Food & Culture Archives - Page 21 of 25

December 6, 2022

Williams recognized for work with Indigenous foods | Culture

TULSA – Cherokee Nation citizen and chef Nico Albert Williams is the recipient of a Cherokee Phoenix Seven Feathers award in the culture category for her work and study of traditional foods.

Williams, who grew up in California, looked for ways to connect back to her Cherokee heritage through food when she moved to Oklahoma in 2003. She attended community dinners to learn more about why certain foods were important to Cherokees.

“I didn’t grow up eating traditional foods or anything like that. But when I moved to Oklahoma, and was able to actually be physically with my community, I started doing that by going to our communal dinners,” Williams said. “Because I am a cook, I was always really interested in how to make those foods and just started studying it and trying to learn from as many people as I could talk to and cook with. And it was just a really good way for me to feel connected to my culture.”

After working in the food industry as an executive chef, Williams founded Burning Cedar Indigenous Foods, a catering company that educates the public on tribally-sourced foods.

“I started to get a little better known from the restaurants I was working at being the executive chef. I was able to have more control over the menus of the restaurants I worked at,” she said. “And so, I would always try to include Native elements to represent the food that I was passionate about. And then people started to approach me and asked me to cook for their events and things, and it just really grew from there.”

Williams said learning more about and utilizing traditional foods is important in connecting Cherokees and other tribes back to the land.

“They’re (food) so integral to our identity as Cherokee people and Native people,” she said. “Our foods teach us lessons about who we are, and they connect us to our ancestors through the ingredients that we use, and they connect us to the land. Our ancestors lived so closely tied with the land. And then over the course of colonization, we’ve kind of been removed from that land.”

She said food is only part of her identity as a Cherokee person, and sharing what she knows is helping to maintain the Cherokee culture. Through Burning Cedar, Williams consults with tribes and entities on how they can, too.

“Our most important ceremonies that we have during the year…that’s directly tied to how we feed ourselves. And so, it’s just really important to keep those foods alive,” Williams said. “Nowadays, we really only connect with them during ceremony, but for our ancestors it was every single day, every single meal. Everything that we did revolved around producing these foods and having relationships with the plants and the animals that provided the food for us.”

Other projects Williams has been involved with is being featured on the Hulu show “Chefs vs. Wild,” where she used her foraging skills to create a gourmet meal and working on a project for Amazon for Native American Heritage Month. She has another upcoming feature on Hulu with other Indigenous chefs to showcase what “soul food” means for southeastern tribes.

Williams plans to expand her business into a non-profit called Burning Cedar Sovereign Wellness where she can bring knowledge of traditional foods into more urban areas, starting in Tulsa where she lives.

“We are working to create an intertribal wellness center in Tulsa, in the city, where we can show how to grow our traditional foods and medicines in an urban garden, how can you do that in just your little yard, or maybe even like on an apartment balcony. There will be ways for people to connect and learn how to reconnect with these foods when they live in the city,” she said.

Williams said receiving the award for her work was unexpected, and she feels there is more work to be done in her field.

“I was honestly shocked. I feel like I’m so young. I’m still learning and still building my business and still connecting with people,” she said. “I feel like I still have a lot of work to do. But it’s very encouraging to be appreciated that way.”

December 4, 2022

Art Basel Awakens To Black Culinary Creative Culture

Chef Mashama Bailey, Co-Proprietor of The Grey in Savannah, GA and Diner Bar in Austin, TX

Mashama Bailey – American Convey

Art Basel Miami sits at the intersection of meals, art and society when shedding a new spotlight on the culinary earth of Black food items creative imagination! Exclusively, the organization of Black-owned places to eat, with cooks like Mashama Bailey, Co-Owner of The Gray in Savannah, GA and Diner Bar in Austin, TX, will be on full display screen by means of exclusive eating encounters, as a way of making culturally related culinary artwork. This notice to Black-owned eating establishments is generations overdue, with the legacy of Black restaurateurs heading back again a lot more than 250 many years.

The Breakdown You Want To Know:

CultureBanx claimed Black restaurateurs have observed opportunities in prolonged-standing culinary traditions, and the chefs at the helm pointedly defy anticipations with the foodstuff they served. For example, Bailey, who is a James Beard award winner for Finest Chef: Southeast, is putting her culture and talent on screen as element of the American Specific offers SAVOR & SOUL™ series throughout Artwork Basel Miami. Outside of the food is an immersive practical experience on the latest condition of Black art and artists through a viewing of Phillip K. Smith III’s Yard of Reflections.

“Miami is these types of a lively and vibrant town, abundant in Caribbean tradition,” mentioned Bailey. “We are excited to showcase dishes rooted in these cultures and cook for persons who really like art and beauty, and who have a discerning eye and palate – it is always a welcomed problem.”

She is fusing Black culinary cuisine with art in a exclusive way by celebrating the flavors of African American, African, and Caribbean delicacies, all of which reside in Miami. American Express
AXP
is escalating the visibility and chances that Black chefs are acquiring by functioning with Bailey.

“During Art Basel 7 days, when we see reservation demand from customers in Miami spike, we’ll supercharge what Resy is known for: guiding you to and supporting you get into the finest dining establishments, said Alex Lee, CEO of Resy and VP of American Categorical Dining”

Cultivating Culinary Lifestyle:

There are other groups highlighting Black restaurant excellence. Warren Luckett’s Black Cafe Week will allow patrons to explore Black-owned dining places and culinary enterprises in their neighborhood. It operates activities throughout the yr in 14 parts across the state where Black chefs are celebrated for their artistry and innovation.

“When you appear at the crucial put that food stuff retains for the Black group, our chefs are the key architects of culinary lifestyle as a way to spur economic prospect,” claimed Luckett, Founder of Black Cafe Months.

There is nevertheless much more function required to appropriately elevate Black cooks, for the reason that just past calendar year, only 17{d2b09b03d44633acb673e8080360919f91e60962656af8ade0305d5d8b7e4889} of cooks and head cooks were being Black. Interestingly sufficient, this is only about 5 share details bigger than their representation in the full workforce, in accordance to the Bureau of Labor Data. Out of the 145,000 regarded chefs in the U.S., typically men, somewhere around 10{d2b09b03d44633acb673e8080360919f91e60962656af8ade0305d5d8b7e4889} are Black.

