Food is a cultural bearer

What is one of the first things one tries when one visits a (new) country? Just what I thought – food! I mean, who would go to Thailand and not eat a Tom Yam Kung or who misses out on a Tiramisú in Italy?!

Food and drinks are not just only hunger and thirst quenchers, they also bring people together. Eating is a pleasure and combining it with good company and some tasteful wine is a nice way to spend a Saturday evening. And just like always, one also ends up in the kitchen at the end of the night. The saying that “the kitchen is the heart of the house” truly does match with reality! But food has also become a conscious restrainer. What is the “right” food to eat, which is more nutritious and what product is as cheap as fast to prepare?! In the last 5 years organic and locally produced food has been on everybody’s agenda and different diets and an overall “food consciousness” has become more and more common. People create different kinds of belongingness through their belief in “the right food”. In an ongoing study Inculture analyze consumers opinions on whether their consciousness or their wallet choose their food and their cultural food belonging. Think about it yourself, does your belief in the GI-diet win over the on-sale-bacon?