essays on food and memory

Psychologists Explain Why Food Memories Can Feel So Powerful

Taste Senior Editor, HuffPost

Most of us have a memory of a food that takes us back to childhood. It can be as simple as a candy bar that we used to get as a treat during our youth, or more involved like a lemon bar recalling your first baking disaster. No matter the importance, memories involving food are vivid ― and they sometimes feel more evocative than other types of memories.

“Food memories are more sensory than other memories in that they involve really all five senses, so when you’re that thoroughly engaged with the stimulus it has a more powerful effect,” explains Susan Whitborne, professor of psychological and brain sciences at the University of Massachusetts.

You’re not just using your sight, or just your taste, but all the senses and that offers the potential to layer the richness of a food memory.

Psychologist and neuroscientist Hadley Bergstrom , assistant professor of psychology at Vassar, takes it one step further. Bergstrom told HuffPost that “T aste memories tend to be the strongest of associative memories that you can make,” and explains that it’s because of a survival tactic called conditioned taste aversion .

Conditioned taste aversion is basically what happens when you get food poisoning and as a result, develop an aversion to a dish, ingredient or an entire restaurant for a certain amount of time.

“With conditioned taste aversion the effect of the sickness is so profound that even though you get sick hours after you’ve eaten the food, you’ll still make these extremely strong memories about what food you ate and where you ate the food,” Bergstrom said.

While this doesn’t directly relate to some of our happy childhood food memories, it does make a case for just how powerful our food memories are.

Our senses and survival tactics aren’t the only elements at play when it comes to food memories. The situation ― where you were, who you were with, what the occasion was ― adds the most power to our nostalgic taste memories.

“Food memories feel so nostalgic because there’s all this context of when you were preparing or eating this food, so the food becomes almost symbolic of other meaning,” Whitbourne says. “A lot of our memories as children, it’s not so much the apple pie, for example, but the whole experience of being a family, being nourished, and that acquires a lot of symbolism apart from the sensory quality.”

“The idea of nostalgia,” Bergstrom says, “is that the sauce [for example] is associated not only with yummy pasta, but also with grandma and her home ― that’s because food is so reinforcing. All of this stimuli in the environment become associated with the reinforcing properties of that yummy pasta sauce.” Bergstrom, as a neuroscientist, uses food in his behavior studies for this very reason.

That’s the nature of food memories. They aren’t just based on the facts, or our need for survival, but are shaped by the context ― the company, the situation and the emotions involved.

My step-mom always recounts how great her grandmother’s vanilla pudding was when she made it for her as a kid. She, at 57 years old, has been trying to recreate it since she was old enough to be cooking in a kitchen. It’s a flavor she can practically taste through her memory of that dish, but one that she has not been able to reproduce successfully. And it’s because she can’t recreate the context. She can make great vanilla pudding, but she can’t go back in time to the excitement she felt as a child for being given such a treat, by a person who was such a loving and nurturing force in her life.

Bergstrom concludes, “This is in the reinforcing nature of food, and that is what drives memory formation in the brain.”

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• Relationships

What Your Earliest Food Memories Say About You

New research shows how childhood food memories affect your relationships now..

Posted August 19, 2017

Everyone has childhood memories of family meals, ranging from holiday gatherings to the ordinary breakfasts, lunches, and dinners served around the kitchen table. Perhaps your mother had a flair for preparing Sunday morning blueberry pancakes, or your father was a pro at making Thursday night grilled cheese sandwiches. From pleasant conversations to painful tension and arguments, family meals run the full emotional gamut. Without realizing it, these emotional memories, associated with both the food you ate and the atmosphere in which you ate it, have become part of your adult sense of self. In a recently published study, Elisabeth von Essen and Fredrika Mårtensson (2017), of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, examined the relationship between food memories from one's early years with resilience in young adulthood. The Swedish team believed that the positive associations between food and family help establish a strong base on which future coping skills are built.

An intriguing notion that von Essen and Mårtensson point out is that food choices and meals serve to tell the much larger part of the story of who we are and how our lives have developed. Being a vegan can become a central aspect of your sense of self, but so too are the food habits and customs you learned through your family. Moreover, as the authors observe, “different dishes and meals help to add rhythm to everyday life…” and “preparing, cooking, and serving food is … an ‘unexpressed intimacy ’” (p. 210).

You can probably relate to these concepts in terms of your current relationships. Do you and your partner spend a considerable amount of your time together around the kitchen counter while you chop, snip, and saute? Is sitting down to a long and luxurious dinner a high point of your evening? Or are you and your family more utilitarian, using meals as a chance to refuel and go on to the next event in your busy life? How you spend your food-related times together defines a key element of your relationships. You may have even sought a partner who shares your views on food, cooking, and mealtimes, or at least come to accommodate to your partner’s if you feel that your relationship would otherwise suffer.

The Swedish researchers proposed that it is those attitudes toward food derived from your memories of your earlier experiences that have a bearing not only on how you and your partner spend time together, but more deeply on your sense of security in relationships. Attachment theory, the framework adopted by the authors, proposes that the “secure base” you form in infancy provides you with the greatest resilience toward the challenges you face as you develop into adulthood and beyond. However, you can still bounce back from early difficulties when your identity begins to develop in the transition to adulthood. It's when you start to establish supportive relationships with your friends and new romantic partners that you can overcome earlier difficulties. You may look differently at your parents and be able, as they note, to “re-evaluate a negative role model.” Food can help you navigate that process and, as they state, “act as a buffer against uncomfortable memories” (p. 211).

To test their ideas about the use of food memories by young adults to help create a life narrative, the authors conducted an intensive analysis based on food memory interviews of a sample of 30 young adults ranging from 18 to 35 years old. The three participants whose interviews were chosen for in-depth analysis were on a vegetarian or organic diet , or alternated between vegetarian food and meat. The authors delved into the material by attempting to elicit the narrative, or life story, that the participants told about themselves in relation to food. In the interviews, participants were asked to describe major turning points in their lives and then to describe their relationship to food before and after the turning point. Each of the three narratives then became an illustration of how food and attachment became connected for the participant.

The first narrative involved “using food as a secure base.” The participant whose interview fit this pattern told of how the soup with bread he cooked and ate with his mother became associated with security and togetherness. He returned to his memories of these good times when sharing meals with his adult friends, and he still recalled fondly the times he spent in the kitchen helping his mother prepare these simple but nourishing meals.

A second participant, by contrast, had a rocky history with food, having experimented with a number of extreme dietary fads. In childhood, she had grown up eating anything that could be microwaved, having a mother who worked nights and a father who was an alcoholic . When she herself became a mother, she was concerned about providing her own son with a healthier and more stable diet. She reported that, after a great deal of struggle, she was eventually able to feel good about her eating habits. Nevertheless, she feels she’s still too preoccupied with food, and that it takes too much of her energy. This pattern reflects what in attachment theory is known as the anxious /ambivalent style. People who experience this approach in their adult relationships similarly can be preoccupied and uncertain of their partner's love.

The third participant, reflecting a more dismissive attachment style, also had a dismissive attitude toward food. She experienced an eating disorder in adolescence in response to a childhood characterized by the separation and divorce of her parents. As she entered young adulthood, she moved in with her boyfriend whose attitude toward food was very different from hers. He expected to eat “proper meals” on a regular schedule and to spend time together both cooking and eating those meals. She was currently, as the authors noted, struggling to overcome her tendency to downplay both food and romantic feelings toward her partner; in other words, “to figure out how to integrate food with the new life situation including a partner” (p. 214).

This study, though small in scope, shows the role that food, and your memories of food, can play as you navigate your own life experiences. Think back on your own earliest memories of the meals you ate as a child and also, as importantly, to the emotional associations you have to those meals. Did you feel that mealtime brought you together with the important people in your life, or were they those hurried affairs in which you microwaved food that came out of a box? When have you used food to help comfort you during periods of stress ? Or was food always a source of stress, so that you try to focus as little as possible on the meals you prepare? How do your feelings toward food play out in your closest relationships now, and particularly in the way that you and your partner negotiate mealtimes?

Your food memories can sustain and influence your psychological as well as your physical well-being. If those memories are painful ones, the findings of von Essen and Mårtensson suggest that it’s never too late to rework them into a story with a happier ending.

Follow me on Twitter @swhitbo for daily updates on psychology, health, and aging. Feel free to join my Facebook group, " Fulfillment at Any Age ," to discuss today's blog, or to ask further questions about this posting.

