Why are ethnic foods trendy now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it really surprising, though? They water everything down.

Who is "they"? Are you the gatekeeper of spices?

[Anonymous]

Ever read the comments section of recipes posted online? Lots of obsession with authenticity. People complain “these tamales/lentils/whatever aren’t authentic!” But like one of the PPs said, how far back do you have to go for it to be authentic? Food changes over time, people migrate, newer generations change recipes based on preference or available ingredients. I’m from New Haven and I’m sure many would roll their eyes at some of our Italian American food and how we pronounce things. But our great grandfathers came from Naples, and they opened restaurants here, and taught their kids the recipes they liked and that sold well here. But that’s not authentic enough!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an American of Irish descent, I’d like to formally apologize to all the Italians out there for feeding my family their cultural foods on the regular without properly educating my children about the language, customs, religion and ancient history of the Italian/Roman people.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an American of Irish descent, I’d like to formally apologize to all the Italians out there for feeding my family their cultural foods on the regular without properly educating my children about the language, customs, religion and ancient history of the Italian/Roman people.

+100

We forgive you. And anyone who cooks Middle Eastern food. You got our permission.

Oh the smart sillies.

[Anonymous]

How old are you OP? Do you think this is really a new thing? One good thing that boomers (of all races/ethnicities) did was expand the American palate (especially in suburban areas). For home cooks, it was hard to source authentic ingredients so there was a lot of adaptation of recipes. Now with e-commerce (and more availability of ethnic grocery stores) you can get almost any ingredient you want.

[Anonymous]

I make a great japchae

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ever read the comments section of recipes posted online? Lots of obsession with authenticity. People complain “these tamales/lentils/whatever aren’t authentic!” But like one of the PPs said, how far back do you have to go for it to be authentic? Food changes over time, people migrate, newer generations change recipes based on preference or available ingredients. I’m from New Haven and I’m sure many would roll their eyes at some of our Italian American food and how we pronounce things. But our great grandfathers came from Naples, and they opened restaurants here, and taught their kids the recipes they liked and that sold well here. But that’s not authentic enough!

+1

Food has been changing since forever. People immigrate, and adapt their food to the available ingredients. Others adapt foods based on their own tastes and dietary needs. Spices were traded around the world, and people experimented with new seasonings and ingredients. Fusion food is really just...food. Worrying about authenticity is the least possible interesting thing you can do. Worry about taste! Does it taste good? Great! People complain that Italian-American or Tex-Mex aren't "authentic" Italian or Mexican -- well, no s^%, Sherlock! But they are delicious. As is good Italian or Mexican food (of which there are thousands of versions, because every region has its own traditions, and every village and family has their own version of those traditions).

"Ethnic" foods have been a thing for decades now. My mom has old cookbooks from the 1930s - 1960s, and they all have bunches of "ethnic" recipes -- foods from Asia, India, all over Europe, and Mexico and South America. (Not much from Africa, and frankly the South American offerings were pretty slim, but still.) This is not new. People now have easier access to the spices and other formerly specialty ingredients needed to make foods from all over the world. So adventurous home cooks are trying to make those foods, or versions of those foods, because they are interesting and tasty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I look at my Instagram feed and am met with beautifully displayed and watered down versions of Asian, middle eastern and and African cuisines. The girls making these recipes are not immigrants or POC but young, white rich women who “learned to cook in their kitchen and are foodies.”

I look at their recipes and it makes me a little sick. They’re using ethnic spice mixes and combinations of sauces that have so much history and context regarding the regions of the world in which they originate. I think of how white people used to eat pb&j now eat chicken curry and Korean tacos and naan.

As a POC it bothers me that our culinary heritage is discarded while a random white American person takes the basic idea and adopts it and presents it as their own.

So frustrating!

Is this a sentiment that many people feel? I’m a white Roman. I enjoy ESG IG snd cooking a variety of foods. I want to be careful about cultural appropriation but I am having a hard time understanding the difference between cultural appropriation and just enjoying something from another culture. I know part of it has to do with how it is presented and whether respect snd credit is properly attributed. But it cannot be that everyone has to stay in their culinary lane. How is that what anyone wants?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an American of Irish descent, I’d like to formally apologize to all the Italians out there for feeding my family their cultural foods on the regular without properly educating my children about the language, customs, religion and ancient history of the Italian/Roman people.

+100

We forgive you. And anyone who cooks Middle Eastern food. You got our permission.

