FoodBanter.com - View Single Post - Food Network-Out of Touch?

Orlando Enrique Fiol

wrote:
>It seems that every time someone posts an ethnic recipe, ten people
>reply, whining "That's not how MY grandmother used to make it!"
>Recipes vary so much by region and even by household on the same street.
> If someone's ancestor didn't like an ingredient you can bet it will be
>left out of that family's recipe, probably forever.
>Cooking is evolutionary, isn't it? Tastes change, ingredients change.
>Marriage to someone from "somewhere else" causes changes to traditional
>food prep. If it tastes good, it's bound to be repeated or modified.

I usually only criticize recipe authenticity when I know enough about
the cuisine and know which ingredients tend to be varied and which
remain the same. For instance, if I see cayenne pepper in an Indian
recipe, I know it's inauthentic because those peppers don't grow in
India and I've never seen or heard of them being imported.

Orlando