the same reason .

Sweet i s genera l l y the mos t en joyab le tas te , wh ich o r ig ina tes f rom sugar , i n i t s s imp le fo rm( such as g lucose o r f ruc tose) o r i t s complex fo rm, mo lecu les tha t combine s imp le sugars in a var ie ty o f ways . Sourness i s genera ted by ac ids , the mos t common be ing lemon and l ime ac id , used to enhance f lavour by open ing new tas te d imens ions . Sa l t iness i s ach ieved by add ing sa l t ( wh ich has many var ie t ies and can a lso be enr i ched w i th d i f fe ren t subs tances such as iod ine) , wh ich enhances f lavour bu t a lso he lps p reserve the food . B i te rness i s the leas t popu la r , a s t rong , pungent tas te tha t cand on ly be found in ce r ta in foods . Umami , a l though re la t i ve ly unknows in Weste rn cu l tu re , i s a s tape tas te in the o r ien ta l un ive rse , be ing the Japanese word fo r de l i c ious . I t i s used to descr ibe r i ch meat f l avours , ing red ien ts l i ke sa lmon and mushrooms be ing recogn ized as hav ing h igh amounts o f umami .

The ma jo r i t y o f cu l tu res a lso have a spec ia l cu is ine , wh ich p romotes a t rad i t i ona l , un ique se t o f f l avours , wh ich evo lves over t ime when th is cu l tu re comes in con tac t w i th o ther peop le .

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Gast ronomy s tud ies these t rad i t i ons , toge ther w i th p re fe rences ( sp icy o r m i ld when i t comes to season ing , ho t o r co ld when i t comes to ea t ing te rmpera tu re ) . The more complex food cu l tu res have an a lmos t end less var ie ty o f cook ing ingred ien ts and techn iques , genera t ing a s tanda lone food indus t ry . G loba l cu is ines may vary based upon food ava i lab i l i t y and t rade , va r ious c l imates  and  ecosys tems , cook ing t rad i t i ons and p rac t i ces , and  cu l tu ra l  d i f fe rences . Humans a re omn ivorous f rom a na tu ra l po in t o f v iew, bu t t rad i t i on , e th ics , mora l p r inc ip les , env i ronmenta l i sm and re l ig ion a f fec t wha t and how we ea t . The mos t popu la r food cu l tu res a re I ta l ian , F rench , Japanese , Ch inese , Tha i , Ind ian , Amer ican and Ca jun , wh i le in the 20 th cen tu ry a recogn ized In te rna t iona l cu is ine has a lso appeared . Even to th is day , as p reserv ing methods have improved and g loba l i za t ion con t inues to decrease the d is tance be tween d i f fe ren t coun t r ies , a va r ie ty o f who le new cu l tu res a re emerg ing , a lso p roduc ing a sh i f t i n the cu l ina ry t rad i t i ons . One impor tan t example cou ld be fus ion cu is ine , wh ich incorpora tes e lements f rom a var ie ty o f backgrounds , bu t i s no t labe led as a s tanda lone s ty le o f cu is ine .

I t a l i a n C u i s i n e ( c u c i n a i t a l i a n a )I t a l i an cu is ine has i t s o r ig ins be fo re the 4 th cen tu ry B .C, w i th

in f luences f rom the who le Med i te r ranean bas in ( inc lud ing the A f r i can bank and Greek cu l tu re ) and anc ien t Greek and Roman backgrounds . I t i s one o f the mos t r i ch cu l ina ry cu l tu res , no ted fo r ex t reme reg iona l d ive r i s ty and an in te res t ing evo lu t ion ( caused by the d iscovery o f the New Wor ld ) , i ng red ien ts such as po ta toes , peppers and tomatoes be ing in t roduced a f te r the 16 th cen tu ry .

I ta l ian cu is ine i s ca rac te r i sed by s imp l i c i t y , cooks re ly ing o f the abudance and qua l i t y o f the ing red ien ts found in th is space ra ther than in t r i ca te cook ing methods , mos t d ishes hav ing anywhere be tween 4 and 10 ingred ien ts . Rec ipes a re c rea ted and d is t r ibu ted to the younger genera t ions , lead ing to ve ry easy d ishes , be ing one o f the reason o f the inc red ib le popu la r i t y o f th i s cu l tu re wor ldw ide .