Copyright Susan Krauss Whitbourne 2017

von Essen, E., & Mårtensson, F. (2017). Young adults' use of emotional food memories to build resilience. Appetite , 112210-218. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2017.01.036

Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D. , is a Professor Emerita of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her latest book is The Search for Fulfillment.

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This Is How Food Memories Can Affect Your Life

Understanding the power of childhood food memories can help you find more joy in food — and life.

Cynthia Marinakos

One Table, One World

We sat on high stools, tracing our wet, floury fingers around the sides of the pastry. With little spoons, we scoop the meat mixture and place it in the middle. Finally, we fold the pastries into triangles, using our thumbs…

Written by Cynthia Marinakos

Aussie Copywriter. I love rock climbing high ceilings and hiking amongst ferns.

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• DOI: 10.1146/ANNUREV.ANTHRO.35.081705.123220
• Corpus ID: 44243814

Food and Memory

• J. Holtzman
• Published 19 September 2006
• Sociology, Environmental Science
• Annual Review of Anthropology

384 Citations

Food and trauma: anthropologies of memory and postmemory.

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Scholastic Review of Food, Memory, and Identity

A tale of easter ovens: food and collective memory, the materiality of memory: affects, remembering and food decisions, food and the senses, the world is dead and cooking's killed it: food and the gender of memory in samburu, northern kenya, making memories: chinese foodscapes, medicinal foods, and generational eating, food and foodways narratives: recipes of social memory, the role of food and foodways in monica ali’s brick lane, pantry memories: storing food and feelings in swedish homes, 107 references, remembrance of repasts: an anthropology of food and memory.

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Food, Memory and Meaning: The Symbolic and Social Nature of Food Events

Food and the making of modern inuit identities, dys‐appearing tongues and bodily memories: the aging of first‐generation resident koreans in japan, appetites: food and sex in post-socialist china, savor slowly: ekiben ― the fast food of high-speed japan, heteroglossia, `common sense,¿ and social memory, the migrant's table: meals and memories in bengali-american households, keeping kosher : eating and social identity among the jews of denmark, remembrance of things passed: memory, body and the politics of feasting in new ireland, papua new guinea1, related papers.

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Annual Review of Anthropology

Volume 35, 2006, review article, food and memory.

• Jon D. Holtzman 1
• View Affiliations Hide Affiliations Affiliations: Department of Anthropology, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008; email: [email protected]
• Vol. 35:361-378 (Volume publication date October 2006) https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.35.081705.123220
• © Annual Reviews

Much of the burgeoning literature on food in anthropology and related fields implicitly engages with issues of memory. Although only a relatively small but growing number of food-centered studies frame themselves as directly concerned with memory—for instance, in regard to embodied forms of memory—many more engage with its varying forms and manifestations, such as in a diverse range of studies in which food becomes a significant site implicated in social change, the now-voluminous body relating food to ethnic or other forms of identity, and invented food traditions in nationalism and consumer capitalism. Such studies are of interest not only because of what they may tell us about food, but moreover because particular facets of food and food-centered memory offer more general insights into the phenomenon of memory and approaches to its study in anthropology and related fields.

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Publication Date: 21 Oct 2006

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Eat, Memory: Great Writers at the Table: A Collection of Essays from the New York Times

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The Food Memory Narrative

If you’re anything like me, those few short weeks between fall and winter breaks are nothing short of an anxiety inducing shopping/baking/grading/wrapping/tying-up-loose-ends extravaganza. Each year, the time sandwiched between breaks seems like too little or not quite enough.

But a few years ago, I cooked up a new dish called Food Lit. Food Lit was inspired by the Navajo Kentuckians , one of the best sessions I’ve ever attended at NCTE . To offer you the Happy Meal version of this session, teachers in two regions educated their students on “good food.” Students learned about topics such as food insecurity, obesity rates, and food integrity. Students grew gardens, educated their communities, and even prepared meals with food they harvested. Some even studied food and nature-centric literature like Mark Twain’s “The Bee.”

After attending this session, I began cultivating an inquiry into food in my own classroom and savoring the delicacy of “between breaks” learning.

One assignment that fires up my students’ brains is the food memory narrative task. You can read more about what we’ve been up to in Food Lit here and from years past, here and here .

Food is such an important, driving force in our lives. We share and create some of our most important stories surrounded by food. It comforts us, nourishes us, and heals us. So far, I haven’t met a student who didn’t have one special dish or fond food memory to look back on.

That’s what the food memory narrative is about.

I first ask students to examine these mentor texts:

Savoring Memories of Sunday Dinner from NPR Memories of Meals Past from The N ew York Times

Jeruselem: A Love Letter to Food from NPR 

I remind them that they are reading (and listening) to expand their understanding of “good food” but also to read as writers who are sharing their connections to a special dish.

This year, I asked students to share their mentor text noticings in a Google Form. Here’s some of what they came up with:

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What I’ve found is that food is an easy sell with students – it is relatable, its appeal universal, and my students enjoy reflecting on their “memories of meals past.” Here’s an example of how one student made this writing her own:

But the cherry on top? Our Food Lit Family Dinner, the day everyone brings in their favorite, most meaningful dish to share with the class.

Some of the biggest hits this year? Pizelles (or as one student called them: “cookie waffles”), King’s cake (somebody gifted me the baby), “brookies” (a delightful brownie/cookie duo), pepperoni rolls (a unique West Virginia snack and my contribution), tried and true homemade mac and cheese (what’s not to love), and West Indian curry (which you can read about below).

For me, this assignment does at least two things: it encourages a different bite of the narrative apple, and most importantly it continues to build and strengthen classroom culture. And that’s one recipe that can’t go wrong.

What works for you in your classrooms in the weeks between breaks? What activities inspire student writing and build classroom culture? I’d love to hear from you! 

Leave a comment below, find me on Twitter  @karlahilliard , or connect with us on  Facebook!

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Please have a look about ” Food consulting

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I LOVE this. I think I may give it a try with my seniors who tend to not get invested in much in terms of writing. This very personal connection (and a food feast!) may draw them in. Thanks for sharing!

Did you ever have an actual rubric and explanation of the Food Narrative? I didn’t see it in your links.

Hi Jennifer! I don’t have a rubric. This assignment was squeezed into the end of our term before exams, and while we were guided by the mentor texts, I assigned completion points if students included a recipe, a narrative telling the recipe’s story, and included a photo. If I’d had more time that week, I would’ve asked students to generate a rubric based on their mentor text findings. As far as explanation of assignment, I think I’ve called it Food Memories Recipe Task in the links. It was one of those assignments that took shape with classroom discussion. The basic instructions are to determine a special recipe and tell its story. Hope this info helps a bit!

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Six brilliant student essays on the power of food to spark social change.

Read winning essays from our fall 2018 “Feeding Ourselves, Feeding Our Revolutions,” student writing contest.

For the Fall 2018 student writing competition, “Feeding Ourselves, Feeding Our Revolutions,” we invited students to read the YES! Magazine article, “Cooking Stirs the Pot for Social Change,”   by Korsha Wilson and respond to this writing prompt: If you were to host a potluck or dinner to discuss a challenge facing your community or country, what food would you cook? Whom would you invite? On what issue would you deliberate? 

The Winners

From the hundreds of essays written, these six—on anti-Semitism, cultural identity, death row prisoners, coming out as transgender, climate change, and addiction—were chosen as essay winners.  Be sure to read the literary gems and catchy titles that caught our eye.

Middle School Winner: India Brown High School Winner: Grace Williams University Winner: Lillia Borodkin Powerful Voice Winner: Paisley Regester Powerful Voice Winner: Emma Lingo Powerful Voice Winner: Hayden Wilson

Literary Gems Clever Titles

Middle School Winner: India Brown  

A Feast for the Future

Close your eyes and imagine the not too distant future: The Statue of Liberty is up to her knees in water, the streets of lower Manhattan resemble the canals of Venice, and hurricanes arrive in the fall and stay until summer. Now, open your eyes and see the beautiful planet that we will destroy if we do not do something. Now is the time for change. Our future is in our control if we take actions, ranging from small steps, such as not using plastic straws, to large ones, such as reducing fossil fuel consumption and electing leaders who take the problem seriously.

