Month: March 2017

Tastes Like Chicken (Ryan)

/ Ryan Hoffman / Leave a comment

 

Have you ever thought about what your favorite type of food is your favorite?  Whether you love Tex-Mex, barbecue, or Chinese food, chicken is likely a big staple of your cuisine of choice.  Have you ever wondered how this came to be?  How such a weird looking bird became the most consumed meat in the world?  In this bibliography, I explore the history of the chicken and how it came to have the power and influence it has today. I also take a look at how different cultures have used the chicken over time with a journey through recipes from past and present.

Check out my annotated bibliography here:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vu8UDXHv07YB8eEXLTxou36rJChUWVZRKaw3_9gcoRM/edit# 

Traditional Sushi Etiquette (Nima)

/ Nima / Leave a comment

Traditional Sushi Etiquette

By Nima

RHE 309K


Sushi is my favorite food, there is no doubt about it.  I have been eating sushi since I can remember, and I have always eaten it the same way.  I receive my sushi, mix some wasabi into my soy sauce, and proceed to stuff the delicious slabs of fish into my mouth.  After doing some reading, however, I discovered that there was an entire world of etiquette behind the consumption of sushi, varying by the type of sushi, the condiment, and even where one places their chopsticks after eating.  I decided to write my annotated bibliography on traditional sushi etiquette to improve my manners when I eat at sushi restaurants, improve my dining experience, and potentially inform others who also would like to show respect through knowledge of traditional customs.

For more, click here.

Comedic Food Writing

/ mwm2397 / Leave a comment

Comedic Food Writing

by Michael McGehee

For my annotated bibliography, I chose to write about food media that incorporated comedy. I chose to do research on this topic because I have a very humor-driven personality, so doing research for this topic was very enjoyable for me. Below are 10 funny food-related texts/videos that I discovered. I hope that you get a laugh from them!

A) Celebrating or Memorializing 

  1. “It’s Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers” by Colin Nissan

Image courtesy of Borislav Marinic 

In this text, the author celebrates the coming of Fall with an expletive-riddled piece that satirically acclaims the use of gourds as a symbol of autumn. In this piece, the author uses a great deal of profanity. However, while the repeated use of profanity can often be considered juvenile or immature, Nissan “tastefully” places vulgar language in very deliberate, properly-places spots throughout his writing, emphasizing certain points in an abrupt and comical way. The humor in his profanity stems from the fact that he uses it to convey enthusiasm and celebration rather than anger and frustration. In an interview about the text, Nissan reveals that his mother “had a mouth like a sailor”, which helps explain what may have influenced this explicit writing style. There is also a great deal of satire in this piece, poking fun at the idea of using “gourds” and “wicker baskets” as decorations that encapsulate the essence of Fall. While these are objects that have symbolized Fall for decades, Nissan pokes fun at the concept of using “mutant squash” to represent the season. Also in the interview, Nissan reveals that his father was a gourd farmer growing up, giving him a personal connection with the vegetable that he speaks so fondly about.

B) Advocating for Change

  1. “Dear Guy Who Just Made My Burrito:”  by Darin Ross

Image courtesy of Darin Ross

Written in the form of a letter addressed to the man who prepared his food, comedian Darin Ross berates his burrito-maker’s preparation skills, implying an desperate need for a change in technique. Most have us have experienced a time in our lives where our food was not prepared to our liking, and I think that this piece is directed towards those who have also  undergone this frustrating experience.  Ross uses effectively uses two main comedic techniques in his text: the use of all-capitalized words and rhetorical questions. All-capitalized words and sentences are sprinkled throughout the article to convey the authors sense of anger and frustration. By using this technique sparingly instead of capitalizing everything, Ross is able to emphasize certain segments, allowing the reader to imagine the author yelling certain things as he or she reads along. The rhetorical questions are another powerful comedic tool, as they urge the reader to reflect a certain viewpoint or message. For example, when Ross says “What’s that? I should ask you to mix it up first next time?”, he is not actually asking the question with the intention of receiving a response, but rather to imply that asking the restaurant employee to mix the components of his burrito is something that he should never have to do in the first place; Ross poses this question in an attempt to convince his audience members that having to ask for this is ridiculous. These questions are delivered in such a way that conveys a sense of stupidity and ignorance in restaurant employee.

