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1、Unit 6 FoodFood and Culture1 We all have ideas about what kinds of foods are good to eat. We also have ideas about what kinds of foods are bad to eat. As a result, people from one culture often think tlie foods that people from another culture eat are disgusting or nauseating. MTien the famous boxer
2、 Muhammad Ali visited Africa, for example, one member of his group became quite sick when lie saw someone pick up a butterfly and eat it. Many people would find it disgusting to eat rats, but tliere are forty-two different cultures whose people regard rats as appropriate food.2 Some people in Africa
3、 think Afi-ican tennites make a delicious meal. Many other people would probably be sick if they had to eat termites, but one hundred grams of termites contain more than twice as many calories and almost twice as much protein as one hundred grams of cooked hamburger.3 However, food likes and dislike
4、s do not always seem related to nutrition. For example, broccoli is first on a list of the most nutritious common vegetables, but it is twenty-first on a list of vegetables that Americans like most to eat. Tomatoes are sixteenth on the list of most nutritious vegetables, but they are first on the li
5、st of vegetables that Americans like most to eat.4 But dislike is not the only reason why some cultures will not eat a certain food. In some cultures, certain foods are taboo. Taboo is a word from the language of tlie Fiji Islands that is used to describe something that is forbidden. Some foods are
6、taboo in certain religions, but there are also other food taboos that are not connected to a religion. We do not usually think about why certain tilings are taboo in our culture. We may not even know why they are taboo. Anthropologists try to discover the hidden reasons for taboos. For example, the
7、sacred cows of India are well known. Cows can go wherever they want to in the streets of India, and they can eat anything they want from the supplies of tlie foodsellers on the street. As a result, the cows are a problem. However, no one in India will kill tliem or eat them. It is taboo to do so. Th
8、is custom seems strange to other people, but anthropologists believe that there are reasons for it. First, cows are valuable because the farmers need them to help plow their fields. Second, cow manure is used as a fertilizer on the fields. In India, many farmers cannot afford to spend money on ferti
9、lizer. Third, the cow manure can be dried and burned to make cooking fires. Therefore, fanners tliat kill their cows for meat soon find that they cannot plow or fertilize their fields or make a cooking fire.5 Another example is that Americans do not eat dogs, although people from some other cultures
10、 regard them as good food. In the United States, dogs are very important to people as pets. They are usually regarded as part of tlie family, almost like a child in some cases. In addition, dogs have value as protection against criminals. Thieves will not usually enter a house where there is a dog b
11、ecause the dog will bark and possibly attack a stranger who is trying to get into a house. Apparently, the dogs place in society as a companion and as protection against criminals makes the dog taboo as food.6 The taboo against eating pork occurs in more than one culture. There is some evidence that
12、 some ancient Egyptians did not eat pork. The ancient Israelites also regarded pork as taboo. One explanation for the pig-eating taboo is that pork that is not cooked sufficiently may spread a disease called trichinosis. However, most people no longer think that this is a good explanation for the po
