It's been a while...

But here I am! Sorry for the long pause over here, I've been a bit crazed. I recently baked all the desserts (including the cake) for my roommate's wedding... Which was intense! I don't think I've ever baked so much in one week! But supposedly, they turned out somewhat decent ;)

And the cake, well it was pretty cute.

It was my typical Earl Grey Tea Cupcakes recipe, in cake form. 

We (and by we, I mean I) also made lemon bars. So there was a lot of lemon and tea smells throughout the house!

Too cute!

It was a beautiful wedding! The couple are both deeply religious, so there was a lot of meaning for them during the whole day. As an anthropologist, it was definitely interesting... As all rites of passage are. But all my academic insights aside, it was a beautiful day and I wish them all the happiness in the world! 

My boo is married!

I promise I won't be gone too long! I'm currently reading Tasting Food, Tasting Freedom by sidney Mintz, so hopefully I'll throw a review up soon!!

-Holly

Graduation!

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a while since my last post, but I was getting through finals and have officially graduated! YAY!

It's been such a fulfilling journey over the last 4 years:

-I applied to HSU as an Art major (even having never taken an art class in my life);

-Started as a History major (whoever thought that was a good idea was crazy);

-Almost switched to French (but let's be honest, that would NOT have worked out well);

-Came to the decision between Art and Anthropology (once again, what was I thinking?);

-Finally saw the light and switched to Anthropology! (with added on minors of Art and French).

After all that, my first year of Anth classes was probably the most difficult year of my life, but so worth it! I reluctantly and nervously took Ethnography the spring of my junior year, and it quickly became one of the best experiences of my life, right after TA-ing for the class the whole year after. 

Anyway, for graduation I decided to try making grad cap cupcakes (trying to be consistent with my food theme going on here), and well, they didn't come out as cute as I was hoping... But they tasted good, and in the end that's all that matters, right?

They're Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with caramel caps! Next time I'm going to try adding some spice to the cupcake part, not just the frosting...

Well anyway, I'm in the midst of reading some Sidney Mintz, so hopefully I'll have a blurb up about that soon!

-Holly

Senior Presentation

We had our 2nd Annual Anthropology Senior Thesis and Independent Study Forum last night, and it was great!! There were only two presentations, my friend Spencer (about community and identity on GaymerConnect) and my own on the Anthropology of Food.

Want to check it out? Here's the link!

The Anthropology of Food Senior Project -Prezi

Only 1 week until graduation!

-Holly

Finals are coming!

Yes, it is so. Finals week is nearly upon us!

I can't believe my last week of my undergraduate career is right around the corner... It's a combination of exhilarating and terrifying!

But before I hear my name over the speakers in the Redwood Bowl, I have quite a bit of work to finish up! I turned in my final Gender and Communication essay and my Primate Zoo Project today, so two things are done and done!

I'm working on my presentation and paper to finalize this literature review I have been doing for the last few months... But don't worry, I'm not leaving here for good! I plan to use this space to keep reading and reviewing (or at least summarizing) while I'm taking time off from school.

Also! I'm so excited, the HSU Applied Anthropology Masters Program was approved! So I may be heading back up here (in a few years) to fulfill my awesome 'fantasy proposal' I wrote in my capstone class.

Anyway, I'll be posting my Prezi soon, once it's finished, and if I get video of my presentation, I'll post that as well!

The end is near!

-Holly

Just because I LOVE Game of Thrones

Higher Education, Gender, and Fresh Food

Book & Article Review:

Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton

"Tasting Wisconsin: A Chef's Story" by Amy B. Trubek

    Over the past few weeks, I’ve been reading Blood, Bones, and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton and flipping through my copy of The Restaurants Book edited by David Beriss and David Sutton. There are a ton of chef memories and autobiographies on bookshelves around the world. From the few that I’ve read, it seems that many of these chefs have had to overcome some kind of intense feat, or traumatic event. Maybe that’s what makes their story interesting enough to market to the widest audience. Hamilton had an extremely tumultuous 20 or so years before opening her popular NYC restaurant, Prune. The sudden dissolve of her family, an intense drug addiction, random travels around the world on practically no money, attaining her MA in fiction writing... It seems like she’s checked off every box from a ‘how to live a dramatic life’ checklist.

