Evolution Of Middle Eastern Cuisine And The Role Of Turmeric

The Three Stages of Change in Regional Cuisine Since Medieval Times

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.

Sources:https://www.google.com/search?q=turmeric&client=opera&hs=aFU&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=si8a3fwMJCRx2M%253A%252C2pVRaqbzmXy1cM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kRxU7q-q_K6pVfnxNECXt-G3mbZ5Q&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi_zfra84_eAhWDBsAKHULUB0AQ9QEwDHoECAQQBg#imgrc=si8a3fwMJCRx2M:

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 18^th 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.

Impact of Globalization on Food Systems

Primarily, the influence of the large-scale migration from the period of the 17^th century all the way to the 20^th 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 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.

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.

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.

History and Significance of Turmeric in Different Cultures

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 (Sand?kc?, 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 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.

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 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.

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