Food & Culture

1. List the countries that comprise South Asia. List and briefly describe at least four religions practiced in this region. What are the similarities and differences regarding religion between Pakistan and India? The main difference between Pakistan and India when it comes to religion is that Indians are mostly Hindus (85% of population) whereas Pakistanis are mostly Muslim (98% of population). In deed, the separation of the two countries was primarily on the basis of separating the two relig...

Food and food habits are ingrained in the minds of almost all human beings. In my own life, experience with food is perhaps the oldest memory I have – of sitting in the kitchen floor in my grandmother’s house eating fruits or dumplings. It was always a messy affair but no food experience has matched childhood meals at my grandmother. It is from these early beginning experiences with food that my food habits began to form and morphed into what I consider my food habits today.

The traditional health beliefs and practices in the Philippines is based on a combination of facets from multiple belief systems such as the Chinese’ ying and yang, indigenous ideas on causes of illness, and modern monotheist religions. “In the Philippines health is maintained through the balance – also known as timbering – of natural and supernatural elements”2.

1. Choose one Caribbean country and summarize the worldview of its immigrants living in the United States. Include an example of the use of hot-cold system for cause or treatment of an illness. Describe the types of traditional healers used in this region. The republic of Cuba has had its immigrants living in the United States since the nineteenth century. At the time, most immigrants sought refuge in the US due to Political tribulations in the country. Specifically the overthrow of the then pr...

1. Visit a Chinese restaurant or just look at the menu. Can you tell which region of China the recipes represent? How? Why do so many Chinese restaurants in the United States cook Cantonese style (Guangdong)? Chinese foods are identifiable with different regions in the country depending on the flavor and ingredients availability. In the northern part of china meals with Peking duck, mu shu pork, millet and soya beans are predominant. This is due to the cool climate that limits food produces. As...

1. Choose one typical Filipino dish and describe it. Explain how it conforms to the principles of Filipino cooking. Select one or two ingredients and discuss whether they are due to an influence from another culture and why that might have happened. The dish I chose for this description is the Lumpia. Its similar to an egg roll and is one of the most popular traditional Filipino dishes – together with pancit. The main ingredients of the Lumpia are ground pork, green cabbages, carrots, onions,...

1. What food flavors and food ingredients are associated with the Balkan and Middle Eastern countries? Why might they be similar? Describe two recipes, one from the Balkans and one from the Middle East, that contain filo (phyllo) dough. The Balkans and Middle Eastern countries share common food ingredients including wheat, rice, legumes, lamb meat, vegetables, and flavors such as Olives. They are similar due to the region's influence on immigration. This led to cultural interaction as ideas, v...

Purpose of this data collection: to investigate the food habits and memories around formed of an individual in the northern Chinese culture.