One aspect that I really enjoyed about this book (and something I think my advisor intended me to take away from it) was how Hamilton was so reluctant to admit she was a chef. She seemed to avoid her passion for cooking for those 20 tumultuous years, but all throughout she was working for catering companies, diners, and other small scale cooking jobs. I almost have the opposite dilemma, since I’m heading to cooking school in September, but I love anthropology! Trying to balance 2 passions is really difficult, or simply not fully knowing what you truly want with your life. So I can totally understand her resistance to admitting her true passion for cooking. As for myself, I’m only 21, so I still have time to really figure it all out (hopefully with a combination of both!)

The issue of gender was another piece of Hamilton’s story that stuck out to me. At one point in her career (pretty recently actually) she was asked by the Culinary Institute of America to be on a panel of female chefs and answer questions from students regarding being a female in an apparently male dominant industry. Hamilton had mixed feelings about going to this event, since she never saw her gender as a hinderance towards her professional life. At the panel, most of the chefs were going on about female empowerment and how women were better than men at culinary arts, which to Hamilton (and myself) was extremely distasteful. Gender is a highly discussed topic in anthropology and I find the relations of gender with food, and with the culinary industry in general, fascinating. Researching gender and food is something I hope to accomplish myself, once I gain a better understanding of the food world anthropologically.

Another great part of Hamilton’s story is her use and support of fresh, simple ingredients. The use of local and really fresh ingredients is being supported by more and more chefs and restaurants everyday. One of the articles in The Restaurant Book, “Tasting Wisconsin” by Amy B. Trubek, focuses on a Wisconsin chef who really embraces local ingredients and traditions. The concept of cuisine du terroir is the basis for the WI restaurant, L’Etoile. Cuisine du terroir is the idea of using seasonal, and local ingredients as the focus of each dish. Through this, restaurants, such as L’Etoil and Prune, are able to carve out their own type of cuisine, not having to follow other guidelines. Gabrielle Hamilton uses fresh ingredients to combine and recreate food in her own fashion from her travels and experiences; Odessa Piper, or L’Etoile, uses local ingredients to highlight old traditions along with new ones. Both Hamilton and Piper are leaving their mark in the culinary, and now literature, world by making their own niche through the food they innovate. 

Hamilton and her book, Blood, Bones & Butter

-Holly

Sources:

Beriss, D., Sutton, D. The Restaurants Book: Ethnographies of Where We Eat. Chapter 3: "Tasting Wisconsin: A Chef's Stroy" by Amy B. Trubek (35-43). New York: Berg. 2007. Print. 

Hamilton, G. Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef. New York: Random House. 2012. Print.

Photo Source: http://www.afterellen.com/people/2011/03/gabrielle-hamilton-the-lesbian-chef-who-is-married-to-a-man

Let's make some food!

As an anthropologist and ethnographer, it would be weird if I didn't participate in baking and making some food one here!! So I'm going to try to incorporate some of my trials in my food life for you all to enjoy!

A little while ago I made some delicious Cauliflower Pizza Bites! 

Yeah... Cauliflower. Pizza. Bites. 

Recently I've been experimenting with coconut oil, so these not only intrigued me due to that, but also because cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables!

Cauliflower pizza stuff is all around Pinterest, so these are my first experiment. They were pretty easy, but 'ricing' the cauliflower was a bit awkward... I used a cheese grater and grated it, and for whatever reason graters and I don't have a great relationship (but then who actually likes using a metal contraction that could easily cut you?).

Anyway... Here's the recipe:

• 2 Cups Grated Cauliflower (washed, dried and grated using a food processor or cheese grater by hand until rice-like or thinner – Note – Approximately one head of cauliflower)
• 1/4 Cup Egg Whites
• 1 Cup 1% Cottage Cheese (drained)
• 1 Tsp Oregano
• 2 Tsp Parsley
• 1/4 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil (Optional)
• 1-2 Tbsp Frank’s Hot Sauce (Optional)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 450 F.
2. Using a healthy cooking oil spray your mini muffin tin.
3. In a hot frying stir fry the “cauliflower rice” until the cauliflower is slightly translucent (about 6-8 minutes). Place in a bowl and let cool.
4. Place all other ingredients the food processor and blend until smooth.
5. In a bowl combine both the “cauliflower rice” and blended ingredients. Mix completely.
6. Evenly spoon mixture into your muffin tin molds. Press pizza dough down evenly and firmly (*The pressing down firmly is very important to make sure these stick together).
7. Place in your oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.
8. Remove the pizza bites from the oven and let set until cool (This is also very important – let these pizza bites set in their pan for 5 – 10 minutes before removing – If you take them out while they are too hot they will break).
9. Once cool remove from muffin tin (either by tipping them out OR by running a thin knife down along the side and popping them out).
10. Heat up some delicious sauce and enjoy!

