Category Archives: Customary Lore

Entrée/Dessert: Glutinous Rice Cake

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, superstition, family tradition; Verbal Lore – saying
  • Language: English with some Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: W.W.
  • Date Collected: November 15, 2020

Informant Data:

  • W.W. is a 22-year-old senior studying Mathematics and Computer Science at Dartmouth. He was born in Boulder, Colorado, but his family moved to Shanghai, China when he was 9 years old. Every summer vacation and Chinese New Year while in China, W.W. would visit his maternal relatives in Beijing with his parents and little sister. To celebrate the reunion of the extended family, his grandma would host a large dinner celebration at home with all the relatives invited, including all the uncles, aunts, cousins, and even the family pets.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context

  • “Nián gāo” (年糕) refers to Glutinous Rice Cake, but it can also be translated literally as “New Year Cake.” The name is auspicious because it sounds similar to the popular Chinese New Year’s saying “nián nián gāo” (年年高), which means “higher every year.” It is often used as a toast at the dinner table to wish good health for elders, successful careers for working adults, and stellar grades for children.

Social Context

  • Glutinous Rice Cake is always served for the traditional feast on Chinese New Year’s Eve. The extended family reunites to celebrate this special occasion. After the feast, the family watches fireworks and a special show on TV called “chūn wǎn” (春晚), which features singing, dancing, and traditional performances.

Item:

  • “Nián gāo” (年糕), or Glutinous Rice Cake, comes in two varieties: savory and sweet. The preparation process is straightforward but time consuming. First, boiled sticky rice is pounded into a paste and molded into dough. The dough is then cooked again, usually by steaming. Savory Glutinous Rice Cake dishes are usually served as entrées. The rice dough is cooked plain, typically in the shape of cylinders or flat slices, and subsequently stir fried with other ingredients or used in hotpot. For example, in Shanghai, Glutinous Rice Cake is often stir fried with cabbage and shredded pork. Sweet Glutinous Rice Cake dishes, on the other hand, are served as desserts. Sugar, assorted nuts, and dried fruits are added to the dough before cooking or mixed in afterwards. When purchased at the store, sweet Glutinous Rice Cake dishes are often packed in more elaborate shapes such as fish, which symbolizes surplus and unity.

Image Files:

Sweet Glutinous Rice Cake in elaborate packaging (Photo was taken by W.W.’s family members on November 7, 2020; it was ordered online.)

Sweet Glutinous Rice Cake being steamed (Photo was taken by W.W.’s family members on November 7, 2020; unfortunately the end product is not as beautiful as the packaging.)

Transcript of Interview Clip:

W.W. (collector and informant): When I was a child, um, I remember that my favorite dessert for Chinese New Year was sweet Glutinous Rice Cake shaped like koi. Since I was allergic to tree nuts, my parents and grandparents always bought it plain. The packaging was super elaborate, so I was always, um, a little, very disappointed actually, to discover that the rice cake itself was plain white. My family would steam the plain rice cake and serve it with nuts and other toppings placed separately on the side. I always struggled to eat it because it was very sticky. Apparently, the right technique is to stick your chopsticks into the rice cake and swirl them around until a decent sized blob forms. After eating the rice cake, we would cast lots to see who would clean the dishes because it was always a tedious chore to clean off the sticky remains.

Collector’s Comments:

  • Talking about Glutinous Rice Cake brings back happy childhood memories and evokes a strong feeling of nostalgia. I always preferred the sweet type instead of the savory type. My parents did not have the time to make rice dough themselves, so they bought it pre-packaged from the store, usually weeks in advance. I would always beg them to let me eat it before Chinese New Year, but my efforts were never successful.

Collector’s Name: Winston Wang

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Entrée: Braised Pork and Gold Ingot Egg

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish, recipe; Customary Lore – celebration, family tradition, superstition, historical story
  • Language: Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: Y.Z.
  • Date Collected: November 7, 2020

Informant Data:

  • Y.Z. is about ~50 years old, and she currently resides in Shanghai, China. She was born in Beijing, China during the Cultural Revolution and grew up in relative poverty, as was the case with most Chinese families back then. After attending university in Beijing, she pursued her graduate studies in the US. She learned many traditional Chinese dishes from her mother and enjoys cooking for her family.

Contextual Data:

Historical & Cultural Context

  • During the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368) in China, the main currency was gold and silver ingots shaped like tiny boats called “yuán bǎo” (元宝). Many traditional Chinese New Year dishes such as dumplings are prepared in the shape of these ingots as a symbol for wealth and prosperity.
  • In the 1960s and 1970s, China’s economy was in a terrible state. Meat, eggs, and sugar were heavily rationed. As a result, most families could not prepare meat dishes and desserts for their daily meals. During Chinese New Year, the rations were temporarily increased, so families would celebrate by making large meat dishes and fancy desserts.

Social Context

  • Chinese New Year meals are always eaten as family. Most of the dishes have auspicious names, colors, or shapes that symbolize longevity, wealth, or good fortune. By eating these dishes, families express their hope for more prosperity and blessings in the coming year.

Item:

  • Braised Pork and Gold Ingot Egg, or “hóng shāo ròu yuán bǎo dàn” (红烧肉元宝蛋) in Chinese, is a popular meat dish eaten for Chinese New Year, both in the northern and southern provinces. Diced pork belly is braised in a broth consisting of soy sauce, sugar, star anise, ginger, and garlic. Boiled eggs are then flavored using the remaining meat stock. Afterwards, the top half of the egg whites are removed to give the eggs a distinctive “yuán bǎo” (元宝) shape. Finally, the eggs are plated on top of the pork belly, and the family shares the dish together to express their wishes for the new year. There are several variations of this dish according to regional preferences. For example, in Shanghai, families tend to add much more sugar to the dish to give it a sweeter taste.