    2. “Food Crimes and Their Appropriate Punishments” by Ellen Ioanes

Image courtesy of   OnlyMedicineMan

In this piece, comedian Ellen Ioanes addresses several food travesties, including poor preparation techniques and terrible combinations. The most prominent comedic element in this text is the use of a very serious tone regarding matters that are very trivial. For example, Ioanes states that refrigerating tomatoes is a crime that should result in “death by guillotine”. Another punishment, regarding cooking with unclarified butter, is being “disemboweled while still alive, your putrid entrails spilling onto the new spring grass”. The author suggests highly extreme punishments, that are in no way legal for even the most horrible crimes, for very trifling kitchen mistakes. believe that this article is intended for anyone that cooks; in my opinion, it’s actually funnier to read this article if you are a violator of one of the author’s rules.

 

C) Selling or Marketing

  1. “Surviving Whole Foods” by Kelly MacLean

Image courtesy of Kelly MacLean

In this article, actress and stand-up comedian Kelly MacLean documents a typical shopping trip to Whole Foods, satirically poking fun at the demographic of people that are typically associated with shopping at the store. There is a common stereotype that Whole Foods is typically associated with healthy, hip, suburban, upper class white people. MacLean addresses this stereotype by using the reoccurring motif, “namaste” throughout the piece. She mentions seeing it on the back of a Prius in the parking lot, and again on the visor of one of the employees. She speaks of it as a pretentious mark of the customer demographic mentioned previously, a proud badge of honor for those fitness-enthused, liberal, rich caucasians who commonly inhabit Whole Foods. As stated by MacLean, “Based solely on the attitudes of people sporting namaste    paraphernalia today, I’d think it was Sanskrit for “go fuck yourself.” At the end of her shopping trip, MacLean actually utters the word “namaste” herself, indicating that she has given in to the group of people that she mocks throughout the text. Another reoccurring theme that is brought up is the cost of items at the store. Such example include $108 beauty creams, $6 truffles, and $179.99 juice cleanses. All of these things are very costly and “high class”, again suggesting something about the type of people who shop at the store. Some of the humor stems from the fact that Kelly MacLean meets a lot of the criteria for the stereotypical people that shop at the store (attractive, upper class, fit), yet she is the one that is making fun of them. I think this piece is targeted towards middle and upper class shoppers who possess enough shopping knowledge to be aware of the Whole Foods stereotypes, or shoppers who frequent the store themselves.

D) Making 

  1. Video: How To Make Vegan Blueberry Muffins with Wake Flocka Flame & Raury by Munchies

Image courtesy of The Wilma

In this instructional baking video, world-renowned rap artist Waka Flocka Flame and fellow Atlanta rapper Raury provide instructions for preparing vegan blueberry muffins. The video employs a humorous juxtaposition between the hardened, obscene, “thug” characteristics that are often associated with hip hop and rap culture with  lighthearted, organic, feminine blueberry muffins. Rap culture is typically associated with delinquency and violence, exhibited in some of Waka’s own songs including hits such as “Gun Sounds” and “Smoke, Drank”. On the other hand, because meat is considered “manly”, veganism is sometimes attributed with a softer, more feminine demographic. This contrast is absolutely hilarious, seeing the tatted-up, Atlanta thug tenderly zesting a petite lemon with a gentle instrumental track playing in the background. Another comical element of this video is the lack of cooking experience and attention to detail that the two rappers use with their cooking. Although the duo manages to complete all of the steps correctly, it is evident by the sloppiness of their measuring and their perceived shortage in cooking experience that the two are not professional chiefs. I believe that this video is targeted towards a younger generation, specifically those who listen to rap music and are conscious of the norms regarding hip hop and rap culture.

2. Video: Henny Cookies by Chef Henny  by Harvey J

Screenshot courtesy of Harvey J

In this short, unorthodox cooking tutorial, Harvey J, a.k.a. Chief Henny, demonstrates the “proper” way to prepare his original alcohol based delicacies. One of the strongest comical techniques that the author employs in this video is a blatantly sloppy, untraditional cooking technique and general presentation. Instead of measuring out the Hennesy, he pours it directly into the batter bag and all over the unbaked cookies on the pan. Instead of cracking the eggs gently, Chief Henny crushes both eggs together in one hand with complete disregard to any bits of shell falling into the bowl. Instead of melting the butter in the microwave, he places the butter in a metal spoon and heats it from below, as if cooking heroine. His technique is accentuated by his attire and dialect, which are also representative of his casual, untraditional methods. In the video, Chief Henney sports a Supreme Christmas hat, a luxurious red bathrobe, and gold jewelry on both wrists. Instead of provides clear verbal instructions, he gives very brief statements littered with profanity and slang. Harvey J is a self-made musician and YouTuber who creates content revolving around the popular cognac Hennessy. His audience is mostly younger people who consume a great deal of online content and are familiar with the alcohol and drug references that frequent his content.

E) Eating or Consuming 

  1. “Restaurant Review: Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar in Times Square” by Pete Wells

In this strongly-worded, unorthodox restaurant review, NYT critic Pete Wells brutally berates Guy Fieri’s restaurant. Wells utilizes strong imagery throughout his review to rebuke a number of Fieri’s dishes. Such examples include “…blue drink, the one that glows like nuclear waste” and “cold gray clots of ground turkey”. By using imagery in a negative manner, Wells attempts to persuade his readers of the awfulness of the food by helping them visualize the dishes in repulsive light. Similar to the burrito text that was previously discussed, this review also employs the use of rhetorical questions used to suggest Fieri’s ignorance and convince the audience of his establishments flaw’s. I know that there exists a large number of people who do not like Fieri and think that he is arrogant and aggravating. I think that this text was deliberately mean and harsh because Wells wanted to knock Fieri off his high horse, so to speak. I believe this piece was written for anyone wanting to try the restaurant or anyone who is  familiar his show and  therefor his personality.

2. “The Entirety of My Thoughts As I Eat My Son’s Mac and Cheese Dinner” by Maura Quint

Image courtesy of Pillsbury

       “Milf is more like Macaroni I’d Like to Finish”

In this piece, Maura Quint, a mother and amateur food writer, documents her thought process as she consumes her son’s dinner. The structure of this text is unique in that it is fragmented into a number of individual thoughts, each represented with one or two sentences. Each new thought develops on the previous one, but the humor lies in that the thoughts jump from idea to idea, veering off into unrelated tangents. For example, in one sequence, Maura moves from discussing her parenting style to Hayley Joel Osment to Google to drugs; this scatterbrained, bouncing writing style is highly entertaining and engaging. I think that this text is addressed towards a very broad audience; nearly everyone has had the desire to eat a “kid’s” food that he/she used to consume at a younger age. This article may also serve to evoke nostalgia, causing the reader to remember a time in their youth when he/she consumed mac and cheese (as most kids do). As the author writes thought after thought, the amount of macaroni slowly depletes until it is finished. The piece ends with the author thinking of pizza as a replacement dinner for her son (which she also admits to loving), leaving the audience with the assumption that the author then consumed the pizza and continued her deviating, escalating train of thoughts.

    3. “A Four-Year-Old Reviews the French Laundry” by Jessica Saia

        “It looks really not good.”

Image courtesy of Isla Bell Murray

Although this article was not actually typed out by a 3-year-old, the content of the text is essentially the thoughts and opinions of the child, documented by quotes and photographs. Deemed “youngest person to eat a full tasting menu at the French Laundry”, this child takes on the task of critiquing one of the top ranked restaurants in all of California. The humor in this lies in the fact that restaurant reviewers are trained in their trade; they know how to assess a restaurant based on the food, staff, ambiance, etc. This is a   task that takes a knowledgeable individual who has experienced a great variety of foods and restaurants in his or her lifetime, yet a clueless child is attempting to take on this job. The review is filled with comical quotes such as “It tastes like a Tinker Bell popsicle” and “I like the white part better than the green part”, accompanied by photos that show the child’s facial reactions. However, although the child’s commentary is not actually a legitimate assessment of the restaurant, the article was structured as if this was an authentic review. I think that this article is targeted towards parents, as they are able to relate to the simplistic, juvenile thought process of children.

F) Other 

  1. “The Most Pretentious Food Terms Of All Time”   by Alison Spiegel

This piece is structured very differently from all of the other text articles that I have included thus far. The author, Alison Spiegel, is a food writer and editor for Tasting Table, previously for The Huffington Post. This article simply lists 12 pretentious food terms that are commonly used and includes one sentence criticizing each word. The comedy in this article emanates from the brevity of the statements that address each word. Instead of long, drawn out paragraphs, Spiegel states her thoughts in blunt, succinct declarations. Such examples include “Did the kitchen staff really go out and forage the mushrooms, or did they possibly buy them at a market?”, in response to the word “foraged”. I think that this article is specifically for those who are familiar with food writing, as these terms are commonly used in such texts but may be foreign to people unfamiliar. It is a quick, easy, and funny read.

