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.