I ta l ian cu is ine has a g rea t va r ie ty o f d i f fe ren t ing red ien ts wh ich a re common ly used , rang ing f rom f ru i t s , vege tab les , sauces , meats , e tc . In the Nor th o f I ta l y , f i sh (such as cod ) , po ta toes , r i ce , ma ize , co rn , sausages , pork , and d i f fe ren t t ypes o f cheeses a re the mos t common ingred ien ts . In add i t ion , w ine i s an impor tan t ing red ien t , used to compl iment the cu l ina ry exper ience in add i t ion to i t s d i rec t use in cook ing , I ta l y be ing bo th the number one

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producer and the number one consumer in the wor ld o f th i s beverage .

  In  Nor thern I ta l y s tu f fed pas ta , po len ta and r i so t to a re equa l l y popu la r , i ng red ien ts inc lud ing severa l t ypes o f f i sh and sea food d ishes ; bas i l , nu ts and o l i ve o i l a re very common. In Emi l ia -Romagna, common ingred ien ts inc lude ham ( p rosc iu t to ) , sausage d i f fe ren t so r ts o f   sa lami , t ru f f l es ,  g rana ,  Parmig iano-Regg iano , and   tomatoes  Trad i t iona l Cen t ra l I ta l ian cu is ine uses ingred ien ts such as tomatoes , a l l k inds o f meat , f i sh , and pecor ino cheese . In  Tuscany  and  Umbr ia  pas ta i s usua l l y se rved a l la ca r re t t ia ra . (a tomato sauce sp iked w i th peperonc in i ho t peppers ) . F ina l l y , i n Sou thern I ta l y , tomatoes  – f resh o r cooked in to tomato sauce  – peppers , o l i ves and o l i ve o i l , ga r l i c , a r t i chokes , o ranges , r i co t ta cheese , eggp lan ts , zucch in i , ce r ta in t ypes o f f i sh (anchov ies , sa rd ines and tuna) , and capers a re impor tan t components to the loca l cu is ine .

 Lunch i s taken in I ta l y be tween 12 :00 pm and 2 :00 pm (usua l l y , peop le f rom Southern I ta l ian reg ions s ta r t l unch s l igh t l y la te r , f rom 1 .15 pm to even 2 .15 pm) . T rad i t iona l fo rma l I ta l ian lunches a re a leng thy a f fa i r , wh ich usua l l y invo lves an appe t i ze r , ant ipas to   as s ta r te r . Th is usua l l y cons is ts o f co ld cu ts , cheese , b rusche t te o r sma l l sandwiches , o l i ves and sauce d ips . Th is i s usua l l y fo l lowed by a f i r s t course , such as var ious k inds o f  pas ta , soup ,   rav io l i , o r   r i so t to . The ma in course i s usua l l y meat o r f i sh , w i th a vege tab le garn ish . The mea l i s rounded up by a desser t o r f resh f ru i t . Mos t fami l ies s t i l l usua l l y tend to have a t rad i t i ona l lunch on Sundays , even i f the busy schedu le does no t a l low th is k ind o f tab le to happen each day .

Pas ta , the s tap le o f I ta l ian cu is ine , i s sp l i t i n two ma jo r s ty les : d r ied and f resh . Dr ied pas ta made w i thou t eggs can be s to red fo r up to two years , wh i le f resh pas ta w i l l keep fo r a coup le o f days . Pas ta i s genera l l y cooked by bo i l i ng . Under I ta l ian law, d ry pas ta (pas ta secca) can on ly be made f rom  durum wheat   f l ou r o r durum wheat  semol ina , and i s more common ly used in Sou thern I ta l y compared to the i r Nor thern coun te rpar ts , who t rad i t iona l l y p re fe r the f resh egg var ie ty . Durum f lou r and durum semol ina have a ye l low t inge in co lo r . I ta l ian pas ta i s t rad i t i ona l l y cooked a l den te ( I ta l ian : " f i rm to the b i te " , mean ing no t too so f t ) . Ou ts ide I ta l y , d ry pas ta i s f requen t l y made f rom o ther t ypes o f f l ou r (such as wheat f l ou r ) , bu t th i s y ie lds a so f te r p roduc t tha t canno t be cooked a l den te . There a re many types o f wheat f l ou r w i th va ry ing g lu ten and p ro te in depend ing on var ie ty o f g ra in used .