Image File:

image file

The completed dish (Photo was taken by Y.Z. on November 7, 2020; she prepared the dish using a recipe from her mother.)

Translation of Interview Clip:

Y.Z. (informant): The dish I’m introducing is called “hóng shāo ròu yuán bǎo dàn” (红烧肉元宝蛋). Um, this dish, we always had it for Chinese New Year when I was a child. So, when I grew up in the 60s and 70s, China’s economy was pretty behind. Ingredients like pork and eggs were scarce resources, rationed every month by the government. For each person, every month, um, there was about one pound of meat and eggs in total. So, usually, we rarely had a chance to eat meat. That’s why during Chinese New Year, when the rations are slightly increased, we would use, um, pork and eggs to make the dish. One reason why this dish is so popular is because the meat is braised in soy sauce and other condiments, including star anise, scallion, ginger, and garlic… uh, the remaining meat stock is used to flavor the eggs and can also be saved for other dishes. The reason why the eggs are called ” yuán bǎo dàn ” (元宝蛋), is like this. “Yuán bǎo” (元宝), they are Chinese ingots, the shape is like a boat. During the Yuan Dynasty, gold and silver were used as currency, and they were molded into such a shape. ” Yuán” (元) refers to the Yuan Dynasty, and ” bǎo” (宝) means treasure. So in this dish, you can make the eggs resemble “yuán bǎo” (元宝) by removing part of the egg white. I guess this is a nice wish, the hope that, next year, life will be bountiful, the family income will increase, so people make this dish “hóng shāo ròu yuán bǎo dàn” (红烧肉元宝蛋). That’s about it. Are there any parts that you are not clear about?

W.W. (collector): Great, thanks for sharing. So I wanted to ask, is this dish a Beijing specialty or eaten widely across China?

Y.Z.: Uh, this is great question. This dish, I think it is eaten in many places, by many people. For Chinese New Year, both in the north and in the south, it is one of the most common dishes on the dinner table, suitable for young and old alike. Everyone likes it very much and eats the dish to show their wishes. Even though, the standards of living are higher now, and the dish can be made any time of the year, but as a tradition, many families still prepare it as a festival dish for Chinese New Year.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I remember eating “hóng shāo ròu” (红烧肉), or braised pork, as a child, but this is my first time hearing about “yuán bǎo dàn” (元宝蛋). I am impressed by the level of creativity in the preparation of the eggs.
  • Homeopathic magic is present in the superstitions related to the informant’s dish: eating the ingot-shaped eggs brings wealth and good fortune.

Collector’s Name: Winston Wang

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Topping: Osmanthus Honey

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, family tradition, superstition, cooking technique
  • Language: English with some Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: V.Y.
  • Date Collected: November 7, 2020

Informant Data:

  • V.Y. is a 21-year-old senior studying Physics at UCLA. He is from Shanghai, China, though his family lived in Beijing for eight years before settling down in Shanghai. While in China, he celebrated traditional Chinese festivals with his family. He has especially fond memories of his grandma’s cooking.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context

  • Chinese cuisine varies greatly from province to province in terms of style, but Chinese chefs have classified eight regional cuisines, the most prominent ones being Cantonese cuisine, Shandong cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine, and Sichuan cuisine. In the modern age, it is not uncommon for Chinese families to combine ingredients and cooking techniques from two or more regional cuisines or modify existing dishes to better suit their tastes.
  • Chinese culture places heavy emphasis on the symbolic meaning of flowers: chrysanthemums symbolize longevity, plum blossoms symbolize perseverance, magnolias symbolize beauty, osmanthus flowers symbolize wealth and royalty, etc. Many types of flowers are used in teas and dessert dishes to infuse them with the corresponding symbolic attributes.

Social Context

  • In China, there is a stereotype that all grandmas are good chefs. Children always look forward to visiting their grandma’s house on special occasions like Chinese New Year to eat delicious home-cooked meals. Grandparents often spoil their grandchildren by feeding them an extravagant amount of food, much to the chagrin of their parents.

Item:

  • Osmanthus Honey, or “guì huā mì” (桂花蜜) is a special jam-like topping that the informant’s family uses for traditional desserts such as “tāng yuán” (汤圆), glutinous rice balls, and “guì huā gāo” (桂花糕), osmanthus cake. The technique of preserving flowers in honey is native to Haiyang (海阳), the hometown of the informant’s grandma; however, osmanthus flowers are more commonly used in Shanghainese and Hangzhou cuisine. While fresh osmanthus flowers are often preferred for dishes, Osmanthus Honey allows the distinctive fragrance of osmanthus flowers to be used in winter festival dishes, even when the flowers themselves are not in bloom. The preparation of Osmanthus Honey is quite simple: fresh osmanthus flowers are dried and submerged in honey; the resulting mixture is then stored in a glass jar for future use. Osmanthus Honey can be directly applied to the top of a dessert or mixed into dessert doughs.

Audio Clip:

 

Transcript:

V.Y. (informant): Sure. So um, my grandmother, who is from Shandong (山东) used to make this honey infused with “guì huā” (桂花), which is a kind of flower that’s common in China, especially in Shanghai. And it smells very nice, and it doesn’t really taste like anything, but it makes whatever you put it in smell like the flower. And we used to put it in honey and then put the honey into various doughs that we use for desserts, and we used to sprinkle it on top of “tāng yuán” (汤圆) and put it in “guì huā gāo” (桂花糕), which I believe is kind of like Shanghai specialty, which is a kind of, I guess… I guess custard isn’t the right word. It’s a desert made of dough, I guess. Uh, yeah. And I always feel like it’s it’s kind of a unique thing to our family, because I don’t think it’s a very common thing in China doing this. And I was really like how… this is, I believe, this is like a technique people do in my grandmother’s hometown, which is not Shanghai. And this is a flower from Shanghai. And we is always just thought it was nice that, you know, it’s kind of customs of different parts of China that we combine in our family. And yeah, yeah, there are other dishes that we, but this is just something that came to mind.