13、rk taboo. Another explanation is that the Israelites were nomads一they were always moving from place to place. People have to stay in one place to raise pigs. The Israelites did not want to stay in one place because they did not want to change their culture. As a result, they did not eat pigs.7 Anthr
14、opologists believe that most food likes and dislikes are a result of the ways of life of different people. Some people live in areas where there are both large animals and many insects. It is difficult for these people to kill large animals, and it requires a lot of energy. It is easier for them to
15、use insects for food because it is not difficult to catch insects and it does not require a lot of energy. Nomadic people who move around will not want to keep pigs for food. People will not eat pets such as dogs. Americans eat a lot of beef because there is plenty of land for raising cattle and the
16、ir meat can be shipped cheaply for long distances by railroads.饮食与文化1 对于什么样的食物好吃，我们都有自己的主见。对于什么样的食物不好吃，我们也有自己的 看法。因此，某种文化背景的人常常会觉得另种文化背景的人吃的食物难以忍受或者令人作呕。 比如，在著名的拳击手穆罕默德阿里访问非洲时，团里的名成员看到有人抓起只蝴蝶就吃 了下去时便恶心得想呕吐。许多人会发觉吃老鼠肉令人恶心，但世界上有42种不同文化的人认 为鼠肉是合适的食物。2 在非洲有些人认为非洲白蚁可以做成美餐。对于许多其他人来说，如果非吃（白蚁）不可 的话，他们很可能会呕吐
17、。但是，如果拿1。克的白蚁和10。克制作好的汉堡包相比，前者所 含的热量是后者的两倍多，其所含的蛋白质也几乎是后者的两倍。3 不过，对食物的好恶似乎并不定与营养有关。例如，花椰菜在营养最丰富的常见蔬菜中 排名第，但它在美国人最喜欢的蔬菜中仅名列第二十位。西红柿在营养最丰富的蔬菜中排 名十六，但它在美国人最喜欢的蔬菜中却名列榜首。.4 但不喜欢并不是某些文化（中人们）不吃某种食物的唯原因。在有些文化中，有些食物是禁忌。“禁忌” 同来源于斐济群岛的语言，用来表示禁止做的事。有些食物在某些宗教中被 列为禁忌，但也有些饮食禁忌与宗教无关。通常我们不去考虑为什么在我们的文化中有些东西 是禁忌。我们也许甚
18、至不知道它们为什么是禁忌。人类学家试图发现禁忌背后隐藏的原因。例如， 印度“圣牛”为人们所熟知。牛可以在印度的大街上到处走，它们可以吃街上食品摊主所供应的 食物中任何它们想吃的东西。结果，牛就成了问题。可是，在印度没人会去杀牛或吃牛肉。杀牛 或吃牛肉是禁忌。这种习俗在其他人看起来似乎很奇怪，但人类学家相信这自有其原因。首先, 牛是很宝贵的，因为农民需要它们帮助犁地。其次，牛粪可作地里的肥料。在印度，许多农民买 不起肥料。还有，牛粪弄干后可用来烧火做饭。因此，杀牛食肉的农民很快发现他们无法犁地, 无法给庄稼施肥，或者无燃料做饭。5 再比如，美国人不吃狗肉，尽管其他些文化背景的人视狗肉为佳肴。在美
19、国，狗作为宠物 对人们极为重要。通常它们被视为家庭的部分，有时甚至还把狗当成自己的孩子。此外，狗的 价值还在于防范罪犯。盗贼般不进入有狗的住宅，因为狗会吠叫，而且可能会袭击试图进入屋 广的陌生人。显而易见，狗在社会中作为伙伴及防范罪犯的卫士的角色使吃狗肉成为禁忌。6 不止种文化忌食猪肉。有迹象表明些古埃及人不吃猪肉。古代以色列人也视猪肉为禁 忌对禁食猪肉的种解释是，未被煮透的猪肉可能会传播种疾病，叫旋毛虫病。但大多数人 不再认为这能很好地解释禁食猪肉的原因。另种解释是以色列人原属游牧民族一一他们总是居 无定所。要养猪，人们就得在某地定居下来。从前以色列人不愿在个地方定居，因为他们不想 改变自己
20、的文化。正因如此，他们便不食猪肉。7 人类学家相信，对食物的好恶大多是不同人不同生活方式的结果。有些人生活在既有大型动物又有许多昆虫的地区。他们杀死大型动物有困难，需要花很大的力气。对他们来说，以昆虫为 食要容易些，因为捕捉昆虫既不困难又不需花太大的力气。四处流动、过游牧生活的人不愿意为 吃肉而养猪。人们也不吃像狗那样的宠物。美国人牛肉吃得很多，因为有大量的土地可用来养牛， 而且牛肉可以通过铁路以低廉的价格进行长途运输。The MenuJim Heimann1 Food history tells us that in early restaurants the recitation of t
21、he available food dishes became an increasingly time-consuming chore; tlierefore, written menus were developed to help guide diners in their eating choices. This written menu was commonly handwritten on a chalkboard or listed on a board that could be easily seen by the customers. Developments in pri
22、nting finally led to a change and the larger restaurants1 floor plans made a single handwritten menu impractical, so printed menus were introduced.2 Delmonicos restaurant in New York City is often given credit for introducing the first printed menu in the United States in 1834. That menu, as well as
23、 others of the period, was simple in design and offered specific information. Special occasions led to a call for unique designs and eventually led to more highly decorated menus.3 For the most part, however, menu decoration followed the art movements of the time. The liiglily decorated late 19th ce
24、ntury menus, which were influenced by Victorian art, gave way to modern art in the 20th century. Developments with graphics and printing allowed distinctive menu cover art.4 By the 1930s, the menu was seen as a part of the restaurant plan to create a memorable meal. It could develop an appetite, tel
25、l a joke, explain a food item, create a mood, tell something of the history of the restaurant, and, above all, sell some food. Restaurant trade publications encouraged the use of tlie menu as part of the business strategy, and tlie National Restaurant Association promoted effective menu graphics in
