Ethnic Foods: Food as Ethnic Symbol

Ethnic identification of food and people requires a combination of external pressure and internal solidarity, although no simple rule describes the persistence of either cuisines or peoples. “Authenticity” is used as a measure of foods both cooked for the group and partaken of by others, but perhaps it is more useful to describe dishes on a spectrum from culturally conservative to innovative or Americanized. One might view ethnic home cooking as naturally conservative and ethnic dining out as intrinsically innovative, but both experiences can be plotted on a full spectrum between conservatism and innovation. Some ethnic food that is authentic in terms of the intensity of group feeling and the degree of recognition provoked in outsiders can be foods that have changed extensively but remained powerful symbols for the group.