Habits and Heresies: Authenticity, Food Rules, and the People Who Break Them

by Dwight Furrow Chicken Tikka Masala Dishes are a representation of the food tradition from which they emerge. But what counts as an authentic representation of a tradition and who decides? All of us come to the table with a history of eating experiences that have left behind a sediment of preferences, a map of…

Food Fights: Are They about Mouth Taste or Moral Taste?

by Dwight Furrow Human beings fight about a lot of things—territory, ideology, religion. Food fights play a special role in this fisticuff economy—they fill the time when we are between wars. Beans or meat alone in a proper chili? Fish or fowl in a proper paella? Vegetarians vs. carnivores. Locavores vs. factory farms. These are…