 Hosting a dinner party is an extraordinary way to publicize what is at stake. At my potluck, I would serve linguini with clams. The clams would be sautéed in white wine sauce. The pasta tossed with a light coat of butter and topped with freshly shredded parmesan. I choose this meal because it cannot be made if global warming’s patterns persist. Soon enough, the ocean will be too warm to cultivate clams, vineyards will be too sweltering to grow grapes, and wheat fields will dry out, leaving us without pasta.

I think that giving my guests a delicious meal and then breaking the news to them that its ingredients would be unattainable if Earth continues to get hotter is a creative strategy to initiate action. Plus, on the off chance the conversation gets drastically tense, pasta is a relatively difficult food to throw.

In YES! Magazine’s article, “Cooking Stirs the Pot for Social Change,” Korsha Wilson says “…beyond the narrow definition of what cooking is, you can see that cooking is and has always been an act of resistance.” I hope that my dish inspires people to be aware of what’s at stake with increasing greenhouse gas emissions and work toward creating a clean energy future.

 My guest list for the potluck would include two groups of people: local farmers, who are directly and personally affected by rising temperatures, increased carbon dioxide, drought, and flooding, and people who either do not believe in human-caused climate change or don’t think it affects anyone. I would invite the farmers or farm owners because their jobs and crops are dependent on the weather. I hope that after hearing a farmer’s perspective, climate-deniers would be awakened by the truth and more receptive to the effort to reverse these catastrophic trends.

Earth is a beautiful planet that provides everything we’ll ever need, but because of our pattern of living—wasteful consumption, fossil fuel burning, and greenhouse gas emissions— our habitat is rapidly deteriorating. Whether you are a farmer, a long-shower-taking teenager, a worker in a pollution-producing factory, or a climate-denier, the future of humankind is in our hands. The choices we make and the actions we take will forever affect planet Earth.

 India Brown is an eighth grader who lives in New York City with her parents and older brother. She enjoys spending time with her friends, walking her dog, Morty, playing volleyball and lacrosse, and swimming.

High School Winner: Grace Williams

Apple Pie Embrace

It’s 1:47 a.m. Thanksgiving smells fill the kitchen. The sweet aroma of sugar-covered apples and buttery dough swirls into my nostrils. Fragrant orange and rosemary permeate the room and every corner smells like a stroll past the open door of a French bakery. My eleven-year-old eyes water, red with drowsiness, and refocus on the oven timer counting down. Behind me, my mom and aunt chat to no end, fueled by the seemingly self-replenishable coffee pot stashed in the corner. Their hands work fast, mashing potatoes, crumbling cornbread, and covering finished dishes in a thin layer of plastic wrap. The most my tired body can do is sit slouched on the backless wooden footstool. I bask in the heat escaping under the oven door.

 As a child, I enjoyed Thanksgiving and the preparations that came with it, but it seemed like more of a bridge between my birthday and Christmas than an actual holiday. Now, it’s a time of year I look forward to, dedicated to family, memories, and, most importantly, food. What I realized as I grew older was that my homemade Thanksgiving apple pie was more than its flaky crust and soft-fruit center. This American food symbolized a rite of passage, my Iraqi family’s ticket to assimilation. 

 Some argue that by adopting American customs like the apple pie, we lose our culture. I would argue that while American culture influences what my family eats and celebrates, it doesn’t define our character. In my family, we eat Iraqi dishes like mesta and tahini, but we also eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast. This doesn’t mean we favor one culture over the other; instead, we create a beautiful blend of the two, adapting traditions to make them our own.

 That said, my family has always been more than the “mashed potatoes and turkey” type.

My mom’s family immigrated to the United States in 1976. Upon their arrival, they encountered a deeply divided America. Racism thrived, even after the significant freedoms gained from the Civil Rights Movement a few years before. Here, my family was thrust into a completely unknown world: they didn’t speak the language, they didn’t dress normally, and dinners like riza maraka seemed strange in comparison to the Pop Tarts and Oreos lining grocery store shelves.

 If I were to host a dinner party, it would be like Thanksgiving with my Chaldean family. The guests, my extended family, are a diverse people, distinct ingredients in a sweet potato casserole, coming together to create a delicious dish.

In her article “Cooking Stirs the Pot for Social Change,” Korsha Wilson writes, “each ingredient that we use, every technique, every spice tells a story about our access, our privilege, our heritage, and our culture.” Voices around the room will echo off the walls into the late hours of the night while the hot apple pie steams at the table’s center.

We will play concan on the blanketed floor and I’ll try to understand my Toto, who, after forty years, still speaks broken English. I’ll listen to my elders as they tell stories about growing up in Unionville, Michigan, a predominately white town where they always felt like outsiders, stories of racism that I have the privilege not to experience. While snacking on sunflower seeds and salted pistachios, we’ll talk about the news- how thousands of people across the country are protesting for justice among immigrants. No one protested to give my family a voice.

Our Thanksgiving food is more than just sustenance, it is a physical representation of my family ’s blended and ever-changing culture, even after 40 years in the United States. No matter how the food on our plates changes, it will always symbolize our sense of family—immediate and extended—and our unbreakable bond.

Grace Williams, a student at Kirkwood High School in Kirkwood, Missouri, enjoys playing tennis, baking, and spending time with her family. Grace also enjoys her time as a writing editor for her school’s yearbook, the Pioneer. In the future, Grace hopes to continue her travels abroad, as well as live near extended family along the sunny beaches of La Jolla, California.

University Winner: Lillia Borodkin

Nourishing Change After Tragedy Strikes

In the Jewish community, food is paramount. We often spend our holidays gathered around a table, sharing a meal and reveling in our people’s story. On other sacred days, we fast, focusing instead on reflection, atonement, and forgiveness.

As a child, I delighted in the comfort of matzo ball soup, the sweetness of hamantaschen, and the beauty of braided challah. But as I grew older and more knowledgeable about my faith, I learned that the origins of these foods are not rooted in joy, but in sacrifice.

The matzo of matzo balls was a necessity as the Jewish people did not have time for their bread to rise as they fled slavery in Egypt. The hamantaschen was an homage to the hat of Haman, the villain of the Purim story who plotted the Jewish people’s destruction. The unbaked portion of braided challah was tithed by commandment to the kohen  or priests. Our food is an expression of our history, commemorating both our struggles and our triumphs.

As I write this, only days have passed since eleven Jews were killed at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. These people, intending only to pray and celebrate the Sabbath with their community, were murdered simply for being Jewish. This brutal event, in a temple and city much like my own, is a reminder that anti-Semitism still exists in this country. A reminder that hatred of Jews, of me, my family, and my community, is alive and flourishing in America today. The thought that a difference in religion would make some believe that others do not have the right to exist is frightening and sickening.  

 This is why, if given the chance, I would sit down the entire Jewish American community at one giant Shabbat table. I’d serve matzo ball soup, pass around loaves of challah, and do my best to offer comfort. We would take time to remember the beautiful souls lost to anti-Semitism this October and the countless others who have been victims of such hatred in the past. I would then ask that we channel all we are feeling—all the fear, confusion, and anger —into the fight.

As suggested in Korsha Wilson’s “Cooking Stirs the Pot for Social Change,” I would urge my guests to direct our passion for justice and the comfort and care provided by the food we are eating into resisting anti-Semitism and hatred of all kinds.

We must use the courage this sustenance provides to create change and honor our people’s suffering and strength. We must remind our neighbors, both Jewish and non-Jewish, that anti-Semitism is alive and well today. We must shout and scream and vote until our elected leaders take this threat to our community seriously. And, we must stand with, support, and listen to other communities that are subjected to vengeful hate today in the same way that many of these groups have supported us in the wake of this tragedy.

This terrible shooting is not the first of its kind, and if conflict and loathing are permitted to grow, I fear it will not be the last. While political change may help, the best way to target this hate is through smaller-scale actions in our own communities.

It is critical that we as a Jewish people take time to congregate and heal together, but it is equally necessary to include those outside the Jewish community to build a powerful crusade against hatred and bigotry. While convening with these individuals, we will work to end the dangerous “otherizing” that plagues our society and seek to understand that we share far more in common than we thought. As disagreements arise during our discussions, we will learn to respect and treat each other with the fairness we each desire. Together, we shall share the comfort, strength, and courage that traditional Jewish foods provide and use them to fuel our revolution. 

We are not alone in the fight despite what extremists and anti-semites might like us to believe.  So, like any Jew would do, I invite you to join me at the Shabbat table. First, we will eat. Then, we will get to work.  