W.W. (collector): Um, yeah, also do you mind telling me where your grandma’s from?

V.Y.: Uh, from Shandong from a small city by the sea, called Haiyang (海阳). And, yeah, I visited there once. And it’s kind of interesting. It’s sort of an isolated city. I mean, obviously, now, there’s roads and airports and everything. But historically, it’s somewhat isolated. So their cuisine is kind of not represented. It’s kind of different from general Chinese cuisine. Like it’s almost a little similar to Japanese cuisine, because they’re next to the sea, and they eat like octopus raw and everything. And, yeah, then this is the this putting flowers in honey is apparently one, something they do there is, as I can recall.

W.W.: It’s very interesting. And, um, so do you know, whether this has any significance for like, Chinese New Year in general, or how this tradition started within your family?

V.Y.: Um, I’m not… I suppose it started, I guess, when my grandmother moved to Shanghai, because that was she, you know, she didn’t grow up here. That, I think is something like 40, 50 years ago. And, um, I mean, I guess back then, it’s having you know, any kind of sugar at all is kind of a luxury. And, you know, certainly you couldn’t really preserve “guì huā” (桂花), is definitely a seasonal things back then. So I think putting it in honey, you know, it’s a it’s a nice and tasty thing, but I guess also preserves the seasonal, seasonal delicacy. And I guess it’s kind of a nice thing to have.

Informant’s Comments:

  • Talking about Osmanthus Honey, I kind of miss it now…

Collector’s Comments:

  • I also have fond memories of my grandma’s cooking. Every time my family went to visit her in Beijing, she would cook for an entire day and prepare a grand feast.
  • One of my favorite Shanghainese dishes is “nuò mǐ ǒu” (糯米藕), or lotus root with sticky rice. It is often topped with honey and osmanthus flowers, though they are added separated.

Collector’s Name: Winston Wang

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Dessert: Pandoro

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, family tradition
  • Language: English with some Italian
  • Country of Origin: Italy
  • Informant: M.P.S.
  • Date Collected: November 19, 2020

Informant Data:

  • M.P.S. is a 22-year-old senior studying Mathematics and Computer Science at Dartmouth College. She is half Canadian and half Italian, but she spent most of her life in England. As a young child, she spent some time living with her relatives in Italy, where she learned to speak basic Italian and became accustomed to many local traditions, especially ones related to food. She is non-religious but enjoys celebrating Christmas with her family.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context

  • In Italy, Christmas cakes, more accurately described as sweet breads, are traditional desserts eaten for Christmas celebrations. During the Middle Ages, only rich people could afford to eat white bread, and sweet bread was considered a luxury reserved for the nobility. Nowadays, they are much more affordable and extremely popular among Italian households. Most families purchase them at the store days or even weeks in advance, though some choose to bake their own at home.

Social Context

  • Christmas cake, as the name implies, is eaten on or around Christmas Day. Store-bought Christmas cake is often packaged in a beautiful paper container. Many families have their own rituals when it comes to unpackaging the Christmas cake and sharing the delicious contents within.

Item:

  • Pandoro, which translates to “golden bread,” is a type of traditional Italian Christmas cake that originates from Verona. It is a plain sweetbread dusted with vanilla-scented icing sugar that is well-known for its distinctive golden color, which signifies wealth. When viewed from above, the shape of Pandoro resembles an eight-pointed star, which symbolizes salvation and abundance from a Judeo-Christian perspective. When purchased from the store, Pandoro is nicely packaged with the icing sugar included in a plastic packet. For many families, the preparation of Pandoro is an entertaining ritual that typically takes place early Christmas morning: the whole sweetbread is placed in a plastic bag along with the powdery icing sugar. The plastic bag is then sealed and shaken vigorously until the cake is fully coated in icing sugar. Afterwards, the Pandoro is sliced and shared among the family. Unfortunately, Pandoro is difficult to find in the US. Many Italian American families prefer Panettone, a cupola-shaped Christmas cake from Milan that contains dried or candied fruits.

Image File:

Bauli Pandoro, a popular brand (Photo was taken by M.P.S. on November 30, 2020; she ordered the Pandoro from the store more than a month in advance)

Audio Clip:

 

Transcript:

M.P.S. (informant): So I eat this food, so my food is called a Pandoro. Am I meant to say that now?

W.W. (collector): Yeah, yeah.

M.P.S.: Okay, so my food is called a Pandoro. It’s basically a Italian Christmas bread, cake type food. And it is my favorite food of all time. I love it so much. I’ve eaten it every Christmas since I was a baby. Either if I was in Italy, that Christmas, or if I was in England, which is where I live. And this is basically a type of kind of big, fluffy yellow cake that you can eat around Christmas time. I don’t know if there’s any specific rules. But typically, my family we wait until Christmas day to open it. We buy it from the store, we don’t make them ourselves. And one of the fun-est things about them is that you take the icing sugar, and you mix it into, into this kind of plastic bag, and you put the whole cake in the plastic bag, and you shake it around until the cake is coated and icing sugar. So that’s kind of like the ritualistic element every Christmas morning. So the first thing we do is open the Pandoro and shake it up so that it’s ready to eat at lunchtime.

W.W.: Great. And the tradition that you just mentioned is something that you only do with your family, or is this a common thing for Italian families to do?

M.P.S.: Well, a lot of Italians eat Pandoro at Christmas. And I mean, you typically, when you buy them, they’ll come with a packet of icing sugar and a plastic bag in the box ready for you to do, so I think lots of Italian families do shake it up together. It’s kind of like celebratory, although I don’t know whether or not it’s specifically like on Christmas Day or just around the time. And some people obviously make them themselves. They home-make.

W.W.: So you mentioned Pandoro is Italian Christmas cake. Could you talk a little bit about how it’s, like what’s special about the cake? Um, like for example, like the shape, the way it’s made.