Black cooks remain underrepresented in wonderful eating, now they are getting new recognition. In advance of 2021, Black cooks had absent 14 decades without profitable in any of the most effective chef or superb cafe types of the James Beard awards. Even so, more than the previous two several years, 6 black chefs have won in people categories, according to the New York Times
NYT
.

In the U.S. there are approximately 200 Michelin Star dining places and only 29 of them are Black owned. Extra Black restaurateurs ought to potentially obtain this ranking, as it can improve enterprise site visitors alongside with costs by 15{d2b09b03d44633acb673e8080360919f91e60962656af8ade0305d5d8b7e4889} to 80{d2b09b03d44633acb673e8080360919f91e60962656af8ade0305d5d8b7e4889}.

What is Subsequent:

The marketplace for get the job done by African American artists “is at an inflection position globally proper now—that’s a simple fact. And it’s not going absent,” Tim Blum of Blum & Poe instructed ArtNet. It’s plausible that the exact same can be said of Black culinary excellence. Black cooks are element of an beneath-appreciated narrative of perseverance, creativeness, and now, extra usually, triumph. They keep on to strike while the iron’s very hot!

December 2, 2022

Sara Moulton’s Long-Overdue Autopsy of 1990s Food Culture

If you were a cooking show fan in the 1990s, you no doubt remember the characters. One hour, Emeril Lagasse was lighting a rum sauce on fire, while the next, Ming Tsai would be explaining the difference between spring rolls and egg rolls on East Meets West. But arguably the decade’s most skilled food TV star—the one whose show introduced the world to Michael Lomonaco, Aaron Sanchez, Anthony Bourdain, and umpteen other famous chefs—was Sara Moulton.

When I think about Moulton’s call-in show, Cooking Live, I remember the chef’s gentle demeanor, incisive cooking tips, and—of course—her signature blonde ponytail. Yet many viewers (myself included) didn’t realize that the Food Network gig was just another feather in Moulton’s already plumy cap. The chef graduated at the top of her class at the Culinary Institute of America, apprenticed at a Michelin-starred restaurant in France, worked the line at fine dining restaurants in Boston and New York City, and cooked professionally for Julia Child and Good Morning America. And decades before test kitchens were cool, she headed up the country’s most prestigious one, at the (defunct) Gourmet magazine. Translation? For more than half a century, Moulton has been a walking encyclopedia of cooking and food culture.

But you know what? I bet kids these days don’t know much about Moulton. Not that she isn’t busy—she hosts Sara’s Weeknight Meals on PBS, writes for various publications, and co-hosts a podcast on Milk Street Radio—she’s just not opening flashy restaurants or killing it on TikTok. Yet with ‘90s dishes suddenly trending in the form of Caesar salad wraps, pizza bagels, and espresso martinis, who better than Moulton, I thought, to weigh in on that decade’s food culture—and the lessons we might learn from it?

That’s how I found myself sitting across from the legend herself at a Manhattan cafe last month. We talked for two hours; she nursed a cappuccino while I typed. For the first time in my career, my interview subject showed up with more notes than I—pages and pages of bulleted anecdotes, which she flipped through as she spoke. Here are the highlights of our conversation.

Benjamin Kemper: When people say “‘90s food,” what comes to mind?

Sara Moulton: We learned so much in the ‘90s. That chiles have flavor and that chipotle is amazing. That there were many, many types of lettuces … Mesclun was king. There was both the rise of cilantro and the hatred of cilantro. Fruit salsas on fish. Lobster rolls. Penne alla vodka. And so many new cheeses. Until the ‘90s, most people knew only cheddar, brie, and boursin, but that changed with California cheesemakers like Laura Chenel. Avocados went mainstream, barbecue and grilling became more elevated, and finally some women were doing the grilling. Finally there were some women, period!

BK: What was new in the restaurant world?

SM: In the ‘80s, the hero of the food world was the writer, but in the ‘90s, it was solidly the chef. And they weren’t just cooking French food at New York restaurants—there were major players around the country. “Farm to table” was getting bigger. Alice [Waters] had done it from a French point of view, but people were finally celebrating American regional cuisine. We were also beginning to appreciate that every cuisine was regional through the work of people like Rick Bayless, Zarela Martínez, Josefina Howard, Mary Sue Milliken, and Diana Kennedy. We realized: There was no one French, Italian, or Thai cuisine.

BK: How did those trends translate into actual dishes?

SM: I wrote a few down. There was Anne Rosenzwieg and her chocolate bread pudding. Éric Ripert—his dishes were so fresh they popped—was putting warm vinaigrettes on fish. It was so unusual at the time! Nobu Matsuhisa made black cod trendy, and chiles had their moment in part thanks to Mark Miller and Stephan Pyles. Not many people know that George Germon and Johanne Killeen brought grilled pizza to the U.S. at their restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island. One thing I think about a lot is how Charlie Trotter was experimenting with and thinking about vegetables in ways that were way ahead of his time.

BK: How was cooking at home in the ‘90s different from today?

SM: This is obvious, but you couldn’t get ingredients on the internet yet, and that was a big handicap. When I was at Gourmet, if we listed an ingredient like sesame oil in a recipe, we had to add an asterisk to note that it was “available at specialty food shops.” But certain specialty ingredients were becoming mainstream, like balsamic vinegar, fresh fennel, and fresh herbs.

BK: What do you miss from that era? What has been lost?

SM: The idea that the ambiance is as important as the food. I don’t want to be jammed in, unable to hear a conversation, to be forced to eat standing up. That’s why I’m not a food truck person, even though I know they’re making some fantastic food. Wow, I just sounded old, didn’t I?

BK: Food Network was brand new in the ‘90s. What was it like working there?

SM: I came on board in ‘96. You have to remember, none of us had TV experience. We were petrified. Nervous wrecks. Even Emeril’s first tries were terrible. What I came to understand was, it’s one thing to be on TV with a host and another to be alone. This is going to sound strange, but to me it seemed vulgar, like too much attention on me. For my pilot I cooked fish meunière and asparagus—and never once smiled. When I held the asparagus up to the camera, it was shaking. But I limped along and got better over time. By 1999 I had two live shows on the network.

BK: What did you aim to achieve with your shows?