So once that was out of the way, it was smooth sailing! I blended all the other ingredients and then stirred the blend into the lightly sautéed cauliflower... Voilà, c'est incroyable! I topped them with a little mozzarella and just threw them in the oven and my gluten free snacks were finished!

So these are kind of amazing! They are super delish, pretty easy, and who doesn't love pizza-anything?!

Well, I'll be posting more participatory food posts in the future, so get ready to be tastin'!

-Holly

Source:

http://www.damyhealth.com/2012/03/cauliflower-pizza-bites/

Photography and Food in Appalachian Kentucky

Article Review:

“Food and Culture in Appalachian Kentucky: An Ethnography” by Christi Smith

Documentary:

The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia

Last year, I watched a photography documentary about Shelby Lee Adams, a photographer in Eastern Kentucky, who takes photographs of people living in marginalized Appalachian communities. This documentary follows Adams as he sets up his photographs and takes a closer look into his personal relationships with his subjects. His photography has been under much scrutiny because many critics, and people of the public, see his art as exploitive of these communities; However, Adams combats these critiques by explaining the beauty of the lives of Appalachian peoples, who have become some of his best friends.

Watching this documentary, in an art class, really had me thinking about how Adams is telling the story of Appalachia, one of which combats the negative stereotypical story of ‘hillbillies,’ through his photographs. The idea of using photographs to tell a ethnographic story has been floating in my mind ever since I watched this, as well as the interest in the people of Appalachia.

So it may come as no surprise that when I stumbled upon an article titled, “Food and Culture in Appalachian Kentucky,” I almost danced around in delight!

Christi Smith is a sociologist based out of Indiana University. She conducted interviews with 21 individuals, whom she was introduced to through family connections. Traditionally, the people of Appalachian Kentucky are resistant to outsiders, especially researchers, coming in to their communities, but through her connections, Smith was able to gain access to many people, all of whom were happy to ‘tell their side’ of Appalachia (Smith 2003: 65) During these interviews one of the topics that came up the most was food- memories, practices, and traditions. To many interviewees, food served as a ‘marker in time,’ because through the last few decades, food traditions and practices have evolved. 

Many traditional hunting methods used for sustenance in past years, have now been replaced with recreational hunting. Because meat and vegetables can be purchased at a market, the need to ‘hunt for dinner’ is not necessary; However, to keep tradition alive, hunting is now primarily a recreational activity. Even with this introduction of new resources, Eastern Kentuckians still maintain traditional methods of preparation and consumption of food are still greatly incorporated into everyday life.

Rather than conforming to outside pressures to be ‘brought up to date,’ the people of Appalachia strain to maintain their identities, which is primarily done through their foodways. Appalachians have created their own niche in Southern cooking, since they still do use seemingly obscure animals in their dishes, and although they are considered one of the poorest areas in the United States, they are proud of their creativity and resourcefulness in their foodways (2003: 68).

Out-migrants of Eastern Kentucky (those who left their home in Appalachia for work, school or other means) also use food as a key factor in their identity. Maintaining food traditions, has helped out-migrants stay familiar with their cultural heritage, even if they are hundreds of miles away. 

Eastern Kentuckians are still misconstrued as secondary citizens to the greater US public; however, they are anything but the stereotypes thrust upon them, such as being lazy, illiterate, ignorant, etc. To an outsider, these stereotypes may seem to be apparent at a glance, but the people of Appalachia are so much more than meets the eye. Maintaining cultural traditions, living off the land, and  celebrating family are just a few of the ways the people of Appalachia have kept their cultural identities in tact, in an ever changing world.