M.P.S.: So it’s kind of shaped like a Christmas tree, and it’s really tall. So like from the top it looks like a star which is really nice and Christmas-y and it’s made it’s pretty simple. The ingredients, I’m pretty sure just butter, sugar, flour, eggs, or I’m not even sure I don’t think there’s eggs actually. Um, and it’s originally like bread. So it’s Pandoro, which means like bread, gold bread, right, “pan” is bread, and “d’oro” is gold. So it’s like meant to be very like yellow, yellowy. So that’s kind of what makes it stand out. There’s another Christmas cake called Panettone which is similar and maybe more commonly found, like in America, or I’ve seen it more often like, in places like Starbucks and things, and this has got fruits and stuff in it. But Pandora is typically like plain, and you’re just eating it with sugar. Some people like prepare it different ways. I like to dip it in milk. I think it’s really delicious.

Informant’s Comments:

  • If you haven’t tried Pandoro before, I highly recommend you try it. It’s so good. It doesn’t seem like it should be that good because it’s just bready sponge cake. But it is. There is something about it and the flavor. That makes it my favorite thing about Christmas time. It’s so delicious. And if you try it, you shouldn’t put whipped cream or ice cream or chocolate on top. Just eat it like is meant to be eaten, at least for the first time, so you get the proper experience because I feel like it’s got such a delicate flavor.

Collector’s Comments:

  • Fortunately, I was able to try Pandoro in my freshman year of college. It tastes absolutely amazing, and the experience was one of the highlights of my winter term. I really enjoyed learning about the informant’s lovely family tradition on Christmas morning where they prepare the Pandoro together. I didn’t know food preparation could be so fun!

Collector’s Name: Winston Wang

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Dessert: Kutja; Salad: Salat Olivier

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, religious custom
  • Language: English with some Russian
  • Country of Origin: Russia
  • Informant: V.A.
  • Date Collected: November 13, 2020

Informant Data:

  • V.A. is ~50 years old, and she is a professor at Dartmouth College. She was born in the Soviet Union, which is now Russia, in the city of Moscow. Currently, she is religious and celebrates Christmas as a religious holiday; however, when she was growing up in the atheist Soviet environment, there was no Christmas whatsoever.

Contextual Data:

Historical & Religious Context

  • After the Russian Revolution, the Communists took the secular traditions of Christmas and passed them onto the New Year, which was celebrated as a secular holiday. Christmas trees, gifts, and food became New Year’s trees, gifts, and food. The religious traditions of Christmas were discontinued, and Christmas dishes associated with religious ceremonies were no longer prepared, at least not openly. After the end of the Communist regime, Christmas returned, but, nowadays, it is solely observed in Russia as a church holiday rather than a commercial holiday like in the US. The gift-giving tradition and original Christmas dishes are still part of New Year’s celebrations.

Cultural Context

  • Russian salads are unlike American salads. They are often warm dishes that feature a rich assortment of ingredients such as meat, seafood, root vegetables, and various types of dressing.

Social Context

  • In Russia, families hold a New Year’s feast as a replacement for the pre-revolution Christmas feast. The family or community gathers for a large meal consisting of mainly secular dishes, many invented during the Soviet era. In addition, the New Year is celebrated by champagne and other revelries.

Item:

  • Kutja (Кутья) is a pudding-like dish made using some variety of grain, typically wheat berries or rice, cooked with honey. Sometimes, other ingredients such as nuts and raisins are also added. Traditionally, before the Soviet era, it was served on Christmas Eve as a celebration for Jesus’s birthday. It was also eaten after funeral ceremonies at the church to commemorate the souls of the departed.
  • Salat Olivier (салат оливьер) is a rich salad consisting of chicken, potatoes, mayonnaise, pickles, carrots, onions, and tinned peas that every Russian family prepares for the New Year. It was invented during the Soviet era and remains a popular salad dish to this day.

Transcript of Interview Clip:

W.W. (collector): Thank you so much. So feel free to go ahead and talk about the item you’re sharing as well as any relevant social or cultural context related to the item.

V.A. (informant): Yeah, I think I want to say that so my own way of celebrating Christmas has changed because when I was a child, and when I was, when I was a young adult, I didn’t… when I was a child, I did not celebrate Christmas, because nobody did. It was the end of the Soviet Union. And during the Soviet times, people did not celebrate Christmas, at least openly. And the whole holiday was replaced by the celebration of the New Year.

After the revolution, yeah, that was a deal of the Communists, they just took the traditions of Christmas and passed them onto the New Year, they kind of made this a non-religious holiday. So the Christmas tree became a New Year tree. Christmas gifts became New Year gifts. And Christmas food became New Year food. So people that before the revolution, they used to think that traditional dishes were making a goose or a duck, roast duck or roast goose, as, because meat were… because, why that? Yes, well, for once, the celebration of Christmas is preceded by Christmas Lent, by a fast, a pretty long, fast like a month long when people don’t eat meat. So eating meat was like a way to celebrate after a very long period of not eating it. So that, that was a traditional dish. And another traditional dish also that that also has religious symbolism was what is called kutja (Кутья). And that was some kind of grain like rice or wheat grains cooked with honey. And that is something that is associated with remembering the dead. So this is a traditional dish, for example, when somebody dies and after you give this religious ceremonial saying goodbye to the person at the church, that is the food that you eat. So it was sometimes served during the Christmas, although it is like a birthday. Yes, a birthday of Jesus, still it, it has this association of paying tribute to the dead people and kind of acknowledging that they’re still there. Yeah. So, but that is that food, because of its very religious association, it was not passed into the celebration of the New Year.

So when I was growing up, what people would do for the New Year that at that time replaced Christmas would be some kinds of new Soviet dishes like for example, something which we call salat olivier (салат оливьер), a salad, which is not really a salad but like a warm salad, with chicken, with mayonnaise, with potatoes, etc. Like some very rich salad that people traditionally make for the New Year. That’s another, another thing that people always have for the New Year is champagne.

