5 ms·

" There’s a fundamental problem with the concept of authenticity in food..." Yes, the problem being that I have never heard someone accuse a food of being inau

" There’s a fundamental problem with the concept of authenticity in food..." Yes, the problem being that I have never heard someone accuse a food of being inauthentic without sounding like they are desperately trying to sound cultured or cool or high status.

youeseh 7y ago
If I'm an Indian in California craving Indian food "just like home", am I desperately trying to sound cultured? Maybe I was cultured to begin with! :D There is a point when food attributed to a culture but not invented by it gains authenticity - when the culture that it is attributed to adopts it. A few examples: - Tikka Masala (British) - Burrito (California) - Siracha Sauce (California) - Pepperoni (New York?). But, we're still waiting on Italians on this one.
- EnFinlay 7y ago
  Saying you want "authentic" vs "just like home" are very different to me. One implies value judgement, the other does not.
- seiferteric 7y ago
  The problem is that there is no real definition since all food comes from some place at some time. Even ingredients that are used in many Indian dishes today like Chili peppers and tomatoes are from the new world, so could not have been considered "authentic" at some time int he past. Basically "authentic" when it comes to food feels more like a kind of nostalgia.
- ivanhoe 7y ago
  Yes, but if you go to another part of India you'll also be served a differently prepared dish, it will never be exactly "just like home". It's not just in India, every cuisine has regional variations, say in Italia there's a big difference in specialties between say Campania and Veneto. So how come that is OK, but emigrants have to make the food just like your mom makes or it's called fake?
- tomjakubowski 7y ago
  The popular Mission style burrito was invented in 20th century California, but people have been rolling meat or beans or veggies into tortillas for a very long time. And they were called "burritos", in Mexico, as early as 1895. Quoting the Diccionario de Mexicanismos, which says "burrito" is a term from Guanajuato state: Tortilla arrollada, con carne u otra cosa dentro, que en Yucatán llaman cozito, y en Cuernavaca y en Méjico, taco (rolled tortilla, with meat or something else inside; in Yucatán called "cozito", and in Cuernavaca and Méjico "taco") https://books.google.com/books?id=u2xQAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA98 https://books.google.com/books?id=u2xQAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA98
- 98codes 7y ago
  In my experience, the best way to make any food "just like home" is to make it yourself.
aznpwnzor 7y ago
I find that authentic is the wrong word. For example, Kogi is not authentic but does an amazing and non snobby approach to fusion of korean and mexican food. Meanwhile Boba Guys is also not authentic, but they rub many asian americans the wrong way because of their branding. the lack of drink customizations and strong handedness to "we do tea the RIGHT WAY and CLEAN WAY" plus a history of putting down mom and pop boba shops as "dirty" is the wrong approach. but ofc they attract many white people and thus many asian americans that seek validation by mainstream
- sushid 7y ago
  “but ofc they attract many white people and thus many asian americans that seek validation by mainstream“ This sounds very harsh and it almost sounds like you’re projecting here. I’m speaking as an AA who 1. Loves boba and 2. Cares about the quality of ingredients in their food. I don’t go eat out to “seek validation by mainstream” but I do care about the ingredients in my drinks. Boba guys uses high quality ingredients and even sources their own boba and tea using their sister companies (unsure of the exact corporate structure), which is why many people enjoy going there despite the lines. This is in comparison to some boba shops that just use various powdered drinks and who knows what for their boba. I don’t go there as a way to white worship, which is what you’re insinuating here.
  - aznpwnzor 7y ago
    It's interesting that you recite this talking point by them of > powdered drinks What tea shop uses powder? I honestly have not experienced one. Even places that boba guys likes to look down upon like Quickly's (an honest logistical marvel: 2 immigrants that know no english serves 300 menu items) don't use "powder". At the worst they use fructose while boba guys itself uses (they use a mix of brown and white sugar to make their syrups). is that really that much of a difference? especially when boba guys oversteeps there tea and warns people against getting 0-25% sugar? I'm not insinuating it's "white worship". 1. you are a 16 year old AA not in the SGV and you and your AA friends manage to find a boba place to hang out. 2. it's hard to offer this experience to your non AA friends as they would never go there because it's "dirty" and most importantly unknown. and so your network is smaller, your experience more alien 3. this makes boba guys so easy to go to now and then mention to your white friends, who love it because it's an aesthetic they know and a marketing copy their moms can get behind. This is not a priori the wrong way to approach this problem. However, when this leads to claiming only your way is right and perpetuating racist stereotypes that if a boba shop does not LOOK clean, it must NOT BE clean. INSTEAD what boba guys needs to do is be honest (rather than perpetuate untruths about other boba places). do everything to get your nut, but not at the direct expense of others. These are an aside, but Andrew Chau has a history of making cringy semi-racist statements in addition to lying about their sources of funding and their margins.

youeseh 7y ago

If I'm an Indian in California craving Indian food "just like home", am I desperately trying to sound cultured? Maybe I was cultured to begin with! :D There is a point when food attributed to a culture but not invented by it gains authenticity - when the culture that it is attributed to adopts it. A few examples: - Tikka Masala (British) - Burrito (California) - Siracha Sauce (California) - Pepperoni (New York?). But, we're still waiting on Italians on this one.

