UNIT 9: TRAVELING AND CULTURE
My name‿ is Hassan. I cook constantly,│ and‿ I have‿ abandoned the argument‿ about‿ authenticity,│ partly because‿ it‿ is‿ unwinnable‿ an(d) partly│ because the food‿ is more‿ interesting without‿ it.
Almost‿ everything described‿ as traditional‿ is‿ an‿ adaptation. Tomatoes reached‿ Italy in the sixteenth century,│ chillies reached‿ India from the Americas,│ an(d) the curry I learned from my neighbour contains‿ eight spices,│ two of│ which‿ arrived within living memory. Fusion‿ is not‿ a contemporary misdemeanour;│ it‿ is the ordinary condition‿ of‿ a food culture,│ an(d) globalisation has merely accelerated‿ a process that has been running for five centuries. The provenance‿ of‿ an‿ ingredient‿ is‿ a matterma-der‿ of history,│ not‿ of purity.
What merits defence‿ is not‿ authenticity but knowledge. I want towanna know│ which‿ ingredient‿ is doing the work,│ why the seasoning‿ is‿ added‿ at that moment,│ an(d) what the dish‿ is for:│ celebration,│ consolation‿ or‿ economy. My wife's pasta is flawless‿ an(d) simple│ because she learned‿ it from her mother rather than from‿ a video,│ an(d) my son‿ is vegetarian,│ so our family recipes have been‿ adapted. An‿ adapted version cooked properly is preferable to an‿ authentic version cooked badly,│ an(d) the distinction between the two has become largely indistinguishable to anybody│ who has not cooked‿ it. If you wish to understand‿ a country,│ eat what people cook‿ at home.