And so Christmas was totally lost. I didn’t celebrate it. And then I became religious at some point in my life and when Christmas was returned, after the Communist regime was over, and now the new Russia actively promotes religion. Yeah, so people started celebrating it again. But it remained where it was. It’s a church holiday. So what I’m trying to say is that people still make ducks and geese for the New Year, they still make the salad with chicken and potatoes, and they still drink some champagne for the New Year. But celebration of the Christmas is limited to religious families. It is nothing whatever like it is in the States, it’s not a commercial holiday. Nobody’s giving gifts. Nobody’s… all the celebration is around the New Year. So in a way, there is no Christmas, traditional Christmas dishes, now.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I enjoyed learning about the history behind the dishes. It is fascinating that many Christmas traditions were passed on to the New Year and continue to live on. During the Cultural Revolution in China, religious practices, especially Buddhist ones, were also labelled as superstition and purged in favor of atheism.

Collector’s Name: Winston Wang

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Salad: Selodka Pod Shuboy; Soup: Borshch, Shchi, and Gribnoy Sup

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, family tradition
  • Language: English with some Russian
  • Country of Origin: Russia
  • Informant: M.R.
  • Date Collected: November 14, 2020

Informant Data:

  • M.R. is a 19-year-old senior studying Computer Science and Economics at Colgate University. He is Jewish and second-generation Russian American. His parents were originally from Nizhny Novgorod (Нижний Новгород), a city four hours east of Moscow, before immigrating to the US around 25 years ago. His family primarily celebrates American and Jewish holidays rather than Russian ones. However, they still cook and eat many traditional dishes from Russian cuisine for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and New Year’s. Although M.R.’s family observes Jewish festivities, they do not attribute much religious significance to most of the food they eat during those occasions. Instead, the food serves as a tool for bringing the family together and creating a sense of community.

Contextual Data:

Historical & Religious Context

  • The majority of Russian households are Orthodox Christian, with Jews accounting for less than 0.2% of the population in Russia. During the latter half of the 20th century, there was a movement of Jews, like M.R.’s parents, who emigrated from Russia to countries like the US due to religious persecution and harassment from state authorities. Many Russian Jewish families in the US celebrate a lot of Jewish holidays as a testament of their faith and religious freedom. However, they have not forgotten their Russian heritage and continue to prepare traditional Russian dishes even for non-Russian holidays.

Cultural Context

  • For many Russian-Jewish American families, New Year’s has replaced the role of Christmas as a gift-giving holiday. Ded Moroz (Дед Мороз) or Santa Claus comes on New Year’s Eve and distributes presents to the children. They also have New Year’s trees, which serve the same function as Christmas trees. The festival food for New Year’s is like that of Thanksgiving, consisting of traditional salads, soups, and poultry. Many non-Jewish Russian families in the US also eat these dishes for Christmas.
  • In the American context, a salad usually refers to a mixture of raw vegetables with small portions of other ingredients. In the Russian context, a salad is a more general concept, often containing a wide variety of ingredients that range from frozen fish to boiled root vegetables.

Social Context

  • Although Russian families in America observe different holidays based on religion and personal preference, it is common for families to celebrate important winter festivals by preparing a large traditional Russian dinner that symbolizes abundance and family unity.

Items:

  • Selodka Pod Shuboy (селёдка под шубой), or dressed herring, colloquially known as “herring under a fur coat” is a popular salad for winter festivals. It typically consists of diced pickled herring covered with layers of root vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, and beetroots that are boiled and grated, along with chopped onions and dressing like mayonnaise. Beetroots are often placed in the final layer to give the dish its characteristic purple color. The salad is often adorned with grated boiled eggs, and, in some variations, a layer of grated apple.
  • Borshch, Shchi, and Gribnoy Sup (борщ, щи, грибной суп), or Beet, Cabbage, and Mushroom Soup, are common soups served along with the meal. They are all thick soups that are usually slow-cooked for hours. Borshch is commonly made with beef, cabbage, onion, carrots, potatoes, and beet. Other root vegetables like turnip can also be added according to personal taste. Shchi is made with either cabbage or sauerkraut and can either contain meat or be meatless. It is often served with boiled potatoes and sour cream on the side. Gribnoy Sup is prepared using mushrooms that were preserved before the harsh winter season. Many Orthodox Russians eat this hearty dish for sochelnik, the meatless Christmas Eve Holy Supper.

Audio Clip:

 

Transcript:

M.R. (informant): Yeah, yeah. So I would say the majority of Russian households are like, all like Christian and like Orthodox and some other kind of religious group besides Judaism, we saw kind of, we see kind of a large, like movement of Jews outside of like, like Jews from Russia, immigrating to the US because of religious persecution and harassment, and, you know, higher positions, not, not being very kind to Jews, right. So my family is kind of part of that movement, and they immigrated to the US. And here we celebrate a lot of Jewish holidays, right? Because there is kind of the sense of religious freedom. So that’s definitely it’s definitely, it definitely influences what we do at the end of the year, right? Instead of celebrating Christmas, which is very, very big in Russia as well. We celebrate Hanukkah, and we celebrate New Year’s. And mostly, I would say, like Jewish holidays, as opposed to Russian holidays.

W.W. (collector): Great. Yeah. Thank you so much. Yep. So you can go ahead and tell me about your items.

