Food and Culture in Boston - Research Paper Example

Food and Culture in Boston Introduction Boston culture is one of its own in the whole of America, owing to the fact that the city does not only have a food culture of its own, but also language culture that comprises of an English slang that has come to be referred to as Boston English (BDG, n.p.). The diversity in the culture of Boston language, foods and intellectualism emanates from the fact that it is a multi-ethnic region, comprising of the English people from England, the Irish and African Americans (Freedman, n.p.). However, the American Irish forms the bulk of the Boston population, and their influence in the food, politics, religion and language culture is notable not only in Boston, but also in the whole of Massachusetts (Freedman, n.p.). In the core of the Boston culture is the infamous Boston University, which has influence the language, religion, politics, food and intellectualism culture in the whole of the Boston region. Boston is one of the regions that have contributed immensely to the food culture in America, with its gradual development of food cuisines over the years, which can be termed as rapid. Thus, this discussion seeks to evaluate the Boston food culture history, with a view to establishing the traditional and the modern Boston cuisines, while also assessing the factors that have contributed to the rapid Boston cuisine development over the years. Food Culture in Boston The food culture in Boston is shared largely with the food culture in New England, owing to the fact that in both regions, seafood marks the main recipes for almost every single meal that is prepared in the region (Freedman, n.p.). Dairy products also characterize the food culture in the Boston region, where most of the meals must have a dairy product component as a core recipe, not only for the home cooked foods but also for the restaurant foods. This is because; the Boston region has passed its home-based food culture to the restaurants, such that there are many restaurants in Boston that serve ethnic cuisines (La Befana, n.p.). The ethnic food culture in Boston is not only related to the American cuisines, but also to cuisines from different parts of the world, such that in the larger Boston area, different cultural restaurants serving cuisines from different parts of the world exists, such as the Italian, Korean, Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese foods (BDG, n.p.). The culinary life of the Boston region has undergone a renaissance over time, owing to the market culture and the bounty agricultural production, which has enabled the region to have a variety of food substances for preparing different recipes and cuisines. The market culture referred, to as the Haymarket, consists of farmers selling different agricultural products on a weekly basis, where the farmers hold an open-air market for selling mainly fruits, vegetables and dairy products (BDG, n.p.). History of culinary evolution in Boston Food and culinary evolution in Boston has taken a long stride, starting from the famous ‘beans and cod’ era, through to the fried seafood and to the more modern multicultural cuisines that are not originating from the Boston region, but are imported from different parts of the world (Murray, n.p.). The culinary evolution and the subsequent developments in the food culture can be traced back to the beginning of the 18th century where the food and cuisine culture largely comprised of the English and the Irish cuisines as well as their traditional methods of cooking (Murray, n.p.). Thus, at the beginning of the 18th century, the Boston food culture was characterized by roasted meat, served with plenty of stews, as well as puddings and biscuits (Nichole, n.p.). Thus, the food tradition would last for almost a century with the Bostonians eating these kinds of foods, until at the turn of the 19th century, where the improvement in agricultural production the led to the evolution of yet another fundamental cuisine that has characterized the Boston food culture history until present day; baked beans (Olver, n.p.). In the mid 1740s, the North African food components were introduced in Boston bit by bit, such that corn, beans, potatoes and squash were introduced though gradually, among the Boston (Palmer, n.p.). Having received the beans as a food component from the North America, a new way of cooking the beans emerged in Boston, where the beans were cooked slowly through a process of simmering inside a molasses mixture, giving rise to the historical baked-beans cuisine (Olver, n.p.). The next development in line of the cuisine revolution in the early 19th century was the rise of the dip fried and batter dipped clams, which were then followed by the rise of the creamy clam chowder cuisine, all finding their way into the Boston homes and restaurant tables during this period (Olver, n.p.). In the 18th century, cod was a fundamental recipe in the Boston region, which the Bostonians experimented with for nearly a century, applying it in the preparation of different kinds of food stuffs. Thus, fresh, dried or salted cod was applied towards making fish cakes, boiled meals, fish hash and chowder (Olver, n.p.). Then, as time progressed towards the 1720s, the rise of brown bread and baked beans became part of the Sunday breakfast food culture in Boston, which was served with creamed codfish or codfish cakes (Sykes, n.p.). Saturday night during this period were characterized by the cooking of baked-beans in almost all households in the larger Boston area, thus forming the famous Saturday-night baked-beans culture which is not lost to present day, despite the rise of different cuisines both modern and foreign in the region. After the development of the baked-beans cuisine, several sweeteners were experimented with, and eventually molasses, maple sugar and sugar syrup became the most viable candidates to being applied, although molasses was introduced later as less expensive option, after the Bostonians started trading with the West Indies later in the 18th century, who introduced molasses as a cheap sweetener in Boston (Olver, n.p.). After receiving corn as a major food product from the North, the Boston cuisine grew a lot more, since from the corn a new form of brown cornmeal bread was introduced, which was then served with the baked-beans and butter milk (Olver, n.p.). Modern Boston culinary developments The culinary evolution has continued through to the 20th century and on to the 21st century, although most of the 20th and the 21st century culinary developments in Boston are adoptions from foreign ethnic cultures. The recent authentic development in the Boston cuisine and food culture is the rise of the cream pie as a substitute to the pizza pie in 1996, which originated in the Parker House Hotel in Boston, and has since become the official pie in Boston and the larger Massachusetts (Murray, n.p). The Lobster roll is yet another major food recipe that has found its way as a claim of the Boston