Appalachia would be an amazing field of research, but due to so many negative experiences with outsiders, it would be hard to gain access into the lives of its people. Hopefully more research is done, to further shut down the previously mentioned stereotypes, and a more accurate representation of Appalachia to surface to the greater US public.

-Holly

The Hog Killing '90

For more information on Shelby Lee Adams’ photography in Appalachia click here.

Sources:

Smith, Christi. “Food and Culture in Appalachian Kentucky: An Ethnography.” Journal for the Study of Food and Society. Vol. 6. No. 2. 2003: 64-71. 

Baichwal, Jennifer. The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia. Mercury Films Inc. 2002.

Photo Source:

http://shelby-lee-adams-napier.blogspot.com/  

Fast Food Culture in Norway

Article Review:

“Lovin’ it? A Study of Youth and the Culture of Fast Food” 

Article by Annechen Bahr Bugge of the National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO)

Annechen Bahr Bugge, a Norweigian sociologist, researches in the realm of food and eating habits, and more recently pertaining to teenagers. “Lovin’ it? A Study of Youth and the Culture of Fast Food” is a 2011 paper, based upon research by Bugge, exploring how youth in Norway interpret their foodscapes, in specific relation to fast food. To paraphrase Bugge, her main goal of this research was:

To explore teenagers’ representations and practices with regard to fast food. The intention of this article is to show that youth food culture is not as one-sidedly negative as is often claimed in the food-cultural debate. A look at fast food being used to show how young people interact and relate to the dominant food-cultural codes and values. (Bugge 2011: 71-2)

Theoretically, Bugge uses Miles’ 2000 sociological study of British youths’ lifestyles. Miles was greatly focused on how the youth perceive themselves, by their experiences and values. She uses this theoretical inspiration to focus on how youth interact with and are influenced by fast food culture in relation to their adult counterparts’ relationships with fast food culture. 

Bugge also briefly discusses the current ‘war’ on fast food, particularly through various forms of media, such as books, television and magazines. This ‘war’ has become ever present throughout the western world, and Norway is no exception. Much of the media attention is not only guided towards adults, but to youth as well, in youth magazines especially. Included in her methods section, Bugge made sure to remain aware of the media influence, by collecting various artifacts, such as magazine articles, blog posts, debates, etc. throughout the duration of her research.

Along with artifact collection, Bugge utilized numerous other ethnographic methods in her research. These included forty in depth interviews with teenagers (of both genders) between the ages of 15-16; non-participatory observations of the lunchtime cafeterias and within classrooms; photographic analysis of food and eating situations; and finally, quantitative survey data analysis. By utilizing these methods, Bugge was able to gain two ‘umbrella’ findings, each of which has supportive sub

findings,

1. Young people’s talk about fast food; and
2. Fast food and young people’s identity work

What interested me most about Bugge’s findings is constant theme of gender. In Norway, Bugge asserts, one of the main contributors to the ‘fear’ of becoming overweight is attention, or lack thereof, from the opposite gender (however, intent to attract he same sex is most likely present as well, but Bugge does not discuss this). According to her informants, body shape and looks were frequently cited as main proponents of the desire to stay slim. Many of the comments made by the young people interviewed, solidified Bugge’s idea that slimness is related to becoming the ideal of attraction and desire.

Within this gender dichotomy, Bugge explored the idea of ‘gendered foods,’ how some foods were seen as ‘boy foods,’ and others seen as ‘girl foods.’ Girls tended to over think their foodscapes, in regulating the amount and types of food they consumed, while boys were more relaxed in their eating habits, typically citing that they do more physical activity.

Bugge continues to cite more examples of differing Norwegian youth foodscapes, including food in differing socioeconomic groups and food for rebellious youth. I think this analysis could have been enhanced by focusing on one finding, such as the gender dichotomy, and expanding the analysis; however, I do see the connection in these three sections of gender dichotomies, socioeconomic differences, and social differences, in order to gain a more overarching perspective on how Norwegian youth interact and interpret their relation to fast food.