Lillia Borodkin is a senior at Kent State University majoring in Psychology with a concentration in Child Psychology. She plans to attend graduate school and become a school psychologist while continuing to pursue her passion for reading and writing. Outside of class, Lillia is involved in research in the psychology department and volunteers at the Women’s Center on campus.   

Powerful Voice Winner: Paisley Regester

As a kid, I remember asking my friends jokingly, ”If you were stuck on a deserted island, what single item of food would you bring?” Some of my friends answered practically and said they’d bring water. Others answered comically and said they’d bring snacks like Flamin’ Hot Cheetos or a banana. However, most of my friends answered sentimentally and listed the foods that made them happy. This seems like fun and games, but what happens if the hypothetical changes? Imagine being asked, on the eve of your death, to choose the final meal you will ever eat. What food would you pick? Something practical? Comical? Sentimental?  

This situation is the reality for the 2,747 American prisoners who are currently awaiting execution on death row. The grim ritual of “last meals,” when prisoners choose their final meal before execution, can reveal a lot about these individuals and what they valued throughout their lives.

It is difficult for us to imagine someone eating steak, lobster tail, apple pie, and vanilla ice cream one moment and being killed by state-approved lethal injection the next. The prisoner can only hope that the apple pie he requested tastes as good as his mom’s. Surprisingly, many people in prison decline the option to request a special last meal. We often think of food as something that keeps us alive, so is there really any point to eating if someone knows they are going to die?

“Controlling food is a means of controlling power,” said chef Sean Sherman in the YES! Magazine article “Cooking Stirs the Pot for Social Change,” by Korsha Wilson. There are deeper stories that lie behind the final meals of individuals on death row.

I want to bring awareness to the complex and often controversial conditions of this country’s criminal justice system and change the common perception of prisoners as inhuman. To accomplish this, I would host a potluck where I would recreate the last meals of prisoners sentenced to death.

In front of each plate, there would be a place card with the prisoner’s full name, the date of execution, and the method of execution. These meals could range from a plate of fried chicken, peas with butter, apple pie, and a Dr. Pepper, reminiscent of a Sunday dinner at Grandma’s, to a single olive.

Seeing these meals up close, meals that many may eat at their own table or feed to their own kids, would force attendees to face the reality of the death penalty. It will urge my guests to look at these individuals not just as prisoners, assigned a number and a death date, but as people, capable of love and rehabilitation.  

This potluck is not only about realizing a prisoner’s humanity, but it is also about recognizing a flawed criminal justice system. Over the years, I have become skeptical of the American judicial system, especially when only seven states have judges who ethnically represent the people they serve. I was shocked when I found out that the officers who killed Michael Brown and Anthony Lamar Smith were exonerated for their actions. How could that be possible when so many teens and adults of color have spent years in prison, some even executed, for crimes they never committed?  

Lawmakers, police officers, city officials, and young constituents, along with former prisoners and their families, would be invited to my potluck to start an honest conversation about the role and application of inequality, dehumanization, and racism in the death penalty. Food served at the potluck would represent the humanity of prisoners and push people to acknowledge that many inmates are victims of a racist and corrupt judicial system.

Recognizing these injustices is only the first step towards a more equitable society. The second step would be acting on these injustices to ensure that every voice is heard, even ones separated from us by prison walls. Let’s leave that for the next potluck, where I plan to serve humble pie.

Paisley Regester is a high school senior and devotes her life to activism, the arts, and adventure. Inspired by her experiences traveling abroad to Nicaragua, Mexico, and Scotland, Paisley hopes to someday write about the diverse people and places she has encountered and share her stories with the rest of the world.

Powerful Voice Winner: Emma Lingo

The Empty Seat

“If you aren’t sober, then I don’t want to see you on Christmas.”

Harsh words for my father to hear from his daughter but words he needed to hear. Words I needed him to understand and words he seemed to consider as he fiddled with his wine glass at the head of the table. Our guests, my grandma, and her neighbors remained resolutely silent. They were not about to defend my drunken father–or Charles as I call him–from my anger or my ultimatum.

This was the first dinner we had had together in a year. The last meal we shared ended with Charles slopping his drink all over my birthday presents and my mother explaining heroin addiction to me. So, I wasn’t surprised when Charles threw down some liquid valor before dinner in anticipation of my anger. If he wanted to be welcomed on Christmas, he needed to be sober—or he needed to be gone.

Countless dinners, holidays, and birthdays taught me that my demands for sobriety would fall on deaf ears. But not this time. Charles gave me a gift—a one of a kind, limited edition, absolutely awkward treat. One that I didn’t know how to deal with at all. Charles went home that night, smacked a bright red bow on my father, and hand-delivered him to me on Christmas morning.

He arrived for breakfast freshly showered and looking flustered. He would remember this day for once only because his daughter had scolded him into sobriety. Dad teetered between happiness and shame. Grandma distracted us from Dad’s presence by bringing the piping hot bacon and biscuits from the kitchen to the table, theatrically announcing their arrival. Although these foods were the alleged focus of the meal, the real spotlight shined on the unopened liquor cabinet in my grandma’s kitchen—the cabinet I know Charles was begging Dad to open.

I’ve isolated myself from Charles. My family has too. It means we don’t see Dad, but it’s the best way to avoid confrontation and heartache. Sometimes I find myself wondering what it would be like if we talked with him more or if he still lived nearby. Would he be less inclined to use? If all families with an addict tried to hang on to a relationship with the user, would there be fewer addicts in the world? Christmas breakfast with Dad was followed by Charles whisking him away to Colorado where pot had just been legalized. I haven’t talked to Dad since that Christmas.

As Korsha Wilson stated in her YES! Magazine article, “Cooking Stirs the Pot for Social Change,” “Sometimes what we don’t cook says more than what we do cook.” When it comes to addiction, what isn’t served is more important than what is. In quiet moments, I like to imagine a meal with my family–including Dad. He’d have a spot at the table in my little fantasy. No alcohol would push him out of his chair, the cigarettes would remain seated in his back pocket, and the stench of weed wouldn’t invade the dining room. Fruit salad and gumbo would fill the table—foods that Dad likes. We’d talk about trivial matters in life, like how school is going and what we watched last night on TV.

Dad would feel loved. We would connect. He would feel less alone. At the end of the night, he’d walk me to the door and promise to see me again soon. And I would believe him.

Emma Lingo spends her time working as an editor for her school paper, reading, and being vocal about social justice issues. Emma is active with many clubs such as Youth and Government, KHS Cares, and Peer Helpers. She hopes to be a journalist one day and to be able to continue helping out people by volunteering at local nonprofits.

Powerful Voice Winner: Hayden Wilson

Bittersweet Reunion

I close my eyes and envision a dinner of my wildest dreams. I would invite all of my relatives. Not just my sister who doesn’t ask how I am anymore. Not just my nephews who I’m told are too young to understand me. No, I would gather all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins to introduce them to the me they haven’t met.

For almost two years, I’ve gone by a different name that most of my family refuses to acknowledge. My aunt, a nun of 40 years, told me at a recent birthday dinner that she’d heard of my “nickname.” I didn’t want to start a fight, so I decided not to correct her. Even the ones who’ve adjusted to my name have yet to recognize the bigger issue.

Last year on Facebook, I announced to my friends and family that I am transgender. No one in my family has talked to me about it, but they have plenty to say to my parents. I feel as if this is about my parents more than me—that they’ve made some big parenting mistake. Maybe if I invited everyone to dinner and opened up a discussion, they would voice their concerns to me instead of my parents.

I would serve two different meals of comfort food to remind my family of our good times. For my dad’s family, I would cook heavily salted breakfast food, the kind my grandpa used to enjoy. He took all of his kids to IHOP every Sunday and ordered the least healthy option he could find, usually some combination of an overcooked omelet and a loaded Classic Burger. For my mom’s family, I would buy shakes and burgers from Hardee’s. In my grandma’s final weeks, she let aluminum tins of sympathy meals pile up on her dining table while she made my uncle take her to Hardee’s every day.

In her article on cooking and activism, food writer Korsha Wilson writes, “Everyone puts down their guard over a good meal, and in that space, change is possible.” Hopefully the same will apply to my guests.

