THE MEANING OF FOOD IN

THE MODERN SOCIETY

CH 4
CHAPTER HTC556
ALINA SHUHAIDA

4.1 DEFINITION OF FOOD

4.2 FOODWAYS
INTRO
• Each person lives within his or her culture, unaware of the influences exerted by that culture on food habits.

obtainable

acceptable preferred

Eating
choices
 Food Availability

Animal population

NS
T IO
ERA
Cultivation of plants

S ID
Weather, soil, water
ON
LC
ICA

Indigenous vegetation
OGL
ECO

Geographical features
 Food Availability

HISTORIANS

ARCHEOLOGISTS

ECONOMISTS
POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
MANAGEMENT (LOCAL LEVEL)
PSCHOLOGISTS

POLITICAL SCIENTISTS

SOCIOLOGISTS
LEGAL EXPERTS
Sensory characteristics
affecting food selection
 BASICALLY, Food selection is governed 5 MAJOR reasons:
1. Taste
2. Smell
3. Texture
4. Flavor Principle
5. Cost
Taste
• A liking for sweet taste and a rejection of bitter seem to be innate.
( a characteristic or ability which is already present in a person or
animal when they are born)
• Perhaps as a result of biological ‘coding’ of ‘safe’ versus ‘poisonous
food’
• Regarding taste are those concerning the genetic versus
Biocultural
environmental originsquestions
of culturalthat
tastecan be raisedand the adaptive
preferences
value of different taste tolerances and preferences.
E,g. there seem to be different cultural preferences and tolerances for
sweet and salty tastes.
• It is unclear to what extent they are genetically determined or
environmentally developed.
 So….

• Tastes for more complex flavors, whether strong like the fermented sauces and
pastes of oriental cuisines and the ripe cheese of Western Europe, or bland like
the slightly fermented staple grain porridge of Africa are culturally conditioned.
• This development of taste tolerance has enabled people to extend the range of
nutritious substances they select from the environment.
• Yet the mechanisms by which some flavors become acceptable and likes and
dislikes are formed have not been well established.
 However!

• The cultural component of food likes and dislikes may be clarified by

symbolic-linguistic analyses of how flavors of food may be linked to concepts
of digestion and health.
• One example classical Chinese belief that the five basic flavors have
predictable physiological effects by acting in systematic fashion upon
particular organs of the body.
• Another example is the use of flavor by certain groups indigenous to lowland
South America to classify foods in their environment.
Cont..
• The use of particular flavors and spices is also one means by which
people mark the cultural identity of their foods.

• Even within the same region, local cultures distinguish themselves by

variations in their spicing patterns; e.g. certain Malaysian groups are
known for their ‘sweet’ sauces.
 ..and..

• Flavoring patterns including sweetening, are sometimes interpreted as

class markers.
• In American culture, very sweet foods are interpreted by some as a
lower-class or foreign phenomenon.
• In Guatemala, pungent and highly spiced foods are sometimes
associated with ‘less civilized’ element within the nation
 They are “civilized”
• The decreasing use of epazote and chili peppers among some
urban Guatemalan has been interpreted as a way of demonstrating
that they are ‘civilized’
• Since some of these strong flavors are judged suitable for ‘less
civilized’ plates.
 Texture
• Texture determine whether a food is familiar and may influence acceptance
of new foods.
• In Africa where basic staple is porridge, ranging from thick to watery,
different groups distinguish themselves by the texture they prefer.
• A new commodity will generally acceptable if it can be eaten in the forms
that are familiar in texture.
• In certain culture the acceptability of the texture may be related to the form
of processing.
 Continue…

• The glutinous properties of different varieties of grains such as wheat, maize, and
rice may also affect their suitability for producing familiar foods like bread,
tortillas, and rice dishes respectively.

• In addition certain textural properties are also intrinsic in judgments of qualities

like ‘crispness’, ‘crunchiness’ and ‘freshness’.
 Visual Characteristics
• Size
• Shape
• Color
These are all additional sensory properties of foods that
influence food selection and preferences.
These aspects of visual appearance often encode
information about other taste and textural characteristics
by which people judge foods to be more or less
appetizing, appealing, or valuable for certain purposes.
 At ‘gut’ level!

• Visual inspection may contribute to acceptance

versus rejection of particular items as ‘food’
• As in the usual rejection of items that ‘look’ as well as
‘smell’ rotten, or those that carry symbolic
connotations of ‘abomination’( anything greatly
disliked or abhorred)
• The rejection of foods that resemble certain shape
where such are judged to be ‘disgusting’
Color
• As one visual characteristics of
foods, often provides a code by
which people label and rank
varieties within more general
‘species’ of food with particular
textural or taste properties.
• It also encodes other dimensions
of cultural value, may influence
food selection more than
reputed nutritional worth.
Colour

• Throughout much of Mexico white maize is preferred for

tortillas, since white tortillas are said to look ‘cleaner’.
• Color may also operates as a kind of ‘folk index’ of purity
and refinement, and affect the prestige value of varieties
within particular categories of foods.
• The prestige value of ‘white’ (‘refined’ versus ‘black’ (‘coarse’) breads has
been a distinction basic to European food habits.
• White ‘polished’ rice in most parts of the world are preferred because they
are more processed and refined, cooked more quickly, more desirable in
taste and texture and consequently, associated with higher cultural status.
Eggs..
• Which one you prefer?
• Why?
• Color also may provide a sign of expected quality including
ripeness, wholesomeness, and taste in fruits and vegetables.
 The end
Thank you