Although youth in Norway seem to be resistant towards fast food culture, they still participate in this culture, even if one rare occasions. Bugge concludes that Norwegian youth, although partaking in fast food culture, see this participation as an activity of ‘others’ in contrast to themselves. She also calls for more studies on youth and fast food culture relations, which I full heartedly agree with. This study is a great starting point for any anthropologist interested in researching fast food culture, not only in western society, but potentially in non-western society, since globalization is ever present in the modern day. 

-Holly

Bugge, Annechen Bahr. "Lovin' it? A study of youth and the culture of fast food." Food, Culture & Society. Vol. 14, No. 1: 71-89. 2011.

Blog Review: The History Kitchen

Blog Review: The History Kitchen
Blog by Tori Avey

Blog overview:

The History Kitchen is one of the two blogs, avid blogger, Tori Avey maintains (the other one is The Shiksa in the Kitchen). Avey’s short bio on the blog is what brought me to it in the first place:

   "Tori Avey is a culinary anthropologist, food writer, recipe developer, and creator of the popular food blog The Shiksa in the Kitchen. She explores the story behind the food - why we eat what we eat, how the foods of different cultures have evolved, and how yesterday's food can inspire us in the kitchen today.” (The History Kitchen, Home Page)

Reading this, made me want to explore more about her culinary anthropology, since I’m trying to discover mine. From reading around, the goal of this blog is to dive deeper into “all facets of food history,” which could be anything from food in ancient cultures, to food popping up in modern TV shows.

Posts are divided into two major sections, ‘What They Ate’ and ‘Did You Know...’ For the purposes of being concise, I focused on reading through some of the ‘Did You Know...’ posts, since those seemed to be more anthropologically inclined. Most of these posts are histories of certain foods, or food related topics. In these posts, she gives the history, but does include a cultural connection, and a look at how this food fits into today’s culture.

Diving Deeper:

A post that stood out to me is titled, “The History of Pie in America” from July 2011. Avey talks about why the pie is such a quintessential American food, beginning with the Pilgrims baking pies as a easy, efficient meal. Pie spread out around the country, being adapted to each state, placing itself deep into American culture. Pie is a ‘classic’ American food, one that exemplifies the further construction of individual American identities. I think I would agree with Avey, that if there was one food to be the face of America, pie would definitely be a contender. One of the most interesting topics she discusses is how the pie slightly disappeared from American tables for a while due to advertising in the mid-nineteenth century through WWII. Looking at the relationship women have with food, their roles involving food, and how that affects family food culture would be a great research topic, one I may look into in the future. 

If I had to critique Avey, I would say that she calls herself a culinary anthropologist, but her anthropological angles are buried deep within her historical analysis of her posts. I wish she could bring up more anthropological angles within her posts, but she is trying to appeal to a mass audience, many of whom probably don’t have the vocabulary or knowledge of anthropology, or it’s analytical angles. Her other blog, The Shiksa in the Kitchen, discussing Jewish food, traditions, and customs seems to have more anthropological potential, but since it’s more recipe focused, the same lack-of-analysis issue arises.

Of course, this is all coming from my anthropological brain, so when I turn to my foodie brain, I see these blogs in simpler light... I totally enjoy Tori Avey’s stories, histories, and recipes, and plan to keep following her discoveries in the food world.

-Holly

http://thehistorykitchen.com/2011/07/04/the-history-of-pie-in-america/

Experiencing Culinary School

Book Review: The Making of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman. 1997.

Michael Ruhlman is not a chef. 

He has however, experienced rigorous classes at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), worked alongside numerous professional chefs, and has become one of the preeminent food writers of the century.

The Making of a Chef is the documentation of Ruhlman’s experiences floating around the Culinary Institute of America. He isn’t exactly a student, but he’s not on the sidelines either. He is essentially conducting very thorough participant observation, but he’s not an anthropologist, or an ethnographer; he’s a journalist... But if this isn’t the beautiful ‘auto-ethnography’ I’m building it up to be, then I am crazy (but it is, at least I’m claiming it is... so I’m not crazy, I promise!). He documents the experience of going through the CIA with such detail and depth, that you feel as though you are there yourself; experiencing the shame of a burnt parsnip chip and the satisfaction of sending out a pristine stuffed quail on a bed of wild rice.