When I first thought of this idea, my mind rushed to the endless negative possibilities. My nun-aunt and my two non-nun aunts who live like nuns would whip out their Bibles before I even finished my first sentence. My very liberal, state representative cousin would say how proud she is of the guy I’m becoming, but this would trigger my aunts to accuse her of corrupting my mind. My sister, who has never spoken to me about my genderidentity, would cover her children’s ears and rush them out of the house. My Great-Depression-raised grandparents would roll over in their graves, mumbling about how kids have it easy nowadays.

After mentally mapping out every imaginable terrible outcome this dinner could have, I realized a conversation is unavoidable if I want my family to accept who I am. I long to restore the deep connection I used to have with them. Though I often think these former relationships are out of reach, I won’t know until I try to repair them. For a year and a half, I’ve relied on Facebook and my parents to relay messages about my identity, but I need to tell my own story.

At first, I thought Korsha Wilson’s idea of a cooked meal leading the way to social change was too optimistic, but now I understand that I need to think more like her. Maybe, just maybe, my family could all gather around a table, enjoy some overpriced shakes, and be as close as we were when I was a little girl.

 Hayden Wilson is a 17-year-old high school junior from Missouri. He loves writing, making music, and painting. He’s a part of his school’s writing club, as well as the GSA and a few service clubs.

 Literary Gems

We received many outstanding essays for the Fall 2018 Writing Competition. Though not every participant can win the contest, we’d like to share some excerpts that caught our eye.

Thinking of the main staple of the dish—potatoes, the starchy vegetable that provides sustenance for people around the globe. The onion, the layers of sorrow and joy—a base for this dish served during the holidays.  The oil, symbolic of hope and perseverance. All of these elements come together to form this delicious oval pancake permeating with possibilities. I wonder about future possibilities as I flip the latkes.

—Nikki Markman, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California

The egg is a treasure. It is a fragile heart of gold that once broken, flows over the blemishless surface of the egg white in dandelion colored streams, like ribbon unraveling from its spool.

—Kaylin Ku, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, Princeton Junction, New Jersey

If I were to bring one food to a potluck to create social change by addressing anti-Semitism, I would bring gefilte fish because it is different from other fish, just like the Jews are different from other people.  It looks more like a matzo ball than fish, smells extraordinarily fishy, and tastes like sweet brine with the consistency of a crab cake.

—Noah Glassman, Ethical Culture Fieldston School,  Bronx, New York

I would not only be serving them something to digest, I would serve them a one-of-a-kind taste of the past, a taste of fear that is felt in the souls of those whose home and land were taken away, a taste of ancestral power that still lives upon us, and a taste of the voices that want to be heard and that want the suffering of the Natives to end.

—Citlalic Anima Guevara, Wichita North High School, Wichita, Kansas

It’s the one thing that your parents make sure you have because they didn’t.  Food is what your mother gives you as she lies, telling you she already ate. It’s something not everybody is fortunate to have and it’s also what we throw away without hesitation.  Food is a blessing to me, but what is it to you?

—Mohamed Omar, Kirkwood High School, Kirkwood, Missouri

Filleted and fried humphead wrasse, mangrove crab with coconut milk, pounded taro, a whole roast pig, and caramelized nuts—cuisines that will not be simplified to just “food.” Because what we eat is the diligence and pride of our people—a culture that has survived and continues to thrive.

—Mayumi Remengesau, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California

Some people automatically think I’m kosher or ask me to say prayers in Hebrew.  However, guess what? I don’t know many prayers and I eat bacon.

—Hannah Reing, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, The Bronx, New York

Everything was placed before me. Rolling up my sleeves I started cracking eggs, mixing flour, and sampling some chocolate chips, because you can never be too sure. Three separate bowls. All different sizes. Carefully, I tipped the smallest, and the medium-sized bowls into the biggest. Next, I plugged in my hand-held mixer and flicked on the switch. The beaters whirl to life. I lowered it into the bowl and witnessed the creation of something magnificent. Cookie dough.

—Cassandra Amaya, Owen Goodnight Middle School, San Marcos, Texas

Biscuits and bisexuality are both things that are in my life…My grandmother’s biscuits are the best: the good old classic Southern biscuits, crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. Except it is mostly Southern people who don’t accept me.

—Jaden Huckaby, Arbor Montessori, Decatur, Georgia

We zest the bright yellow lemons and the peels of flavor fall lightly into the batter.  To make frosting, we keep adding more and more powdered sugar until it looks like fluffy clouds with raspberry seed rain.

—Jane Minus, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Bronx, New York

Tamales for my grandma, I can still remember her skillfully spreading the perfect layer of masa on every corn husk, looking at me pitifully as my young hands fumbled with the corn wrapper, always too thick or too thin.

—Brenna Eliaz, San Marcos High School, San Marcos, Texas

Just like fry bread, MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat) remind New Orleanians and others affected by disasters of the devastation throughout our city and the little amount of help we got afterward.

—Madeline Johnson, Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama

I would bring cream corn and buckeyes and have a big debate on whether marijuana should be illegal or not.

—Lillian Martinez, Miller Middle School, San Marcos, Texas

We would finish the meal off with a delicious apple strudel, topped with schlag, schlag, schlag, more schlag, and a cherry, and finally…more schlag (in case you were wondering, schlag is like whipped cream, but 10 times better because it is heavier and sweeter).

—Morgan Sheehan, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Bronx, New York

Clever Titles

This year we decided to do something different. We were so impressed by the number of catchy titles that we decided to feature some of our favorites. 

“Eat Like a Baby: Why Shame Has No Place at a Baby’s Dinner Plate”

—Tate Miller, Wichita North High School, Wichita, Kansas 

“The Cheese in Between”

—Jedd Horowitz, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Bronx, New York

“Harvey, Michael, Florence or Katrina? Invite Them All Because Now We Are Prepared”

—Molly Mendoza, Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama

“Neglecting Our Children: From Broccoli to Bullets”

—Kylie Rollings, Kirkwood High School, Kirkwood, Missouri  

“The Lasagna of Life”

—Max Williams, Wichita North High School, Wichita, Kansas

“Yum, Yum, Carbon Dioxide In Our Lungs”

—Melanie Eickmeyer, Kirkwood High School, Kirkwood, Missouri

“My Potluck, My Choice”

—Francesca Grossberg, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Bronx, New York

“Trumping with Tacos”

—Maya Goncalves, Lincoln Middle School, Ypsilanti, Michigan

“Quiche and Climate Change”

—Bernie Waldman, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Bronx, New York

“Biscuits and Bisexuality”

“W(health)”

—Miles Oshan, San Marcos High School, San Marcos, Texas

“Bubula, Come Eat!”

—Jordan Fienberg, Ethical Culture Fieldston School,  Bronx, New York

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Course Syllabus

Honest to Goodness: Introduction to Writing the Food Memoir

No genre is more powerful at examining what nourishes and sustains us than the food memoir..

In this five-week intensive course, we will take inspiration from work in top-tier publications such as Bon Appétit , the New Yorker, and the New York Times . You will explore ways to incorporate food (both literally and symbolically) into your own writing, brainstorm food-inspired stories you want to tell, *spice* up your prose, and ultimately write and workshop a pair of personal essays in two distinct styles, using food as a vehicle for storytelling. The final week of the course will focus on best practices for submitting food memoir essays for publication.

How it works:

• discussions of assigned readings and other general writing topics with peers and the instructor
• written lectures and a selection of readings
• writing prompts and/or assignments
• the opportunity to submit one or more flash essays for instructor and/or peer review
• an optional video conference that is open to all students (and which will be available afterward as a recording for those who cannot participate)

Aside from the live conference, there is no need to be online at any particular time of day. To create a better classroom experience for all, you are expected to participate weekly in class discussions to receive instructor feedback.

Week 1: The Food Memoir: What is it?

We’ll begin with an overview of the food memoir genre—personal stories involving food preparation and/or consumption. In the first weeks of the course, we’ll focus on descriptive food writing. You will read a sampling of personal essays that describe everything from a father’s preparation process for his famous Persian rice, to a chef’s attempt to produce almond-flavored carrots. Follow this style and take an inventory of your “ingredients”— possible topics for your own descriptive personal essay.

Week 2: Description and the Food Memoir

Learn various strategies for adding rich descriptions to a food memoir essay. This week, you will do a close reading of essays that use a wide range of literary techniques to create a rich sensory experience on the page. You’ll experiment with various techniques and approaches in your own writing to make your story more vivid and inviting to readers. You will also submit a food memoir essay (1,000-1,500 words) for peer and instructor feedback

Week 3: An Appetite for Metaphor

Sometimes, memoirists use food not to make their readers’ mouths water, but to open a window on important social, moral, or cultural issues such as assimilation, homesickness, or the tension between dining in versus eating out. This week, we’ll focus on the concept of food as a representation of an idea. You will read a selection of food memoir essays that use this technique and brainstorm possible topics for your own symbolic food memoir essay.

