Student Name: - Harinder Singh Brar

Student ID: - 100162191

Topic: - Exploring cultural identities, memories, and ideas about food

Exploring cultural identities, memories, and ideas about food

 Individuals also connect to their cultural or racial identity through food patterns. Food is

usually a form of preserving cultural identity, memories or ideas in various cultures. Individuals

from various cultural origins consume different foods. The regions where lineages live, and their

predecessors sprang impact food like and dislikes. Thus, such food preferences lead to patterns

of food choices within a regional or cultural group. In the book Crying in H Mart, Michelle

Zauner plumbs the connection between food and identity (Zauner, 2021). The author captures

what it is like to mourn, or a representation of grief most people could relate to. The exploration

takes on new urgency after her mother's death, which also implies losing her significant

connection to the Korean culture.

The author's food descriptions and learning how to prepare different meals are very

relatable and trigger memories in me. On a personal level, we grew up eating food of our

cultures. My family members associate food from our childhood with good memories and a

warm feeling that holds a personal value. Whenever I take fried potatoes fritters (we called

‘Pakora’ in Punjabi), I remember summers in the scorching heat of India when my mother and

my aunt used to make this meal for me as a reward for doing something good. One of my

favorite memories was watching them when they put the potato in the golden batter that is made

from the black chickpeas, after putting in that batter, they put those potatoes in the fried pan. I

like that creaky and raspy voice in the fried pan. I remember when I used to help them to cut the

potatoes in small. Whenever I used to cut in very very little pieces, they laughed at me. When

they finished, my family sit together and ate together. The smell and taste of the food became

something very familiar to me. Whenever I achieve something and feel like rewarding myself, I

remember the food my mother and my aunt used to make for me and feel hungry for it.
 Food plays a significant role in the lives of families in numerous cultures. However, the

level of significance varies from culture to culture. Understanding a culture, identity or

remembering past events through food is an exciting process because an individual may start

asking questions, such as how the meal is prepared, what ingredients are involved, and why it is

called in a particular way. The obtained responses go beyond culinary learning. Food tells people

about a culture's approach to life through such responses. Eventually, it is reasonable to state that

food functions allegorically as a communicative practice created and managed by a certain group

of people who share meaning with others. As portrayed in Crying in H Mart, Michelle Zauner

uses food as a form of connection, caring for an ill person and even remembering them after they

are gone. Hence, cultural identities, memories, habits and traditions can be explored through

foods and how other people figure them out.

Reference

Zauner, M. (2021). Crying in H Mart. Alfred A. Knopf.