Food, Culture, and Regional Fare Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering core definitions, food culture dynamics, globalization factors, cultural competency, and regional traditional foods from the lecture notes.

Food

A substance that provides nutrients and energy necessary for growth and body function.

Slash-and-Burn Agriculture

An agricultural technique where tree bark is slashed to kill the tree, causing leaves to die and fall off to decompose into fertilizer before crops are planted.

Omnivore's Paradox

The dilemma where humans need to experiment by trying new foods, but must remain cautious when consuming foods or beverages that are potentially harmful.

Culture

Values, beliefs, attitudes, and practices accepted by members of a group or community.

Enculturation

The passing of culture from generation to generation, including family and community food traditions.

Acculturation

The process of adapting to a new environment after moving, involving an individual shifting from traditional to adopted foods.

Bicultural

A state where new culture complements, rather than competes with, an individual's ethnicity, embracing both their original and new culture.

Assimilation

A process in which people from one cultural group shed their ethnic identity and fully merge into the majority culture.

Staple Foods

Foods predominantly consumed in the diet, such as cereal, bread, pasta, and eggs.

Prestige Foods

Foods that are expensive, rare, or protein-rich.

Body Image Foods

Foods that influence health, well-being, and appearance, such as fruits, veggies, shakes, and smoothies.

Physiological Foods

Foods consumed based on physiological status, including gender, age, and health condition.

Core Foods

Foods consumed regularly in the diet (such as rice and corn) that change the least.

Secondary Foods

Foods eaten widely but less frequently, such as once or twice a week (e.g., apples, chicken, lettuce).

Peripheral Foods

Foods eaten sporadically based on individual preference rather than habit, which change the most.

Complementary Foods

Flavorful food items, such as starches and veggies, used to improve the palatability of core foods.

Fasting

The partial or total elimination of specific foods for a specific period of time.

Feasting

The celebration of special events with special dishes, such as during Christmas, Thanksgiving, Passover, and New Year's.

Globalization

The integration of local, regional, and national phenomena into an unrestricted worldwide organization.

Consumerization

The transition of a society from producers of indigenous foods to consumers of mass-produced foods.

Modernization

Societal changes that result from the implementation of new technology and socioeconomic shifts.

Commoditization

The shift from homemade to manufactured foods marketed widely and efficiently in national or global markets, focusing on price and sales rather than consumer meaning.

Urbanization

The movement of individuals from rural to urban residence.

Delocalization

The loss of connections among growing, harvesting, cooking, and eating food, making it unclear who produced the food.

Inedible Foods

Foods that are poisonous or associated with strong beliefs and taboos, such as animals dangerous to catch or those that died of unknown causes.

Edible by Animals, but Not By Me

Items such as rodents or marigold feed that animals eat, but humans do not consume.

Edible by Humans, but Not My Kind

Foods acceptable in some societies but not one's own culture, such as scorpions, iguanas, escargot in France, or spiders in Thailand.

Edible by Humans, but Not by Me

Dietary behaviors accepted by one's cultural group but rejected by the individual due to preference, health reasons, or religion.

Edible by Me

All foods accepted as part of an individual's personal dietary domain.

Cultural Competency

Recognizing the importance of culturally based food habits on health and diet.

Cultural Desire

The motivation of a healthcare provider to want to, rather than have to, engage in becoming culturally aware, knowledgeable, and skilled.

Cultural Awareness

In-depth self-examination and analysis of one's own cultural and professional background to recognize biases, prejudices, and assumptions.

Cultural Skill

The ability to collect relevant cultural data from a client and perform a culturally based physical assessment.

Cultural Encounters

Direct engagement by a healthcare provider in cross-cultural interactions with clients from diverse backgrounds to prevent stereotyping.

Cultural Knowledge

Seeking and obtaining a thorough educational foundation about various cultural groups.

Regional Fare

Traditionally home-style food prepared with local ingredients, dependent on agricultural conditions and seasonal availability.

Fastnachts

Pennsylvania pastries of German origin made to use up all fat-based ingredients (eggs and butter) before Lent.

Boston Brown Bread

A steamed bread comprised of different flour types (rye and corn), prepared in a coffee can.

Apple Pandowdy

A baked fruit dish layered with bread or butter, flour, brown sugar, and molasses.

Boston Cream Pie

A dessert created in 1856 for the grand opening of the Boston Parker House, featuring two layers of cake, vanilla cream pudding in between, and chocolate glaze.

Philadelphia Scrapple

A common breakfast food made of pork meat and pig organs combined with cornmeal, molded, and sliced.

Cheese Pierogi

Eastern European dumplings filled with a mixture of cheese, potatoes, or sweet curds.

Bratwurst / Kielbasa Sausages

Traditional sausage made from pork, seasoned, and sometimes topped with mustard, sauerkraut, and onions.

Sauerkraut

Finely shredded raw cabbage that is fermented, sometimes served with apples or cooked with bacon, onions, and caraway seeds.

Danish Kringle

A circular or pretzel-shaped pastry originating in Wisconsin with a flavored filling.

Kolaches

Sweet bread filled with fruit jams, poppy seeds, or sweetened cream/cottage cheese.

Cincinnati Chili

A dish created by Greek and Macedonian immigrants during the 1920s, flavored with sweet and hot spices, lots of cheese, and topped on spaghetti or hot dogs.

Corn Bread

A baked bread made with cornmeal, eggs, and water with no sugar added, served with butter, honey, or sorghum syrup.

Hush Puppies

Deep-fried balls made from yellow cornmeal and water dough with added eggs and buttermilk.

Spoon Bread

A yellow cornmeal bread made with eggs and milk, baked in a pan until a golden crust forms on top and the center is custard-like.

Shrimp Pilau

Shrimp simmered in broth and served with rice.

Etouffee

A type of shellfish served with rice, prepared in a thick tomato-based sauce with vegetables and spices.

Gumbo

A Southern dish consisting of rice, animal protein, shellfish, and vegetables such as okra.

Beignets

Cajun-influenced fried dough topped with confectionery sugar.

Mississippi Mud Pie

A dessert named after its river appearance, made with a cookie crust, ice cream, marshmallows, liquor, almonds, and pecans.

Nashville Hot Chicken

Spicy chicken served with white bread and pickles.

Moon Pie

A treat made of two graham cracker cookies, marshmallow filling, and a chocolate coating.

Hardtack Biscuits

Dense, rock-hard crackers made from flour, water, and sometimes salt.

Posole

A Mexican dish made with hominy (dried corn kernels), chili peppers, garlic, and pork.

Biscochitos

Traditional New Mexican cookies made of orange peel, anise seed, cinnamon, and baking powder.

Carne Asada Burritos

Tender, grilled, marinated steak wrapped in a tortilla with rice, beans, fresh salsa, and cheese.

Loco Moco

A Hawaiian dish made of white rice, hamburger meat, a fried egg, and gravy.

Blini

Buckwheat pancakes from Alaska, often served with cream cheese and smoked salmon.