UNIT 9: TRAVELING AND CULTURE
My name‿ is Hassan. I cook constantly,│ and‿ I have‿ abandoned the argumen(t) concerning‿ 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 but the ordinary condition‿ of‿ a food culture,│ an(d) globalisation has merely accelerated‿ a process that has been proceeding for five centuries. The provenance‿ of‿ an‿ ingredient‿ is‿ a matterma-der‿ of history rather than‿ of pedigree,│ an(d) the distinction‿ is habitually confounded.
What merits defence‿ is not‿ authenticity but knowledge. I wish to know│ which‿ ingredient‿ is doing the work,│ why the seasoning‿ is‿ introduced‿ 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 being vegetarian,│ our family recipes have been‿ adapted. An‿ adapted version‿ executed properly is preferable to an‿ authentic version‿ executed badly,│ and‿ after fortyfor-dy years‿ of cooking the two have become largely indistinguishable to anyone│ who has not prepared them. If you wish to understand‿ a country,│ eat what‿ its people cook‿ at home.