fusion in the context of food studies
The term fusion in the context of food studies refers to any dish that is a combination of different flavors of two cultures, which later became wasabi flavored mashed potatoes or roasted chicken mixed with sweet and sticky mango ginger sauce. Norman Van Aken coined the term was a cook who originated in Illinois and was a person of vaguely Dutch roots and also French and German. He invented the term fusion while at his restaurant called Norman’s, and which was located in Miami. It was essential to understand American food in the United States since it reflected the history of the United States by mixing the culinary aspects of different groups of people living around the world. It included African Americans, Asians, indigenous American Indians, Europeans, and Latin America (Kalenjuk et al. 33).
The authenticity of the food to be either categorized as geographically or ethnically is constituted by the originality of the food that is where the food is originally from, for example, from America, we have American cuisine from France where we have French cuisine and many more. Again it is constituted ethnically by those who are believed to be the primary consumers of the food. We have African Americans, Asians, Europeans, Latin Americans, and also the Indians. The consumers of the food are the one who decides if the food is authentic or inauthentic. If one takes the food and finds the food is good to him or her, then the food is considered to be authentic. This becomes different when the food he or she takes and finds it to be different from his or her expectations. If one expects the food to be good or of importance to his or her health and it turns out not to be, then one will consider the food to be inauthentic. Also, the authenticity of the food will depend on who is preparing it. The experience determines this and the ingredients used. With experience, those who have better experience are to be likely to make food that is more authentic compared to those with lesser experience (Knight). With the ingredients, if the parts are the real and initial ones, then the more the authenticity of the food. The actual people who prepare the authentic food are those who are considered to have been born in the exact geographical place the authentic food originated from or where the food is considered to be a staple food. The importance of taking authentic food is that it helps one to get the exact value of the nutrients of the food; it also satisfies the expectations of the one consuming it.
A distinct food movement is recognized in the United States of America by meeting their expectations. This is achieved in different ways. One of the methods is by trying to market the food by indicating the places where the food can be found. One can name the food restaurant by a name that is common to the Americans. This will enable the Americans to recognize the place quickly, and hence it will be easier for them to come in plenty. It can also be achieved by combining distinct food with the most common food in the United States. This will help make different food to be authentic and be accepted by the Americans. The distinct food can also be a movement in the United States by ensuring that those who work in places where that are sold are citizens of the United States. This will make it easy for Americans to get more urge to consume the food as they will be no racism. A food tradition can be transmitted intergenerationally and geographically over time by keeping the history of the food so that the coming generations will have a way of learning more about them. The importance of the food will be absorbed through history, and thus they will be more interested in acquiring the value of the food. The tradition of the diet can also be transmitted in a way that those who can prepare the food in a way that it will be regarded as authentic to move from one geographical place to another. They can start working on the menus in those new places, and within a period, the food will have been transmitted to many different sites.
In my opinion, I resonate with chapter 5 of the article A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting Point Cuisine. This is because it gives us the originality of the term fusion as it is related to food studies, who was behind the coining of the term and his originality. Again it shows us the importance of food as per the Americans (Lee). If I were to experience food traveling on my own, I would like to take and enjoy wasabi-flavored mashed potatoes in Miami. This is because the flavor of the the the food seems to be authentic and real. I would also like to get the original recipe for preparing fusion foods since Miami was the place believed to be the first place where the fusion foods originated from.