<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Oyster Food and Culture &#187; culture</title>
	<atom:link href="http://oysterfoodandculture.com/category/culture/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://oysterfoodandculture.com</link>
	<description>a place to exchange ideas and learn about culture through food</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 26 Jul 2010 02:19:57 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0</generator>
		<item>
		<title>Judging a Nation by its Sausage</title>
		<link>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/06/23/judging-a-nation-by-its-sausage/</link>
		<comments>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/06/23/judging-a-nation-by-its-sausage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:49:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[France]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Germany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Italy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[country]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beef]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[charcuterie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pork]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sausage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wurst]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://oysterfoodandculture.com/?p=8457</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This may be unfair, but I&#8217;ve come to the conclusion that you can tell a lot about a country by their sausage.  For lunches, while traveling, my husband and I have developed a habit of securing some local wine, bread, cheese and sausage that we can nibble at our leisure.  Since we&#8217;ve munched our way through various country&#8217;s sausage, dare I say it, our palates are more refined &#8211; the quality of the sausage has a lot to do with our impression of a place. Maybe its because I&#8217;ve had charcuterie on my mind a lot lately. I think my confidence is growing as I successfully tried my hand at a few cheeses, survived canning and liqueur making, now I consider sausage making is my next frontier.  I&#8217;ve made fresh sausage before, but I&#8217;m thinking of plunging into the stuffed casing variety, and curing it if I can figure out how to do that in our apartment &#8211; not sure yet if there&#8217;s any unforeseen side affects to consider. Before I ventured into the actual production, I thought I&#8217;d first study my subject of charcuterie to determine my options.  If you have the entire world of sausage making in front of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/06/23/judging-a-nation-by-its-sausage/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>26</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Pitch Black and Very Romantic</title>
		<link>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/05/23/pitch-black-and-very-romantic/</link>
		<comments>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/05/23/pitch-black-and-very-romantic/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 May 2010 01:05:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Italy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seafood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Venice]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://oysterfoodandculture.com/?p=8444</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You know in the movies where the character comes upon a scene that is almost overwhelming for them, everything goes silent, action appears to come to a screeching halt as if its too much for all their senses to operate at the same time as they absorb their surroundings, and then slowly like dominos falling their senses gradually resumed their normal functions.  That happened to me on my first encounter with Venice.  I took one step from that train station and attempted to absorbed the panoramic view before me.  I saw a city like nothing I&#8217;d experienced before.  Looking back, I&#8217;m not sure why I responded in this way, I mean I had seen pictures so it was not like I was completely surprised, but that first physical encounter was a doozy, knocked me sideways and always kept me wanting more.  For the duration of my stay, each day was an adventure, never knowing what was around the next corner. This city defines the word: romantic &#124;rōˈmantik; rə-&#124; adjective 1 inclined toward or suggestive of the feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love : a romantic candlelit dinner. • relating to love, esp. in a sentimental or idealized way [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/05/23/pitch-black-and-very-romantic/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>36</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Moving Up My Travel List: Syria</title>
		<link>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/05/06/moving-up-my-travel-list-syria/</link>
		<comments>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/05/06/moving-up-my-travel-list-syria/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 06 May 2010 13:31:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Syria]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[candy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cheese]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[food shopping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[markets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Middle East food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Syrian food]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://oysterfoodandculture.com/?p=6571</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve never been to Syria, and I can&#8217;t say I&#8217;ve always wanted to visit.  For years, I&#8217;ve heard of the political situation, and understood this was not a place for me .  However recently, I&#8217;ve come to view Syria as a culinary Shangri-La.  I&#8217;ll give you the three signs that caused me to revaluate Syria, and you can see if you agree with me: It started when I was in B-School and taking an international marketing class.  Talk about a new perspective; if I did not learn to erase my preconceived notions, I&#8217;d be in trouble.  In particular, one student (from Syria) who worked at the World Bank awed me with her insights, and the lively discussions that ensued in class.  I regret I never told her, so she&#8217;ll probably never know that I learned a lot from her and admire her tremendously. I read a facinating article from the Saudi Armaco World magazine about Syrian chocolate maker, Ghraoui, and was immediately intrigued.  They won the 2005 Paris Salon du Chocolat&#8216;s prize for &#8220;best foreign chocolate&#8221; &#8211; now that&#8217;s no slouch!  (Exhibit A: dates filled with dark chocolate coated almonds) In researching a post on cheeses, I discovered that Syria [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/05/06/moving-up-my-travel-list-syria/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>28</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Asian Curry &#8211; Japan</title>
		<link>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/04/30/asian-curry-japan/</link>
