Gastronomy: Evolution of Turmeric in Cross-Cultural Alignment

This paper discusses the evolution of turmeric in cross-cultural alignment, particularly in Middle Eastern cuisine. It explores the impact of globalization on cuisine and the three significant stages of change to regional cuisine. The paper also highlights the medicinal value of turmeric and its modern supplement.

Running head: GASTRONOMY 1
Gastronomy
Name
Institution

GASTRONOMY 2
Gastronomy
Executive Summary
Ideally, food has for long been related to the issues of identity, consumption, production, culture,
as well as issues surrounding sustainability. Additionally, food is often a significant element of
tourism product even though its relationship with the aspect of tourism has recently been
recognized. Countries and regions have different cuisine and methods of preparing foods. One of
the significant areas that have been identified with an artistical cuisine existence is Middle
Eastern countries. The overwhelming healthier, as well as diversified menu options surrounding
the Middle Eastern restaurant's segments, has no doubt poised the region as one of the most
prominent in the U.S. Most of its flavors influence originates from the many Arabic nations. In
this light, dishes found in countries such as Israel, Turkey, Egypt, and Lebanon integrate healthy
ingredients with each state having its specialties as well as the preparation method of these foods.
The constant exposure, particularly to the international components through travel and media as
well as the overall American’s sophisticated palates, has continued to spur the increasing rise of
the Middle Eastern cuisine. The chosen dish for this purpose is the Turmeric which is common in
the Middle Eastern countries.

GASTRONOMY 3
Introduction
In essence, it is no doubt that globalization has been the central aspect various social
sciences discourses over the last couple of decades now. In this light, the global, as well as local
tension has become compellingly problematized by the aspect of food (Wenning, 2016). Food
systems have been tipped to highlight the current as well as unique ways in which the private is
turning out to be public. The cuisine is often characterized by various wild dialects of
globalization that lies within the local as well as localism within the global through the
development of multicultural cuisine (Carr & Sinclair, 2016). Notably, cooking has been on a
changing end as a result of its position in the developing networks of various regions as well as
global cultural and economic relations between different cultures (Curtis & Slocum, 2017).
There are indeed three significant stages or rather periods of change to the overall regional
cuisine since the medieval. The difference in regards to kitchen occurred due to various
significant factors that impact the globalizing process (Hall & Mitchell, 2000). This paper
intends to discuss in detail the wave of change in regards to the Middle Eastern Cuisine
particularly the turmeric. This paper will as well look at a significant period of change in regards
to cuisine and the evolution of turmeric in cross-cultural alignment.

GASTRONOMY 4
Sources:https://www.google.com/search?
q=turmeric&client=opera&hs=aFU&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=si8a3fwMJCR
x2M%253A%252C2pVRaqbzmXy1cM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kRxU7q-q_K6pVfnxNECXt-
G3mbZ5Q&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi_zfra84_eAhWDBsAKHULUB0AQ9QEwDHoECAQ
QBg#imgrc=si8a3fwMJCRx2M:
Three Major Periods of Change to Regional Cuisine
It is no doubt that there have been various progressions in regards to global cuisine
mainly due to the impact that globalization has come with it. The first stage or somewhat period
of change was referred to as the period of the European mercantilism that lasted from the late
1400s to the 1800s (Hall & Mitchell, 2000). In essence, this is often considered to be the time of
ecological imperialism where the produce of Asia, as well as that of the new Americas world,
was taken to Europe and vice versa. In this light, the old menu was considered not to bore any
particular resemblance to the overall national cuisine that then developed in various states of the
18th century (Hall & Mitchell, 2000). It is within this period that peppers that came from the
Americas become a part of the significant Chinese as well as another Asian cuisine using trading
routes. Moreover, this is the time where fruits, as well as vegetables and animals, turned out to
be the stuff of trade that ended up on feeding up the developing labor forces.
Primarily, the influence of the large-scale migration from the period of the 17th century all
the way to the 20th century is considered the second wave of food globalization. As a result of the
settlement of people globally, they shifted and settled with their food customs as well as animals
with them. While these changes happened in the Europeans settlement of the Americas, it as well
happened in a modern world of Irish and Scottish migration of the time (Hall & Mitchell, 2000).
Moreover, the overall the immigration of the Greeks as well that of the Italians tot eh modern
Australia is regarded as a significant contributing factor in the development of a rather

GASTRONOMY 5
international Australian perspective towards food. The aspect of multiculturalism is, therefore,
the driving force of the changing global cuisine.
Contemporary globalization is considered as the third wave of globalization in regards to
cuisine. This is a period where advances in the aspect of communication and transport
technology have drastically changed the way food, as well as information regarding food, is
relayed across the globe (Hall & Mitchell, 2000). Moreover, this was a period where technology
has played a significant role in the process of food production all the way to consumption.
Consequently, production has no doubts become global in various senses.
Turmeric
In essence, turmeric is mostly found in various dishes across global cuisines such as meat
and vegetable recipes. Essentially, turmeric is considered as a member of the ginger family with
tuberous underground stems that is the primary source of the spice commonly known as the
turmeric. The ingredient is mostly used in a slightly ground form with it having a bitter as well as
medium flavor (Keenan, 2016). Notably, turmeric lends some of its colors to Middle Eastern
traditional dinners. Turmeric is considered a spice that is derived from the turmeric plant and is
commonly used in Asian food. Many people have for a long time known turmeric as the main
spices in a special curry. It is often used n flavoring or somewhat coloring a curry powder.
Moreover, the roots of turmeric have been tipped to make medicine across the globe because it
contains a chemical called the curcumin which is mostly used in cosmetics and coloring food.

