Foodways

Foodways is a noun that is used to denote general food habits of a familial, regional, cultural, or ethnic group. Foodways refers to overall patterns of food use, including methods of procurement, preparation, presentation, and consumption. More specifically, the term refers to tangible and intangible—and often taken-for-granted—forces that shape how people prepare and serve food, including especially attitudes, customs, traditions, and ritualistic protocol. Foodways connotes actual foodstuffs as well as—perhaps more important—the various historic, symbolic, political, social, religious, economic, and cultural factors that influence food choice and use.