M.R.: Yeah, yeah. So. So for Hanukkah, we don’t have necessarily like, like a specified cuisine. That’s more of a holiday that we like, embrace family and unity, as opposed to like a giant feast. Whereas like Thanksgiving and New Year’s, those are more of like feast the type of holidays. So Thanksgiving, for example. This is celebrated, sort of similarly to how it’s celebrated in the US, like, if we take like the juxtaposition between like a US family and a Russian American or Russian family celebrating Thanksgiving, it’s very similar, right? So we have a big table, all the relatives and friends get together. And there’s a lot of common elements such as the big turkey, there’s usually like cranberry, like stuffing, you know, maybe some mashed potatoes. But this is where it kind of diverges for Russian families. We have a lot more emphasis on like Russian food. So there’s all sorts of things like selodka pod shuboy (селёдка под шубой), which is like beet salad over herring fish, we have lots of soups, like, including like, shchi, gribnoy sup (щи, грибной суп), like mushroom soup. And like borshch (борщ), that’s the classic Russian one. And then lots of salads. Another just like background is that like, salad in in the American context means usually, like lettuce and other things. And that’s, that’s what we like, think of as salads, but in Russian context, a salad is just a group of items. So it’s like, basically, everything’s a salad. Or you can have beet salad, which is just beet sliced. You can have the option of carrot salad. That’s a very common one as well. Yeah, so salads are like, are very huge as well. So those are kind of like the main differences and in terms of cuisine, for like, Russian houses on Thanksgiving. And then should I talk about New Year’s as well?

W.W.: Yeah. Okay.

M.R.: Yeah, New Year’s is also interesting, because, for us, we’re Jewish, so we don’t celebrate Christmas. So Santa Claus or Ded Moroz (Дед Мороз) comes on New Year’s for us. And we have a New Year’s tree similar to the way Americans have, like, have a Christmas tree, right. So we have like, presents under the nearest tree. And Ded Moroz comes to give all the kids podarki (подарки) or presents. And they have to be like, really nice to receive the presents and not naughty and stuff, right. So it’s, it’s like a very similar thing. And there’s a specified kind of cuisine for New Year’s but similar to Thanksgiving. It provides kind of a sense of community and allows people to get together to just have Russian cuisine.

Collector’s Comment:

  • It is interesting to hear that many Russian-Jewish Americans celebrate common Christmas traditions on New Year’s due to religious and cultural reasons. My family, which is Chinese, also places great emphasis on soups for the winter; however, the soups we prepare are much thinner and contain traditional Chinese ingredients such as ginger and winter melon.

Collector’s Name: Winston Wang

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Entrée: Tamales

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – traditional dish; Customary Lore – celebration
  • Language: Spanish
  • Country of Origin: Mexico
  • Informant: G.P.
  • Date Collected: November 7, 2020

Informant Data:

  • G.P. is a ~60 year old woman living in New Jersey. She was born in Tlaxcala, Mexico and has spent over 20 years in the United States, where she lives with two of her siblings and, up until they started university, her two nephews and niece. In the US, her family usually celebrates Christmas by inviting over more family members, preparing food, and partaking in some traditions with respect to her religion.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: You will most likely find tamales anytime you go to a Mexican restaurant, but when a family makes them at home, the dish has more meaning. Tamales are more of a work of art, and the process is very special. There is a general belief that emotions tied to cooking are passed on to the resulting dish, which is an example of the law of similarity, like produces like. This is doubly so for tamales. The process involves washing one of your hands and arm and mixing the batter until everything is well integrated. This direct physical contact with the ingredients makes it really important for the chef to remain happy and excited. To remedy the annoyance of beating the mixture for long periods of time, people switch places.
  • Social Context: Eating and making tamales is something that’s usually done as a group due to the grueling work that goes into it. The easier parts are prepping the salsas, meats and/or cheese, and chile pepper slices. The hard part is beating the batter and making the tamales, so usually family and friends gather to form them in the leaves.

Item:

The recipe is somewhat complex, so it’ll be split into several parts

  • The sauce:
    • Tomatillo Sauce (Green): Peel tomatillos and keep the peels for the batter. Grill tomatillos and green chile peppers (jalapeños or chile de arbol), then peel the scorched parts off, and blend with water, garlic and onion. Afterwards, heat up some oil in a pot, then fry the sauce in it, and leave to boil.
    • Tomato Sauce (Red): Wash, cut, and deseed a lot of tomatoes, then blend. Slice some onion and fry until it becomes clear but before it starts browning. Add the sauce and water, so it isn’t too viscous. Add about two stems of epazote and salt to taste, then leave to boil.
  • The batter requires a very large pot. You’ll have to boil tomatillo peels with some anise. Then, you’ll need to mix flour for tamales, salt, a bit of baking soda and baking powder, about a liter of oil per bag of flour, chicken stock, and the stock from the tomatillo peels after being strained through a colander. Then, you must mix everything by hand, add salt, mix again, and let the contents sit for an hour.
  • Once the sauce and batter are done you can begin forming tamales by using corn husk leaves or banana leaves. Add batter, your choice of salsa, raw chicken pieces, cheese, and/or green chile pepper slices. Wrap them up so they don’t leak, and continue. Once you have a good bit of tamales, you’ll need a special pot with two sections separated by a metal plate with holes for steam since tamales are vapor-cooked. The bottom section is filled with water, and the top section is stacked with tamales until the top of the pot is reached. Then, cover everything with a moist cloth, plastic bag, and pot top. Let the contents slow cook for 2.5 hours, and they’re done, becoming more solid as they coo).

Translation:

C.Y. (collector): Wow tamales take a while to make, why do you choose to make them?

G.P. (informant): Well I don’t make them for fun let me tell you that. I usually only make them when I can get help from my nephews and nieces, because it takes a long time, and as you probably know, getting angry is only going to make the process longer.

C.Y.: Oooh yea, I know about that. I remember my uncle threw away a whole meal because I was really angry as I helped him. Man, I was so disappointed in myself after that.

G.P.: Yea it’s really important. It helps in adding a bit of the human spirit into the mix, otherwise you’d just be able to use a machine, but I don’t think they come out as well.