Oh the smart sillies.

Irish - American pp - thank you! I was giving the hummus in my fridge the sideeye and hoping my kids weren’t going to be labeled for life because I sent it in their snack boxes to eat with carrots today.

[Anonymous]

OP have you ever given your kids a PB&J sandwich? Pizza? Were you sure to describe the history and cultural context of these foods? If not, then please GTFOH.

[Anonymous]

The issue isnt just food nis who gets to profit off this innovation and its usually white people who "discover" some sort of new cuisine when its not really new and has been cooked by the original culture for years. Alison Roman sells books and articles to the US white people market where as Indian and middle eastern chefs have not gotten that amount of exposure or profit for very similar recipes.
But as far as actual food, people can and should cook what they like.
Traditional american food is a collection of ethnic dishes from a variety os sources. A lot of "southern" food cultures and recipes brought over by african slaves. Okra is native to ethiopia, rice grown in the american south was originally native to sub saharan africa as well. Apple pie is originally Dutch, all the various sausages are polish, italian, spanish etc etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I look at my Instagram feed and am met with beautifully displayed and watered down versions of Asian, middle eastern and and African cuisines. The girls making these recipes are not immigrants or POC but young, white rich women who “learned to cook in their kitchen and are foodies.”

I look at their recipes and it makes me a little sick. They’re using ethnic spice mixes and combinations of sauces that have so much history and context regarding the regions of the world in which they originate. I think of how white people used to eat pb&j now eat chicken curry and Korean tacos and naan.

As a POC it bothers me that our culinary heritage is discarded while a random white American person takes the basic idea and adopts it and presents it as their own.

So frustrating!

Americans often cook Americanized versions of foods from other countries. What’s the issue? Most people in most cultures do this- adapt foods to their tastes.

I would never say my pad kee mow is the best and most authentic version out there. I’m not Thai, I’ve (sadly) never even been to Thailand. But my family likes eating it. I don’t know why it would make anyone sad that people are using new (to them) ingredients and spices in their cooking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I look at my Instagram feed and am met with beautifully displayed and watered down versions of Asian, middle eastern and and African cuisines. The girls making these recipes are not immigrants or POC but young, white rich women who “learned to cook in their kitchen and are foodies.”

I look at their recipes and it makes me a little sick. They’re using ethnic spice mixes and combinations of sauces that have so much history and context regarding the regions of the world in which they originate. I think of how white people used to eat pb&j now eat chicken curry and Korean tacos and naan.

As a POC it bothers me that our culinary heritage is discarded while a random white American person takes the basic idea and adopts it and presents it as their own.

So frustrating!

Is this a sentiment that many people feel? I’m a white Roman. I enjoy ESG IG snd cooking a variety of foods. I want to be careful about cultural appropriation but I am having a hard time understanding the difference between cultural appropriation and just enjoying something from another culture. I know part of it has to do with how it is presented and whether respect snd credit is properly attributed. But it cannot be that everyone has to stay in their culinary lane. How is that what anyone wants?

+1

What a sad world that would be. People in every culture borrow and adapt from other cultures. And it's great! Some of the great cuisines of the world are the results of different cultures interacting and sharing ingredients and techniques.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The issue isnt just food nis who gets to profit off this innovation and its usually white people who "discover" some sort of new cuisine when its not really new and has been cooked by the original culture for years. Alison Roman sells books and articles to the US white people market where as Indian and middle eastern chefs have not gotten that amount of exposure or profit for very similar recipes.
But as far as actual food, people can and should cook what they like.
Traditional american food is a collection of ethnic dishes from a variety os sources. A lot of "southern" food cultures and recipes brought over by african slaves. Okra is native to ethiopia, rice grown in the american south was originally native to sub saharan africa as well. Apple pie is originally Dutch, all the various sausages are polish, italian, spanish etc etc.

+1 I think the above is the issue. My mom's classic lunch was a boiled potato on a plate, so that's why I've needed to delve into other food cultures. I also eat the foods available where I live. At different times that's means shopping at Chinese, or Mexican, or Lebanese groceries. Now my local grocery stores are Dominican or Lao unless I want to buy the super healthy "American" options at family dollar, so I've adjusted my cooking accordingly. Youtube is great for seeing home cooks from all over the world make their traditional (or fusion) dishes.

[Anonymous]

Food is also a gateway. If we want to encourage people to be more open to differences, the world around them, and other cultures and traditions, food is a great entry point that encourages further exploration.