Process Reflection:

As mentioned previously, I chose the topic of humor-based food articles because I am a very comedic-driven person and I wanted to do research on something that I was truly passionate about. I initially started by Googling articles with search terms such as “comedic food articles”. I then discovered a very useful tool for finding new texts: utilizing the bibliographies of other authors. After compiling a fairly long list of articles found by either using Google or by looking in other authors bibliographies (which I kept in the Notes application on my mac), I began to select which ones I wanted to use for my own bibliography. Firstly, I started by selecting articles that fit into each required category. After satisfying the diversity requirement, I chose the texts that I thought were the funniest, but also had unique attributes. For example, in “A Four-Year-Old Reviews the French Laundry”, the “author” is a child; I had never came across a text whose primary speaker was under the age of 10. I also wanted to include several videos, as YouTube is a site where I am exposed to a comedy on a daily basis. I did my best to cut out articles that were repetitive in their content and structure. My annotations were all done in Microsoft Word.  I had a lot difficulty formatting my bibliography in WordPress. I spend a very long time formatting everything how I wanted it in the WordPress editing platform, but when I clicked the preview button it did not look like it did in the editing platform. After 20+ attempts at changing the format, I grew frustrated had to settle with what I had. I strongly regret trying to format in WordPress and I never intend on using this platform again.

Ice Cream History and its Evolution

/ Gerlou / Leave a comment

 

Annotated Bibliography on Ice Cream

“The History Of Ice Cream”. Idfa.org. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.

This article is from the International Dairy Foods Association, which represents the dairy industry’s manufacturing and marketing processes. It was written for people who are interested in reading about the history of ice cream, and is written in a way so people of all ages should have no trouble understanding it. No one knows exactly who or where ice cream was first invented, but we know that rulers like Alexander the Great and Nero Claudius Caesar ordered their servants to gather ice from the mountains, which they then flavored with honey or fruit. When Marco Polo went to Italy, he brought with him a recipe that was similar to sherbet, and many historians believe ice cream evolved from there. When ice cream came to America, it was mostly enjoyed by those in the upper class until technology made it possible for ice cream to be produced at higher rates. This matches the timeline stated in the article from Food Timeline stated below. I learned a lot about the history of ice cream from this article and never knew that ice cream had such a long history dating back to the Roman Empire.

Olver, Lynne. “Ice Cream”. Foodtimeline.org. N.p., 2004. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.

Lynne Olver is an editor for Food Timeline and conducted extensive research on the history of ice cream before writing this article, citing her sources throughout the page. This page was written in a FAQ style, where the headers were questions followed by the answers underneath. Olver’s purpose in writing this was to answer frequently asked questions about ice cream for her audience, which is everyone surfing the web in search of fun facts about ice cream. She discusses the evolution of different flavors of ice cream and how in the beginning, ice cream was often flavored with fruit but now, there are many other flavors available. Along the timeline, she includes quotes from her sources; for example, in 1747, she includes a quote about raspberry ice cream and continues to do this up through the 1990s. Olver also talks about different kinds of ice cream treats, such as banana splits and egg creams, and includes the history and recipes for these desserts. She includes all her sources she uses as evidence of where she got her information from, and provides a variety of information about ice cream. From this page, I could see how ice cream has evolved into a variety of delicious creamy desserts that are still popular today.

“Birthplace Of Commercial Ice Cream Production”. Pennsylvania Heritage 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.

This article was published in the Fall 2012 edition of Pennsylvania Heritage magazine and discusses how ice cream was commercialized. It includes the year and volume number of the magazine it was published in. Jacob Fussell was owner of a milk and cream delivery business in which he went around Baltimore delivering dairy products. He got the opportunity to start an ice cream factory when a businessman who sold frozen desserts asked him to take over the business. This magazine article fits into the category of advocating for change; it informed me about the commercialization of ice cream, which changed the way ice cream was sold because now people from all social classes and not just the wealthy were able to buy ice cream. It made me really appreciate Fussell for being the father of commercial ice cream production because without him, I probably wouldn’t be able to have such easy access to ice cream in the supermarket today.

Ronald Reagan: “Proclamation 5219—National Ice Cream Month and National Ice Cream Day, 1984,” July 9, 1984. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=40141.