Collector’s Comments:

  • Tamales are really something else in the food world. When I was younger, I used to get mad at being woken up at 6am to beat the batter, but, as I got older, I realized the payoff was worth it and was much happier to help. To date, the longest I’ve gone only having tamales for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was around a week.

Collector’s Name: Carlos Yepes

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Entrée: Rotisserie Chicken

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – Christmas dish; Customary Lore – celebration, family tradition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: J.H.
  • Date Collected: November 10, 2020

Informant Data:

  • J.H. is a current junior in high school residing in Southern California. He was born in Singapore and moved here in 2008, when he was 5 years old. His parents are from China. His favorite restaurant is KFC. J.H. is also non-religious. J.H. first ate Rotisserie Chicken the first Christmas after he moved to the US in 2008. He ate it with his parents, brother, and cousins. Originally, they just bought a rotisserie chicken from Costco, but then they started making their own rotisserie chicken at home.

Contextual Data:

Social Context

  • For J.H., Rotisserie Chicken symbolizes family, as Christmas is one of the few times where the whole family can sit down at the dinner table together and eat without being in a rush. Additionally, the chicken does not carry any religious symbolism, as J.H. and his family are non-religious. Generally, people who enjoy cooking at home tend to make their own rotisserie chicken at home, but people who like to eat out will buy a prepared one from stores like Costco.

Cultural Context

  • There isn’t a lot of cultural context required to understand this dish. However, the one thing to note is that people who are non-religious and also celebrate Christmas may understand this dish better because Rotisserie Chicken wasn’t chosen for any specific religious reason. Even though the rotisserie chicken cooking method historically comes from Christian countries like France, Germany and Mexico, the dish itself is secular and is now thought of as an American staple.

Item:

Rotisserie Chicken can be bought already cooked from stores like Costco. Alternatively, it can also be cooked at home. The first step is to buy a whole raw chicken and soak it in a brine. It is then seasoned and cooked in a rotisserie oven until the skin is crispy. In the rotisserie oven, the chicken is positioned using three skewers, and an in-built mechanism rotates the chicken as it roasts. Many homes do not have the specialized rotisserie oven, so people often opt for store-bought Rotisserie Chicken or cook Roast Chicken instead.

Transcript of Interview Clip:

Y.H. (collector): Thank you. So for this project, I’m collecting information on dishes that people eat during Christmas that is symbolic to them in some way. Do you have a dish like that?

J.H. (informant): Ya so one thing that we always eat during Christmas is Rotisserie Chicken. We used to get the chicken from Costco, cause they’re super cheap there. But I think two Black Fridays ago, there was a deal on a rotisserie oven so my family bought the rotisserie oven and we have been making the chicken at home ever since.

Y.H.: Can you describe the chicken a bit more?

J.H.: Ya so we get like a raw whole chicken from Costco, put it in a brine, season it and then stick it in the rotisserie oven. Usually we also serve other food like mashed potatoes or seafood or something like that.

Y.H.: And when did you first eat this chicken?

J.H.: Ya so I think I first had it the first Christmas we celebrated in the US in 2006. It was with my parents and my brother. We also have cousins in San Diego, so they came over.

Y.H.: Great and do you think there’s any symbolism to eating rotisserie chicken?

J.H.: I mean, my family is non-religious so there’s no religious symbolism to eating chicken. I think the reason we kept on eating it was because that was our first Christmas in the US, and I remember when the second Christmas rolled around, my brother also really wanted to eat rotisserie chicken, and we’ve been eating it ever since. But to me personally, I think it represents family? Like how it’s the one meal where everyone’s at the table because my dad works late a lot of the time and my brother is away at college.

Y.H.: Do you think someone needs a certain cultural background to understand rotisserie chicken the way you do?

J.H.: Like I said before, we are non-religious so probably someone also non-religious would understand? I know a lot of people who aren’t religious who still celebrate Christmas and they don’t always eat foods that carry religious symbolism just like how our roast chicken isn’t religious. But other than that, not really anything else.

Y.H.: Great, thanks.

Collector’s Comments:

  • My family is also non-religious, so we don’t attach any religious symbolism, whether Chinese or American, to the foods we eat during Christmas. I wonder if there is a cultural difference between those that usually eat out as opposed to those that eat at home. Although the informant didn’t mention this, it is worth investigating.

Collector’s Name:

Yilin Huo

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Entrée: Soft-shell Turtle

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, belief, superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: J.T.
  • Date Collected: November 23, 2020

Informant Data:

  • J.T. is a 16-year-old high school student. He was born in Zhejiang Province, China, which is along the East coast of China and is considered the southern part of China. He celebrated the Chinese New Year every year with his family. The way his family celebrates the Chinese New Year consists of traditions that are common in southern China.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Soft-shell turtles are eaten during the Chinese New Year mainly because they resemble turtles, which are a common symbol of longevity. The soft-shell turtles eaten during the Chinese New Year are often the middle-aged ones since they represent strength and health. The elders often eat the head of the soft-shell turtle since they are the “head” of the family. The children often eat the soft shell, since it is the most delicious part of the soft-shell turtles, and it is believed that it nourishes people’s skin.
  • Social Context: During the Chinese New Year’s Eve, it is customary for an extended family to hold a large dinner gathering at home, and soft-shell turtles are often cooked as soup and shared among family members.

Item:

  • Soft-shell turtles are commonly eaten for the Chinese New Year because they resemble turtles, a common symbol of longevity. Since people do not commonly eat turtles, soft-shell turtles that resemble turtles are eaten instead. Soft-shell turtles are often cooked as soup. There may be different things added to the soups, such as meatballs, vegetables, etc.

Image File:

soft-shellturtle soup

Soft-shell turtle soup with meatballs (Photo was taken by J.T.; J.T.’s mother cooked this on the Chinese New Year’s day last year.)

Transcript of Interview Clip: 

S.T. (collector): What is one of the most interesting or important dishes that is eaten during the Chinese New Year in your family?

