cuisine
From street-food to fine dining, traditional Italian to Asian-Fusion, being well-versed in global cuisine is the first step to culinary mastery.
Chasing Flavors Across the Globe
In 2012, a summer viral infection caused damage to my olfactory nerve. I was unable to smell, a condition called anosmia. At first, I thought I was just still congested and within a week or two, I’d regain my sense of smell. But when we went to a family member’s wedding a few weeks out and I could neither detect the scent of the beautiful flowers at the venue or the flavors of the special celebration meal I knew something was wrong. Then came something called parosmia, which was a distorted sense of smell and flavors. The air smelled foul, and I wasn’t able to sleep breathing in the odors of what seemed like being in a dumpster full of garbage. Things like wine, citrus fruits, melons and cucumbers tasted like what I would imagine eating a dirty diaper is like. Everything else I couldn’t smell.
By Beth Imperial-Rogers5 years ago in Feast
Friends, Lovers and Spices
I grew up in Jamaica, where our national m0tto is “out of many one people.” This motto was coined based on the multiracial composition of our population, which, to this day, is a surprise to many who believe that all Jamaicans are of African descent. Despite having a population that goes beyond the perceived racial profile of the “typical” Jamaican, our culture is homogeneous for the most part. This meant limited exposure to cultural diversity throughout my life except for the times I travelled or lived in other countries. One such experience is my current one– living in Canada. Though I don’t live in the most diverse part of the country, I was still awarded the opportunity to meet and befriend individuals from different countries worldwide. I shifted from having a friend circle limited to Caribbean and US nationals to one that includes folks from the Philippines, Canada, China, Mexico, Uganda, Malaysia, India, just to name a few.
By Donziikinz5 years ago in Feast
We Will Always Have Garlic Toast
Italian culture has been ingrained in me since I was born. The major arcana of my culture are cooking and your family. Cooking is how we show our love to our people. My fondest memories are helping my Nonni cook for our weekly family dinner. My Nonni would spend hours cooking so her family could enjoy her meals. It was a big deal for her to let you help. She loved being the center of attention and the older I become, the more I get it. It’s a big deal to be the center of your family and I hope to earn that title one day.
By AGirlFromSF5 years ago in Feast
Taste Around the World
I often imagine putting tasty food onto my pallet! I visit in my mind places of such sort, China! Where they take such pride in their cooking! How it is that they make something of plain taste, such as rice and utilize the wok to spin this into a dish of great flavoring of spices. First adding simple ingredients like soy sauce, a bit of red pepper, scrabbled eggs, green onions and oil maybe even butter. To take these ingredients to a wok, cooking with the pleasure of bringing these items to collate with one another to bring out the most elegant taste. The amount of pride in cooking fried rice begins with a simple story to tell and by the end with a meal well prepared in a wok with food put together, brings such a delight when finally placed on your pallet for the taste is not of simplicity at all. The bare creation of making a dish to be eventually tasted all around the world is by far essential. Now the next place which my mind visits is a well-known place in New York known for their pizza. Where they take the dough to knead and toss it up in the air to get the precise size so that the sauce which covers the dough which blankets the pizza as it sits raw.
By Barbara Falo5 years ago in Feast
The Humble Cookie
In 2016, I turned twenty years old. A bright road unspooled in front of me, offering up new possibilities at every bend in the pavement. Like many budding adults, I brimmed with optimism, not realizing at the time that the ticking over of my age from nineteen to twenty had no tangible effect on my life.
By Rhiannon Lotze5 years ago in Feast
World Cuisine from the Comforts of Home
Having only been outside the United States twice in my life, I would not call myself a globetrotter by any means; however, I have had the privilege of sampling cuisine from many cultures, beginning with the Indonesian and Dutch cuisines that my paternal grandparents brought with them when they immigrated to the U.S.A. in the 1950s.
By Darcy A. S. Thornburg5 years ago in Feast
Family Reunion
I was 17 years old my first family Reunion party celebration with my Asian family in the Philippines .It was also my grandfather’s 80 year old birthday party. Every family member was there from different provinces. My grandmother was from province of Pampanga and my grandfather was from the province Lipa ,Batangas. All female members of the family cook together in the small kitchen.How they do it ,beats, me? My grandfather bring one of his pigs to Manila to be used for the “handaan” feast.Every part of the pig was used .I love when they cook the skin of the pig “Chicharrones”.
By Mariann Carroll5 years ago in Feast
How One Life-Altering Encounter With Mexican Food Forced Me to Confront My Fear of Failure
What's the best thing you've ever eaten? The food or meal that made the most impact on your life? For me, it was a tamale in a corn husk, made with love by a Mexican church lady, who handed one to each member of our singing group before we got up on stage at a weeknight marriage conference worship service.
By Mishael Witty5 years ago in Feast
