DIAITA: Food - Heritage

The “tabuleiro” as an expression of resistance of black “quitandeiras” in Brazil (19th century):

Mariana Thais Megel — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“Quitandeiras” were called the African and African-Brazilian women, enslaved, freed enslaved and free, who incorporated selling several foodstuffs as a craft in nineteenth-century Brazil. Being inserted in a world-system based on white and racializing ideals, the exercise of selling foodstuffs meant a possibility of resistance to the racism, abuse and exploitation experienced by these women. On this way, in order to ensure that coloniality is questioned and not reproduced in this article, decoloniality and the questioning of whiteness encompass the research methodology used, besides the food social history. Thus, two titles form the basis of this bibliographic review, namely the MA Dissertation “Das kitandas de Luanda aos tabuleiros das Terras de São Sebastião: conflito em torno do comércio das quitandeiras negras no Rio de Janeiro do século XIX”, by master of Urban and Regional Planning Fernando Vieira de Freitas; and the PhD Dissertation “‘Um pé na cozinha’: uma análise sócio-histórica do trabalho de cozinheiras negras no Brasil”, by doctor of Sociology Taís de Sant’Anna Machado. In short, the uses of food social history, decoloniality and the questioning of whiteness as theoretical presuppositions in the analysis of power relations and subalternization proposed in the Brazilian colonial society includes the understanding of the different forms of sociocultural, intellectual and dietary resistance exercised by the “quitandeiras” in the 19^th century.

On the Cooking of Foods That Are Not Eaten Raw

Sandra Morais — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

O Tratado Completo de Cozinha e de Copa, written by Carlos Bento da Maia, is a seminal work that marked the dissemination of culinary knowledge throughout the first half of the 20th century. Despite the recognized importance of this book and its author in the panorama of Portuguese culinary literature, there have been few studies dedicated to it.

In this work, we reflect on Portuguese culinary practices in their historical dimension, focusing on the contributions of culinary literature and establishing relationships with the material and cultural aspects of food preparation. We present the results of a quantitative and qualitative analysis based on 490 recipes from the aforementioned book, supported by the assessments that Bento da Maia recorded in the section Sobre o cozinhado dos alimentos que se não comem crus. The characterization of the recipe collection, considering culinary methods and techniques, with special attention given to cooking and food preservation techniques, allowed an interpretation considering the chronology of the energy and technological transition of the early 1900s in Portugal, highlighting the role of these factors in the evolution of culinary practices.

Sung, drawn and quartered: the roman ideogram of bread (part 2)

Bunny Waring — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The common, round, and quartered loaf of wheat-bread was produced and eaten by all echelons of Roman society. The fundamentality of this segmented loaf to the daily life, industry, and economy of Rome, imbued it with ideogrammic qualities of social balance and stability which have yet to be explored. Part 1 of this paper introduced the development of bread in Roman diets, before an in-depth analysis of its metaphoric characteristics in ancient writing genres. Part 2 investigates how these themes translate visually into the archaeological record, exploring the emblematic use of bread on tombs, altars, frescos, and mosaics throughout the Empire. This two-part paper aims to highlight the allegorical nature of bread beyond dietetics.

A patrimonialização de bens materiais da imigração japonesa e a produção do chá no Vale do Ribeira

Cecilia Vieira Pereira das Neves — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0100

This article is part of ongoing doctoral research, which has the general objective of analyzing which memories are being triggered and selected for the construction of what social actors in Brazil understand as Brazilian tea. So, initially, we turned our attention to Vale do Ribeira, located in the south of the State of São Paulo, where most of Brazilian tea is currently produced, and which has the city of Registro as the tea capital in Brazil. Based on bibliographical research, we reflect on the consequences of the patrimonialization of material goods linked to the process of Japanese immigration and colonization in the Ribeira Valley connected to the local tea culture, and how this process may have influenced the resumption of tea production in the region . It is important to emphasize that we understand by tea the Camellia Sinensis plant and the infusion made from it, and not the different types of infusions made from flowers, fruits and roots widely used in Brazil.

Comida popular à mesa da elite ou quando as refeições festivas se tornam um hábito diário

Massimo Montanari — Wed, 14 May 2025 00:00:00 +0100

A cozinha de elite e a cozinha popular são distintas, conflituando, por vezes, entre si até do ponto de vista ideológico. Porém, em termos práticos, é possível observar cruzamentos e hibridizações entre as duas culturas. Isto parece verificar-se ainda nos dias de hoje, sempre que os chefs elogiam a dita cozinha “pobre” e já era verdade no século XIX, quando a cozinha burguesa transformava pratos populares confecionados nos dias de festa em refeições quotidianas. Também sucedia o mesmo na Idade Média e no Renascimento, quando os livros de receitas elaborados para as mesas dos senhores usavam produtos “pobres” e recriavam práticas e hábitos gastronómicos rurais. Apesar do menosprezo sofrido ao longo dos séculos, os camponeses participaram indiretamente na construção do património gastronómico contemporâneo. O caso de Itália, no qual este artigo se foca, pode ser tomado como exemplo – a menos que seja uma manifesta exceção.

Gastronomy as a Diplomatic Tool: Bairrada's Gastrodiplomacy Approach

Josefina Olivia Salvado — Thu, 22 May 2025 00:00:00 +0100

The intersection of gastronomy and diplomacy has collected significant attention, leading to the emergence of "gastrodiplomacy" as a pivotal concept in international relations. This paper delves into the dynamics of gastrodiplomacy within the context of Bairrada wine region, to unveil its potential for strategic gastronomic branding. Through an extensive literature review and qualitative analysis of municipal and restaurant websites content, this research identifies key players in promoting regional gastronomic brands and discerns patterns in food heritage strategic marketing. Results underscore Bairrada's substantial potential for effective gastrodiplomacy, advocating for innovative approaches such as people-to-people programs, cultural events, and social media engagement to elevate its gastronomic branding. These findings emphasize the significance of gastrodiplomacy in enhancing national brand recognition, fostering tourism, and attracting foreign investment.