Foodways

Foodways is a term that has numerous connotations in modern scholarship. In general, the concept of foodways identifies specific types of food associated with certain cultural, ethnic or regional groups, and the manner in which such food shapes the lives and identity of the people who prepare and consume it. Foodways are often seen therefore as a component of folk culture, and food as much more than just a source of nutrition and energy. Rather, the qualities of food represent a distinct cultural element that contributes to an ethnic, regional, or cultural identity. In the study of foodways, geographers are primarily interested in the spatial variations of the way food is produced, prepared, and consumed, and how these in combination contribute to the notion of place. The cultural geographers Pete and Barbara Shortridge highlight this spatial approach to foodways in their book, The Taste of American Place: A Reader on Regional and Ethnic Foods. As they note in the introduction to this work, “Geographers also integrate information on food habits with other aspects of cultural variation to create a more complete profile of the people who live in a given area.”

Patterns of food production and consumption (and for that matter, beverage production as well) clearly have a spatial dimension that may be expressed at almost any scale. It is not necessarily the case that regions may be distinguished on the basis of distinctive kinds of food or food preparation—spatial differentiation may occur even within a specific food group or type. Those who are familiar with these distinctions are able to immediately identify the origin of the food item, or at least the origin of those who prepared it. In Uzbekistan, non, or flatbread, frequently shows such distinctions. The bread is traditionally baked in an outdoor oven called a tandir, but local cooks often prepare the bread using techniques unique to the local area. For example, the kind of bread produced in the city of Samarkand is thicker than other variations in the region, and the top of the bread is elaborately decorated with abstract patterns using indentations and sesame seeds. Other types of bread are unique to cities in the Fergana Valley, western Uzbekistan, and other locations in the country. The same regionalization occurs with the Uzbek national dish, plov. The basic ingredients of plov are rice topped with chunks of beef or mutton, but various vegetables or spices are sliced or chopped and included with the rice, and these are distinctive to a specific region or even a particular city. If one is served plov that contains chopped quince, for example, it is a certainty that the chef is from the city of Dzhizak in central Uzbekistan, as this recipe is unique to the residents of that city.