One of the most interesting aspects to The Making of a Chef, is Ruhlman’s interactions and observations of the instructors. All the instructors are extraordinary chefs and all have unique intensities; Every ‘block’ of each semester was with a different chef, so students et to experience a great variety types of master chefs, and gain much knowledge from each.

Being an anthropologist, I wish there had been some sort of foreshadowed problem, other than simply documenting the experience of culinary school. The ‘rite of passage’ of it, rituals involved, chef-student relationships, or simply ‘the student experience’ (with more interviews of other students, to break away from the ‘auto’ part of auto-ethnography) are just a few anthropological angles I can think of off the top of my head that would be extremely fascinating. But again, Ruhlman is not an anthropologist, so although he does not focus on on of these angels, he touches on nearly all of them through his narrative.

This book has made me both excited and terrified for my upcoming culinary school experience. Although I will not be attending the CIA, I know I will have many similar experiences detailed in Ruhlman’s narrative. Culinary school is not only where one becomes a chef, but it is where one discovers and builds an identity; an identity that perhaps had always been mulling deep down inside, just waiting for the means to be released. 

-Holly

Citation:

Ruhlman, M. The Making of a Chef. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1997. Print.

Food, Waste, and Anthropology

Current Blog Review: FoodAnthropology The Society for the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition. 2012.

Weight. 

The word ‘weight’ itself carries a lot of, well, weight. Americans seem to be obsessed with weight loss and gain, Reality TV shows about trimming down, the latest fad to finally lose those extra pounds; anything and everything about weight always seems to be on the tip of our tongues.

Which to me is fascinating.

And probably why I was drawn to a blog post from this past November. Diana Mincyte of NYU, a contributer for FoodAnthropology (the blog of the Society for the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition [SAFN]), wrote a post titled, “Diet for a Big Storm: Reflections on Food, Waste and Hurricane Sandy” (11/24/2012) based upon a New York Times article discussing the ‘Sandy Five.’ To briefly summarize, the situation presented by the NY Times is that during and after Hurricane Sandy, people were gaining the ‘Sandy 5,” a few extra pounds due to the stress and power outages that the hurricane brought on; People resorted to either eating all their food at once, or throwing it away. Mincyte looks at the ‘darker side’ of the situation, not the fact people were gaining weight, but the revealing of a ‘complicated relationship’ with food and waste management in modern societies.

This post is a great example of why anthropology matters because in order to fully assess situations, such as the poor management of food and waste during and after Hurricane Sandy, people qualified to understand the greater implications of the situation are needed; And I think anthropologists are those people. Anthropologists are equipped with the skills and tools necessary to conduct ethnographic research on impromptu situations, many that could reveal how to better prepare or change for the future. If there had been research done previously (by anthropologists) on disaster food and waste management, much of the panic Sandy brought, could have been avoided.

Waste management can be directly related to food consumption. Because of the great amounts of food consumed everyday in the US, and around the world, tons of waste is created. New and effective ways to manage this waste need to be formulated, and anthropologists can definitely play a part in that process. 

I plan on discussing waste management and it's relationship to food consumption in the future, as well as a greater focus on the rise of obesity in America. So stay tuned!

-Holly

NY Times Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/fashion/sandy-five-weight-gain-due-to-storm.html?smid=pl-share&_r=0

FoodAnthropology Blog: http://foodanthro.com/2012/11/24/diet-for-a-big-storm-reflections-on-food-waste-and-hurricane-sandy/ 

Children as 'Co-Researchers'

Article Review: "Nordic Children's Foodscapes: Images and Reflections." 2009.

Summary:

This is an account of ethnographic research carried out in four Nordic schools, one from each of the Nordic countries: Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. The purpose is clearly stated in the abstract, “A study of the different food messages that children encounter and their own reflections of these messages” (Johansson et al, 26). This study was not only to examine what children eat, but the knowledge about the food and the contexts in which certain food s were consumed. Children were given disposable cameras to document their own ‘foodscapes’ and participated in small group discussions- these actions allowed the children to act as co-researchers, rather than ‘subjects.’ A conclusion this study came to was that foodscapes are present in nearly all aspects of life. Food finds its way into social situations, family life, and festive occasions, to name a few. Food is everywhere, and the earlier in life the contexts are taught, the more conscious one will be in their own foodscape.

