Culture Influence of the Food - Assignment Example

number Folk Life The food people eat, the ingredients people use to prepare food, how people eat food, how people share food can tell where a person is from and who they really are. Food forms a very essential part of people’s cultural profile. Food has the ability to bring people together on a social perspective since eating is a social activity. Haggis is a Scottish delicacy that is prepared from the heart, lungs, and liver of a cow or lamb which are chopped and mixed with herbs, spices oats and suet.

The mixture is then stuffed into a sheep’s stomach. It is believed that haggis was prepared in periods when there was no food e.g. during famine. The ingredients used are leftovers of a sheep after is has been slaughtered and meat extracted. Some people would have to be drunk or drugged in order to take haggis while it remains a cultural delicacy in Scotland. Different religious groups are known to use food as an expression of their faith. Fasting is believed to improve spiritual disciple among the Christians.

Muslims are also known for not eating pigs. They consider pigs to be cursed and unholy. Hindus do not eat beef. They belief that the cow is holy(Kao and Elizabeth 87). The young generation has taken fasting to whole new level. Girls are known to fast so as to maintain their perfect physique. This is part of the food culture in today’s world and cannot be ignored.Chinese are known to use chopsticks to eat their food. In some countries around the world, the main meal is taken during the day. That is at noon.

However, in America the main meal of the day is taken at the evening shortly before 7 P.M. The evening meal is referred to as dinner. In Spain the evening meal (supper) is taken around 10 P.M. Some cultures prefer their food to be spicy. E.g. the Chinese. Some will enjoy their food more if it is either bitter, sour or sweet. Some cultures will also like there food to be boiled or fried. While some cultures like eat raw food. Some cultures like the French like eating in groups and holding festivals while some cultures leg Denmark people are allowed to eat alone and eating is not considered a social activity.

However, in Denmark people emphasize on eating healthy while in France people are more concerned with taste (Kao and Elizabeth 56). There are also some other factors that determine food culture. For instance, sports men and women have been known not to eat heavily. Eating heavily will mean that the food will take long before it gets digested and as such it will be a disadvantage particularly if they are competing. Health may also influence the type of food we eat. People with diabetes eat less of proteins and carbohydrates(Kao and Elizabeth 46).

Conclusion Culture strongly influences the food we eat. Culture and food go hand in hand. One can be able to tell where one come from by just looking at the food they eat, how they prepare their food, the ingredients they use to prepare food and how they serve their food. Different cultures will also have different types of food and eat different amounts of food. The time that food is eaten also differs across the different cultures.Work CitedKao, Grace, and Elizabeth Vaquera. Food and Culture.

Cambridge: Polity, 2013. Print.