SM: At the time, more and more women were working, and it was hard to get dinner on the table. So I made it my mission to make people comfortable cooking during the workweek. Both my husband and I grew up with dinner on the table every night. It’s my religion. I trained at CIA, and when I graduated, I was a real snob and thought there was only one way to do things. Boy, was I wrong—I fell in love with home cooks taking their calls. Home cooks are no different from chefs, really: If you cook a recipe over and over again, you get to be damn good! A lot of times, callers taught me something.

BK: I remember there being a real gender divide. Emeril and Bobby Flay were doing their macho thing, grilling and lighting stuff on fire, and then there were shows like yours that were more geared toward busy moms.

SM: They didn’t really want women at Food Network. Every male chef had his own set, graphics, music, and tools. Not me. I had no oven, and the counter came up so high I had to stand on a riser. I remember recommending Michael Lomonaco for a show, and he got his own set.

Emeril and I were pretty good friends. He was a big talent. The next Jesus Christ. And it had to be a man—couldn’t be me. He had cars to drive him anywhere he wanted, while I had to get everywhere myself. I am grateful—I ended up on Food Network, and I did ultimately get my own set, but that’s how they were.

BK: There wasn’t much diversity, either, right? I’ve always wondered how many of the network’s higher-ups at the time were women and people of color.

SM: The executives were mostly men. And everybody was white.

BK: Wow. I guess that was the ‘90s.

SM: It was such a different time. Yesterday I was flipping through some ‘90s Gourmet magazines. I came across the word “Oriental” a few times—and I was like, really?

Another thing that makes me cringe is the whole fat police thing. It was a scam by the sugar lobby. It really impacted people. Everyone was looking at grams of fat and calories, and I created recipes with those things in mind.

BK: Can you leave us with a piece of advice?

SM: Nobody should ever stop learning, and if they do, they’re an idiot.

This interview was lightly edited for clarity and length.

November 30, 2022

USDA Proposes Science Driven Updates to Foods Provided Through WIC | What They’re Saying

Proposed changes promote nutrition security and maternal and child health, increase flexibility for participants

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2022 – This month, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service is proposing changes to the foods prescribed to participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC. These science-based revisions incorporate recommendations from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.

The WIC food packages are specifically designed to supplement the foods and beverages participants already consume and fill in key nutritional gaps to support healthy growth and development. Food and Nutrition Service, or FNS, is proposing changes to align the food packages with the latest nutrition science and support equitable access to nutritious foods during critical life stages.

Taken collectively, the changes will increase the current level of assistance while providing WIC state agencies with more flexibility to tailor the packages to accommodate personal and cultural food preferences and special dietary needs and increase variety and choice for WIC participants, making the program more appealing for current and potential participants.

“USDA is committed to advancing maternal and child health through WIC, helping mothers, babies and young kids thrive,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “These proposed changes will strengthen WIC – already an incredibly powerful program – by ensuring it provides foods that reflect the latest nutrition science to support healthy eating and bright futures.”

“For the more than 6 million moms, babies and young children who participate in WIC – and the millions more eligible to participate – these proposed revisions have the potential to make positive, life-long impacts on health and well-being,” said Stacy Dean, deputy undersecretary for food, nutrition, and consumer services.

The proposed revisions support fruit and vegetable consumption by increasing the amount provided and the varieties available for purchase. Congress previously implemented a significant but temporary boost to the benefit provided to WIC participants for purchasing fruits and vegetables. FNS proposes making that increase permanent, providing participants with up to four times the amount they would otherwise receive. FNS also proposes revisions that give participants a greater variety of fruits and veggies to choose from and adjust the quantity of juice to reflect nutrition guidance, which emphasizes whole fruits and vegetables.

To view a media toolkit with additional information on the WIC food packages announcement, please view the WIC Food Package Media Toolkit page. For a Q&A on the proposed changes to the WIC food packages, please view the WIC Food Packages Proposed Revisions Q&As page.

See below for what they are saying:

House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro

“WIC reaches over 6 million mothers, infants, and children – and is a vital tool in our work to end hunger in the United States. The program is evidence and science based and delivers life sustaining outcomes for mothers and their children. The rule announced today will build on the National Strategy released at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, and offer more choice and flexibility to program participants. I am especially proud that it extends the increases in the cash value voucher, which we established in the pandemic response bills and which I helped maintain through our government funding bills as Chair of the House Appropriations Committee. I thank my friend Secretary Vilsack for his work to produce this rule that will move forward our work to end hunger.”

House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern

“The historic reforms announced today by the USDA prove we are making exciting progress following September’s successful White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Strengthening the WIC program and reducing disparities within our existing anti-hunger safety net build on the conference’s momentum and directly reflect key objectives within the Administration’s new national strategy. Together, these changes will make a tangible difference in the lives of low-income mothers, infants, and children in communities where quality food is often too expensive or not available.

“My sincere thanks go to Secretary Vilsack and the Administration for ensuring everyone in this country has access to nutritious food. This takes us another step closer in our fight to end hunger and improve the health of every American.”

House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott

“The Food and Nutrition Service’s (FNS) proposed rule makes critical improvements to the Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). By advancing a science-based review of the foods available and expanding options that align with dietary guidelines, more families will be able to access the food they need to live healthier lives. These steps are particularly important considering the continued inequities in access to nutritious food and disproportionate impact of diet-related conditions in low-income areas. Today’s announcement is further evidence that the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to helping every family put nutritious food on the table.”

Civil Rights and Human Services Subcommittee Chairwoman Suzanne Bonamici

“Today’s update to the WIC food package is an essential update to enhance healthy food access some of the most vulnerable in our country, including infants and pregnant and nursing moms.”

Senator Cory Booker

“It is great to see USDA’s new proposed rule increase WIC’s fruit and vegetable benefit. The new WIC package will strengthen a program that is proven to help mothers and babies flourish.”

Congressman Joaquin Castro

“I applaud USDA for its proposed updates to WIC, which will enhance the nutritional quality of food packages and increase support for dietary needs & cultural preferences. These key changes will help families across the nation lead healthier lives.”

Senator Lisa Murkowski

“Since 2014, I’ve been advocating that more low-mercury fish, like Alaska wild salmon, be included in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. I am pleased that USDA’s proposed rule for updating WIC food packages will do just that. Once this rule is final, moms and young children across the country will be able to add more healthy Alaska wild salmon to their diets.”