contribution to the nation’s food history, although not wholesomely developed in Boston, but popularized in the late 20th and the early 21st century as a main course in restaurants (La Befana, n.p.). The clam chowder is still featuring as a modern Boston food recipe, consisting of fresh clams and local potatoes soup, as an accompaniment to other meals such as the baked-beans or brown-corn bread (Nichole, n.p.). Olive bread is yet another food recipe development of the 20th century in Boston, which seems to be sustaining its popularity through to the 21st century. The swordfish steaks have also become seasoned Boston food recipe that is popular in the modern restaurant, owing to the popularity of this type of food that has surpassed the beef consumption (La Befana, n.p.). Factors contributing to slow introduction of new cuisines in Boston throughout the years The history of culinary development in Boston has been gradual, owing to the fact that some of the popular Boston food cuisines have remained popularly pronounced over the years. This has occurred without much replacement, until much later in the 20th century, when new and foreign cuisines started finding way into the Boston food culture in a more rapid pace. There are several factors that have contributed to the rapid introduction of new cuisines in Boston. These factors include: Haymarket culture The Haymarket represents a unique farming trading experience that is notably available in Boston, where the farmers hold an open market on a weekly basis to sell fresh farm products, especially vegetables and fruits, as well as dairy products (BDG, n.p.). It is this culture that has seen the rise of new recipes in the Boston cuisines, owing to the fact that the farmers keep supplying the residents and the restaurants with a variety of farm produces that can be incorporated into the food cuisines already existing in the region and develop new ones. Consequently, the introduction of food components such as the corn and beans from North American eventually found its way into the Boston Haymarket, creating recipes for the development of the cornmeal brown bread and the baked-beans respectively (BDG, n.p.). The Boston Haymarket culture has been instrumental in the rapid development of the Boston food cuisines, owing to the fact that the culture of availing new food products into the market every weeks creates an opportunity for the restaurants and homes to experiment with a variety of the new products that are introduced into the market, thus resulting in the development of the new cuisines (Murray, n.p.). In addition to the weekly Boston Haymarket, there are also more seasonal markets such as the farmer’ winter markets, which also supply seasonally produced farm products into the markets, allowing for the recipes and cuisine experimentations that eventually develop new cuisines for the Boston restaurants and homes, and which are eventually transferred into the wider national food cuisine basket (BDG, n.p.). Boston Tourism Culture Boston is one of the cities in America that registers high numbers of tourists especially during the warm seasons (Sykes, n.p.). The tourism in Boston is characterized not only by local tourists, but also by foreign international tourists, thus making the number of tourists touring the Boston city every year high. In this respect, the tourists have introduced their own ethnic food culture in the larger Boston region, such that it is now easy to find a high number of Korean, Japanese, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese and Italian cultural restaurants in the Boston region, which offers a variety of their ethnic cuisines to both the locals and the tourists (Nichole, n.p.). Consequently, there has been a high tendency for rapid development of exotic cultural cuisines in the Boson region, which are then transferred to the wider American nation market. In this respect, Boston has remained a major contributor into the American food culture basket starting with its native baked-beans, cream chowder and codfish cake cuisines, to the modern cream pie, all of which have served to rank Boston high, in the map of the food culture and cuisine contributors in the American national basket (La Befana, n.p.). Culture of intellectualism The culture of intellectualism has characterized Boston since its foundation, with the Boston University being a major institutional contribution to the intellectual development in the region. Consequently, the intellectuals have advanced a healthy living lifestyle, which entails the consumption of healthy and cultural foods in the region, making Boston city remain the city of baked-beans, Chowder and cod (Today in History, n.p.). The food intellectualism has led to the rise of popular food professionals and major chefs who have made great contribution to the development of new cuisines in the larger Boston region. The popular names in the food intellectual field in Boston include Julia Child, Jasper White, Todd English and Ming Tsai (Sykes, n.p.). All these are chefs who have in one way or the other contributed in the development of a new cuisine in the Boston region, with the Todd English’s cream pie of 1996 being the most recent contribution to the authentic Boston cuisine development history (BDG, n.p.). Further, there has been various food and cooking institutions that have been established in Boston, which have contributed immensely to the food and nutrition profession. Fannie Farmer, one of the renowned food professional and author established a cooking school in Boston in 1902, which did not only teach the restaurant and domestic students on how to cook and develop different cuisines, but also contributed to teaching the hospitality and health fraternity about food health and nutrition (Today in History, n.p.). Such intellectual contributions in the food culture and cuisine evolution have made it possible for Boston culinary culture to evolve more rapidly. 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November 1, 2014. < http://www.chefs.edu/student-life/culinary-central/march-2013/bostons-most-famous-food-and-drink> Nichole, C. “The Signature Flavors of Boston [graphic]“. Intercontinental Hotel Group, March 7, 2014. Web. November 1, 2014. < http://blog.ihg.com/signature-flavors-of-boston> Olver, Lynne. “Traditional state foods & recipes. Food Timeline, August 2, 2014. Web. November 1, 2014. < http://www.foodtimeline.org/statefoods.html#bostonbeans> Palmer, Sharon. “The Boston Food Revolution”. Today’s Dietitian 12, 10:2010. p. 34 Web. November 1, 2014. < http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/100610p34.shtml> Sykes, Lesley. “Boston’s Food Scene: Past and Present”. The Friedman Sprout, March 1, 2010. Web. November 1, 2014. < http://friedmansprout.com/2010/03/01/bostons-food-scene-past-and-present/> Today in History. “Fannie Farmer opens cooking school”, Aug 23, 2014. Web. November 1, 2014. < http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fannie-farmer-opens-cooking-school> Read More