J.T. (informant): The most unique dish is probably the soft-shell turtle soup. 

S.T.: Wow, that is not a common dish. How do you normally prepare it?

J.T.: The first step is to kill the soft-shell turtle, and it is not easy since once the soft-shell turtle puts its head inside of the shell it is hard to get it out. There is a trick. We have to flip the soft-shell turtle upside down and as it takes the effort to flip its self back, it has to stretch out its head. We use scissors to shear off the head as soon as the head is out. After we kill the soft-shell turtle, we cut it pieces and clean it. We often make it a soup and add ginger and meatballs into the soup. To make the meat of the soft-shell turtle soft, we cook it with a pressure cooker.

S.T.: Why do you eat soft-shell turtles? Any meaning associated with it? 

J.T.: Turtle is obviously a symbol of longevity, but people don’t often eat turtles. So, we eat soft-shell turtles instead. People who eat soft-shell turtles are believed to live longer and healthier. Also, soft-shell turtles are nutritious. It is believed the skin of the soft-shell turtle nourishes people’s skin.

S.T.: Any custom when eating the soft-shell turtle?

J.T.: The elders often eat the head, and the children often eat the softshell. It is probably like the elders are the “head” of the family. The elders often let the children eat the soft shell of the soft-shell turtles, since it is the most delicious part of the soft-shell turtles, and it is believed that it nourishes their skin.

Informant’s Comments:

  • My favorite part is I get to eat the soft-shell every time since I am the youngest kid in the family. The skin of the soft-shell is very delicious. This custom also shows the elders’ love for the kids.

Collector’s Comments:

  • The soft-shell turtles are often eaten in the southern part of China probably because there are more lakes in the south and thus more soft-shell turtles. Additionally, people in the southern part like to drink soup, and the soft-shell turtle soup are very nutritious. My family also eats soft-shell turtle soup. We often associate the soft-shell turtle with heath and strength. People believe that the soft-shell turtle can make them live long because of the resemblance to turtles, and the skin of the soft-shell turtle nourishes people’s skin. These are both homeopathic magic.

Collector’s Name: Stela (Yunjin) Tong

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Entrée: Lamb

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, belief, superstition
  • Language: English with some Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: X.L.
  • Date Collected: November 23, 2020

Informant Data:

  • X.L. is a 21-year-old senior studying art history at Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts. She currently lives in Shanxi province, China, which is in the northwest part of China. She grew up in the southern part of China. Therefore, she understands how people celebrate the Chinese New Year in different areas of China. She celebrated the Chinese New Year every year with her family in the South and with her friends in Shanxi province.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: There are several reasons that lamb is eaten during the Chinese New Year. First of all, the word “lamb” (羊) in Chinese has auspicious meanings. Lamb in Chinese is pronounced as “yáng” (羊), and many auspicious words are related to it. For example, sān yáng kāi tài” (三羊开泰), which means the New Year ushers in renewal and a change of fortune. Chinese people always say: “Three yangs bring bliss” or “three yangs meet bliss,” as blessing words at the beginning of a year. Another phrase is “xǐ qì yáng yáng” (喜气洋洋), which means be bursting with happiness. Additionally, in ancient China, the word “羊” is the same as “祥,” which means good fortune. Lamb is eaten also because according to traditional Chinese medicine eating lamb can help people better resist the coldness in winter. Lamb also represents prosperity and wealth in some sense since in the Agricultural Age the number of lambs is closely related to wealth.
  • Social Context: Lamb is eaten often on the Chinese New Year’s Eve when all the family members are gathered together at home. Lamb is often cooked and shared among all the family members.

Item:

  • Lamb is commonly eaten for the Chinese New Year because of its auspicious name and the fact that lamb can warm up our body in winter. Lamb is eaten almost in all areas of China, but in different areas of China, different types of lamb are eaten, and they are often cooked in different ways, such as grilled lamb, lamb soup, braised lamb, lamb hotpot, etc.

Image file:

lamb hotpot

Lamb hotpot (Photo was taken by X.L. when she ate lamb hotpot with her family on the Chinese New Year’s Eve last year.)

Transcript of Interview Clip: 

S.T. (collector): What is one of the most interesting or important dishes that is eaten during the Chinese New Year in your family?

X.L. (informant): My family likes to eat braised lamb. It is a big dish that requires a lot of time to cook. Therefore, we only eat it at big festivals, such as the Chinese New Year. It is like the Chinese New Year to us is a very important festival, so we cook the most delicious and most time-consuming dish to show that we treat this festival carefully.

S.T.: Why does your family like to eat braised lamb during the Chinese New Year?

X.L.: My family has the tradition of eating braised lamb in the winter because eating lamb can warm up our body. So, the Chinese new year is just a perfect time to eat lamb since it is the coldest time of the year. 

S.T.: Is there any good meaning associated with this dish? Any good hope behind it? Like you know fish is associated with wealth.

X.L.: There is a Chinese proverb called “sān yáng kāi tài” (三羊开泰). It is a very auspicious word and basically means a good start. This is what I can think of now, but I am sure that there are many other auspicious words related to lamb.

Informant’s Comments:

  • The braised lamb is considered a “big” dish, which needs to be cooked very carefully for like 2 hours. Everyone has to eat at least a piece to warm up and to gain good fortune.

Collector’s Comments:

  • For the Chinese New Year, my family also eats braised lamb for similar reasons as the informant. The kind of lamb we eat is Hu sheep, which is usually cooked with braising. In other areas of Chinese, people may eat different kinds of lamb or even goats, and they are often grilled or made with soup. Eating lamb is both homeopathic magic and contagious magic. The fact that lamb brings good fortune because the word “羊” resembles “祥” is an example of homeopathic magic, and the fact lamb brings wealth because it is a part of people’s property is an example of contagious magic.

Collector’s Name: Stela (Yunjin) Tong

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