Throughout this course, one topic that greatly fascinated me was the study of the significance of objects stemming from people with different cultural perspectives. One must always remember that all around the world, people with different backgrounds hold distinct values from their own backgrounds, and one value that has always struck me, was the way in which Italians cherished their preparation and meal time. Now, I’m not talking about Italian Americans who get together solely for “sunday dinner” and then call it a day; I’m talking about the extraordinary reverence Italians possess not just for the food they eat, but for the time spent in creating their meals and the time that is spent with their loved ones while eating. After having been to Italy, the way in which lunches and dinners took up at least two hours of the day stunned me and introduced me to this culture’s tremendous devotion to edible objects – food. 

Ironically enough, many months later I enrolled in this Materials of History class and this same concept popped up after going to Huguenot Street. I encountered objects saved because they reflected this exact importance of sharing meals and the value that stems from time spent among a table with loved ones. Thus for this project, I wish to discuss the parallels that Italian food culture shares with the historic Huguenots food culture. Moreover I would like to study important objects relative to cooking during Huguenot times and compare them to similar objects used that are found in Italy. On the Huguenot Street website, one of the exhibits is called: Around the Table, Early Cooking in the Hudson Valley. The page discusses the significance of cooking and sharing meals during this time and in the introduction to the exhibit the author reflects on the hearth: “The hearth was used for warmth, cooking and as a place for the older generation to teach skills to the younger generation. Food served as the bond between family, friends and neighbors making it’s preparation very important” (Exhibits at HHS). This site has given me a general introduction to function of food in this society and what really surprises me is the way in which American culture (or perhaps just New York culture), has drifted away from the beliefs that the Historic Huguenots carried. But greater factors impacted this shift to take on as the emphasis on American culture is on speed and not on rest. 

The webpage entitled: http://www.italiana.co.uk/theimportanceoffoodinitalianculture.html gives an overview of the importance of food within Italian culture. The page discusses the way in which all different parts of Italy take great pride in their cuisine and display this by taking much time to prepare it and taking an equal amount of time to consume it. The site also brings up the popular value within Italians – the family, and how appreciation of one’s family serves through cooking and dining. However, unlike the historic Huguenots, this tradition found within Italian culture has never changed and to this day, Italy continues to hold one of the greatest reputations in terms of their food. The website: http://italiandaycentre.com/culture.htm acknowledges Italy’s passion for food and the author writes: “The sharing of food is the sharing of joy”. Clearly, this relates back to the Huguenots’ way of viewing food and I want the class to become aware of the way in which other cultures use food to bring togetherness and harmony amongst each other. It fascinated me while I was in Italy and I hope to research it more and take the food ideals from the Huguenot culture and Italian culture and incorporate them into my life. Last but not least, I cannot give this type of presentation without bringing in (or, dare I say, cooking), some type of food for the class! However, although I am of Italian descent, I have absolutely, positively NO skills in cooking whatsoever. It is quite the shame but I have accepted that the gene simply skipped over me. So I still need to ponder about what I am capable of bringing to the table (besides this presentation).