Behind the food we eat, is our culture. Food represents the foundations from which we were raised on; whether it be a family influence, community, or race. There are aspects of our lives that create an identity. Culture is our upbringing, which is remembered through our memories. Cultures persist because of the memories that are attached to the food that is part of our upbringing. Of course, there may be not just one influence; there are combined efforts. As an impact from our culture, people reminisce about the food that they grew up with and the memories obtained through the smells and sounds. Therefore, there are different aspects that connect stories, especially in the form of podcasts. This is what I had to do; find three podcasts and find a relationship between them. After some looking, I found three distinct podcasts that summarize the same point of cultural importance but in different forms. These three podcasts are “Family Cookbooks: Preserving Memory through Taste” by Vikram Doctor, “The New Old Country Store” by Tina Antolini, and “Food and Memory” by Anne Bradley.
The first podcast that I listened to was Vikram Doctor’s. He discussed the importance of recipes and their meaning to a family and its representation of culture. In Doctor’s case, an Indian culture influence. Recipes that have passed down family traditions in the kitchen; they hold stories and the family history. These family recipes (ones that brings forth memories just by the scent) cycled through the Indian region. Geographical culture is the influence for these interviewees within the podcast. Doctor narrates the influence of cultures on the traditional family recipe, where they incorporate the taste of their homeland region compared to another. His Indian accent also enhances the feeling of the multicultural aspects of memories and traditions; everyone has something that is passed down and affects how they perceive certain foods. This relates to our class content about how the culture from which we were brought up in affects our preferences, despite the difference in social class. As stated in Tracie McMillian’s “The American Way of Eating” article, when McMillian was working with migrant farmers, she noticed something. Despite the surrounding American culture, the Latino families still cooked the food they grew up; a way to preserve their sense of culture.
To achieve this account of culture and memories, Doctor brings in interviewees that recounted their family history and how recipes were collected within the community. The podcast was set up as a summarization of these everyday individual’s tales through a cell-phone conversation recording. The interviewees too have an Indian accent; once again to enhance the feeling of the Indian culture. Despite the soft guitar music that plays as someone reminisces a memory, which reflects a more whimsical feeling. The narrator himself is stating more of facts about the importance of recipes and cookbooks within a community, while the interviewees reiterate with a more personal tone. They share how a cookbook from one culture was mixed with another, which led to a new generation of traditions. There were no sound effects, but the music alone was subtle and was used to emphasized certain facts and tales told by the speakers; it enriched the experience for the listener. This was important because there was no hook to grab the listener’s attention. Doctor’s voice was monotone as he led a straightforward podcast.
The second podcast was by Tina Antolini. Through personal experience mixed with facts, Antolini recounts the culture of a community; the southern United States community. Compared to her Mid-Western background, she found her new in-law’s homemade casseroles void of the color green and found that they were high in sugar and fat. This food was a representation of what her in-laws grew up on and considered part of the southern culture. However, a trip to Cracker Barrel changed her perspective on the Southern culture. As time passed within the average, old country town, it inevitably began to change; much to the dismay of the people who lived in this region. However, through the Cracker Barrel, these old time feelings were encased through the aura and the food that the southern community was famous for. This food that is provided, reminds older, southern generations of what life was like in their younger times. The Cracker Barrel replaces the feeling of the country corner store (a commodity that sold miscellaneous objects on the street corner). The store itself represents a culture through the nostalgic food and atmosphere, which emphasizes the importance of food within one’s life. An identity that is expressed throughout 48 states; an American emblem that portrays the differences of communities within one nation.
Thus, it makes sense that the podcast was informally written to capture a personal, family tale. It recounts the narrator’s roots with the southern community, which broadcasts the difference in mingling cultures. The podcast starts with a description about a drive down the road and seeing advertisements for the Cracker Barrel as an introduction into the topic. It was also done to create a transition into the title; a way to make the podcast flow. The narrator’s voice is bold and creates a relaxing feel for listening. Antolini also provides intermediate country music to help get the southern feel for her story; it mostly became prominent when telling a personal story or when the Cracker Barrel was being depicted. The type of music also changed depending on the story that was being told, such as soft music played during a nostalgic part of her personal tale. Alongside the music was the choice of accents by the interviewees; some of them had a southern accent. This made the podcast more authentic.
The third podcast, by Anne Bradley, was reminiscent of her family history and experiences. Her mother and aunts talked about growing up on a farm and the influence it had on their diet; certain foods eventually became a part of their everyday life. Every relative that spoke within the recording, remembered a certain ingredient that was prevalent in their life; this influenced how their food choices as they grew up. This is an example of a family culture. This relates to Joan Gross and Nancy Rosenberger’s “The Double Binds of Getting Food among the Poor in Rural Oregon”, an article about how people who were unable to afford food, still craved and favored the unhealthy foods that they grew up eating. It is a sense of familiarity in a time of struggle to these people.
This podcast, too, was written informally because she was directly speaking to the listeners and engaging her life story with them; to help incorporate a more personal connection. Bradley also manages to create an emotional aura, through the dictation and the fluxing of her voice. Within the podcast, she intrinsically used sounds and music to emphasize her points. Besides being descriptive of the environment, she managed to create an aura of the inside of train. Bradley had done this by having the sound of a train whistle going off and the ambience of a crowded conversation behind her narration. The music was also intrinsically used to change from one topic to another. However, the type of music was not discernable; it was just soft guitar playing. With all of these elements together, Bradley brings a nostalgic feel to this southern community.