WEEK 4: SYMBOLISM AND THE FOOD MEMOIR

This week, you will learn various strategies for composing a highly symbolic food memoir essay. You will do a close reading of essays that use figurative language such as simile and metaphor to explore important themes. You will also submit a new food memoir essay (1,000-1,500 words) for peer and instructor feedback.

Week 5: Revising and Publishing Food Memoirs

During our final week, we’ll explore ways to revise essays and learn where to submit food memoir essays for publication. You will also have the option to submit a third essay for peer-only critique.  

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• Essay Database >
• Essay Examples >
• Essays Topics >
• Essay on Mexico

Food Memory Essays Example

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Mexico , Food , Chili , Spices , Taste , Meat , Sauce , Vitamins

Words: 1200

Published: 01/11/2021

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National cuisine is regarded as an integral part of each culture. In modern conditions, each national cuisine is characterized by its desire for separate identity and uniqueness. The authenticity of Mexican food seems to be identified owing to an extraordinarily rich variety of spices. I remember savouring the culinary delights of Mexico at the age of 10, when I visited my aunt. Although I vaguely remember all the ingredients, the air was so pungent with the smell of spices. Besides, my aunt used fresh herbs to get the authentic Mexican taste. Mexican cuisine is a wide assortment of flavors. Being rich in vitamins, chili delight the eye and the stomach in various dishes. The ancient methods of cooking the leaves with pork, beef, goat, lamb or chicken are not only the delicious, but also rather useful pleasure. Sea and lakes provide a rich selection of fish and seafood. The highlight of Mexican cuisine lies in its simplicity and almost unlimited possibilities of variations and combinations (Arellano, 2012). Mexican cuisine is rich in spices and sauces, particularly there are about 80 varieties of chile pepper, characterized by the color and the spicy flavor. It is believed that the use of chile pepper in large quantities has beneficial effects on digestion. The culinary style, which today is called Mexican. Over time, it has become original and easily distinguishable, even though it is a fusion of various culinary traditions. Since Mexican food has its roots in the ancient civilizations of the Aztecs and Mayas, whenever I consumed extremely spicy meal, a sense of honour and respect overwhelmed me. Salsas is a so called fiery hot sauce, optionally containing pods of chili and tomatoes (Fordham & Cruz, 2012). It is served with boiled fish, meat, poultry, beans and eggs. Mexican dishes are richly flavored with various spices and herbs as well as unique sauces all shades of color, smell and taste. The most famous is definitely the burning chili sauce. Probably several hundred varieties of chili are used in varying degrees, namely fresh or dried, as well as from mild to fiery and devilishly hot. Some canned peppers make a fresh, sweet and sour syrup, while others are stuffed with minced meat and cheese. Interestingly, chili is present in almost all Mexican dishes, in addition to desserts and sweet pastries. Fordham & Cruz (2012) argue that the hottest sauce is called salsa, which is a paste of finely chopped tomatoes, onions and chili, seasoned with coriander and garlic. Interestingly, the salsa can be prepared from the fruit, but still with hot pepper. Besides, I recall my aunt making a cream at home, beating the usual cream with a teaspoon of natural yogurt. The hot climate of Mexico determines a large selection of beverages, thus Mexicans quench their thirst with a variety of fruit drinks. Mexican nature has given the world such a wonderful fruit like avocado. Under dark green, bumpy skin hides a gentle oily flesh, which is enough to mash with a fork to get the finished dish. Avocado seasoned with lime juice, finely chopped onions, herbs, salt and chile is the recipe of Guacamole, one of the most delicious Mexican sauces. It is usually served with tortillas. Avocados are a part of many salads, sauces, as well as it is added to meat, fish and poultry. I recall a soup of avocado with chicken broth turned out to be a delicious one. In general, soups appear to be an indispensable part of Mexican cuisine. Modern views on the quantitative and qualitative human needs for nutrients are reflected in the concept of a balanced diet. According to it, people get the required amount of energy through certain nutrients, such as proteins, amino acids, carbohydrates and fats, fatty acids, mineral salts, and vitamins. The uniqueness of meat is due to its high energy, balanced amino acid composition of proteins, the presence of bioactive substances and high digestibility. From the consumer point of view, it is the raw material, which can be used to prepare thousands of dishes, meeting the needs of any gourmet. According to Arellano (2012), Mexican cuisine uses mostly pork and beef, which are prepared using extinguishing sauce. Meat is the main supplier of protein, as it contains vital building tissues of the human body amino acids that are ideally balanced and provides a comprehensive synthesis of tissue proteins. Fats that are in meat cause the high energy value of meat products as well as the formation of aroma and taste. When it comes to snacks, corn tortillas is particularly popular, as it is used for creating numerous recipes. Spicy corn tortillas stuffed with vegetables and enchilada sauce, and rolled in a special “envelopes” are called burritos. It is worth noting that Mexican cuisine is characterized by not merely by being pungent. Not all Mexican dishes are spicy and strongly flavoured, some of them, such as vegetable soup, have a delicate, mild flavour (Fordham & Cruz, 2012). If spices are added, and then a sense of proportion, the taste will be soft and harmonious. Not all dishes contain chili, and even those that do, can be prepared in an acute or in a bit milder form. Hot pepper sauce, prepared from a mixture of different varieties of spices, tends to add a specific flavor and sharpness. It is worth noting that Mexican cuisine is characterized by not merely by being pungent. Not all Mexican dishes are spicy and strongly flavoured, some of them, such as vegetable soup, have a delicate, mild flavor. If spices are added, and then a sense of proportion, the taste will be soft and harmonious. Not all dishes contain chili, and even those that do, can be prepared in a bit milder form. Each of us, smelling the aroma of particular dish, immediately draws the picture from a distant happy childhood. Food memory, namely the memory of the taste and smell is probably one of the most durable, since a person tends to draw an instant vivid picture from the past. Mexican cuisine, it is used in various foods and sometimes unexpected combinations, forming a wide variety of food flavors. A distinctive feature of Mexican cuisine is seductive aromas of spices added to food, which indicates the richness of taste. Mexico is a country, where every person feels the atmosphere of joy, happiness and unforgettable adventures. Spicy food, refreshing drinks and delicious deserts make Mexico even more appealing. One of the indisputable advantages of Mexican dishes is that they are easy to prepare at home, since recipes for simple ingredients, with a few exceptions is relatively easy and there are not too complex garnishes and decorative elements.

Arellano, G. (2012). Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America. New York NY: Scribner. Fordham, B., & Cruz, F. F. (2012). Real Mexican Food: Authentic recipes for burritos, tacos, salsas and more. Ryland Peters & Small.

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Why Is Food So Interconnected With Memory? Here’s What The Scientists Think

Have you observed that some of your most important memories are connected with food? It doesn't matter whether it was a good or bad one. As long as you enjoyed an exceptional meal at the time, you are sure to remember the meal as well as the surrounding happenings of that particular time for a long time to come. Scientists say this is why.

The sense of smell is the sense that is most connected to memory; even better, the sense of taste comes close in behind at second. When eating, these two senses are already top-tier functions, thus the conclusion that a combination of taste and smell makes up our memories.

The Harvard University Press on John S. Allen's The Omnivorous Mind:

"We all have our food memories , some good and some bad. The taste, smell, and texture of food can be extraordinarily evocative, bringing back memories not just of eating food itself but also of place and setting. Food is an effective trigger of deeper memories of feelings and emotions, internal states of the mind and body."

This indeed explains why special holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, celebrated with tons of hearty meals, are some of the most remarkable ever! What with all the delicious meals and colorful sweets made available at every table.

The way you enjoyed your meal will quickly remind you of who you were with, where you were, and the surrounding happenings at the time. While you may soon forget memories where there were no meals served.

The highlight of this interconnection between food and memory is that the food is not why you have that memory. It is the experiences created while enjoying it that remain special.

So next time you're planning a trip cross-country, don't forget your food itinerary. And when planning an event, no matter its extent, give detailed attention to the meals, you are sure to win hearts!