EnFinlay 7y ago
Saying you want "authentic" vs "just like home" are very different to me. One implies value judgement, the other does not.
seiferteric 7y ago
The problem is that there is no real definition since all food comes from some place at some time. Even ingredients that are used in many Indian dishes today like Chili peppers and tomatoes are from the new world, so could not have been considered "authentic" at some time int he past. Basically "authentic" when it comes to food feels more like a kind of nostalgia.
ivanhoe 7y ago
Yes, but if you go to another part of India you'll also be served a differently prepared dish, it will never be exactly "just like home". It's not just in India, every cuisine has regional variations, say in Italia there's a big difference in specialties between say Campania and Veneto. So how come that is OK, but emigrants have to make the food just like your mom makes or it's called fake?
tomjakubowski 7y ago
The popular Mission style burrito was invented in 20th century California, but people have been rolling meat or beans or veggies into tortillas for a very long time. And they were called "burritos", in Mexico, as early as 1895. Quoting the Diccionario de Mexicanismos, which says "burrito" is a term from Guanajuato state: Tortilla arrollada, con carne u otra cosa dentro, que en Yucatán llaman cozito, y en Cuernavaca y en Méjico, taco (rolled tortilla, with meat or something else inside; in Yucatán called "cozito", and in Cuernavaca and Méjico "taco") https://books.google.com/books?id=u2xQAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA98 https://books.google.com/books?id=u2xQAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA98
98codes 7y ago
In my experience, the best way to make any food "just like home" is to make it yourself.

aznpwnzor 7y ago

I find that authentic is the wrong word. For example, Kogi is not authentic but does an amazing and non snobby approach to fusion of korean and mexican food. Meanwhile Boba Guys is also not authentic, but they rub many asian americans the wrong way because of their branding. the lack of drink customizations and strong handedness to "we do tea the RIGHT WAY and CLEAN WAY" plus a history of putting down mom and pop boba shops as "dirty" is the wrong approach. but ofc they attract many white people and thus many asian americans that seek validation by mainstream

sushid 7y ago
“but ofc they attract many white people and thus many asian americans that seek validation by mainstream“ This sounds very harsh and it almost sounds like you’re projecting here. I’m speaking as an AA who 1. Loves boba and 2. Cares about the quality of ingredients in their food. I don’t go eat out to “seek validation by mainstream” but I do care about the ingredients in my drinks. Boba guys uses high quality ingredients and even sources their own boba and tea using their sister companies (unsure of the exact corporate structure), which is why many people enjoy going there despite the lines. This is in comparison to some boba shops that just use various powdered drinks and who knows what for their boba. I don’t go there as a way to white worship, which is what you’re insinuating here.
- aznpwnzor 7y ago
  It's interesting that you recite this talking point by them of > powdered drinks What tea shop uses powder? I honestly have not experienced one. Even places that boba guys likes to look down upon like Quickly's (an honest logistical marvel: 2 immigrants that know no english serves 300 menu items) don't use "powder". At the worst they use fructose while boba guys itself uses (they use a mix of brown and white sugar to make their syrups). is that really that much of a difference? especially when boba guys oversteeps there tea and warns people against getting 0-25% sugar? I'm not insinuating it's "white worship". 1. you are a 16 year old AA not in the SGV and you and your AA friends manage to find a boba place to hang out. 2. it's hard to offer this experience to your non AA friends as they would never go there because it's "dirty" and most importantly unknown. and so your network is smaller, your experience more alien 3. this makes boba guys so easy to go to now and then mention to your white friends, who love it because it's an aesthetic they know and a marketing copy their moms can get behind. This is not a priori the wrong way to approach this problem. However, when this leads to claiming only your way is right and perpetuating racist stereotypes that if a boba shop does not LOOK clean, it must NOT BE clean. INSTEAD what boba guys needs to do is be honest (rather than perpetuate untruths about other boba places). do everything to get your nut, but not at the direct expense of others. These are an aside, but Andrew Chau has a history of making cringy semi-racist statements in addition to lying about their sources of funding and their margins.