Cultural Gastronomy: What Sashimi and Cheese Fondue Taught Me
Nothing reveals cultural differences quite as clearly as food. Something considered a delicacy in one country can be described as “disgusting” in another. Forty years ago in London, I experienced both sides of this cultural divide. One day at school, a Swiss friend asked me, “Japanese eat raw fish, don’t they?” I said yes, and he replied, “Ugh.” How awful. How could anyone call something as delicious as sashimi “disgusting”? “Raw fish” does mean fish that has not been cooked. But the expression can also conjure up an image of someone taking a fish straight from a tank, a river or the sea and biting into it whole, head and all. I tried to explain by using Italian carpaccio as an example. I told him that Japanese people ate fresh fish cut into thin slices — sliced fresh fish — rather than simply eating a whole fish raw. I explained that fish carpaccio might be served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, whereas Japanese people dipped theirs in soy sauce. He seemed to get...