How to Write A Food Memory

I see a little boy in a white chef's hat at the play stove concocting some imaginary meal for me . . . When I dig out the chef's hat, it's yellowed from age. But the memory---now over seventeen years old---will never yellow, never fade.  There are days it is as fresh as today's gardenia blooms.

Recalling our loved ones through food makes sense.  Food and gatherings with food are a large part of our lives; everybody has some food-related memory to share.

Memories coupled with favorite recipes go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Spend some time writing your own memory of a loved one.

The following memory from Kara's mom, first recorded in Down the Cereal Aisle and also included in my newest cookbook, Memories Around the Table , due out next month.

"When my daughter Kara was old enough to no longer ride in the shopping cart at the supermarket, she and I devised a plan that would keep her close to me in the store.  Unless I asked her to get an item for me, she was to always have one hand holding onto the side of the shopping cart. We continued using that system for several years until it was no longer needed.

When Kara was in college, she would take me grocery shopping whenever I came for a visit. I could always expect to find a sizeable list ready and waiting for Mom to “foot the bill”. I did not mind as it was just part of the fun of being with her and enjoying our time together.

More than once during these grocery expeditions, I would notice Kara walking beside me, unconsciously holding onto the shopping cart as she had done so many years before. Sometimes I would put my hand over hers and smile.  Other times I just let it be a fond memory to file away and cherish in later years.

After Kara died, it was (and still is) very painful to see moms and daughters together, especially when I see a little blond-headed girl in a grocery store with her hand on the cart." 

Now it's your turn!

Let writing a food memory bring you some sunshine.

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Essays About Food: Top 5 Examples and 6 Writing Prompts

Food is one of the greatest joys of life; it is both necessary to live and able to lift our spirits. If you are writing essays about food, read our guide.

Many people live and die by food. While its primary purpose is to provide us with the necessary nutrients to carry out bodily functions, the satisfaction food can give a person is beyond compare. For people of many occupations, such as chefs, waiters, bakers, and food critics, food has become a way of life.

Why do so many people enjoy food? It can provide us with the sensory pleasure we need to escape from the trials of daily life. From the moist tenderness of a good-quality steak to the sweet, rich decadence of a hot fudge sundae, food is truly magical. Instead of eating to stay alive, many even joke that they “live to eat.” In good food, every bite is like heaven.

5 Top Essay Examples

1. food essay by evelin tapia, 2. why japanese home cooking makes healthy feel effortless by kaki okumura, 3. why i love food by shuge luo.

• 4.  My Favorite Food by Jayasurya Mayilsamy 
• 5. ​​Osteria Francescana: does the world’s best restaurant live up to the hype? by Tanya Gold

6 Prompts for Essays About Food

1. what is your favorite dish, 2. what is your favorite cuisine, 3. is a vegan diet sustainable, 4. the dangers of fast food, 5. a special food memory, 6. the food of your home country.

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“Food has so many things in them such as calories and fat. Eating healthy is important for everyone to live a healthy life. You can eat it, but eating it daily is bad for you stay healthy and eat the right foods. Deep fried foods hurt your health in many ways. Eat healthy and exercise to reduce the chances of any health problems.”

In this essay, Tapia writes about deep-fried foods and their effects on people’s health. She says they are high in trans fat, which is detrimental to one’s health. On the other hand, she notes reasons why people still eat foods such as potato chips and french fries, including exercise and simply “making the most of life.” Despite this, Tapia asserts her position that these foods should not be eaten in excess and can lead to a variety of health issues. She encourages people to live healthy lives by enjoying food but not overeating. 

“Because while a goal of many vegetables a day is admirable, in the beginning it’s much more sustainable to start with something as little as two. I learned that with an approach of two-vegetable dishes at a time, I would be a lot more consistent, and over time a large variety would become very natural. In fact, now following that framework and cooking a few simple dishes a day, I often find that it’s almost difficult to not reach at least several kinds of vegetables a day.”

Okumura discusses simple, healthy cooking in the Japanese tradition. While many tend to include as many vegetables as possible in their dishes for “health,” Okumura writes that just a few vegetables are necessary to make healthy but delicious dishes. With the help of Japanese pantry staples like miso and soy sauce, she makes a variety of traditional Japanese side dishes. She shows the wonders of food, even when executed in its simplest form. 

“I make pesto out of kale stems, toast the squash seeds for salad and repurpose my leftovers into brand new dishes. I love cooking because it’s an exercise in play. Cooking is forgiving in improvisation, and it can often surprise you. For example, did you know that adding ginger juice to your fried rice adds a surprisingly refreshing flavor that whets your appetite? Neither did I, until my housemate showed me their experiment.”

In her essay, Luo writes about her love for food and cooking, specifically how she can combine different ingredients from different cuisines to make delicious dishes. She recalls experiences with her native Chinese food and Italian, Singaporean, and Japanese Cuisine. The beauty of food, she says, is the way one can improvise a dish and create something magical. 

4.   My Favorite Food by Jayasurya Mayilsamy 

“There is no better feeling in the world than a warm pizza box on your lap. My love for Pizza is very high. I am always hungry for pizza, be it any time of the day. Cheese is the secret ingredient of any food it makes any food taste yummy. Nearly any ingredient can be put on pizza. Those diced vegetables, jalapenos, tomato sauce, cheese and mushrooms make me eat more and more like a unique work of art.”

Mayilsamy writes about pizza, a food he can’t get enough of, and why he enjoys it as much as he does. He explains the different elements of a good pizza, such as cheese, tomato sauce, other toppings, and the crust. He also briefly discusses the different types of pizzas, such as thin crust and deep dish. Finally, he gives readers an excellent description of a mouthwatering pizza, reminding them of the feeling of eating their favorite food. 

5. ​​ Osteria Francescana: does the world’s best restaurant live up to the hype? by Tanya Gold

“After three hours, I am exhausted from eating Bottura’s dreams, and perhaps that is the point. If some of it is delicious, it is also consuming. That is the shadow cast by the award in the hallway, next to the one of a man strangled by food. I do not know if this is the best restaurant on Earth, or even if such a claim is possible. I suspect such lists are designed largely for marketing purposes: when else does Restaurant magazine, which runs the competition, get global coverage for itself and its sponsors?”

Gold reviews the dishes at Osteria Francescana, which is regarded by many as the #1 restaurant in the world. She describes the calm, formal ambiance and the polished interiors of the restaurants. Most importantly, she goes course by course, describing each dish in detail, from risotto inspired by the lake to parmesan cheese in different textures and temperatures. Gold concludes that while a good experience, a meal at the restaurant is time-consuming, and her experience is inconclusive as to whether or not this is the best restaurant in the world. 

Everyone has a favorite food; in your essay, write about a dish you enjoy. You can discuss the recipe’s history by researching where it comes from, the famous chefs who created it, or which restaurants specialize in this dish. Provide your readers with an ingredients list, and describe how each ingredient is used in the recipe. Conclude your essay with a review of your experience recreating this recipe at home, discuss how challenging the recipe is, and if you enjoyed the experience.

Aside from a favorite dish, everyone prefers one type of cuisine. Discuss your favorite cuisine and give examples of typical dishes, preparations for food, and factors that influence your chosen cuisine. For example, you could choose Italian cuisine and discuss pasta, pizza, gelato, and other famous food items typically associated with Italian food.

Many people choose to adopt a vegan diet that consists of only plant-based food. For your essay, you can discuss this diet and explain why some people choose it. Then, research the sustainability of a plant-based diet and if a person can maintain a vegan diet while remaining healthy and energized. Provide as much evidence as possible by conducting interviews, referencing online sources, and including survey data. 

Fast food is a staple part of diets worldwide; children are often raised on salty bites of chicken, fries, and burgers. However, it has been linked to many health complications, including cancer and obesity . Research the dangers of fast food, describe each in your essay, and give examples of how it can affect you mentally and physically. 

Is there a memory involving food that you treasure? Perhaps it could be a holiday celebration, a birthday, or a regular day when went to a restaurant. Reflect on this memory, retelling your story in detail, and describe the meal you ate and why you remember it so fondly.

Every country has a rich culture, a big component of which is food. Research the history of food in your native country, writing about common native dishes and ingredients used in cooking. If there are religious influences on your country’s cuisine, note them as well. Share a few of these recipes in your essay for an engaging piece of writing.

Tip: If writing an essay sounds like a lot of work, simplify it. Write a simple 5 paragraph essay instead.

For help picking your next essay topic, check out the best essay topics about social media .