26、its annual competition of best menus in the nation. Its guidelines forjudging included (1) originality, (2) legibility, (3) ease of handling, and (4) sales effectiveness. Restaurant Management magazine in its November 1935 issue stated that most restaurant owners considerably underestimated the impo
27、rtance of the appearance of the menu. The magazine went on to say that the menu really has two important functions: (1) to sell food, and (2) to repeat and emphasize the unique atmosphere of that restaurant.5 In spite of the Depression of the 1930s, restaurants did well and menu design became import
28、ant. There were increasing numbers of many different types of restaurants during this decade, including cafeterias, drive-ins, and lunch counters in stores, as well as tlie traditional, more fonnal restaurants. Many of the restaurants developed themes in food, decoration and menu styles.6 Progress i
29、n printing, photography, and especially color photography opened upmore opportunities for creative expression. During the Second World War food rationing often hurt tlie business of restaurants, but as soon as victory was achieved, eating out became very popular again.7 In spite of the risks of casu
30、al dining and fast-food restaurants, the mid-20th century provided many new oppoitunities for creative menu design. By the end of the 1960s, the increasingly popular coffee shops and restaurants that featured a singular item such as pizza, steak, or pancakes used new menu graphics. The 1970s brought
31、 a decline in eating out, but the 1980s, especially in homes where both parents were working, brought a big Increase in the demand for many types of restaurants. Since then, menu design has provided the American public witli a pleasing prelude to the dining experience.8 Some popular historians are s
32、tudying menus as a very special kind of documentation of Americas love of eating out. For many generations of diners, taking a restaurant menu has been a way of presendng a memory or documenting a trip or a voyage. Many restaurants have provided customers with souvenir versions of their menus. Tlie
33、restaurant owners believe that this is a good way of advertising. Thus the menu now serves a new, but also important function.菜单1 饮食的历史告诉我们：在早期的餐馆里，背讪餐馆供应的菜肴成为越来越耗时的苦差事；因 此，就产生了书面的菜单，以便指导用餐者挑选食物。这种菜单通常是手工写在黑板上或列在 块牌r上，黑板或牌r都要使顾客容易看见。印刷业的发展最终又引发了变革，同时又因为些 餐馆层面的扩大使得份手写菜单满足不了实际需求，于是印刷菜单出现了。2 纽约市谯尔莫尼柯餐馆
34、于1834年在美国首次推出印刷菜单，因而常常受到人们的赞扬。那 种菜单，与同时期的其它菜单样，设计简单，还提供了具体明确的信息。特殊的场合会引发人 们对设计的独特要求，最终产生了装饰更精美的菜单。3 然而，多数情况下，菜单的装饰风格是随着时代的艺术潮流而变化的。19世纪后期的菜单， 受维多利亚时代艺术的影响，装饰华丽，到了 2。世纪就被现代艺术所取代。平面造型艺术与印 刷术的发展使得颇具特色的菜单封面艺术得以发展。4 到了 2。世纪3。年代，餐馆为打造令人难忘的美餐，把菜单看作是实施这种计划的部分。 菜单可以引起食欲，讲个笑话，介绍某食品，创造种氛围，讲述点饭店的历史，而且最重要 的是，推销菜
35、肴。餐饮业的出版物则鼓励把菜单作为经营策略的部分。全国餐饮协会每年举办 全国最优秀菜单竞赛，届时会有效地促进菜单平而造型艺术的发展。指导这种评比的标准包括（1） 有创意（2）清晰易读（3）使用方便（4）销售效果好。1935年11月这期的饭店管理杂 志指出：大多数饭店老板都在很大程度上低估了菜单外观的重要性。该杂志接着说道，菜单其实 有两种重要的功能：（1）推销菜肴（2）反复突出饭店的独特魅力。5 尽管3。年代经济人萧条，饭店却生意良好，菜单设计也变得很重要。这十年内，饭店种类 不断增多，除了传统的较正规的饭店以外，还出现了如自助餐厅，免下车餐馆，商店里的小吃部 等。许多饭店在菜肴、装饰和菜单风
36、格上还发展了自己的主题格调。6 印刷，摄影，尤其是彩色摄影方面的进步为有创意的表现手法开拓了更多的机会。第二次 世界大战期间，食品的定量供应常常影响饭店的生意，但是胜利后，出去吃饭就又马上流行起来 了。7 尽管人们对吃饭越来越随意，同时快餐店大批涌现，但是2。世纪中叶还是为有创意的菜单 设计提供了很多新的机会。到6。年代末期，越来越受欢迎的小吃部和以专卖比萨饼、年代外出 就餐的人减7。牛排或薄煎饼等特色食品的饭馆都采用r新的菜单平面设计艺术一 少了。但是到了 8。年代，特别是那些父母都上班工作的家庭，使各种各样餐馆的需求量大幅度 增加。从那时起，菜单设计就为美国公众就餐提供了赏心悦目的前奏。8
37、 些通俗历史学家正在研究菜单，他们把菜单当作美国人外出吃饭喜爱程度的种特殊文献资料。对于好几代的就餐者来说，带走饭店的菜单直是他们保留段记忆或记录某次旅行或 航行的手段。许多饭店为顾客提供专门留念用的菜单。饭店老板们相信这是种很好的广告手段。 因此，现在菜单又多了一种新的但也是很重要的功能。Cooking and Cuisines1 One tiling that separates man from animals is mans preference for cooked food. Tlie higher apes have been found to share with mankin