This is a proclamation made by Ronald Reagan on July 9, 1984. It includes the proclamation number at the top and is signed by Reagan at the bottom. He stated how ice cream is “the perfect dessert and snack food” and gave some statistics on the number of gallons of ice cream consumed in the United States in 1983. He declared July 1984 to be National Ice Cream Month and July 15, 1984 as National Ice Cream Day. This became America’s way of celebrating ice cream and even today, we continue to observe this national event. Major ice cream brands like Baskin Robbins and Haagen-Dazs will usually have special deals on this day. This source gave me evidence that National Ice Cream Day is a day that Americans observe, thanks to Reagan.

“From The Cow To The Cone”. Idfa.org. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.

This article about the making of ice cream is from the International Dairy Foods Association, a large organization comprised of smaller subdivisions that represent the nation’s dairy industry. The purpose of this article is to inform readers who are looking to learn about the process of making ice cream. It includes a title and then the information underneath, characteristics of an informative article. The most important ingredient for ice cream is milkfat, and according to federal regulations, ice cream must have at least ten percent milkfat. Sweeteners can vary from cane sugar to honey, but once all the main ingredients have been added, the ice cream is blended and frozen using the batch freezer method. The ice cream then goes through a process of aeration, and federal standards say that ice cream must weigh at least 4.5 pounds per gallon. At this point, additional toppings are added if needed, and then the ice cream is packaged up, ready to be distributed. From this article, I learned how ice cream is made and it gives a detailed step by step look of the process of ice cream manufacturing.

Chen, Yan-Kwang, Pei-Shan Tsai, and Fei-Rung Chiu. “A Customer Value Analysis Of Taiwan Ice Cream Market: A Means-End Chain Approach Across Consumption Situations”. Springer Link. N.p., 2015. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.

This study was made by three Taiwanese researchers who wanted to learn more about customer value perceptions and how that might affect ice cream marketing. The audience is people in the scientific world who also conduct research and share their results. In today’s competitive society, ice cream brands have to find new ways to draw in customers. From the results of the study, they found out that the main values customers were looking for included economy, pleasure, and efficiency. Different kinds of consumers will focus on different values; for example, customers who are getting ice cream for dates or hanging out with friends will focus more on pleasure, while those buying ice cream from the store will look for satisfaction. This source listed out details from every step of the research process, which is part of many research papers, and I could see how certain phrases corresponded to different customer values, which I thought was interesting because major ice cream companies probably use this kind of knowledge in their marketing schemes to draw in customers.

Goff, H. Douglas and Richard W Hartel. Ice Cream. 7th ed. New York: Springer, 2013. Print.

In one of the chapters of this book, Hartel writes about the flavors of ice cream and the ingredients that go into the making of these flavors. Richard Hartel is a professor of food engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his book contains a lot of details about the chemistry that goes on in the making of ice cream. This book is written for people interested in the science that goes behind ice cream. Hartel writes about how the flavors offered by ice cream brands can help them compete with each other; if one company offers a unique but popular flavor, that can help it draw in more business. There are different kinds of flavorings, including liquids, syrups, and solids. Flavors can also be taken from natural sources, such as vanilla beans. A lot of the scientific details weren’t really useful for my topic but I was still able to take away some facts about the making of flavors of ice cream. I never knew how many different kinds of ingredients were used to make the flavors of ice cream, and how the ingredients used could affect the flavor and produce slightly different tastes for the same flavor.

“Ice Cream Facts”. IceCream.com. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.

This website has a lot of fun facts about ice cream, which I thought was interesting. Vanilla is the most popular flavor in the United States, and California produces the most ice cream in America. Most of the vanilla used to make ice cream comes from Madagascar and Indonesia. The average American consumes 48 pints of ice cream a year. This source was different from my other sources in the way the information was presented; there were a lot of colorful graphics and the fun facts were listed in different fonts, making the presentation very artsy like a blog. While there wasn’t any information on who made the website, it seemed like it was made by ice cream fanatics who wanted to share their love and knowledge of ice cream in a way that would be understood by any kind of audience. There were a lot of visuals to go along with the fun facts and I thought it was aesthetically pleasing while also getting the information across.

Poon, Linda. “Why Scream For Gelato Instead Of Ice Cream? Here’s The Scoop”. NPR.org. N.p., 2015. Web. 28 Feb. 2017. 

