Foods of a Nation

What is a nation? How is a nation defined? By reading the article How to Make a National Cuisine: Cookbooks in Contemporary India by Arjun Appaduari, I learned that a nation is not only defined by its food but also by its society, language, and culture. This article helped me to open up my eyes to a topic that I never had thought upon – cookbooks. When I am back at home in California I just whip out a William Sonoma cookbook and follow the recipe. I never think about the class or social standing of the recipe or from what country that this origin of food was created. This article was interesting to me because it demonstrated that different regions use different ingredients. The regions are connected because they make up one country but they make completely different foods from each other showing that all regions have different flares from each other.
When I think of a country and its food there is always a staple of traditional food that comes to mind. For example, when I think of France I think of cheese and baguette or when I think of English food I think of tea and crumpets. This article shows the readers that you cannot think of just the traditional staple foods because that is not the definition of the nation’s cuisine. Each nation is made up of different staple foods depending on its region or cultural influence. This article helped me to not be so judgmental of other countries’ foods and to be more open to the array of foods that the countries provide.