Congresswoman Kim Schrier

“Last year my bipartisan bill was signed into law that allows WIC families to receive higher benefits to purchase fruits and vegetables during the pandemic. I’m thrilled that USDA is making this change permanent. So many pregnant women and young children will benefit!”

Former Agriculture Secretaries Dan Glickman and Ann Veneman

“The proposed rule released by USDA on the WIC food packages is a win for food and nutrition security for the over six million WIC participants. With the increase in the overall value of the WIC benefit and updated food packages that align with current nutrition science, including the 2017 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommendations and the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, these updates maintain WIC’s role as a strong public health nutrition program. We are pleased to see that these changes align with our policy recommendations from our Strengthening Child Nutrition Programs report released earlier this year.”

American Heart Association Executive Vice President of Advocacy Mark Schoeberl

“A healthy diet is key to promoting proper development, growth and overall health. The WIC program plays a vital role in providing nutritional support to pregnant, postpartum and nursing women, and infants and young children. The American Heart Association strongly supports USDA’s efforts to update the WIC food package to reflect current nutrition science and increase access to nutritious, culturally appropriate foods.”

American Academy of Pediatrics President Moira Szilagyi, MD, PhD, FAAP

“The American Academy of Pediatrics has long championed the importance of the WIC program, which offers nutritious, healthy foods for mothers and babies. Pediatricians interact regularly with WIC and routinely refer patients to the program. WIC is effective because its food packages are based on what scientific experts recommend to meet the nutritional needs of pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children. We support USDA’s efforts to move forward with a science-based process to update WIC food packages and look forward to providing feedback on the rule.”

American Public Health Association Executive Director Georges C. Benjamin, MD

“Ensuring that families have access to adequate nutrition is a key method to promoting health equity and ensuring healthier future generations. The WIC nutrition program is science-driven and addresses nutrition gaps faced by vulnerable families and children – increasing the value of the WIC program would further expand its public health reach and is a change fully supported by the American Public Health Association.”

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics President Ellen R. Shanley

“Increasing access to healthful foods is an imperative step to achieving health equity. Serving millions of participants every day, WIC improves health outcomes for pregnant mothers, babies and children. So it is essential that the WIC food packages contain important nutrients and improve diet quality while also being mindful of people’s cultural preferences and customs. The changes announced today will provide welcome advancements in each of these areas.”

Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs CEO Terrance E. Moore

“Access to fresh fruits and vegetables is critical to the health and wellbeing of pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding individuals, as they need substantial amounts of nutrients to support both their own health and the health of their developing baby […] By establishing a permanent increase to fruit and vegetable benefits for WIC participants, the USDA can significantly address disparities in health equity by providing all families the opportunity to achieve a healthy nutritional status during pregnancy and the critical first year postpartum.”

Bread for the World President and CEO Rev. Eugene Cho

“Making the WIC ‘fruit and vegetable bump’ permanent will increase families’ access to nutrition at a time when food prices continue to rise. The 1,000 days between pregnancy and a child’s second birthday is the most critical period in their development. Children who lack good nutrition during this time are significantly more likely to experience lifelong health problems, along with physical and intellectual delays. A permanent fruit and vegetable bump will ensure millions of children receive the nutrition they need to thrive.”

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities President Sharon Parrott

“The proposed changes, recommended by the National Academies, position WIC to strengthen its proven record of improving birth outcomes, diets, and development and help reduce racial disparities in maternal and child health outcomes. We will continue to work to make sure low-income families get and stay connected to WIC to help them stay healthy and thrive.”

Center for Science in the Public Interest Executive Director and President Dr. Peter Lurie

“We commend the USDA for proposing an update to the WIC food package that is achievable and science-based. It will ensure that women, infants, and children participating in the program get the nutrition they need, particularly with an increase in fruit and vegetable benefits and strengthening key nutrition standards, while honoring food choices and cultural preferences.”

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Senior Director Rev. Amy Reumann

“The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America recognizes that families need access to sufficient and nutritious food to thrive. As a society, we must dismantle the barriers to health that stand in the way of each person reaching their potential. This mission is directly supported by the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program in its purpose to support and promote maternal and child nutrition. The proposed WIC food package rule contains essential improvements that are vital to ensuring a healthy start for all children, no matter their economic status.”

Feeding America Chief Government Relations Officer Vince Hall

“For nearly fifty years, WIC has worked to put food on the table for families and ensure children have access to the nutritious foods they need to grow and thrive. The Feeding America network has long partnered with WIC providers to strengthen food security in communities across the country. USDA is now delivering on a key commitment included in the National Strategy by working to expand access to healthy foods in long-overdue updates to the WIC food packages. Coupled with new investments in WIC program modernization, we are encouraged that a stronger and more robust WIC program can continue to reduce hunger and improve health outcomes for the next generation.”

Food Research and Action Center

“The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) commends the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for today’s announcement of the proposed food package for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which will go a long way in making this critical program even healthier, more accessible, and easier to use.

The proposed WIC food package will build on the White House “National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health” to modernize WIC by supporting the increased value of WIC’s fruit and vegetable benefit, allowing additional flexibility in food package sizes, increasing accessibility to culturally relevant food options, and fastening alignment with the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

This package is a step in the right direction toward increasing program participation, improving WIC participants’ health outcomes, addressing health inequities, and ultimately, helping end hunger in this country.”

Hennepin County Medical Center Chair of Pediatrics and Co-Lead Principal Investigator for Children’s Health Watch Dr. Diana Cutts

“I see the power of WIC to promote health in my clinic every day. Boosting benefits for fruits and vegetables in WIC has a profound impact on a family’s ability to offer their child a wide variety of foods, which are necessary for establishing a strong foundation of healthy eating.”

Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative Executive Director Erin Parker

“WIC’s targeted nutrition support is particularly crucial for strengthening pregnancy and birth outcomes in Indigenous communities. WIC food packages’ inclusion of more fruits, vegetables, seafood and whole grains furthers the closing of disparities in access to healthy foods while respecting cultural eating patterns and tribal customs. With more than thirty tribes and intertribal councils directly administering WIC services, robust WIC benefits translate to healthier outcomes and return money to local businesses and farm economies in Indian Country.”