		<comments>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/04/30/asian-curry-japan/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:16:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Britain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Japan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[country]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[curry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[England]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://oysterfoodandculture.com/?p=8320</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Curry has me in its heady grip, and as I was curious to see its permutations as it made its way around the world.  I touched on some of the varieties that could be found in India, how the English stamped their influence on curries by adding a few of their own, such as Balti, and how the addition of curry powder to a dish does not an authentic curry make.   But stopping here is a bit like a television show cliffhanger, what happens after the hero plunges over the waterfall in his barrel?  So many unanswered questions &#8211; does he he survive? Is he reunited with the heroine? One of the intriguing things about curries is that while some ingredients are ubiquitous, each successive culture tweaks the recipes to increase its appeal to their own tastes and account for their available food, so that they are not the same.  Its like a craving for grilled food, if I&#8217;m hankering for a steak, a saté is not going to cut it, and if I&#8217;m craving Panang curry, a batch of steaming hot Chinese curry studded with all sorts of goodies just will not do, and vice versa.  So how did curry get [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/04/30/asian-curry-japan/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>39</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Open Flame:  American Style BBQ</title>
		<link>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/03/10/open-flame-american-style-bbq/</link>
		<comments>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/03/10/open-flame-american-style-bbq/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:14:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Kansas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Open Flame]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[United States]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[barbecue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BBQ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Carolina BBQ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kansas City BBQ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[smoked meat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Texas BBQ]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://oysterfoodandculture.com/?p=6249</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If there was one word that guarantees an animated discussion for food lovers here in the good ole&#8217; United States, that word is &#8220;barbecue (BBQ)&#8221;.  Everyone has an opinion &#8211; charcoal or gas, what kind of briquets, how to start the fire, the kind of wood to use, and we haven&#8217;t even gotten to the meat, let alone its treatment.  Apologies to the vegetarians but the focus has always been the meat. The more I travel the more I realize that the barbecues of my youth were not everyone else&#8217;s idea of a good grill, and I&#8217;m not just talking about differences between say American and Asian grills, or American and South American meaty feasts, but the regional differences within the borders of the US that  threaten to strain allegiances, never mind North versus South.  I&#8217;m referring to the smack talk between the Texas BBQ lover and the Kansas City chef &#8211; this is serious stuff. Before focusing on what makes these styles different, I want to point out that nothing brings people together faster than good food cooked over an open flame.  Is there something about it that appeals to our primitive brain?  That seductive aroma that makes Chanel [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/03/10/open-flame-american-style-bbq/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>24</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hmong Cooking and Fellowship</title>
		<link>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/02/21/hmong-cooking-and-fellowship/</link>
		<comments>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/02/21/hmong-cooking-and-fellowship/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:16:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[California]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Minnesota]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thailand]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[United States]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traditions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hmong]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Laos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wisconsin]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://oysterfoodandculture.com/?p=6945</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As a child, I had an overwhelming curiosity about the (H)mong*.  For the life of me, I could not figure out why, of all the places in the world they chose to resettle, they picked Minnesota.  Frankly, I was a bit dumbfounded by this choice.  Nothing against Minnesota, I still am a Minnesota girl at heart, but growing up, this girl was keenly aware that there was a great big world that needed to be checked out, and was counting the days until she began that exploration.  Paris, I&#8217;d have understood, Los Angeles &#8211; ditto, heck even Sacramento sounded exotic to me as I&#8217;d never been there.  All I knew was it was in California and I imagined all Californians had wonderful tans, and lived on the beach.   I now know better, having experienced the fickle San Francisco climate.  Here I was excited to explore what lay beyond Minnesota&#8217;s borders, and simultaneously these people were just as anxious to get into Minnesota. Growing up, I participated in 4-H &#8211; an activity seen as countrified to some people of the urban persuasion, but I disagree.  My participation allowed me to explore many of my interests: photography, art, gardening, and cooking, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/02/21/hmong-cooking-and-fellowship/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>24</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Symbol of Love</title>
		<link>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/02/09/a-symbol-of-love/</link>
		<comments>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/02/09/a-symbol-of-love/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:41:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ireland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cladddah ring]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Galway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oysters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Valentine's Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://oysterfoodandculture.com/?p=6186</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Claddagh ring is a universal symbol of love, but how much did you know about it?  If you are like me, you recognize its universal design, and stop there.  Ah, but there&#8217;s an entire backstory that is fascinating.  I am lucky to have a mother who teaches me something new when I least expect it; at least that is what happened here.  As I mentioned in previous posts, my Mom and I took a special trip together to Ireland, and when we reached Galway, she asked me if I wanted a Claddagh ring.  She had studied their history and wanted to get rings for her daughters.  Maybe not the traditional giver/receiver relationship for this ring, but than again, why not?  But why, in Galway?  Well, the Claddagh rings were developed in the village of Claddagh located immediately outside the old walls of this city, and their popularity soon spread far and wide. So first, a bit about the Claddagh rings The Claddagh ring (Irish: fáinne Chladaigh) is a traditional Irish ring given as a token of love or worn as a wedding ring.  The ring originated in the fishing village of Claddagh, just outside the city of Galway, but [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/02/09/a-symbol-of-love/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>20</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Lucky Pineapple</title>
		<link>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/02/05/lucky-pineapple/</link>
