We all love eating, from multicourse dinners with family and friends to quick and tasty snacks on the go. And food is an integral part of travel for most, making, breaking, or at the very least having a huge effect on their ideas and memories of a country or region. But, setting aside the obvious primal cues (i.e. hunger), why is it that we find food to be such an integral part of an experience?
The answer is that food is so much more than just food. The ingredients, the flavors of a cuisine tell a story of its history and its place in the story of our world. The more diverse the cuisine of a place, the more cross-cultural interactions and therefore influence that place has had throughout history. Take Turkey for example. It is home to a plethora of different tastes and culinary traditions, varying widely from region to region. This is of course because of its strategic location at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East and all the civilizations that have come and gone across its fertile lands.
The landscape of a place also has a massive effect on its local cuisine in terms of diversity. Different elevations allow for different types of plants to grow, having both bodies of water and land leads to a wider variety of animal proteins, and ease of access or location on trading routes means that diverse ingredients and traditions have accumulated over time. In addition, the more fertile a place’s soil and the milder the climate, the more time can be devoted to special preparation of food, leading to a more complex cuisine. In harsher environments, time is focused on survival and preservation of food rather than interesting flavors.
The traditions and rituals surrounding food also play a large role in the culture of a place as communities often gather around food. Whether it’s a communal harvest, ceremonial wedding feasts, or culturally significant methods of preparation and preservation, learning, observing, and appreciating these customs is another important part of travel. These traditions are like a window into countries and regions, giving us glimpses of their family structure, community dynamics, and on what they place importance.
In addition to colors, tastes, and smells, what we can learn from food is immense. Cuisine teaches us about history, landscapes, interactions, and communities. It is embedded with tradition and stories of our past. Food brings us all together, joining travelers and locals in mutual understanding; we can’t think of a more important part of the journey.