Leslie, a mother of three participating in Arkansas WIC

“The increase for purchasing fruits and vegetables has been so helpful! My two-year-old has had the chance to try new fruits and vegetables that I would not have been able to purchase for her otherwise. She loves trying new foods and I love getting to give her healthy options.”

March of Dimes Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Government Affairs Stacey Brayboy

“As an organization leading the fight for the health of all moms and babies, March of Dimes applauds the Biden Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its proposed rule revising the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program in an effort to reach more pregnant and postpartum women, and their babies. As preterm birth rates continue to rise in the U.S., the country needs leadership to ensure that expecting moms are supported throughout their entire pregnancy, including access to healthy foods, especially for families in underserved communities. This proposed rule will help address this crisis by increasing access to healthy foods for pregnant women and their families.”

MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger President and CEO Abby J. Leibman

“The Biden-Harris Administration clearly understands the effectiveness of federal nutrition assistance programs like WIC, which provides critical support to millions of families around the country. USDA’s proposed changes build on the longstanding success of WIC, promising to improve and strengthen the program in some critical ways. We are particularly pleased to see the proposals to permanently increase the value of the WIC benefit that will enable healthier food purchases, align the increased value with science-based recommendations, enhance the WIC shopping experience, and support the different needs of the diverse WIC population with a greater range of culturally and religiously-appropriate food options. In light of the recent White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, it is clear that charity alone cannot end hunger — we must strengthen our country’s safety net and advance bold solutions to improve the systems that allow hunger to persist.”

MomsRising Executive Director and CEO Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

“Millions of moms and families are struggling with the high cost of groceries and other necessities,” said MomsRising Executive Director and CEO Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. “Moms support the new proposed rule because it will – at long last – increase the value of the WIC benefit and incentivize and support the purchase of healthy food. Moms welcome the flexibility to maximize variety and choice so we can purchase the foods that our families want and need most. In turn, these changes would provide a significant and welcome boost for our children’s health. Nothing is more important than ending hunger and food insecurity and keeping kids and families healthy.”

National WIC Association President and CEO Dr. Jamila Taylor, PhD

“USDA’s action today to revise the WIC food packages underlines what the White House made clear in their National Strategy: WIC will play a critical role in building a healthier future for families. WIC’s targeted nutrition intervention is already proven to reduce healthcare costs, close nutrient intake disparities, and improve health outcomes for low-income families and communities of color. The proposed revisions will build on this strong record of public health success by following independent, evidence-based recommendations from the National Academies. We applaud USDA’s thoughtful steps to strengthen WIC by enhancing the value of benefits for underconsumed food groups like fruits and vegetables, strengthening nutrition standards to improve whole grain intake and decrease consumption of added sugars and saturated fats, and expanding healthy choices through package size flexibility and inclusion of a broader range of cultural foods.”

National Indian and Native American WIC Coalition Chair Cheri Nemec

“Fruits and vegetables were staple in the traditional diets of Native Americans. The increased cash value benefit has given families the opportunity to bring more fruits and vegetables into the home, especially as access to affordable fruits and vegetables is a challenge in rural tribal communities. This helps our Indigenous families provide more foods from those traditional diets that promote good health. With an even stronger food package, WIC can have a further reach to ensure families have the foods and complementary nutrition education on how to prepare nutritious meals that highlights and respects the foods of their ancestors.”

NETWORK Lobby Executive Director Mary J. Novak

“Our Catholic faith holds that children are a blessing and a gift from God. As such, special care must be taken to ensure that children and their families have what is necessary to live healthy lives including combating disease caused by low-quality food. NETWORK welcomes the Biden Administration’s newly proposed WIC regulation to increase the dollar amount of the cash voucher and update food guidelines consistent with the science allowing a wider variety of foods, including vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. This regulation is grounded in the best of our values. Since it serves more than 6.2 million people, mothers and their infants, and young children, it will have a transformative impact on countless lives both in the short and long term. As people of faith we say, Amen.”

Oklahoma State Department of Health’s Jennifer Ortiz, MS, RD, LD

“Oklahoma WIC is proud to provide nutritious supplemental foods and nutrition education to families across our state. We are pleased that USDA is moving to update the food packages we provide to families in a manner consistent with the latest science. In particular, the expansion of the Cash Value Benefit for fruits and vegetables has been tremendously beneficial for the food security and promotion of health for our families over the past 17 months. We are excited that USDA recognizes the profound impact of this increase and will make this change permanent. Additionally, Oklahoma WIC has long prioritized the provision of whole grain cereals to participants as consumption of whole grains is prioritized by the Dietary Guidelines and associated with reduced risk of a myriad of chronic diseases. We welcome USDA’s steps to align every WIC program in providing whole grain-rich cereals so that all WIC participants may enjoy the benefits of increased whole grain consumption.”

Salud America! National Latino Health Equity Program at UT Health San Antonio Director Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez

“WIC remains one of the nation’s most successful, cost-effective public health nutrition programs. WIC participants, including those who are Hispanic/Latino, are more likely to have a more nutritious diet and better health outcomes, with participation tied to fewer infant deaths, fewer premature births, increased birth weights, and lower health care costs, according to research.”

Share Our Strength Senior Vice President Lisa Davis

“The WIC Cash Value Benefit allows families to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables their growing children need, providing flexibility to buy those that are culturally relevant and their kids will eat and enjoy. Permanently increasing this important and valued benefit will make sure families have even more access to fresh fruits and vegetables; it also supports local farmers and food vendors, leading to stronger local economies.”

Texas Association of Local WIC Directors Benny Jasso

“As nutrition professionals, we see the effects of food insecurity in families that cannot afford nutritious foods. The new WIC food package allows families more flexibility to make sound food choices according to the family health needs, culture, and preferences. The increased access to fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein, and dairy options will support the nutrition messaging in public health nutrition to address the health disparities in our communities by removing barriers which can make maintaining good health difficult.”

Tufts University’s Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, Dean for Policy and Jean Mayer Professor of Nutrition at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and Co-Chair of the Task Force on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health

“WIC is a cornerstone of American health policy, where science-based nutrition standards and public health programming meet to provide mothers and children with critical access to the healthy foods they need to grow and thrive. I applaud the Administration for advancing its National Strategy commitment to make meaningful improvements to WIC, increasing nutrition security for American families and allowing our nation to build a stronger, healthier future.”

