What we cook and share helps shape our perception of the world and our social relationships. Vito Teti, an anthropologist and author of "La restanza," states: "The home takes shape also through the food we cultivate, what we cook, which ties us to memories. The experience of food shapes mentality, world perception, and human memory. For example, if I think about my 'food autobiography,' my experience of 'eating' describes an arc that goes from the local food of my childhood to the food consumption of the economic boom period and the following decades, until reaching the present time. The food we have known and the related memory allow departures, returns, stays, recoveries of people, places, cultures, food practices of the past."
Let’s start from this contribution to reflect on the relationship between food and the dimension of contamination between cultures, as what is served on our dining tables represents a moving cultural heritage. According to Teti, the food experience, which develops from the local food of childhood to contemporary practices, constitutes a path in which flavors become witnesses of our personal and collective history.
Food, by its very nature "nomadic", crosses geographical and temporal boundaries as a product of contaminations between cultures, traditions, and territories.
As the American anthropologist James Clifford pointed out, traditional cuisines are not static entities, but rather the result of continuous interactions and transformations. This view is supplemented by Claude Lévi-Strauss, who highlighted how food is not just nourishment, but also a symbol and language, capable of conveying deep values and meanings.
According to Lévi-Strauss, food becomes a form of symbolic communication: "the act of cooking is a ritual that creates bonds and transmits knowledge," helping to define individual and communal identity. For example, the way societies organize meals - from the arrangement of diners to the sequence of dishes - reflects social structures and power relationships. In many cultures, the methods of food preparation and the associated rituals are essential moments of social aggregation. The banquet is an occasion where the meal becomes a collective ritual, capable of strengthening the sense of belonging and transmitting shared knowledge.
As proof of the non-static nature of food, among the many examples of contamination present in Italian cuisine, let us consider couscous alla trapanese. Although it has North African origins, in Sicily, and particularly in the area of Trapani, this ingredient has been integrated into the local culinary tradition. The traditional recipe calls for couscous paired with fresh fish, tomatoes, almonds, raisins, and a selection of spices that evoke both Arab and Mediterranean traditions. The result is a dish that not only delights the palate but also tells a story of cultural exchanges, where the exotic flavor of couscous merges with the richness of Sicilian ingredients, embodying the dialogue between different traditions.
Or the Margherita pizza which, while being a symbol of Neapolitan tradition, has undergone numerous influences over time. Pizza, in fact, originates from a meeting of elements that belong to different culinary traditions: the basic dough comes from Mediterranean cuisine, while the use of tomatoes, introduced in Italy after the discovery of the Americas, represents a direct contamination of the food practices of pre-Columbian peoples.
Food is an identity card, a powerful tool for exchange and building relationships.
Sharing a meal is a universal gesture that encourages togetherness and socialization, strengthening the bonds between people. Anthropologist Mary Douglas also emphasized how food, in its ritual and symbolic forms, plays a key role in defining social rules and maintaining cultural order, establishing a bridge between the sacred and the everyday. Dietary choices, food-related rituals, and culinary traditions embody the values, beliefs, and identity of a specific culture. Food is used to express belonging to ethnic or religious groups, celebrate festivities, and pass on values to new generations.
Sidney Mintz, with his research on sugar and food in colonial dynamics, highlights how dietary practices are closely linked to historical, economic, and cultural processes. According to Mintz, in his famous work "Sweetness and Power", sugar is not just a sweet ingredient but a commodity that has transformed the global economy and social relations. Originally, sugar was a rare and expensive product, the privilege of aristocratic elites. However, with the expansion of the colonial system, it became a mass commodity, a symbol of modernization and the growing demand for consumer goods. Thus, sugar becomes a symbol of power.
In conclusion, food proves to be a fundamental element for understanding how we build and live our relationships. It is not just a mechanical act of nourishment, but a multisensory and symbolic experience that unites memory, identity, and social relationships. Our tables become a laboratory where culinary traditions meet a cultural heritage in constant evolution, capable of reinforcing the sense of community and openness to change.
