Ambos Mundos Restaurant Blog: Preserving Culture While Preserving Traditional Food
11:13 PMThe connection between culture and food has long been established. In fact, talking about a country's culture without mentioning the food is impossible. Food has helped shaped many cultural identities around the world.
It is inevitable to conclude then that in the efforts of preserving culture, we will find ourselves preserving traditional food as well. I found this out for myself during a very simple interaction I had with my young daughter. It was just supposed to be a simple demonstration of how to cook champorado but it turned out to be a travel through time to my childhood memories.
The stories on how the simple champorado evoked memories that remain in my heart flowed effortlessly. It helped that my daughter was asking questions like who cooked the champorado when I was young, did my parents prepare it the same way I was presenting it to her, was the same ingredients used, and so on. I distinctly remember the smell of cooking cocoa tablea, the manner of announcement that the champorado was ready, and how my siblings and I would rush to the table and had our fill of it. It was almost like a ritual made more special if my grandmother was in the mood for telling stories.
Ways of Preserving Traditional Food
To make the analogy simpler, I will attempt to answer this in the context of a very simple traditional Filipino food - the champorado.
Make it relatable to the younger generation
Champorado traces its history in Philippine cuisine during the country's Spanish colonization. The cocoa tablea may be alien to many young people but they can certainly relate to chocolate. While champorado is traditionally enjoyed warm with dried fish, it can be served chilled with choco shavings and choco bits.
Provide variations of the original
Combine with other local staple crops
My Say
