University of Sussex
Browse

File(s) not publicly available

Food, Memory, Community: Kerala as both 'Indian Ocean' Zone and as Agricultural Homeland

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-07, 16:33 authored by Caroline Osella, Filippo OsellaFilippo Osella
The Kerala region in India can be said as an exceptional state especially when one tries to understand the stereotypical assumption of South Indian food. People in the Kerala region are non-vegetarian as they eat rice and fish. Kerala's openness to outside influences such as new foods and new people, is notable and quite different from mainstream South Indian patterns, which tend towards conservatism, closure and valorization of the familiar and the local. Meanwhile, there are certain items associated strongly with a community identity and are the very food items which are the ones people seem most attached to. They are the foods that evoke food memory, which comfort and provoke desire and appetite, which are the subject of nostalgic longing. They are the distinctive festive community-identified foods which are the most highly-appreciated in open discourse and discussion about meals.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies

ISSN

0085-6401

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Issue

1

Volume

31

Page range

170-198

Pages

29.0

Department affiliated with

  • Anthropology Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2012-02-06

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Publications)

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC