Abstract
This paper focuses on the articulation between nutrition, cuisine and the construction of regional identities to discuss the “biography” of banha de porco (pork lard) in São Paulo, Brazil. If it was essential for cooking and preserving food until the beginning of the 20th century, in the following decades a clear change took place: advertisements and articles published in São Paulo magazines and newspapers started to associate lard with a custom that should be surpassed, since it was artisanal, linked to rurality, and did not match the new parameters of modernity widely spread by medical/hygienist discourses. A real “hunting for lard” took over the press, suggesting healthier and more modern substitutes, such as coconut fat and vegetable oils, which were beginning to be produced by the emerging industries. Part of an ongoing research, this paper discusses the entry of new ingredients (canned oils) and equipment (such as the refrigerator) brought by the industry into a domestic kitchen still deeply tied to the services of maids who, remnants of slavery, certainly had a hard time overcoming their own traditional habits to fully accept these innovations. Facing transformations in its contradictions, resistances and constant adaptations, rather than in a linear dynamic that simply replaced a taste or a habit with others, the research aims to comprehend a complex and continuous process that culminates, today, with the “redemption” of pork lard, which is being resumed by small and organic producers, ironically rehabilitated as nutritious, healthy, and consistent with the most modern desires.
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
Food Preservation, Cuisine, Health and Nutrition Education, Food Industry, Identities