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Par t i cu la r va r ie t ies o f pas ta may a lso use o ther g ra ins and mi l l i ng methods to make the f lou r , as spec i f ied by law. Some pas ta var ie t ies , such as  p izzoccher i , a re made f rom buckwheat f l ou r . F resh pas ta may inc lude eggs (pas ta a l l ' uovo 'egg pas ta ' ) . Who le wheat pas ta has become inc reas ing ly popu la r because o f i t s hea l th bene f i t s over pas ta made f rom re f ined f lou r .

I ta l ian cu is ine i s a lso a very impor tan t expor t o f I ta l ian cu l tu re , espec ia l l y w i th the mig ra t ions to the USA. The vas t a r ray o f ing red ien ts meant tha t the cu is ine cou ld be eas i l y adap ted , lead ing to I ta l ian -Amer ican spec ia l t i es tha t o r ig ina te f rom the Med i te r ranean, bu t take advan tage o f new- found cu l ina ry r i ches , espec ia l l y the f i sh and sea food found in the bes t f i sher ies in the wor ld . I ta l ians tha t moved to the US imposed the i r own type o f food ra ther than adop t a new l i fes ty le , p izza tak ing over as the ma in t ype o f food( rep lac ing the pas ta in t rad i t i ona l I ta l ian househo lds found on the o ther s ide o f the A t lan t i c )

Cof fee i s a lso an impor tan t e lement o f an I ta l ian mea l , th i s cu l tu ra l space cons ider ing the o ther e lements o f a mea l as impor tan t as food i t se l f : the exper ience i s comple te on ly when one i s accompan ied by f r iends and fami ly , w i th a good w ine and some s t rong co fee .

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F r e n c h c u i s i n e (   C u i s i n e f r a n ç a i s e )

French cu is ine i s the mos t exqu is i te , the mos t advanced and the mos t complex cu is ine in the word , w i th an amaz ing number o f reg iona l sub-cu is ines f rom wh ich Augus te Esco f f ie r inven ted the haute cu is ine , cod i f ing and o rgan is ing th is ex t reme ly r i ch background . F rench cu is ine has a r i ch her i tage , con t r ibu t ing to a l l Wes te rn cu l tu re , tha t the UNESCO added i t to the l i s t o f i n tang ib le cu l tu ra l her i tage , be ing the on ly cu is ine tha t can boas t such ach ievement ( Mex ican cu is ine was added too , in o rder to sa lu te the e f fo r t s o f p reserv ing the t rad i t i ons in Cent ra l Amer ica , under th rea t f rom Amer ican ideo logy) .

Beacause each reg ion has i t s own spec ia l s ty le o f cook ing , i t i s bas ica l l y imposs ib le to compare the nor thern reg ions( A lsace , Lor ra ine , Champagne) to the sou thern one ( P rovence , Rhone-A lpes) . Par i s and the I le -de-France reg ion have the bes t cu is ine anywhere in the wor ld , w i th more than 10 .000 res tauran ts , th i s c i t y hos t ing the mos t M iche l in Gu ide es tab l i shments anywhere in the wor ld .

However , the s t ruc tu re o f the mea ls i s s im i la r , w i th a s imp le b reak fas t ( Le pe t i t dé jeuner )   i s o f ten a qu ick mea l cons is t ing o f   t a r t ines   ( s l i ces ) o f F rench b read w i th je l l y o r jam,  c ro issan ts ,  pa in aux ra is ins  o r  pa in au choco la t  a lso named  choco la t ine   i n the sou th o f F rance (a pas t ry f i l l ed w i th choco la te ) a long w i th co f fee o r tea .

