McDonald’s, Burger King, Del Taco…fast food signs everywhere! OK, I’ll admit to
an occasional stop for a pile of protein and grease, but while there’s a
momentary rush of instant gratification, it just doesn’t do it for me like my
grandma’s lasagna. And while most fast food gets boring pretty quickly, how many
of us ever became tired of our mom’s spaghetti and meatballs or dad’s sausage
and peppers?
In
this issue of La Voce, we explore food memories — from festival foods to home
cooking — and how to instill cultural memories through food and its preparation.
For
Italian- Americans, food is not just a way to ingest nutrients; it is a social
and family bonding experience that ties us all together. Remember helping
grandma make the meatballs? How you had to wash your hands really well before
you started? No spoons were involved — you shoved your hands into the meat
mixture and squished everything around until it was all combined. After that,
you helped grandma form and shape the meatballs by hand. No fancy tool from a
specialty store, you just dug in.
When you served the meal to your family, grandma proudly pointed to her young
assistants, who anxiously held their breaths until the first bites. How proud
you felt when everyone applauded the meal. You gave them your love with your
efforts; they returned it with their praise.
And
then there are the Italian restaurants. Almost to a person, our favorite Italian
restaurants are the ones that most closely approximate the food we would make at
home if we had the time. No boilin bags from an international food supplier,
just cooking for a lot of people from scratch. Plus, since they are our favorite
places, we develop a personal relationship with the owners and staff — they’re
part of our extended family, and we are a part of theirs.
Definitely not fast food. So it isn’t surprising that a movement dedicated to
rediscovering the flavors and savors of regional cooking — Slow Food — began in
Italy. In 1986, Carlo Petrini, the founder of the Slow Food movement, recognized
that the industrialization of food was leading to a gradual extinction of food
varieties and flavors. His goal was to reach out to consumers and demonstrate to
them that they have choices over fast food and supermarket homogenization. With
62 colleagues, Petrini began an organization that is now active in over 100
countries and has a worldwide membership of over 80,000.
The movement has grown for a number of reasons. Some people are just tired of
eating the same food wherever they go, and some have noticed that our food just
doesn’t taste as good as it used to. Plus, as we have seen in the past few
years, there are major health concerns revolving around food production — e-coli
scares, salmonella outbreaks, mad cow disease — all stem from the
industrialization of our food supply. Slow Food members also are concerned about
the ecological and environmental impact that food sourcing has on our planet.
Slow Food absorbs all these issues into its mission — to protect the individual
regional tastes, cultures, and the overall environment. Most important — Slow
Food just tastes better.
Happy Birthday
This
issue marks the beginning of La Voce’s eighth year of publication. For
seven years, La Voce has brought to its readers information on news,
government, politics, language, culture, arts, music, food, and about all things
Italian and Italian-American. From its beginnings, the paper has sought to
nurture, preserve, and celebrate what it means to be a part of this vibrant
culture.
While
proud to be Americans, Italian-Americans have a powerful need to preserve their
core culture and values. However, we don’t want to keep these marvelous things
to ourselves — we want to share them. La Voce allows us to reach beyond
the boundaries of our own ethnic community — to show off a bit, if you will —
and demonstrate to the larger “village” how our culture has contributed and
continues to add to mainstream American culture, all the while retaining its
individual flavor and traditions.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LA VOCE!