In this story, Linda Poon interviews Morgan Morano about gelato. Morano is the author of The Art of Making Gelato and was trained in Italy, where gelato is from. This story is like the written version of the podcast in which Poon interviews Morano, and it is meant for anyone interested in learning more about gelato versus ice cream. Morano talks about some of the differences between gelato and ice cream; gelato is smoother, silkier, denser, and uses more milk than cream. Gelato has less butterfat than ice cream and is served at slightly warmer temperatures to make it easier to taste the flavors in smaller amounts. Morano’s training in Italy gives her more authenticity and she knows how to tell the difference between traditional gelato and ice cream that is just labeled as gelato. Gelato should be served with a spatula instead of a scooper, and most importantly, it should be eaten fresh. I wanted to find out about ice cream in other countries that might have a different name, such as gelato, and this source was useful in comparing and contrasting gelato with ice cream. With gelato on the rise, people should be aware that gelato is not the same as ice cream.

 

Process Reflection:

When I first started thinking of topics for my annotated bibliography, I thought I wanted to write about Chinese and Taiwanese food, since that’s the food I grew up eating at home. However, once I started searching for sources, I realized it was difficult to find sources that related to my topic, so I decided to switch to something else. I wrote about choosing a topic in my writer’s notebook, as shown in an entry here: “I searched Google and the UT library website but didn’t come up with anything that useful, so I think I might have to change a topic.” One night while I was working on my Operating Systems homework and thinking about how to celebrate surviving the midterm, I suddenly thought about ice cream and how it would be a good topic for my annotated bibliography. I enjoy eating ice cream when it’s hot outside and I thought it would be interesting to do more research about it. I didn’t know much about ice cream at all before writing this bibliography, which is why I thought it would be a good topic. I thought it would be good to start off by finding sources that talked about the history of ice cream, so I could get some background about my topic. From there, I would move on to include sources related to the making of ice cream, which would then lead to flavors of ice cream and different kinds of ice cream today. I thought these subsections of the topic of ice cream would flow together and work well for my annotated bibliography.

Once I decided on my topic, I started thinking about what sources I wanted to find. I started off by using Google to find sources for the history of ice cream. I came upon many websites and decided to keep the one from the IDFA, because I thought it was more credible since it was from the International Dairy Food Association, an organization that represents the nation’s dairy industry. I had also found a source from history.org that discussed the history of ice cream. However, I found it to include a lot of details which were not useful to me; for example, there was a whole paragraph talking about how humans came to discover fire, but all I wanted was to find out how ice cream was first invented. I ended up scrapping this source and finding other sources that fit into the other categories that we needed for this bibliography. While I was looking for sources related to the flavors of ice cream, I came across a list of the top fifteen flavors from The Food Channel. At first I thought this might be useful as a justification for the most popular flavors of ice cream, but since it was only a list and didn’t include any other information, I decided to reject it and look for something more informative. For the category related to celebrating of food, I thought about National Ice Cream Day and came across a proclamation by Ronald Reagan in which he made July 15 the official national holiday. I thought it was an interesting source to include in my annotated bibliography; I never thought a president would actually make a national holiday to celebrate ice cream. It was difficult to find a source that advocated for change, but when I came across the article from the Pennsylvania Heritage magazine, it seemed perfect. This magazine article was about the commercialization of ice cream, which allowed people of all social classes and not just the wealthy to enjoy ice cream. The magazine has been published since the 1980s and is archived in the State Museum of Pennsylvania website, which lent it more credibility.

In conclusion, I ended up making several changes during the whole research process. I switched topics to ice cream, which was more interesting to me and had more depth to it which made it easier to find sources. I used my notebook to keep track of where I was during each part of the writing process, and I kept a list of all my sources on a Google docs file for easy access. My final product uses sources which were informative and which I deemed were credible.

Hawaiian Food and Culture

/ Dani / 2 Comments

My first foray with Hawaiian food was from a little hole in the wall Hawaiian Diner while on a road trip. What stuck with me was the diversity of the food present on the table. It clearly had both Polynesians, Asian, and Caribbean roots. What interest me is culture and ethnic groups as immigrants come together and influence each other’s foods. Hawaii is the perfect case for this with it’s isolated geography and clear waves of immigrants from a diverse origins. Looking at how what we know today as “Local Food” (combination of different ethnic groups) and “Native Foods” (original Hawaiian) of the islands is a case of an amalgamation of cultures into a new fusion cuisine that is unique to Hawaii.