The lunch (Le dé jeuner ) i s a two hour m id -day mea l , bu t i t has recen t l y t rans fo rmed in to the one hour lunch b reak . In some sma l le r towns and in the sou th o f F rance , the two hour lunch may s t i l l be cus tomary . Sunday lunches a re o f ten longer and a re taken w i th the fami l y . Restauran ts norma l l y open fo r lunch a t noon and c lose a t 2 :30  pm.

The d iner (Le d îner )   o f ten cons is ts o f th ree courses ,  hors d 'œuvre  o r  en t rée   (appe t i ze rs o r in t roduc to ry course , somet imes soup) ,  p la t p r inc ipa l   (ma in course) , and a cheese course o r desser t , somet imes w i th a sa lad o f fe red be fo re the cheese o r desser t . Yogur t may rep lace the cheese course , wh i le a s imp le desser t wou ld be f resh f ru i t . The mea l i s o f ten accompan ied by b read ,  w ine and  minera l wa te r . Ma in meat courses a re o f ten

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served w i th vege tab les , a long w i th po ta toes , r i ce o r pas ta . Res tauran ts o f ten open a t 7 :30  pm fo r d inner , and s top tak ing o rders be tween the hours o f 10 :00  pm and 11 :00  pm. Some res tauran ts c lose fo r d inner on Sundays .

A typ ica l t ype o f res tauran t i f the brasser ie , c rea ted by re fugees in the A lsace reg ion ( w i th s t rong German in f luences) , where one can en joy a f ine bo t t le o f beer , toge ther w i th l i gh t d ishes , composed o f mos t l y sea food and reg iona l spec ia l t i es .

C h i n e s e c u i s i n e

Chinese peop le , l i v ing in the wor ld ’s mos t popu lous coun t ry and the second la rges t , have a cu l ina ry h is to ry tha t s t re tches fo r cen tu r ies , w i th exo t i c ing red ien ts , spec ia l cook ing methods and o r ig ina l tas tes . Such as in o ther we l l - known food cu l tu res , the reg iona l d i f fe rences a re so obv ious , tha t i t i s a lmos t imposs ib le to compare d ishes f rom d i f fe ren t par ts o f Ch ina , wh ich i s one o f the mos t food-o r ien ted cu l tu res in the wor ld .

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I n th is par t o f the wor ld , d inas t ies and ru le rs have changed a lmos t every 50 years , each b r ing ing h is own favour i te food and tas te , in add i t ion to the loca l background and var ious impor ts f rom cen t ra l As ian coun t r ies o r Europeans who came in search o f r i ch t rad ing g rounds and b rough t s tap le wes te rn ing red ien ts such as sheep and wheat .

Genera l l y , cu l ina ry equ i l i b r ium is sough t -a f te r in th is coun t ry , respec t ing the As ian concep t o f harmony in every aspec t o f one ’s l i f e . A t the base o f th i s complex sys tem is the d iv i s ion be tween g ra ins and o ther s ta rch foods on one s ide and vege tab le and meat d ishes . To p repare a ba lanced mea l , i t mus t have an appropr ia te amount o f bo th r i ce o r nood le p roduc t and meat and vege tab les , and ingred ien ts a re ana l i sed in o rder to p rov ide necessary nu t r ien ts fo r the body as who le .

The Ch inese way o f ea t ing i s charac te r i zed by a no tab le f lex ib i l i t y and adap tab i l i t y .A d ish i s made o f a m ix tu re o f ing red ien ts , i t s d is t inc t i ve appearance , tas te , and f lavor do no t depend on the exac t number o f ing red ien ts , nor , i n mos t cases , on any s ing le i tem. The same is t rue fo r a mea l , made up o f a combina t ion o f d ishes . A t t imes , a few more expens ive i tems may be added to g ive sub t le f l avours , bu t i f t he t imes a re hard they may be omi t ted w i thou t do ing i r reparab le damage. I f the season i s no t qu i te r igh t , subs t i tu tes may be used . Wi th the bas ic p r inc ip les , a Ch inese cook can p repare "Ch inese" d ishes fo r the poor as we l l as the r i ch and even in a fo re ign coun t ry w i thou t many fami l ia r ing red ien ts , the Ch inese cook the way they do because o f the i r need and des i re fo r adap tab i l i t y .