GASTRONOMY 6
The yellow coloring of the turmeric spice is as a result of the presence of three main
curcuminoids in the rhizome such as the curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, as well as the bis-
desmethoxycurcumin.
Evolution of Turmeric
Primarily, turmeric has for a long time now been known to co-evolve with animals for
close to a million of years. The human use of turmeric undoubtedly dates back to instead four
thousands of years ago. Vedic culture in India recorded the earliest use of plants where the post
discoveries show that some residues of turmeric around New Delhi in as early as the 2500 BC
(Scarpellini, 2016). The significance of turmeric in Indian culture does not end there since it
went on to become one of the most integral parts of the overall Hindu rituals before its use found
meaning in another part of the world particularly the Middle Eastern nations (Scarpellini, 2016).
Spice such as turmeric was an essential item in the earliest evolution of trade and is believed to
have found its way to the Middle Eastern countries about 4000 years ago (Papastergiadis, 2018).
Moreover, the contemporary globalization has no doubt aided its uses in various parts of the
world such as the Americas in recent times.
Consequently, turmeric is regarded as an important medicinal as well as an aromatic plant
that considered as a golden source of spices which contains the immense export potential for its
medicinal value, cooking spice, and dye (Sandıkcı, Peterson, Ekici, & Simkins, 2016). The plant
is currently used by various countries across the globe as a spice, therefore, summarizing its
evolution. In Asia, turmeric is famously used as an essential constituent of the curry powder and

GASTRONOMY 7
often contains close to 25 percent turmeric (Zakaria, 2016). In other Western countries, a ground
turmeric rhizome is commonly used in various food industries mostly as a coloring agent.
Modern Supplement of Turmeric
The popularity of turmeric curcumin has no doubt exploded in contemporary society after
various studies have backed up the health benefits that come along with the use of turmeric (Sert,
2017). As a result, there are currently hundreds of turmeric supplements in the global markets
although many of them contain some artificial fillers that may seem to counteract the typical
spices that many people tend to benefit from (Ravallion, 2018). Turmeric plant has been a
significant part of the modern civilization for close to thousands of years now (Powell, 2018).
One of the common turmeric supplements of the contemporary times is the turmeric latte which
uses freshly grated turmeric as well as ginger as its ingredients.
Conclusion
It is evident that the aspect of globalization has had a considerable impact on the various
cuisines and how people eat across the globe for a couple of decades now. The change and the

GASTRONOMY 8
transformation of the cultural kitchen have no doubt undergone multiple stages to the
contemporary state of shared ideologies on cooking habits across the globe. While the aspect of
the kitchen was impacted by globalization even in the early 70s, the technological advancement
in the modern era has undoubtedly brought the world closer to each other, therefore, sharing
ideas on the eating as well as the cooking habits. One particular region that has been influenced
by modern changes in the refined cuisine is the Middle Eastern countries such as Lebanon and
Israel. Although both countries have had different political ideologies, they share a common
ingredient known as the turmeric that is thought to have originated from India. Even though
these ingredients are shared across different cultural alignment, its values have been kept for
years. As a result, turmeric has become a typical ingredient in countries such as Israel and
Lebanon. This has made other countries in North Americans to embrace this type of cuisine in
the current generations not forgetting the medicinal value that has made it famous across the
world for a couple of decades now.
References

GASTRONOMY 9
Carr, B., & Sinclair, J. (2016). The “Tequila Effect” or “How the Taco Won Australia”: The
Appropriation of Mexican and Latin American Culture in Australia. In Australian-Latin
American Relations (pp. 67-84). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
Curtis, K. R., & Slocum, S. L. (2017). Food tourism and sustainable communities. In Food and
Agricultural Tourism(pp. 24-42). Routledge.
Gogiberidze, S. (2017). Georgia and Cultural Globalization: Effect and Challenges. International
Relations, 5(11), 650-659.
Hall, C. M., & Mitchell, R. (2000). “WE ARE WHAT WE EAT. Tourism Culture &
Communication, 2(1), 29-37.
Keenan, H. (2016). Graduate Research from Global Perspectives. Journal of Mason Graduate
Research, 3(1).
Papastergiadis, N. (2018). The turbulence of migration: Globalization, deterritorialization, and
hybridity. John Wiley & Sons.
Powell, K. (2018). Nationalism, Globalization, and Conflict Cuisine: A Look at the Expression of
Nationalism through Afghan cuisine in the Washington, DC Area (Doctoral dissertation).
Ravallion, M. (2018). Inequality and globalization: A review essay. Journal of Economic
Literature, 56(2), 620-42.
Sandıkcı, Ö., Peterson, M., Ekici, A., & Simkins, T. (2016). Development and quality of life in
Turkey: how globalization, religion, and economic growth influence individual well-
being. Journal of Macromarketing, 36(3), 304-320.
Scarpellini, E. (2016). Cuisine in the Age of Globalization. In Food and Foodways in Italy from
1861 to the Present (pp. 141-169). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.

GASTRONOMY 10
Sert, a. N. (2017). Italian cuisine: characteristics and effects. Journal of business management
and economic research, 1(1), 49y-57.
Steger, M. B. (2017). Globalization: A concise introduction(Vol. 86). Oxford University Press.
Wenning, D. (2016). Consuming Culture: effects of globalization in Japanese American
Restaurants.
Zakaria, F. (2016). Populism on the March: Why the West is in Trouble. Foreign Aff., 95, 9.