History + Recipes: The Food of Paradise : Exploring Hawaii’s Culinary Heritage *Best Read 

The Food of Paradise is both a cookbook and an anthropological text. It is divided into multiple parts first with Native Hawaiian foods, and then going into the different ethnic groups that contributed to modern Hawaiian cooking. The author converted on local food and the history and cultural significance behind it. As a whole this book is both a cookbook, a history book, and an ethnic studies book rolled into one. The author wrote this book for anyone and included explanation of local terms for those unfamiliar with the area.

Stories behind the Food:  Family Ingredients on PBS | Hawai’i – Poi. *most interesting video 

The show Family Indigents is on PBS and is hosted and produced by Ed Kenney. He is a chef and lover of food. His philosophy of food bring people and family together is what started the series. This is the first episode; where explores his family and roots in Hawaii. His mother is a native Hawaiian and he grew up on the islands. In this episode he explores the Hawaiian food poi and the ingredient of taro the plant that makes the food. The audience is foodies and people who think of food as a way to bring people together and look at their roots. It is published on PBS online as a video where anyone can watch it for free and was broadcasted along PBS stations on the West Coast and Hawaii. To me this is an interesting document because he explains the food and the ingredients within the context of his own family upbringing and in a native Hawaiians context. He analyzed how taro has changed over the years and how the state of poi in current day Hawaii. He touches on the changing Hawaiian diet that is mentioned in other texts. I would put this text into the genre of videos and TV docuseries. In the series he explores different places through the lens of family foods. It is important to note that this series is produced and hosted by a Hawaiian and the other executive producers are female so there is no gender bias.

History + Recipes: Hawaiian Food: A History and Recipes | In Football We Trust

This article was written for PBS by a Hawaiian man and his wife. Both describe themselves as lovers of land. The piece looks to explain the history of Hawaiian food and food from Hawaii. It tells the story of the original Hawaiian foods and the current amalgamation of cultures on the island that makes what we think of as Hawaiian food today. It describes the Hawaiian peoples and all those that immigrated theirs reliance and new fold love of each other’s foods. The writer is a native Hawaiian who is a trained chef from the Culinary Institute of the Pacific and the Culinary Institute of America. Both he and his wife are community leaders in revitalizing the Hawaiian food scene both locally and internationally. The author wrote this as an education piece on how Hawaiian food has evolved to what they see today at football parties. The audience is anyone with even a remote interest in Hawaiian food and the author includes multiple recipes that are easy to follow. This is an opinion editorial along with a history of the Hawaiian food culture. The text is interesting because it explain how we we know as Hawaiian food came to be and how it is constantly changing and evolving. This is both a collection of recipes and a celebration of the unique culture.

Health of Hawaiians:  The Integral Role of Food in Native Hawaiian Migrants’ Perceptions of Health and Well-Being.” Journal of Transcultural Nursing 22 *for the Health Science inclined 

This is a study from the Journal of Transcultural Nursing looking at the obesity among Native Hawaiians who move to the continental US along with the obesity among Native Hawaiians in Hawaii. Obesity is highly prevalent among both groups but more so among those who move to the continental US. The study was to look at the relationship between food, perception of health and well being. It was common that after moving to use food as a way to alive homesickness except here the food was less expensive and in larger portions leading to weight gain. Overall it advises healthcare professionals to be more casual with Hawaiians by talking about family first before advising on health care. It also advised a diet plan that would help alive homesickness with the healthy native foods along with exercises such as Hula and canoeing that would bring them to the cultural roots without weight gain. The study was conned by a white female who has no connection to Hawaii but she had her research students be of Hawaiian ethnicity and worked with them for cultural sensitivity and did sensitivity training throughout the course of the study. The audience is others in the healthcare profession who are dealing with a Hawaiian population that is obese and had health care problems that go along with obesity. This is a scientific journal and is advocating for change in both how Hawaiians eat and deal with homesickness and how health care professionals treat them.

Vocab and History: The Food In Hawaii Is Not Necessarily Hawaiian — Cooking In America. *easy to watch

This video is hosted by a Hawaiian native who was on Top Chef. In the video he explains the difference from local food and native Hawaiian food and the story behind how it came to be along with making food. It’s part history lesson and part food blog. It is meant for anyone interested in Hawaiian food at a basic level. The video is interesting because it explores this idea from the lense of a native Hawaiian.