UnidosUS Senior Vice President of Policy and Advocacy Eric Rodriguez

“As it has in the past, if adopted, the proposed package will advance health equity as it brings healthier food options to many lower-income, Latino neighborhoods throughout the country. By giving Latino families improved access to affordable fruits, vegetable, and whole grains, USDA’s proposed standards will lower rates of diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity that disproportionately harm low-income Hispanic families, primarily because of barriers they face to accessing healthy and affordable food.”

U.S. Breastfeeding Committee Executive Director Nikia Sankofa

“The WIC program comprises a critical piece of the national infrastructure supporting infant and young child nutrition security. The WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor program and other WIC breastfeeding promotion and education resources serve as a crucial lifeline for millions of families who want to breastfeed. WIC is an obvious and effective conduit for advancing lactation and other science-based nutrition standards outlined in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.”

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

November 29, 2022

The Ten Best Books About Food of 2022 | Arts & Culture

This year’s titles include *Watermelon and Red Birds*, *To Boldly Grow*, *Budmo!* and *Diasporican*.
Illustration by Emily Lankiewicz

Food continues to be a source of comfort, creativity, nostalgia and education, and 2022 brought about some stellar writing on the topic. This year’s crop of best food books runs the gamut of African American, Ukrainian, Chinese and Puerto Rican cookbooks, uniting across cultures, and includes a memoir that exposes the underbelly of the French restaurant kitchen, history books on fermentation and pies, and a searing account of the loss of our food diversity and how we can save it. All told, these ten favorites will inspire and ignite, while teaching us about the importance of diversity and respect.

Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew by Michael W. Twitty

What do Jewish and African diaspora food have in common, and how do they combine to create a unique cuisine? Culinary and cultural historian Michael W. Twitty’s follow-up to his James Beard Award-winning The Cooking Gene examines the intersection of these two dynamic identities and presents an analysis of dual diasporas, a cultural history, and an upsetting examination of bigotry. The personal narratives of Twitty and other Black Jews offer a rich background for 50 innovative recipes, such as Caribbean compote, kosher-Cajun rice dressing and Louisiana-style latkes, although to categorize this as a cookbook would be to deny its cultural and historical significance—and Twitty’s evocative and poetic writing style.

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Watermelon and Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations by Nicole A. Taylor

Now that the holiday of Juneteenth, celebrating the emancipation of Black slaves, has cemented its place in the national conversation—and become a federal holiday as of last year—this cookbook by James Beard Award-nominated food writer and home cook Nicole Taylor couldn’t be more timely. As she writes, “I’m a Southern woman, born into a working-class family when crisp white churchgoing gloves and Sunday beer bootleggers (my hometown didn’t have alcohol sales until 2012) were in serious fashion and full deep freezers were a status symbol.” Taylor has always celebrated the holiday with her family, and she artfully details the storied cookouts with overflowing spreads and plenty of “red drink,” sharing 75 recipes that marry traditional African American recipes with modern variations like the Afro egg cream, beef ribs with fermented harissa, and radish and ginger pound cake. There’s also a guide that shares where to find sundries like hot sauces, jams and spices produced by companies with owners from Black, Indigenous or other marginalized communities.

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A Waiter in Paris: Adventures in the Dark Heart of the City by Edward Chisholm

“It’s the boundary between two worlds: the Paris you see and the Paris you don’t,” writes Edward Chisholm, an Englishman who moved to Paris in 2012 and spent several years as a waiter while trying to build up his writing career. Now, his debut book, a no-holds-barred memoir detailing his time waiting tables in one of the world’s hottest restaurant cities, reveals what really goes on behind the scenes of fine dining establishments. This book is the next generation of Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential and Stephanie Danler’s Sweetbitter, with Chisholm exposing the often-shocking mayhem of the restaurant kitchen in visceral detail. He deftly uses the Parisian restaurant as a microcosm for France as a whole, with immigrants, people of color and blue-collar workers at the bottom of the food chain.

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Sweet Land of Liberty: A History of America in 11 Pies by Rossi Anastopoulo

Ever wonder how apple pie became a symbol of America? Food writer and editor Rossi Anastopoulo slices into the history of pie in the good ol’ US of A, from pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving to apple pie on Independence Day, using the iconic American dessert to tell the story of a country. Still, it’s not all sweet, as she details how molasses pie traces its origin to slavery and Jell-O pie reveals the history of gender disparity in our country. All in all, Anastopoulo shares interesting facts behind 11 all-American pies, like how the first recipe for American apple pie appeared in a 1796 cookbook called American Cookery, which is believed to be the first cookbook ever published in the newly minted United States. The book includes a recipe for each pie, too.

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Budmo!: Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen by Anna Voloshyna

In this colorful cookbook you’ll find recipes for dishes like cold borscht, dark cherry varenyky and sweet pumpkin rice kasha from Ukrainian native Anna Voloshyna, who moved to California in 2011. Known for hosting pop-up dinners and cooking classes, Voloshyna is also a food stylist, photographer and blogger. In her debut cookbook, she offers modern and American spins on the typical dishes she grew up with, and she also includes details like food origins, customs and traditions in each recipe’s headnote. Budmo, which is how Ukrainians say “cheers,” shares the country’s complicated history that has led up to the current war, while simultaneously celebrating its varied and vibrant cuisine.

BUDMO!: Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen

Celebrate the rich culture of Ukrainian cuisine with these traditional Eastern European recipes infused with a fresh, contemporary approach for today’s home kitchen, from one of today’s most exciting young chefs of Ukrainian cuisine.

Diasporican: A Puerto Rican Cookbook by Illyanna Maisonet

Part memoir and part cookbook, this debut from our country’s first Puerto Rican food columnist Illyanna Maisonet dives into the author’s personal family recipes, which she painstakingly documented from her extended relatives through the years, and also includes her interpretation of dishes by Puerto Rican friends, chefs and roadside food vendors. There are 90 recipes including traditional Puerto Rican dishes like tostones, pernil and mofongo. Other highlights include sloppy joes and sancocho. But more than just the recipes, Maisonet shares how migration and colonization have influenced and progressed Puerto Rican food, ingredients and techniques. In explaining why her family wraps their pasteles in foil, Maisonet writes in her intimate, conversational style, “When you think of my grandma coming to Sacramento as a 17-year-old mother of two in 1956, you have to wonder where the hell would she have found banana leaves in Northern California?” She posits that this progression is no less authentic than the original method, and that the resourcefulness of Puerto Ricans has evolved their cuisine into what it is today: dynamic and delicious.