		<comments>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/02/05/lucky-pineapple/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:38:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Caribbean]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[United States]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[celebrations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[symbol]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traditions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fruit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pineapple]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[symbolism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://oysterfoodandculture.com/?p=5385</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This question has been on my mind:  &#8221;Why is the pineapple so appealing that people want to use its image all over the home?&#8221;  Don&#8217;t get me wrong, I love pineapple, with a passion, but I also love bacon, and I have no desire to dress my home with porcine images.  So I decided to dig a bit into what is the appeal of this delicious fruit. Not So Fuzzy Math Native to southern Brazil and Paraguay, the pineapple (Ananas comosus) spread throughout South America, eventually reaching the Caribbean. Columbus discovered it in the Indies and brought it back to Europe.  The Spanish introduced the pineapple to the Philippines, Hawaii, Zimbabwe and Guam. The fruit was cultivated successfully in European hothouses beginning in 1720. The pineapple is a herbaceous perennial plant and is an example of a multiple fruit (it looks like one fruit, but is actually many merged together): arranged in two interlocking helices, eight in one direction, thirteen in the other, each being a Fibonacci number.  Apparently this sequence is very common in nature, and this link speaks to it in a variety of plants.  I cannot believe I wrote a food post and got to mention a mathematical [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/02/05/lucky-pineapple/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>32</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Special Ingredients: Soy Sauce</title>
		<link>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/01/17/special-ingredients-soy-sauce/</link>
		<comments>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/01/17/special-ingredients-soy-sauce/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:09:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[China]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Japan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Special Ingredients]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thailand]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[condiments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hong kong]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traditions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fish sauce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Korea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sauce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shoyu]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[soy sauce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tawain]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://oysterculture.wordpress.com/?p=2548</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The history of soy sauce is a bit like the sauce itself, kind of murky.  What is consistent is that the precursor to soy sauce is something called jiang. Jiang was a method of preservation popular with the prehistoric people of Asia involving preserving meat and fish with salt.  This process produced a bi-product, a salty liquid leeched from the meat that was used to season other foods.  This seasoning was developed in China and originally involved many forms of protein: meat, fish and vegetable.  Here&#8217;s one bit of murkiness, some claim given the difficulty of obtaining meat and fish, vegetable became the predominate protein source and eventually soybeans were selected as the ingredient of choice, and soy sauce was made.  While others place the selection on soy as a result of the increased popularity of Buddhism in the sixth century that added vegetarian restrictions to the diet.  Regardless, the Chinese have relied on soybeans as a food source for at least 5 millennia.  Soy was called Ta Teou, or &#8220;big bean&#8221;, and declared one of the five sacred grains, along with rice, wheat, barley, and millet.  Nutritionally, soybeans provide a healthy and inexpensive source of protein &#8211; two pounds of soy [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/01/17/special-ingredients-soy-sauce/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>34</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Better than a Rabbit&#8217;s Foot, Starting New Years on a High Note</title>
		<link>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2009/12/29/better-than-a-rabbits-foot-starting-new-years-on-a-high-note/</link>
		<comments>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2009/12/29/better-than-a-rabbits-foot-starting-new-years-on-a-high-note/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:12:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Britain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[France]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Germany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Greece]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hungary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ireland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Italy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Japan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mexico]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Netherlands]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Phillipines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Poland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Portugal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[United Kingdom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[United States]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dessert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oysters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[celebrations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Year]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Year's Eve]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Persian New Year]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://oysterfoodandculture.com/?p=6321</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The custom of eating pork on New Year&#8217;s is based on the notion that pigs symbolize progress or prosperity for many cultures &#8211; not a connection that may immediately come to mind. The animal pushes forward, rooting in the ground before moving, symbolizing progress.  In Italy, the fatty meat also symbolizes the fattening of wallets. Roast suckling pig is served for New Year&#8217;s in Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, and Austria.  Austrians are also known to decorate the table with miniature pigs made of marzipan, and Slovakians hand out pig shaped cookies. Different pork dishes such as pig&#8217;s feet are enjoyed in Sweden while Germans feast on roast pork and sausages.  In the United States, Southerners usually eat ham with the peas, or hog jowls if the previous year had been unlucky. In Italy, sausages such as Cotechino Modena, made from pork, fatback and pork rind, or Zampone Modena, essentially the same filling but stuffed into a pig&#8217;s foot, are served with lentils.  The sausages date to the 16th century when the Modenesi were besieged during a war and had no food.  Cotechino allowed them to both preserve meat and use the less-tender cuts. Yes, pork hogs the table in terms [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2009/12/29/better-than-a-rabbits-foot-starting-new-years-on-a-high-note/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>24</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