Ano ther fea tu re o f Ch inese food hab i t s tha t con t r ibu ted to the i r no tab le adap tab i l i t y i s the la rge number and g rea t va r ie ty o f p reserved foods . Th is i s a ve ry impor tan t and un ique e lement , as the c l imate i s ex t remly unre l iab le a t t imes , wh ich lead to the need o f keep ing food fo r ex tended per iod o f t imes , thus g iv ing b i r th to a vas t a r ray o f p reserv ing methods , Ch inese peop le p reven t ing even f rag i le ing red ien ts f rom go ing bad . Food i s p reserved by smok ing , sa l t i ng , sugar ing , s teep ing , p ick l ing , d ry ing , soak ing in many k inds o f soy sauces , th is peop le be ing ever ready in the even t o f hardsh ip o r scarc i t y .

I f we were to choose a reg iona l cu is ine , Guangdong (Canton) cu is ine i s the mos t in te rna t iona l l y recogn ized( due to the la rge number o f immigran ts tha t s t i l l ea t as the i r ances to rs d id ) , mos t peop le iden t i f y ing the Ch inese cu is ine as a who le to the d ishes

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t ha t make up Cantonese t rad i t ion . I n Cantonese cu is ine a number o f ing red ien ts such as  Spr ing on ion ,   sugar ,   sa l t ,   soy sauce ,   r i ce w ine ,   co rns ta rch ,   v inegar ,  and  sesame o i l su f f i ce to enhance f lavor , though gar l i c i s used heav i l y in some d ishes , espec ia l l y those in wh ich in te rna l o rgans .  G inger ,   ch i l i peppers ,   f i ve -sp ice powder , powdered  wh i te pepper ,   s ta r an ise  and a few o ther sp ices a re used , bu t o f ten spar ing ly .

Canton has long been a t rad ing por t , l ead ing to the ear l y in t roduc t ion o f less popu la r ing red ien ts in o ther par ts o f Ch ina . Bes ides pork , bee f , and ch icken , Cantonese cu is ine incorpora tes a lmos t a l l ed ib le meats , inc lud ing o rgan meats , ch icken fee t , duck tongue , snakes , and sna i l s , some o f wh ich a re no t embraced by Weste rn cu l ina ry t rad i t i ons . Many cook ing methods a re used ,   s teaming  and  s t i r - f r y ing  be ing the mos t favored due to the i r conven ience and rap id i t y .

I n d i a n C u i s i n e

I nd ian cu is ine re fe rs to d ishes tha t come f rom the who le o f the Ind ian pen insu la , bu t a lso f rom ne ighbour ing coun t r ies such as Pak is tan , a lso lead ing to many vers ions o f cu is ines depend ing on the reg ion they o r ig ina te in . Wh i le th is cu l tu ra l space i s renowned fo r i t s exo t i c sp ices , tha t have caugh t the a t ten t ion o f European merchan ts s ince the dawn o f t ime, t rad i t i ons have a lso been

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shaped by H indu be l ie fs and vege ta r ian ism, a popu la r and respec ted way o f l i f e in some areas . One popu la r   sp ice mix   i s  garam masa la , a powder tha t t yp ica l l y inc ludes f i ve o r more d r ied sp ices , espec ia l l y ca rdamom, c innamon, and  c love .

An i con ic d ish f rom th is la rger reg ion i s cu r ry . D ishes ca l led "cur ry " may con ta in meat , pou l t ry , f i sh , o r she l l f i sh , e i the r a lone o r in combina t ion w i th vege tab les . They may a lso be en t i re ly vege ta r ian , espec ia l l y among those fo r whom there a re re l ig ious p roscr ip t ions aga ins t ea t ing meat o r sea food .

