Pasta, pasta!

Hello, there! This is Sam the Food Enthusiast writing. My family (pretty large to begin with) had guests over tonight, and we ate a huge, delicious meal of pasta. Which served as perfectly timed inspiration for a blog post!

As far as written history can tell, the Chinese developed the beloved, carbohydrate-rich cuisine of pasta before any other civilization. Historians and food enthusiasts alike debate whether my ancestral Italy developed pasta independently, or as a reaction to Marco Polo's return from Asia. Regardless, the globalization of pasta is undeniable. Let's start from the beginning.

If you handed a box of this to the average American, he or she would think of Asia, right?



The typical American will see this, and think of Italy, no?


Pasta has strong roots in both of those cultures. There's no denying it. They're not the only nations to make pasta their own, however. What country of origin do you think of when you see this?


As I write, I expect the reader to think of the United States. If you didn't, good for you. Good ol' mac&cheese technically goes all the way back to medevil Italian cookbooks. The image above, however, is Kraft macaroni and cheese.  Kraft - an American company founded in 1903, which began marketing macaroni and cheese in 1937 - made over 645 million dollars from sales of their classic blue box in 2010. Culturally, it's considered a college student staple in Canada (like Ramen in the US).

Mac&cheese may be the brainchild of Italian cooks, but foreign companies have globalized the dish, leading to North Americans and Europeans eating hundreds of millions of dollars worth each year.

Here's a final instance of Pasta Gone Global. Any idea what this is?

It's Noodle Kugel, a classic Jewish dish originating in Germany. This method of preparation is unique, and sweeter than most Chinese and Italian recipes. Macaroni and cheese is a prime example of global food adoption. Noodle Kugel is towards other side of the food globalization spectrum: adaptation. Instead of adopting pasta dishes from Italy or China, the Jewish community in Germany adapted pasta. They kept the core ingredient, but cooked it with their own individual culture.

On the whole, pasta has transformed into a global food staple. According to the International Pasta Organization, 27 of the world's nations have citizens who, on average, eat at least 5 pounds of pasta a year. The United States' average is 8.8 lbs. That's higher than butter and peanuts, and almost twice the intake of chocolate.

All of this is very interesting. A quirky flour-water combination, after thousands of years of isolation in China, spread/developed in a rather petite European country during the 13th century. At that time, it was know to those two regions only. In a few hundred years, however, the recipe became a world favorite. Well done, pasta.

What does this mean for our world? For you? For me? As far as I'm concerned, it means that food is a Great Connector. Tonight, I talked about pasta. A different night, I could talk about chocolate, or sausage, or pancakes. Economically, as we saw in the Kraft example, food can jump into a whole new country and start up a multi-million dollar industry. Culturally, a food, like pasta, can spread into different areas and take on whole new forms, like the Kugel I'll be making in the upcoming weeks. Food connects different culture and economies. It makes our Earth an ever more tightly knit - and delicious - place.

Thank you kindly for reading! I hope you check in again next week and see what we can share with you. :)


General pasta facts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasta#History and http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/445929/pasta
General macaroni and cheese facts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaroni_and_cheese
Kraft data: http://www.journaltimes.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/article_8302939e-bdfe-11df-860d-001cc4c03286.html
IPO Statistics: http://www.internationalpasta.org/index.php?cat=22&item=7&lang=2
US Average Intakes Per Capita: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/AgOutlook/AOTables/CurrentTables/AoTables.pdf
Noodle Kugel (picture, plus a recipe!): http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/noodle-kugel-recipe/index.html
Italian Pasta: http://www.bestourism.com/items/di/1068?title=Italy&b=209
Chinese Egg Noodles With Smokes Duck (picture and recipe!): http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/photo/Chinese-Egg-Noodles-with-Smoked-Duck-and-Snow-Peas-354302
Mac and Cheese: http://mikeythegnarly.wordpress.com/category/munchies/

Globalization Today and the USSR Yesterday

Cześć wszysty! This is Nell, and I'm still in Poland! Therefore, I'd like to focus this blog post on globalization today (in Central/Eastern Europe, specifically Poland). After all, I am experiencing it firsthand! Although, I will certainly try to include certain historical aspects from the USSR's impact on Eastern Europe.

Let's start with obvious examples of globalization today, and I'll focus this blog post on business. Many of America's typical business ideologies are slowly but certainly coming into this country. I was talking to a family friend just last night, and she mentioned how at one point, there were far more of the family-owned-like businesses just a few years ago. Now, however, all sorts of grocery super stores are opening left and right. There are Biedronka's, Lidl's, Kefirek's, Polo Market's, Carrefour's, and many others. Unfortunately, it's far easier to go to one super store and get all of your groceries as opposed to going from a butcher, to a bakery, to a fruit stand, and so on and so forth. Instead, at a super store, you go in, sometimes, if you're lucky, you run into someone willing to help you, and then you leave. Smaller businesses don't have the means to compete with these sort of stores if people lose the willingness to go through the various stores. Aside from that, I have seen a few American fast food chains, such as the obvious McDonald's, the somewhat surprising KFC's, and even a Burger King. Let me say, though, it's quite interesting how each chain adapts to it's local conditions. Let's look at the McDonald's in Krakow's square. You don't use cars to get around in the square; you walk. Therefore, the McDonald's has adapted by creating what I have dubbed a "walk-by" as opposed to a "drive-thru."

Now onto the lasting impacts from the USSR! I actually have a lot of prime examples of this from my stay here and through discussion with people, so it's a bit hard to just pick one specific point right now. But, I'll start with the religious impact. Religion and Communism do not mix. Therefore, all the countries under the Soviet sphere were often pressured to completely abandon their religion. Each country reacted differently to these pressures. Many of the Germans in my class have mentioned the difference between West and East Germany. In West Germany, many old Christian traditions and holidays have held through, and many topics are still taboo to discuss. However, East Germany has lost many of its Christian ties and have begun to recognize more secular holidays as opposed to the Catholic ones. In Poland, Russia had many troubles trying to restrict religion. For example, in the city of Nowa Huta (I will discuss this in more detail at a later time), the citizens placed a wooden cross in the middle of the city after much struggle with the government. Three years after this placement, the government tore it down, and the town rioted. In response, the government permitted the city to fund the building of a church. The architect in charge of this project designed a church in the structure of an ark, and he made the cross at the top of the building the foundational support for the entire building to prevent the Soviets from destroying the cross yet again. Here you see the absolute will power to ensure that the Communist regime would not shake their faith. Although, the Communists did partially succeed in hurting their faith. Here's an example of why: when Pope John Paul the II visited Poland, many many people came to listen to him. However, when he visited Ireland, the number of attendees was double that in Poland. Therefore, Communism certainly did have enough of an effect on religion in Poland.

Thanks for tuning in this week! :)