Food culture is hugely a part of the problem. But culture was encouraged by the food industry, is it not? I mean -- what *is* American food? Burgers? Hotdogs? Lol Shit, I don't even really know. Pot roast I guess. Unlike other countries, where people eat their native foods (foods native to the ethnic backgrounds of those who live there), people don't really do that very much in the U.S.
I'm bi-racial, but I grew up in a predominately pacific islander household (Filipino and native Hawaiian -- my mother's family). My father has unknown European ancestry. Lol. He is white. Thing is, even my grandparents LOVE American food. They LOVE McDonalds :/ And, that has greatly impacted their health. As they introduce processed foods into their diet, their native cooking also changes. Filipino food, for one, is very salty as is. Hawaiian food is too. Lots of steamed pork and Hawaiian sea salt. Most of the Filipino dishes I grew up with include a kind of extremely salty fermented fish paste. Over the years, my grandma has been adding a lot more to her food, to increase the saltiness. Sometimes she adds a nice bit of table salt (which is unheard of), to her food.
When my grandpa relocated to Hawaii from the Philippines, he suddenly developed a sweet tooth. I grew up eating a lot of fresh milked coconut for sweet rice dishes (dessert -- (literally rice and coconut milk, that's it.), but eventually this wasn't sweet enough, so my Grandma added heaps of white sugar to appease his sweet tooth.
What I'm trying to say is, I believe that their exposure to processed sugars and salt has overall altered their taste buds, as well as their native dishes.
Think of Chinese take out and how Chinese food is altered to appease the mouths of the average American. MSG is added, and so is sugar. Ginger is taken out and a thick savory sauce is replaced.
Marzipan sounds amazing by the way! I am quite a fan of nut butters.
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I'm bi-racial, but I grew up in a predominately pacific islander household (Filipino and native Hawaiian -- my mother's family). My father has unknown European ancestry. Lol. He is white. Thing is, even my grandparents LOVE American food. They LOVE McDonalds :/ And, that has greatly impacted their health. As they introduce processed foods into their diet, their native cooking also changes. Filipino food, for one, is very salty as is. Hawaiian food is too. Lots of steamed pork and Hawaiian sea salt. Most of the Filipino dishes I grew up with include a kind of extremely salty fermented fish paste. Over the years, my grandma has been adding a lot more to her food, to increase the saltiness. Sometimes she adds a nice bit of table salt (which is unheard of), to her food.
When my grandpa relocated to Hawaii from the Philippines, he suddenly developed a sweet tooth. I grew up eating a lot of fresh milked coconut for sweet rice dishes (dessert -- (literally rice and coconut milk, that's it.), but eventually this wasn't sweet enough, so my Grandma added heaps of white sugar to appease his sweet tooth.
What I'm trying to say is, I believe that their exposure to processed sugars and salt has overall altered their taste buds, as well as their native dishes.
Think of Chinese take out and how Chinese food is altered to appease the mouths of the average American. MSG is added, and so is sugar. Ginger is taken out and a thick savory sauce is replaced.
Marzipan sounds amazing by the way! I am quite a fan of nut butters.