Review: Regional Powerhouse Chains: L&L Hawaiian Barbecue.

This is a restaurant review for the L&L Hawaiian Barbecue chain and looks at how they came to prominence. Overall L&L is what many Hawaiians are familiar with at home; a dinner that serves different kinds of plate lunches. A plate lunch is two large scoops of rice, a scoop of macaroni salad, and a centre of meet; if there are multiple proteins it is called a mixed plate. This is something that can be found almost everywhere in Hawaiian with different groups having different proteins with Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Hawaiian proteins found on the menu. This coupled with Hawaiian barbecue, managers, and simian noodles other staples of the island and its multiethnic population makes for a powerhouse of chain restaurants. This review was written for foodies and those looking at restaurants. The review is not from Hawaii but does know about local trains. It is interesting to look at how the Hawaiian chain started there and upon coming stateside exploded and is incredibly profitable and has a cult following among Hawaiian who moved stateside and normal Americans alike due to its great food, large quantity, and cheap prices.

Menu and About: L&L Hawaiian Barbecue 

This is the L&L Hawaiian Barbecue chain’s website. It is pulled up to the about page and I would also recommend going to the menu page. It has clear pictures of what each item is along with explaining what a plate lunch is to both the Hawaiian culture and to those wanted to order it. When you click on the picture a description will pop up along with the nutrition information for that item. . On the menu is mainly plate lunch style with assorted proteins of different cultures that have become part of the Hawaiian culture. An example of this is this is Chicken Katsu (Japanese) or BBQ Ribs (Korea), Loco Moco (burgers with egg on top)  or BBQ Chicken (Southern style). This coupled with the spam options of Spam Musubi (spam sushi), Spam Saimin (noodle soup).  The website is meant for a customer from any background and is viable for any customer over the internet. The text is interesting in that it bridges the gap between Hawaiian dinner food via plate lunch and American food. Ready for the average American consumer to try.

Menu and About: Poke-Poke *tried and tested highly recommended for those near 

This is the website for a local Poke restaurant in Austin TX. It is the second restaurant with the first in Venice beach. The menu is more true to the ‘healthy’ aspect of Hawaiian food. It only consists of different raw fish pokes, with rice options available, along with acai bowls. Acai bowl while not being Hawaiian have become part of the surfing culture with its origins in Brazil. In the late 1980’s and mid 1990’s it made its way to both Hawaii and California through the surfing culture and only recently has come to Austin. The menu has only raw fish, tofu, and vegetarian options and is built with the health consciousness in mind. The restaurant is the brainchild of a native Hawaiian and his wife. It has more of a mom and pop feel rather than a chipotle style assembly line like other poke shops that are hopping on the trend.

Mainstreaming Poke: The Splendid Table: Martha Cheng: Poke’s Simplicity Invites Improvisation

This is a part of the splendid table podcast; this section focuses on poke Martha Cheng who is being interviewed is a Hawaii local and author of The Poke Cookbook. In this interview she explain that poke as we know it is a relatively new Hawaiian food made in the 1970s. The original word of poke was made by native Hawaiians with raw fish, salt, and some seaweed; however the poke we think of today was made by the kids and grandkids of plantation workers of Japanese and Chinese descent. Oil and shoyu were added and is served everywhere. From gas stations, Costco, to beers with friends after work poke is as common as chips and salsa on the content. The audience for this podcast is anyone who enjoys food and the authors are Martha Cheng who is interviews and the  Sally Swift one of the personalities on the Splendid Table podcast series. This text is interesting because it shows how influence little things are to the Hawaiian palate and food culture. Where something never heard of has exploded on the island and even stateside so fast.  

Government Takes Notice: Creation of Hawaiian Food Week: Congress Document 

This document is from the United States senate; last year through Senator Rounds the creation of Hawaiian Food Week was passed. This was the first time the US had officially recognized that Hawaii has contributed to the culinary heritage of the country. The history is linked with foods brought by native Hawaiians and the next groups of voyagers, the land and ranching ability of the island, and the amazing seafood that is offered by the island. It was celebrated as an ideal mixing of cultures and ethnicities through the food of Polynesia, China, Japan, Korea, among other island nations. The food is what bonded together the immigrants and created the uniquely Hawaiian spirit of sharing food and being familiar and friendly with neighbors. It celebrates Hawaiian food and helps memorialize it into the American conscious .