My Thoughts:

The incorporation of children as ‘co-researchers’ is a fascinating idea to me. Photo documentation and elicitation is one of my favorite tools in the ‘ethnographic toolbox,’ so to have allowed the children to take photos of their foodscapes and help analyze them is a great (and successful) idea. 

The authors define ‘foodscape’ as ‘a concept dealing with the effects of food and how food is affected’ (30), in other words, a foodscape is not only looking at and analyzing the food, but at the context in which the food is consumed.

Two contexts that were most deeply analyzed were home and school. Food in the home was similar between all four Nordic countries, but schools greatly differed. In Finland and Sweden, children eat in a cafeteria; while in Denmark and Norway, children eat at their desks in their classrooms. This difference in settings, also leads to a difference in the food consumed. The children eating at their desks brought food from home, and the children eating in the cafeteria eat ‘hot lunch’ or food from school. These settings also influenced social interactions, in a cafeteria setting, more opportunity for social bonds to form was apparent, and in the classroom, lunch breaks are not as distinct since there is no change in setting from learning to eating.

Eating at home was preferred by children form all countries. They saw food at home was tastier and as a time to bond with family. Being in a “cozy environment’ was important in distinguishing the difference in eating at school and at home. More ‘junk’ food was eaten in the home setting, however, mostly on the weekends. During family time, watching movies, or play dates with friends, ‘junk’ food was consumed- chips, candy, soda, etc. All of which was determined by the children to be ‘unhealthy’ but fine to eat under special circumstances.

This research is really exciting for numerous reasons. First, I love the use of photography to document and analyze data. Second, having the children involved act as ‘co-researchers’ was a really great tactic in really trying to find out foodscapes from the child’s perspective. Finally, showing the dichotomies between the different contexts in which food is consumed in becoming increasingly important, all throughout the world. Food is not the only factor in people’s foodscapes, but the place, time, and situations all need to be addresses when researching.

To conclude, I'd like to leave you with this quote discussing 'taste:'

"Taste is a complax matter, not only dependent on the individual's taste-buds, but constructed within social and cultural settings, forming"taste communities." (35)

-Holly

Citation:

Johansson, Barbo, et al. "Nordic Children's Foodscapes: Images and Reflections." Food, Culture & Society. Vol. 12, No.1. 2009: 25-51. 

Hello!

Since this is the first post of my blog, A Taste of Anthropology, I thought it would be nice to give a little background on myself and my interest in Culinary Anthropology!

I'm Holly, a senior at Humboldt State University, graduating this May!! I'm majoring in Anthropology (specializing in Cultural Anthropology) and I have minors in both Studio Art (Photography!) and French (although, unfortunately, I really don't speak well). I have had such an incredible journey throughout my four years here at HSU, but the last two have been the most influential.

I entered college as a history major, but soon realized that was NOT the major for me. Anthropology was always in the back of my mind and I finally took the Intro to Cultural Anth and fell in love! I started taking more Anthropology classes, and over the course of my junior year, I became much more confident in myself, specifically as an Anthropologist. 

My life, as an Anthropologist, changed the most dramatically when I was in Ethnography (cultural research methods training) my eyes were opened even more to the practical world of Anthropology. After being convinced to present at the American Anthropological Association 2012 National Meeting in San Francisco, with some of my Ethnography comrades, I began to really see my future in Anthropology. Right before the AAA meeting, I had a revelation the field of Anthropology I would soon fall for- one I hadn't though of before- Culinary Anthropology.

I've always had a passion for food, one in which I'm fulfilling this coming fall, when I attend Culinary School in London to become a trained pastry chef. But now that I was in love with Anthropology, I was conflicted between my two passions.

That's when a friend mentioned pursuing both.

What an idea? Making food, and then researching the culture that surrounds it? A match made in heaven! This is when I decided to begin reading around, to see if this kind of Anthropology was even in existence. So at the AAA's I went to many food lectures, and became even more inspired!

Now the story comes to more recent times, my final semester at HSU. To further my own understanding of what Culinary Anthropology is, I'm going to read through the literature: books, peer-reviewed articles, and other blogs; All focusing on FOOD!

So join me in my journey, one in which I hope to really gain insight on the delicious field of...

 Culinary Anthropology

-Holly