Cur r ies may be e i ther "we t " o r "d ry . " Wet cu r r ies con ta in s ign i f i can t amounts o f sauce o r g ravy based on yoghur t , coconu t m i l k , l egume purée o r s tock . Dry cur r ies a re cooked w i th ve ry l i t t l e l i qu id wh ich i s a l lowed to evapora te , leav ing the o ther ing red ien ts coa ted w i th the sp ice mix tu re .

Not a l l cu r r ies a re based on cur ry powder as Weste rn peop le know i t , the b lend o f sp ices tha t represen ts the base o f the d ish be ing a reg iona l t rad i t i on o r even a fami l y secre t . Because the word des igna tes such a la rge fami l y o f d ishes , tha t o r ig ina te f rom Pak is tan s t re tch ing to Sou th Eas t As ia ( Ma lays ia ) , i t i s imposs ib le to c lass i f y them, ”cu r ry ” mean ing ”sauce” in an Ind ian language.

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C o n c l u s i o n

There a re coun t less o ther t ypes o f cook ing than those shown here , bu t the re a re s t i l l common fea tu res . Wh i le ing red ien ts a re ex t rme ly var ied , the cook ing techn iques a re no t as numerous . Peop le who take the i r cu l tu re abroad mix the i r her i tage w i th o ther cu l tu res , lead ing somet imes to very beau t i fu l con t ras ts and a me l t ing po t f rom wh ich everybody can learn , bu t the re i s a lso a darker rou te . Mos t o f the t ime, peop le tend to ge t ass im i la ted , embrac ing the cu l ina ry hab i t s o f cu l tu res tha t a re no t necessar i l y we l l -deve loped in tha t regard . Ch inese fas t food has been a par t o f the i r l i f e fo r cen tu r ies , bu t f r i ed nood les and sma l l snacks one can take away in 30 seconds a re a fa r c ry f rom a Burger K ing hamburger . Dangerous fas t food was spur red on the re len t less pace o f soc ie ty today , seeming ly tak ing over t rad i t i ona l Sunday lunch w i th fami l y in Weste rn cu l tu res o r the var ie ty o f ing red ien ts in the Eas te rn space .

To coun te rac t th i s tendency , S low food appeared . I t i s a no t ion b rough t fo r th by an i ta l ian in the 90s , who a te a n ice home-made bowl o f pas ta in f ron t o f a MacDona lds w i th h is f r iends , cha t t ing and hav ing a good t ime, food be ing a cen t ra l e lement in the i r tab le tha t they respec t , no t regard as mere ly a necess i t y . S ince then , the movement has expanded in the ma jo r coun t r ies in the i r a t tempt to s top fas t - food and i t s e f fec ts on soc ie ty , t r y ing to ge t peop le to va lue the i r roo ts by us ing loca l l y - fa rmed ingred ien ts tha t cou ld he lp the comun i ty by the economica l boos t o f fe red . The i r mot to i s Good, c lean , and fa i r , they have a sna i l as a masco te , t r y ing to f i gh t agr i cu l tu re g loba l i za t ion and p reserve cu l ina ry t rad i t i ons tha t seem to be inc res ing ly f rag i le .

In our coun t ry , the s i tua t ion i s the same as in the res t o f Europe . Wh i le we s t i l l va lue our na t iona l cu l ina ry t reasures , our connec t ion to the space we l i ve in , the re i s a wor ry ing tendency . Our g rand fa thers a te some 30 ingred ien ts in the 16 th cen tu ry , tha t have been reduced to 12-13 accord ing to a s tudy , w i th reg iona l va r ie t ies o f p lan ts and an ima ls a lmos t abandoned, rep laced w i th in te rna t iona l ones , tha t a re eas ie r to g row and wh ich y ie ld b igger numbers when fa rmed in tens ive ly .

Desp i te a l l th i s , food i s s t i l l t he mos t res is tan t e lement in any cu l tu re . When one leaves h is own b i r thp lace to se t t le abroad , h is ch i ld ren w i l l mos t l i ke ly no t speak h is language, h is g randsons w i l l l ose h is name and cus toms, bu t food w i l l l as t fo r 2 -3 more genera t ions , everybody remember ing what the i r g randmother used to cook .

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