Foodways: a link between cookbooks, food-related behavior, and identity

Humans, undoubtedly, know that food is important. Beyond mere importance, we understand that food is essential to our lives. What we may not know, however, is what food and our food-related behaviors reveal about us. The relationship between our food consumption and identities are intertwined. Food goes beyond the simplicity of being an item used for consumption; it exploits who we are as people, where we come from, our traditions, and our beliefs. Verma's research on the relationship among food, body, and health and Williams' exploration on why migrant women feed their husbands tamales assess foodways and their importance to culture and identity. Both, in turn, work to support the above-mentioned notions.
As we looked through cookbooks pertaining to a particular food culture in class, a lot of the questions asked focused on food-related behavior rather than the actual foods. Interestingly, while skimming the cookbooks, I noticed that a lot (mostly all) of the information within these books focused on that same idea, too. The cookbooks seemed, in my opinion, to offer more of a detailed history of food and its social relevance within a chosen culture rather than focus on ingredients themselves. This led me to believe that cookbooks are designed and used to describe and uphold the foodways of peoples-- not to just list step by step how to make a meal.
Just as cookbooks explain the cultural relevance of food-related behavior for a select culture, Williams' revisionist view of Tejano family life explains the importance of food (tamales/tortillas) to this population. In his exploration of this group's foodways, Williams states that tamales are not simply a reflection of the type of food that these people eat. Rather, tamales are: a reflection of who these people are as a group, a representation of their identity; their social connector; the foundation to these people's familial and interpersonal relationships; means for survival. Migrants use their foodways for many different reasons. For example, they are used to establish the role of women within the family. Since women are the only ones who prepare and make tamales, foodways establish their domesticity, knit together family members, and bind their husbands. They are also used to create 'kin-like relations' with outsiders and maintain already established relationships between friends. Perhaps most importantly, these migrants use foodways to reaffirm their cultural Tejano identity.
Verma's research looks at a subset of Indian foodways to examine the relationship between food, body, and health for Patna-based people. A lot was found in this research, but I think Verma works to highlight the concept that there exists an obvious relationship between the three listed aspects (food, body, health), but they differ according to culture and cultural specifics. Interestingly, Verma notes that food is given contextual meaning through (for example) SES and gender. In my opinion, these can be looked at as their own cultures. In terms of SES, foodways differ between the rich, middle, and lower classes. The rich thought of food/eating as nutritious, or something special; the middle class as a part of daily chores; and the lower (poor) class as means for survival. As for gender, foodways differed between males and females: men were given more and better quality food while women tended to eat less or eat what was left over.
The research that both Verma and Williams have done is, to me, comparable to the research needed to create a cookbook. By examining a group's behavior related to the production and consumption of food, by looking at their foodways, we can tap into and explore different aspects of their life such as: their practices, their beliefs, and, subsequently, their identity.