Diasporican: A Puerto Rican Cookbook

Over 90 delicious, deeply personal recipes that tell the story of Puerto Rico’s Stateside diaspora from the United States’ first Puerto Rican food columnist, award-winning writer Illyanna Maisonet.

Our Fermented Lives: A History of How Fermented Foods Have Shaped Cultures and Communities by Julia Skinner

Food historian and fermenting expert Julia Skinner details the history of fermentation of foods across cultures, from kimchi to tepache and everything in between, in her latest volume. She details how fermented foods have continually come up across human history, examining the ever-evolving microbiome and food preservation techniques across cultures, while also explaining different fermentation types and their processes. Alongside are 42 historic recipes for fermented foods, including various vinegars, lacto-fermented fruits and vegetables, soy sauce and ketchup.

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Eating to Extinction: The World’s Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them by Dan Saladino

Food journalist Dan Saladino, who worked for 25 years at the BBC, presents the surprising facts of where our food comes from in his debut book. Did you know that half of our calories come from rice, wheat and corn? Or that 95 percent of the milk we drink in the U.S. comes from just one breed of cow? Astoundingly, only four corporations hold sway over the bulk of the global seed market. When laid bare, these facts reveal a serious problem with our global food chain, starting with the risk of losing our traditional foodways and by no means ending with the danger of vulnerability in the face of climate change. Saladino crisscrossed the globe when writing this book to experience and record our most at-risk foods, from the root vegetable murnong, once a primary food of Aboriginal Australians, to Geechee red peas in Sea Island, Georgia. He weaves the stories of the people who continue to cultivate and consume these near-forgotten foods while simultaneously providing a guide for how to rescue our food system before it’s too late.

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The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love From a Chinese American Family by Bill Leung, Kaitlin Leung, Judy Leung and Sarah Leung

The Leungs, who run the “Woks of Life” blog, welcome you into their home, sharing recipes and family memories with humor and aplomb. Each of the four family members brings something to the table: Mom Judy takes care of traditional Chinese dishes, and dad Bill teaches readers how to complete restaurant-style dishes like Cantonese roast duck and beef with broccoli, which he gamely notes, “I cranked out many orders in my day, so I’ve had plenty of practice,” thanks to his time spent working in his parents’ Chinese restaurant. Meanwhile, daughters Sarah and Kaitlin focus on weeknight-friendly meals where vegetables are the star ingredients. The cookbook also includes an intricate guide to Chinese staples and handy tools to stock your kitchen with, plus how-tos on Chinese cooking techniques like velveting.

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To Boldly Grow: Finding Joy, Adventure and Dinner in Your Own Backyard by Tamar Haspel

While many Americans started “victory gardens” during the pandemic, plenty have fallen by the wayside. Washington Post food columnist Tamar Haspel hopes to change that. When she and her husband left Manhattan for two acres of land in Cape Cod in 2008, they decided to embark on a journey to produce as much of their own food as possible, without assistance. This translates into things like refining their own sea salt, foraging for edible plants and hunting for meat. Haspel aims to show that any of us can feed ourselves from our own backyards, as long as we have ingenuity and the will to try. In the end, the book serves as a guide as much as a memoir, with failures as well as successes documented.

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Satay and sambal: 12 foods every Indonesia visitor needs to try

Editor’s Note — This CNN Travel series is, or was, sponsored by the country it highlights. CNN retains full editorial control over subject matter, reporting and frequency of the articles and videos within the sponsorship, in compliance with our policy.

(CNN) — As the world’s largest archipelagic nation, Indonesia is filled with different cultures and influences spread out over 1,904,569 square kilometers (735,358 square miles).

This makes it a huge challenge to try to summarize the flavors of the country in just a few paragraphs.

“Indonesian food culture is based on regional cooking among 17,500 islands, 38 provinces and 700 dialects,” says Indonesian cookbook author William Wongso.

“Flavors of Indonesia are very diverse. From Aceh (the westernmost province of Indonesia) to West Sumatra (also a western province), it’s only about a 1.5-hour flight, yet their food and taste profiles are totally different.”

The 75-year-old author of “Flavors of Indonesia: William Wongso’s Culinary Wonders.” says that even though he’s been traveling and eating around Indonesia for decades, he still hasn’t tasted every local dish.

For instance, chefs in the Moluccas in the eastern side of Indonesia, once nicknamed the “Spice Islands,” prefer using fresh spices like cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon. Aceh, on the other hand, frequently incorporates dried spices thanks to the influence of India, Arabia and China.

Padang (or Minangkabau) cuisine in West Sumatra uses lots of coconut cream, chiles, shallots and some curry spices, as well as ginger and galangal with aromatic herbs such as turmeric leaves, kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass.

Javanese are experts in using the three colored spice pastes — red (made of chiles, shallots and garlic), white (candle nuts, shallots and garlic) and yellow (candlenuts, shallots, garlic and turmeric).

“The taste profile of Central Java is sweeter than Eastern Java,” Wongso adds.

Ready to enjoy the overwhelming diversity of Indonesian cuisine? Here are a few dishes that offer a sample of the many delicious flavors on offer.

Beef rendang

Beef rendang is unbelievably tender. The beef is coated with dry curry that has been stewed for hours.

asab974/Adobe Stock

It isn’t an exaggeration to say that beef rendang is one of the world’s most flavorful foods.

A dry curry dish linked to the Minangkabau ethnic group, which is indigenous to West Sumatra, rendang is a great way to preserve meat — essential for the Minangkabau people during their travels.

There is no one recipe for rendang. “In West Sumatra, there are about 900 districts and each has their own style of rendang,” says Wongso.

But one of the most common meats to appear in rendang is beef. It’s stewed in coconut milks and spices including lemongrass, galangal, garlic, turmeric, ginger and chiles for hours until the meat is unbelievably tender and the curry mixture is reduced to a relatively dry coating around the meat.

