Traditional Food Practices
Preserving lemons: a Moroccan jar on the shelf
The first jar I remember was on a low shelf in a house in the Marrakesh medina, in a quiet room off...
Section
Traditional Food Practices
Old kitchen wisdom, food preparation traditions, fermentation, slow cooking, and cultural meals from around the world.
17 entries in this section
Traditional Food Practices
A cast iron pan, seasoned over years
In my aunt's kitchen in Pune there is a black cast iron kadai that has been in the house since before I...
Traditional Food Practices
Whole grain preparation: soaking, washing, waiting
In my grandmother's house in Kyoto, the rice was washed for the next day's dinner before she went to bed. She would...
Traditional Food Practices
Foraging wild greens: small fields, small knives
My grandmother carried a small knife in her apron pocket from spring until late autumn. It was not for the kitchen. It...
Traditional Food Practices
Sprouted grains: a window of patience
The glass jar sat on the kitchen windowsill in Pune, on its side, with a piece of muslin held over the mouth...
Traditional Food Practices
Breakfasts across cultures: how the day begins
The first time I had breakfast in a friend's house in Beirut, I was fifteen. Her mother set out a low round...
Traditional Food Practices
Family meal rituals: one table, every evening
In my parents' apartment in Bologna, the kitchen has a small round table that seats four comfortably and six with some shuffling...
Traditional Food Practices
Making curd at home: warm milk, a clean cloth
In Bangalore, my mother sets a small earthenware pot on the kitchen counter every evening before bed. Warm milk goes in, a...
Traditional Food Practices
Simple bread baking: flour, water, salt, time
The bowl sat on the kitchen counter all night, covered with a damp cloth, gathering itself in the cool of the room....
Traditional Food Practices
Sun drying food: a roof, a sheet, patience
From the train between Nara and Kyoto in late autumn, you sometimes see them on the roof tiles of older houses: small...
Traditional Food Practices
Pickling: jars on a sunny ledge
My aunt Latifa, in a small town outside Tunis, kept a wooden shelf above the kitchen window that received sun from late...
Traditional Food Practices
Churning butter by hand: a Sunday morning sound
The sound came from the kitchen before dawn. A wooden rod knocking softly against the inside of a tall clay pot. Not...