From the influence of mass media to the convergence of unique traditions, the rapid effects of globalisation have weakened our once unbreakable ties with culture. However, food has always been a perdurable reminder to humans of their respective culture and heritage, it’s significance amplified even more during a time of cultural erosion.
There is a scene in the movie Ratatouille where a food critic tastes a dish at a restaurant and has a sudden flashback. The food takes him back to a childhood memory of him downhearted, coming home after a bad day. However, his mother comforts him through her home cooked meals, immediately making him happier. (While his reaction to the food itself was DEFINITELY overdramatic) like many of us, he associated food with our memories - and in great detail.
Memories arise when eating foods that we encountered in our past, including not just the experience of the food itself, but our emotions and the setting as well, frequently in graphic detail. Whether heartwarming evocations or not, food can pick out memories that otherwise would never be discovered. A study conducted in 2014 proved that there is a direct link between the region of the brain responsible for taste memory and the area responsible for encoding the time and place in which we ate those foods. All of the details that encompass dishes such as tastes, smells and textures are essentially a trigger of our recollections that are tucked deeply inside our brains.
Concurrently, through playing out vivid recollections, food is able to remind us of our homelands and cultures. As a necessity for the survival of humans, food has repeatedly altered its shape and taste throughout history in order to cater to our culinary preferences and to present the values of a society. Thus, food has constantly acted as a crucial element of copious cultures, revealing its values, beliefs and history. Chinese cuisine often has a wide range of tastes, concocting a harmonious meal in which all the dishes go well together, reflecting how harmony is considered a vital aspect of life. Again, many of the dishes are brightly decorated in shades of red, believed to bring about good luck and auspicious events. As a representation of cultures and its beliefs, eating traditional foods can remind us of our heritage, which is often at the heart of our identities.
The effects of food and its neurological connections to heritage are especially visible in individuals and groups who reside far away from their homelands. In an interview on the importance of connecting with our food cultures, an immigrant stated that “Food is a part of you – it identifies you”, especially for individuals who grew up surrounded by traditional foods, since many of their core memories and traditions are entailed within the cuisine’s every detail. Without an abundance of influences of their familiar culture in foreign settings, it can be an especially arduous task for many who live overseas to connect with their roots. However, relatively unchallenging to prepare, food serves as an easier alternative gateway to their culture and heritage.
In racially and culturally diverse places such as the US, various food cultures can be experienced, often being cooked by immigrants in an attempt to bridge themselves closer to their traditions and roots. From Mexican Tacos to Chinese Wontons, many dishes live on despite major geographical changes, far away from their land of origin. As mentioned, food acts as a gateway to our heritage, making unfamiliar places feel more like home, often an essential feeling for many people who may feel alienated from the societies in which they live, while they also serve as a way to preserve vanishing cultures despite borders, geographical landscapes and political barriers.
In Singapore’s hawkers, many dishes from all sorts of cultures are served. As I wander around the bustling stores, many smells reach into and tingle my nose. Take one breath, I smell the fragrant rice and the aromatic scents of chicken rice that linger around the surrounding atmosphere. Take another, I smell all of the pungent yet warm spices that are dashed into fish head curry. As someone born and raised in Singapore, these smells evoke faint memories of my past. However, these memories were especially poignant when I ate Singaporean food while living overseas, it’s taste instantly reconstructing the island, from the hectic streets to the blazing sunlight that sizzled my skin.
Even eating the simplest foods can be reminiscent of our homelands and traditions, reminding us of who we are and where we come from. While the adverse effects that globalisation might bring about to cultures may be irrevocable, food will always take people through time and location, allowing us to experience our memories of the past once again, and also connecting ourselves with our long lost roots and cultures - all with just one spoonful.
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