Tempeh

A rising star in plant-based diets around the world, tempeh has in fact been a constant in Javanese culture for more than four centuries.

The low-fat, high-protein meat substitute is made of soybeans fermented in banana leaves — and sometimes, other leaves — for two to three days before it turns into a white moldy and chunky block.

Its flavor is often described as nutty and mushroom-y with a slight sweet soy scent.

It can be cooked the same way as any meat — baked, fried, grilled or boiled into different dishes. In Indonesia, it’s often deep-fried and served as a tasty snack.

Satay

A staple at Southeast Asian restaurants around the world, satay — or sate in the local tongue — is said to have originated in Java.

Preparation of these skewers varies from region to region, often featuring different meats or vegetables, spices, sauces and marinades.

One of the most loved versions in Indonesia is satay chicken served with a sweet peanut sauce that has just a hint of spice.

Nasi goreng

Nasi goreng: So much more than just fried rice.

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If there’s one staple that represents Indonesia’s multi-faceted culture, it’s nasi goreng — literally translated as fried rice.

Each household has a different recipe made with various ingredients and sides, but the use of terasi (shrimp paste) and kecap manis (a sweet and thick Indonesian soy sauce) unite most — if not all — versions.

These condiments create Indonesian fried rice’s unique taste.

Topped with a perfect sunny-side-up egg and a side of crunchy shrimp crackers (or kerupuk), nasi goreng is a versatile meal consumed throughout the day.

A dish influenced by Chinese cooking, nasi goreng is as popular in Singapore and Malaysia as it is in Indonesia.

Kerupuk

While prawn crackers are commonly found in several countries’ diets — especially in Indonesia and Malaysia — it was thanks to Indonesia that the snack was introduced to the Dutch and then brought to Europe.

Arguably the best sidekick to any dish, a piece of kerupuk can also serve as an edible spoon to scope up extra sauce or sambal.

Indonesian kerupuk is also used as a topping for soto — a type of Indonesian soup. (See below)

Soto Ayam

Similar to many other dishes in Indonesia, soto, or soup, tastes different depending on which part of the archipelago you are in.

One of the most commonly featured soto on Indonesian menus is the comforting soto ayam (chicken soup) — but that too, comes in countless variations.

Among all the chicken sotos, the ones from East Java — such as soto ayam Madura or Ambengan — are some of the most popular. They have a clear broth and include a generous amount of garlic, shallots, turmeric and chunks of chicken meat.

Koya powder, a unique mix of grounded prawn crackers and fried garlic, is sometimes added to give the already-rich soup — such as soto ayam Lamongan — an extra umami boost.

Gado gado

A classic gado gado is served with chopped vegetables, an egg and sometimes, slices of tofu or tempeh. It is often dressed with roasted peanut sauce.

galitskaya/Adobe Stock

Chop up blanched vegetables, hard-boiled eggs and add a ladle of peanut sauce and you have the humble but tasty Indonesian national salad — gado gado.

A classic Indonesian peanut sauce for gado gado is made with ground roasted peanuts, chiles, shrimp paste, tamarind pulp or juice and some sugar and salt.

Translated as mix mix, this ubiquitous salad dish sometimes includes slices of fried tofu or tempeh as well as deep fried fish cakes.

Sambal

Sambal may not be one of Indonesia’s five official national dishes — alongside nasi goreng, rendang, soto, sate and gado gado — but no meal is complete without it for many Indonesians.

It’s a relish made by mixing chile peppers with a host of different ingredients such as shrimp paste, sugar, salt and lime juice.

Today, you can find it in many renowned Indonesian dishes — from nasi goreng to gado gado.

Legend has it that Portuguese and Spanish sailors brought a variant of chile peppers to Indonesia — but it was in Java that they were first pounded into sambals.

It’s believed there are more than 100 styles of sambal served across Indonesia. One of the most common is sambal terasi, which is made with chile peppers, garlic, tomatoes, shrimp paste, limes, salt and sugar.

Indomie

Not technically a dish but it might just be the country’s most famous food brand.

Wowing the market since 1972, Indomie’s flavorful and convenient packaged noodles have amassed a huge following worldwide.

If you’re an Indomie newbie, start with a packet of Indomie mi goreng (barbecue chicken) and you’ll likely be converted as well.

Jamu

Jamu is a concentrated herbal drink made with ginger and turmeric.

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When Indonesian President Joko Widodo was asked about the secret to his good health during the Covid-19 pandemic, he cited jamu.

A traditional Indonesian herbal drink made from various combinations of plants and spices — ginger and turmeric are two common ingredients — jamu is believed to boost one’s immune system.

There are many ways to make jamu.

The plants and spices are blended into a concentrated juice and it’s often served warm.

The president also said that he has been drinking it daily for the last two decades and boosted his daily jamu consumption to three times per day during the pandemic.

In recent years, jamu-inspired juice brands have been popping up around the world.

Babi guling

There are a few things that make us dream of Bali — the pristine beaches, the endless rice fields and, for some, babi guling, the vacation island’s famed roasted suckling pig.

The animal is rubbed with turmeric and stuffed with a spice paste made up of coriander seeds, lemongrass, Asian lime and salam leaves, chilies, black pepper, garlic, red shallots, ginger and kencur. Then, it’s roasted on a spit.

Every part of the pig — meat for satay, juicy pork slices, crispy crackling as well as the richly flavored intestines — will be enjoyed.

It’s mostly served with rice, spicy soup and a series of condiments.

The dish is rarely seen in the rest of Indonesia, where a majority of the population is Muslim and considers pork consumption haram, or forbidden. On Bali, most people identify as Hindu.

Rijsttafel

And lastly, one can’t forget about rijsttafel, or rice table, in Dutch.

It’s an elaborate spread of small Indonesian plates featuring different tastes and levels of spiciness in one meal.

Rijsttafel is technically not part of traditional Indonesian food culture. It was first introduced during Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia, when the Europeans would serve small plates of sumptuous Indonesian dishes — from sweet to spicy — to their visitors.

It’s still a common offering at Indonesia restaurants in the Netherlands as well as in its country of origin.

According to Wongso, rijsttafel culture is one of the reasons many traditional Indonesian dishes grew popular outside of Asia.