38、d the ability to communicate by sound and gesture, but no ape lias ever cooked its food. We also like our food to appeal to our senses of taste and smell, and we like it to be attractive. Our senses are remarkably acute and discriminating, and all societies which have progressed beyond simple surviv
39、al satisfy the human pleasure of good food. The great cuisines of the world have developed dishes which appeal both to tlie taste and to the eye-color and texture are as important as flavor.2 Tliere are three acknowledged great national cuisines, French, Indian and Chinese. French cooking is general
40、ly acknowledged to be supreme in Europe. French cuisine using butter, cheese and cream is typical of all gieat national cuisines: it combines simplicity with sophistication, uses the native resources of France, has great regional specialties and has become truly international.3 These three major cui
41、sines have distinguished themselves each by one major characteristic. French cooking with butter, cheese and cream is so typical of their cooking tliat if omitted the whole character of the cuisine would be destroyed. Also, wine in cooking is as instinctive to a French cook as tlie use of soy sauce
42、is to a Chinese cook. A second cuisine-Indian cooking is distinguished by the use of spices. The third cuisine is defined by the use of rice as a stapleCliina being the supreme example. Of course these tliree cuisines share their characteristics in one way or another. French cuisine can boast some f
43、amous rice dishes. Some Indian regional cookery also makes use of butter and the dishes of Sichuan, in Chinese cuisine, are famous for their fiery spices. But tlie separation into tliree major cuisines does mark some kind of distinctive characteristic and the three major cuisines, each based on a di
44、fferent major characteristic, have persisted for a long time throughout human history.4 The borderlines between cuisine styles are clear and have changed less than tospices of use tlie is world the to gift Indias boundaries, racial or linguistic either enliance the flavor of foods, and Indian cookin
45、g presents a dazzling array of regional variations一from the fiery hot curries of tlie south to the subtly spiced vegetarian dishes of the northern regions. Nothing rivals the color and flavor of Indian dishes, and the use of rice as a staple links Indian and Chinese cooking. Chinese cooks teach us t
46、hat texture must never be neglected. Long ago the Chinese brought to perfection the art of swift cooking at very high temperature in which vegetables retain tlieir crispness and nutritional goodness too. Most of the preparation time is taken up by the cutting of vegetables and the chopping of meat,
47、not by the actual cooking process.5 The regional variety of Chinese dishes is bewildering to the foreigner. Spicy, bland, sour and sweet are all represented. No national cuisine uses the native plants and animals more than the Chinese. Every part of every edible vegetable or animal seems to have its
48、 use.6 There are tliree recent threats to keeping national cuisines ：1) the revolution in world transportation and communication, 2) the increase m trade between nations, and 3) tlie changing role of women in society.7 Rapid and inexpensive transport and communication may threaten national cuisines.
49、 Travelers from other countries want the kind of food tliey are used to at home. Tlie second threat is caused by the flow of foods and food products from one country to another. Convenience foods destroy the charm of time-consuming cooking. An argument can be made for processed foods, and the great benefits of freezing, freeze-dtying and canning, but Western food technology is still a threat to national cuisines.