Tag Archives: Food

Dessert: Pandoro

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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

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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

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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

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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: Surf Clams

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General Information about Item:

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

Informant Data:

  • H.J. is a 22-year-old male living in San Diego, California. He has lived in New York, San Francisco, and Boston. He lives with his parents, grandparents, and a sister. His parents were originally from China but lived in Montreal, Canada before giving birth to H.J.

Contextual Data:

Social Context

  • H.J. first had this dish in elementary school. He invented this Christmas dish for his family because of the Surf Clams’ distinct red and white color. He had recently learned about the Christmas symbolism in those colors and wanted to eat something in those colors for Christmas. Over time, he also grew to associate Surf Clams with cold weather because the clams are served chilled, similar to the weather during Christmas in the areas where he lived before. Now, eating Surf Clams is an important tradition within his family.

Cultural Context

  • In America, the traditional colors of Christmas are red, green, and white; the red and white color of the Surf Clams ties the dish to Christmas
  • Since Christmas is celebrated in the cold winter season, Surf Clams are also served chilled to mimic the environment.

Item:

  • Surf Clams are a type of fresh clams bought at a local grocery store. The clams are deshelled and placed in a ring on a plate while still cold. The dish is served with a dipping sauce mixture combining soy sauce and a bit of Japanese wasabi. It is usually eaten with rice. This dish doesn’t originate from a specific culture. Rather, it was put together by H.J. and his family.

Transcript of Interview Clip:

Y.H. (collector): What is a special Christmas dish to you?

H.J. (informant): I eat Surf Clams every year.

Y.H.: When did you first start eating this dish and why?

H.J.: We first started eating these Surf Clams because they were red and white. I remember I was really young, probably in elementary school and we learned that red, white and green were the colors of Christmas, so I really wanted to eat something red and white for Christmas. Looking back, there were definitely other foods that are red and white, such as some fish probably, or even crab and lobster, but I didn’t like those at the time so we decided to get the Surf Clam.

Y.H.: Why have you continued eating it throughout the years?

H.J.: Mm. I think that over time, it still carried with it the tie with Christmas colors, for me at least. And so I have already wanted to eat it every year. My sister and parents don’t really have that connection but we still eat it every year. Also it’s really tasty so there was no reason to stop. Oh and since it’s served chilled, it gives me Christmas vibes even when I just think about it so, in my mind, I already associate it with Christmas since, you know, Christmas is in the winter.

Y.H.: That makes sense. Do you think there is a cultural background needed to understand your appreciation?

H.J.: Ya I think with two things. The first one I think is like the person needs to associate Christmas with winter and the cold. I know like around the world, some places celebrate Christmas in the summer because their seasons are flipped, so they may not think of Christmas as a cold time of the year. The other thing is that they need to associate the colors red, green and white with Christmas. I don’t know if there are different cultures that associate different colors with Christmas but ya.

Y.H.: Thank you.

Collector’s Comments:

  • Among the dishes I collected, this was definitely the most interesting because it had nothing to do with family history. The origin of the dish isn’t tied to the Christian religion, nor H.J.’s Chinese ethnicity. Instead, it is a ritual and tradition invented by him for his family based on his personal interpretation of Christmas.

Collector’s Name:

Yilin Huo

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Entrée: Rotisserie Chicken

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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

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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

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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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Entrée: Rooster

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General Information about Item:

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

Informant Data:

  • G.P. is a 22-year-old senior studying computer science at Middlebury College and Dartmouth College’s dual degree program. He grew up in Jiangsu province, China, and went to college in the US. He normally celebrates the Chinese New Year with his family in Jiangsu province, which is along the east coast of China.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Roosters are eaten during the Chinese New Year mainly because of its auspicious name. Rooster in Chinese is pronounced as “jī” (鸡), and in ancient China, the word “jī” (鸡) is the same as “jí” (吉), which means good. Many auspicious proverbs are related to “jí” (吉). For example,  “jílì” (吉利), which means good fortune, and “jí xiáng rú yì” (吉祥如意), which is used to wish people good luck. Additionally, roosters are traditionally considered an auspicious animal because of the many folktales associated with it.
  • Social Context: During the Chinese New Year, family members gather together to have dinner or lunch. The rooster is served as a main dish. It is cooked in many different ways, for example, chicken soup, boiled chicken, and calabash chicken, etc.

Item:

  • Roosters are eaten commonly during festivals. They are cooked in very different ways across different areas of China. In the southern part of China, people like to cook the whole chicken altogether as chicken soup. Chopped boiled chicken with salt and soy sauce is also common. In the northern part, roosters are often fried. For example, in the northwest part of China, calabash chicken is common. Roosters are eaten during the Chinese New Year mainly because of its auspicious name. The name of the rooster is a homophone for good fortune.

Image File:

rooster

Calabash chicken (G.P. ordered this calabash chicken last year on the Chinese New Year’s Eve)

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?

G.P. (informant): We often make chicken soup during the Chinese New Year Eve. Although we also eat hens at other times, we deliberately choose the strongest rooster to make the soup during the Chinese New Year. The rooster is a symbol of prosperity and health. We often cook the whole rooster altogether, which symbolizes that good fortune is held together. 

S.T.: Is there any reason that rooster has such an auspicious meaning?

G.P.: The story that I heard is that rooster crows actually not in the morning but at the darkest time of the night. The morning comes following the crow of the rooster. At the darkest time of the day, monsters often come out to search for people to eat. The loud crow of the rooster is a way to drive away monsters and thus protect the villagers. Thus, the rooster is often considered an auspicious animal. 

S.T.: The name of the rooster in Chinese is probably also related to some auspicious words, right?

G.P.: Yes, I think the word rooster in Chinese is “jī” (鸡) which resembles “jí” (吉), which means good fortune. 

S.T.: Any custom when eating the rooster?

G.P.: The elders often eat the head and the rooster crest. The rooster crest symbolizes the “top.” Eating the rooster crest expresses the hope of becoming the best at whatever you are doing. The elders eat the head because they are the “head” of the family. The children often eat the legs of the rooster, since it represents that the children can “run fast” (become the best students) in their schoolwork. 

Informant’s Comments:

  • The rooster is an auspicious animal in traditional Chinese culture. In ancient China, people wake up and go to work when hearing the crow of roosters. Thus, the rooster is often associated with diligence.

Collector’s Comments:

  • My family also eats roosters during the Chinese New Year. We also have the tradition of cooking the whole chicken altogether. My family believes that the whole chicken represents the union of the family. This is an example of homeopathic magic.

Collector’s Name: Stela (Yunjin) Tong

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Dessert: Glutinous Rice Ball

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General Information about Item:

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

Informant Data:

  • S.G. is a 22-year-old senior studying engineering and mathematics at Vassar College and Dartmouth College’s dual degree program. He grew up in Beijing, China, and went to college in the US. His family is a traditional Beijing family, which practices many northern-China traditions.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Glutinous rice balls are eaten during the Chinese New Year mainly because of its auspicious name and shape. For many Chinese families in mainland China as well as overseas, glutinous rice balls are typically eaten together with family. The round shape of the balls and the bowls in which they are served symbolizes family cohesion. The name of Glutinous rice balls, “tāngyuán” (汤圆), is also a homophone for union, “tuányuán” (团圆).
  • Social Context: During the Chinese New Year, family members gather together and glutinous rice balls often serve as a dessert at the end which is typically eaten together with the whole family.

Item:

  • Glutinous rice ball is a Chinese dessert that is a ball of glutinous rice flour and water that has been either boiled and served in a hot broth or syrup or else deep-fried.  Glutinous rice balls are traditionally eaten during Yuanxiao in the Lantern Festival and also serve as a dessert during the China New Year. It is pronounced “tāngyuán,” which a homophone for union “tuányuán.” Thus, the glutinous rice ball is a symbol of family reunions.  It is eaten in both northern and southern China, but in different areas, people may prefer glutinous rice balls with different fillings.

Image File:

riceball

Unfilled rice balls, cooked with osmanthus and sweet fermented glutinous rice (S.G. took this photo last year during the Chines New Year when he and his parents were eating dinner at a restaurant.)

riceballs

Sweet rice balls with sesame filling (S.G.’s family made this two years ago on the Chinese New Year’s day.)

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?

S.G. (informant): My family likes to eat the glutinous rice ball, which is also called “yuanxiao.”  

S.T.: I like it as well. What flavor of the rice balls does your family normally eat? Sweet or salty? What fillings?

S.T.: We like to eat sweet rice balls with fillings such as sesame and sweet bean paste. When I go to the southern part of China, I often eat small rice balls with no filling. These rice balls are cooked with soup of osmanthus and sweet fermented glutinous rice.

S.T.: Why do you and your family eat glutinous rice balls? Any meaning or hope associated with it? 

S.G.: The glutinous rice ball is called “tangyuan” and “yuanxiao.” The name of it resembles the pronunciation of “tuantuanyuanyuan,” which means the union of the family. Eating glutinous rice balls expresses the hope that the family members are always united and bonded together.

S.T.: How do you normally cook glutinous rice balls? 

S.G.: We normally just throw the rice balls into boiling water and cook them for 15 minutes. 

Informant’s Comments:

  • Glutinous rice balls are often eaten during family reunions. Eating glutinous rice balls conveys a very traditional Chinese idea that family is an important part of one’s life. Instead of individualism emphasized in western culture, the Chinese people often prioritize the interests of the whole family.

Collector’s Comments:

  • The most renowned glutinous rice balls come from Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, which is near my hometown. My family also likes to eat glutinous rice balls. Unlike people in the northern part, who often like the filled glutinous rice balls better, we eat the unfilled rice balls more often. Glutinous rice balls are a very common dessert nowadays. People eat it during important festivals, but it really can be eaten whenever they want. The fact that the round shape of the balls and the bowls in which they are served can help with family cohesion is an example of homeopathic magic.

Collector’s Name: Stela (Yunjin) Tong

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