These three podcasts relate in a way that culture and food becomes related, which is through family, culture, or the community. However, culture is the collective, intercommunication between these three influences. It may start with a family culture; where an individual creates a recipe. This recipe then can get passed around, where the community responds by collectively creating this same recipe. This recipe then becomes more widespread, and is now a notable food within a region or race. This shows the importance of culture because it is about creating an identity and being distinct. In different countries, certain foods have higher priorities over others, such as a burger in America is more preferred than an Asian rice bowl. These preferences affect important things like health to the way food is both, eaten and made.
The first podcast that I listened to was Vikram Doctor’s. He discussed the importance of recipes and their meaning to a family and its representation of culture. In Doctor’s case, an Indian culture influence. Recipes that have passed down family traditions in the kitchen; they hold stories and the family history. These family recipes (ones that brings forth memories just by the scent) cycled through the Indian region. Geographical culture is the influence for these interviewees within the podcast. Doctor narrates the influence of cultures on the traditional family recipe, where they incorporate the taste of their homeland region compared to another. His Indian accent also enhances the feeling of the multicultural aspects of memories and traditions; everyone has something that is passed down and affects how they perceive certain foods. This relates to our class content about how the culture from which we were brought up in affects our preferences, despite the difference in social class. As stated in Tracie McMillian’s “The American Way of Eating” article, when McMillian was working with migrant farmers, she noticed something. Despite the surrounding American culture, the Latino families still cooked the food they grew up; a way to preserve their sense of culture.
To achieve this account of culture and memories, Doctor brings in interviewees that recounted their family history and how recipes were collected within the community. The podcast was set up as a summarization of these everyday individual’s tales through a cell-phone conversation recording. The interviewees too have an Indian accent; once again to enhance the feeling of the Indian culture. Despite the soft guitar music that plays as someone reminisces a memory, which reflects a more whimsical feeling. The narrator himself is stating more of facts about the importance of recipes and cookbooks within a community, while the interviewees reiterate with a more personal tone. They share how a cookbook from one culture was mixed with another, which led to a new generation of traditions. There were no sound effects, but the music alone was subtle and was used to emphasized certain facts and tales told by the speakers; it enriched the experience for the listener. This was important because there was no hook to grab the listener’s attention. Doctor’s voice was monotone as he led a straightforward podcast.
The second podcast was by Tina Antolini. Through personal experience mixed with facts, Antolini recounts the culture of a community; the southern United States community. Compared to her Mid-Western background, she found her new in-law’s homemade casseroles void of the color green and found that they were high in sugar and fat. This food was a representation of what her in-laws grew up on and considered part of the southern culture. However, a trip to Cracker Barrel changed her perspective on the Southern culture. As time passed within the average, old country town, it inevitably began to change; much to the dismay of the people who lived in this region. However, through the Cracker Barrel, these old time feelings were encased through the aura and the food that the southern community was famous for. This food that is provided, reminds older, southern generations of what life was like in their younger times. The Cracker Barrel replaces the feeling of the country corner store (a commodity that sold miscellaneous objects on the street corner). The store itself represents a culture through the nostalgic food and atmosphere, which emphasizes the importance of food within one’s life. An identity that is expressed throughout 48 states; an American emblem that portrays the differences of communities within one nation.
Thus, it makes sense that the podcast was informally written to capture a personal, family tale. It recounts the narrator’s roots with the southern community, which broadcasts the difference in mingling cultures. The podcast starts with a description about a drive down the road and seeing advertisements for the Cracker Barrel as an introduction into the topic. It was also done to create a transition into the title; a way to make the podcast flow. The narrator’s voice is bold and creates a relaxing feel for listening. Antolini also provides intermediate country music to help get the southern feel for her story; it mostly became prominent when telling a personal story or when the Cracker Barrel was being depicted. The type of music also changed depending on the story that was being told, such as soft music played during a nostalgic part of her personal tale. Alongside the music was the choice of accents by the interviewees; some of them had a southern accent. This made the podcast more authentic.
The third podcast, by Anne Bradley, was reminiscent of her family history and experiences. Her mother and aunts talked about growing up on a farm and the influence it had on their diet; certain foods eventually became a part of their everyday life. Every relative that spoke within the recording, remembered a certain ingredient that was prevalent in their life; this influenced how their food choices as they grew up. This is an example of a family culture. This relates to Joan Gross and Nancy Rosenberger’s “The Double Binds of Getting Food among the Poor in Rural Oregon”, an article about how people who were unable to afford food, still craved and favored the unhealthy foods that they grew up eating. It is a sense of familiarity in a time of struggle to these people.
This podcast, too, was written informally because she was directly speaking to the listeners and engaging her life story with them; to help incorporate a more personal connection. Bradley also manages to create an emotional aura, through the dictation and the fluxing of her voice. Within the podcast, she intrinsically used sounds and music to emphasize her points. Besides being descriptive of the environment, she managed to create an aura of the inside of train. Bradley had done this by having the sound of a train whistle going off and the ambience of a crowded conversation behind her narration. The music was also intrinsically used to change from one topic to another. However, the type of music was not discernable; it was just soft guitar playing. With all of these elements together, Bradley brings a nostalgic feel to this southern community.
These three podcasts relate in a way that culture and food becomes related, which is through family, culture, or the community. However, culture is the collective, intercommunication between these three influences. It may start with a family culture; where an individual creates a recipe. This recipe then can get passed around, where the community responds by collectively creating this same recipe. This recipe then becomes more widespread, and is now a notable food within a region or race. This shows the importance of culture because it is about creating an identity and being distinct. In different countries, certain foods have higher priorities over others, such as a burger in America is more preferred than an Asian rice bowl. These preferences affect important things like health to the way food is both, eaten and made.