XVI Congreso Internacional de Ciencias Sociales Interdisciplinares

Abstract

Nutritional anthropologists are interested in monitoring what we eat; how we eat, and why we eat what we eat. In the gradual socialization process that takes place surrounding food, the taste, the smells, and the way food is prepared become matter-of-course to one degree or another, making it difficult for the adult person to adapt to other unfamiliar cuisines. An individual develops a very strong emotional tie to his mother’s dishes to which they have become accustomed in childhood. The emotional investment and special care the mother takes in preparing the food and feeding has a great impact on the way children relate to these foods. Some of the Arab aphorisms are directly related to rites of eating and drinking practices, but many use culinary metaphors to distill social and moral principles. The aroma of a rich meat and food dish cooking, as it emanates from the house, is a sign of communication. Food and drink have ritual values, as well, and eating together of a shared meal has a bonding mechanism. The use of bread and salt, as a rite of friendship and as a symbol for the very act of eating together, is a highly developed code in daily life and behavior. The aim of this paper is to describe rituals of food (scents and taste) in the Middle East; and how modernization and urbanization affect family relations, rituals, roles and the taste of their native food.