Food's Cultural and Personal Meanings

Food has many cultural and personal significances according to Ahn and Nicholson. Ahn focuses upon how food brought back his Korean culture while Nicholson describes his mother in terms of the food they ate together. Roy Ahn grew up in America and therefore was a Korean-American. As a teenager he was having difficulty identifying who he was as a person more so than others who were Korean-American. After his parents died he went through a period of little interest in his Korean background; he stopped eating Korean food and slowly forgot some of the language. He started cooking in the Rocky Mountains later in his life and rediscovered his heritage. He imagined cooking with his mother and all the things she would do, whether it be to “add a few more red-pepper flakes or dial down the sesame oil” (Ahn 4). As a result of his new connection with his heritage, he wants to make sure his son grows up knowing his ethnic roots. Food helped Roy Ahn reconnect with his heritage and emphasized the importance of relaying his culture to his children. Similarly, Geoff Nicholson reconnects with his mother through food. Instead of cooking with his mother like Ahn, Nicholson remembers their favorite meal of white bread with Cheshire cheese and cold milk. Food not only has a personal significance to Nicholson but also religious—or at least to his mother. She was catholic while Nicholson and his father were not. To the mother the white food signifies a white soul and purity.  For Nicholson white bread and milk reminds him of his mother, while ham reminds me of Christmas dinner in the mountains with my family. We make it a tradition on Christmas Eve to have ham, mashed potatoes, and vegetables for dinner while looking out onto the Keystone Lake from our condo. Whenever I have a slice of warm ham I am reminded of these precious evenings with my family. Food has also been a way of stress-relief whether it is making our famous banana chocolate chip bread or baking cookies with my sister. Whether it is a religious, cultural, or personal connection, food has many meanings in people’s lives.  

Katie's Tropical Stir-fry

Today I had lunch with my friend Quinn after our engineering lab. I went straight to Nelson dining hall with only a half hour to eat before my biology class. I scoped over all the food available—most the same as usual—and quickly decided on a tropical vegetable stir-fry. This consists of onions, peppers, pineapple, and mangos over rice with a tangy tropical sauce. I have had this entrée before—most of the time very delicious—but today it was not up to standard. There was way too many onions and not enough pineapple and mangos. Even though the main entrée was a letdown, the dessert improved the entire meal. There was a cookie-decorating bar with sugar cookies, frosting, and toppings. Once the cookie was made, my hunger from the letdown of the stir-fry went away. I sat at a table with a few friends but had to leave early in order to make it to my next class.  Some days it is difficult to squeeze lunch into my busy schedule but it is definitely an improvement in my day when I get to spend it with my friends. I hope my next meal will be an improvement over lunch.