During Monday’s discussion, we briefly mentioned the cultural diffusion effects of immigration has on a country’s cuisine in America. For example, we know that pizza comes from an Italian origin. Yet, any real Italian would be baffled at our dollar pizza slices could pass off as genuine pizza. I find it ironic how Americans tend to customize other cuisines to their own liking in order to suit their palates, but are deeply offended when foreigners label American cuisine as just giant versions of normal food. By taking iconic and traditional dishes and “transforming” them to be “acceptable” for the American food industry, we strip away the cultural identity of those countries and carry out regional stereotypes that misrepresent the world outside of ours.
The American food industry has taken advantage of the diverse melting pot that makes up our country. From food alone, we can connect to multiple people around the word even if we’re thousands of miles apart. We selectively choose what dish is most profitable to cater and from this selection process, stereotypes and misunderstanding is carried out. Take for example vindaloo, a popular dish from the region of Goa in India. What the American food industry does is take one popular dish and add their own American twists so that other Americans feel “safe” or familiar enough to try it. In the situation of vindaloo, common proteins such as beef, chicken, and pork might be added in restaurants so that they’re attractive enough for non-native customers to order. From only experiencing dishes we have heard of or tried, we automatically associate that one particular dish with the entire country. This misrepresents the multiple vegan Indians and those who do not eat certain proteins due to their religion as they are all categorized as “chicken vindaloo enthusiasts” because that is the only dish we see on menus.
In contrast, we acknowledge the multiple iconic regional foods across America. For example, we know that the South is the node of barbecue and the New England region is the only place to have the freshest seafood. Every region of the United States has regional culinary dishes that we automatically can name and understand whereas we struggle to name more than just a California roll for Japan or General Tso’s chicken for China. What’s worse is we can only name the incorrect associated dishes of other countries because we’ve been only catered American “approved” versions of those traditional cuisines. These American “approved” versions are detrimental for cultures as they discourages us to continue educating ourselves about them. When we don’t like one “exotic” dish we’ve tried from a non-American cuisine restaurant, we will automatically claim not liking that entire culture’s cuisine. For example, Chinese food is notorious for MSG as it is present in multiple “Chinese” take out restaurants and now the cuisine is deemed unhealthy and unacceptable to consume. Misrepresentation of cuisines reinforce cultural stereotypes. I believe the capitalistic nature of America is the biggest culprit behind this as there is no moral consumption under capitalism when restaurant owners exploit POC cultures/cuisines for revenue.
There have been a few scandals at colleges in recent years regarding the serving and labeling of “ethnic” foods in university cafeterias. Sometimes the complainants have a legitimate point; other times it seems comical.
Your comment also raises the broader issue of “cultural appropriation,” a subject that I hope we will return to this semester.
As Professor Rosenberg said I think the complaints of the ethnic labeling food goes twofold. It can sometimes be a very valid complaint, but other times not so much. I think I would have to disagree with some of the points you made. I don’t really believe it to be a problem that we change some of these dishes to add a more American flavor. As a customer I would rather have something that I like. The problem then becomes how can we call this food a certain ethnicity if it was not native from the country?
I think we have become way too oversensitive about matters like this. For example, as a Jew most people associate Jewish cuisine with the Ashkenazi Jewish food like kugel, gefilte fish, and chulent. As a Sephardic Jew with an entirely different cuisine (and a much better one) I could care less about how people view the food I eat. Same thing in China. I don’t think people in China care that we associate General Tzo’s chicken as Chinese cuisine. There are more important things in the world.
I believe that the professor should not inject his opinion into this discussion too strongly, but I agree with Eddie that Sephardic food is much better than Ashkenazi food!
I agree with Belinda’s comments regarding ethnic foods and how a cuisine changes drastically in a new country like America. It seems like Chinese food in America has adapted and changed so much to appeal to “American” taste buds and a bigger demographic. Like artificial flavoring for candies and sodas, American Chinese food has become its own kind of new cuisine. Afterall, traditional Chinese dishes often times scare the non-chinese that are unfamiliar with the dish.