Martin is an avid writer specializing in editing and proofreading. He also enjoys literary analysis and writing about food and travel.

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Food to Fuel Your Focus and Memory: A Dietitians Guide

• Author: Tami Best

I relish in the delight of the memories of my three effervescent young daughters, evolving into the lovely self-sufficient young women they are today. As I move into this next chapter, with my “empty nest”, I find the greatest solace in my work. Being able to focus and work intelligently while serving my clients and students matters deeply to me. In our society, we tend to use age to explain away those momentary lapses in memory, just as we try to laugh off the “brain-fog“ that pops up threatening our efficiency as we work. Memory lapse and brain fog; however, can be worrisome as we can’t help but sometimes wonder “will I forget my children?”.

None of us can deny how mental clarity impacts every aspect of our quality of life. The question is, how do we nurture and preserve it? What foods most effectively fuel our brain cells to maximize function? Let’s explore.

A small, however relatable, memory lapse that can occur is forgetting someone’s name. Although forgetting someone’s name admittedly happens more often than I would like, my husband and I have become excellent at recognizing these moments and jumping in to help bail the other person out. This bothersome memory lapse can often surface in large group settings, such as mingling at the new congregation we recently joined.

Occasionally, after our church service, we enjoy treating ourselves to breakfast at the booming local diner. One of the diner favorites is these ginormous pancakes, these pancakes are so large that when you order them to go, they give you them in a medium sized pizza box. So, how does eating huge pancakes with a side of delicious bacon affect our ability to remember names of the people we meet at church?

• Eating a high-pro-inflammatory fat, and high-sugar diet negatively impacts our gut microbiome. While some of this may be evident by the inevitable indigestion following our indulgences, what is more alarming happens at the cellular level. When the residential bacteria in our gut is set off kilter , we see a spike in stress hormones. When stress hormones like cortisol are elevated, our memory can be impaired. Changes in the balance of gut bacteria have also been implicated in an increase in a type of brain plaque known as amyloid. High levels of amyloid plaques are present in all individuals who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
• We will also inevitably see a spike in blood glucose in insulin . This change can lead to damage of the hippocampus, the area of the brain that is responsible for creating new memories such as remembering a new name.
• Consuming gluten for someone with Celiac disease or non-celiac gluten-sensitivity increases the risk for vascular dementia . My husband is non-celiac gluten-sensitive. Luckily the diner offers a gluten-free pancake, however it is just as large and just as high in sugar as its gluten-containing counterpart.

How might we change up our breakfast to support cognition and focus?

• We love to make veggie-rich omelets at home using olive oil, broccoli, mushrooms, spinach (and any other veggies we can find in the fridge). We choose eggs from pasture-raised, organic animals. The difference in the color of the yolk from a pasture-raised hen vs a conventionally farmed hen is amazing! It is a deep and bright orange. It’s like you can see the improvement in nutrients you are getting.
• Brilliantly, wherever we have breakfast, I will have coffee and my husband will have tea. This is a good thing! Both coffee and tea contain neuroprotective antioxidants. Likewise moderate caffeine intake, up to 200mg per day, is associated with increases in the important chemical messenger acetylcholine and other compounds that protect the blood brain barrier.
• One essential ingredient in creating acetylcholine is choline. Egg yolks are rich in choline. Choline deficiency has been implicated in memory impairment.
• Green leafy veggies, such as those in our omelet, are high in vitamin K , a fat-soluble vitamin that is needed to keep brain cells healthy. Our brains are 60% fat, so we need fat for neurological health, we just need to take care to make sure it is anti-inflammatory fat.
• Cooking with avocado oil and drizzling extra-virgin olive oil on our leafy green salad we like with our omelet is a great way to boost intake of brain-health fatty acids . Another favorite breakfast item of ours is smoked wild-caught salmon which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
• Our omelet would be boring if we did not incorporate lots of herbs and spices. The aroma of herbs as well as the antioxidants they possess promote improved activity of chemical messengers involved in focus and memory. The top neuroprotective herbs include rosemary, oregano, turmeric , black pepper, ginger, and cinnamon.

Finally, if we can add some edamame to our green salad, we will boost our intake of phosphatidylserine , a fat needed for the health of our brain cells.

Author: Tami Best, MS, RDN, CDN, IFNCP is a Certified Registered Dietitian at Top Nutrition Coaching specializing in gastrointestinal issues and mental health modifications.

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Conflict Between Warring Parties in Sudan Pushing Millions to Brink of Famine, Top UN Officials Tell Security Council, Warning Entire Generation Could Be Destroyed

Conflict between warring parties in Sudan is driving a hunger crisis dangerously approaching famine for millions of people, senior United Nations officials warned the Security Council today, calling for an urgent cessation of hostilities before an entire generation is destroyed and the wider region is destabilized.

“We are here today to warn you of a far-reaching and fast-deteriorating situation of food insecurity in Sudan,” said Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which is “truly the stuff of nightmares”.  There are reports of mass graves, gang rapes, shockingly indiscriminate attacks in densely populated areas and “many more horrors”, she reported, with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) warning that some acts may amount to war crimes.  In Khartoum, Darfur and Kordofan there has been no respite from fierce fighting for 340 days. 

These hostilities have resulted in looting and widespread destruction of critical infrastructure; farmers forced to abandon their farmlands; and the prices of basic food commodities driven up by 83 per cent.  By all measures, “Sudan is one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory,” she stressed, precipitating the world’s largest international displacement crisis, and “on course to become the world’s worst hunger crisis,” she said. Estimates indicate that, in the coming weeks and months, 222,000 children could die of malnutrition. 

Despite the need for humanitarian aid, she reported that there has not been major progress on the ground since the Council’s adoption of a resolution calling for full, unhindered access.  At a minimum, identified entry points must be made operational as soon as possible, with the parties protecting humanitarian staff and supplies.  Recalling that her Office has delivered eight briefings to the Council since the conflict broke out, she said that she cannot explain in greater terms the catastrophic situation or “underscore more the need for Council action”.

Echoing that warning, Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), said that across the region, nearly 28 million people face acute food insecurity with 18 million in Sudan, 7 million in South Sudan, and nearly 3 million in Chad.  The WFP has been working endlessly to meet the massive humanitarian needs, with its team risking their own safety.  However, the emergency relief operation is severely hampered by a lack of access and resources; 90 per cent of the people in Phase 4 of the IPC — the Integrated Phase Classification for measuring food security — are trapped in areas that are largely inaccessible to humanitarian agencies.   

Efforts to reach these civilians are challenged by the relentless violence and interference from the warring parties, he said.  While welcoming the recent announcement by the authorities that will allow resumed cross-border aid deliveries from Chad and open a new corridor from South Sudan, he called for other border crossings to also reopen to get aid into the greater Darfur region.  He voiced concern that hunger will spike when Sudan’s lean season arrives in May, with a high risk of IPC level 5 or catastrophic food insecurity. 

He also noted the world’s worst displacement crisis, scattering over 8 million people internally and across Sudan’s borders.  Nearly 2 million people have fled into neighboring countries to escape the bloodshed, putting mounting pressure on Chad and South Sudan.  In South Sudan, due to a lack of funds, 3 million acutely hungry people are receiving no assistance from WFP, while in Chad, it will have to end all support to the 1.2 million refugees and nearly 3 million acutely hungry Chadians.  The “forgotten crisis” requires political solutions to halt the fighting, and “we are running out of time”, he stressed. 

Maurizio Martina, Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), affirmed that expanding hostilities across south-eastern Sudan had grave consequences for the January harvest of millet and sorghum.  Further, he reported that the spread of fighting to Al Jazirah significantly threatens national food production as that state accounts for about 50 per cent of Sudan’s wheat.  By July 2023, just three months into the conflict, 42 per cent of the population were projected to face “crisis” or worse levels of acute food insecurity — a 74 per cent increase compared to 2022. 

Areas with active conflict are recording the most highly food-insecure populations, and a large majority of the more than 8 million people displaced in the world’s largest displacement crisis not only require urgent assistance to survive but have also left behind agriculture-based livelihoods — further disrupting national food production. Additionally, the widespread disruption of crucial markets and transportation routes is leading to irregular deliveries, reduced quantities and varieties of goods and steadily increased food prices. 

He reported that the performance of the 2023 main cereal production season was very poor and that the high production costs of cereals are likely to further inflate already exceptionally high market prices.  “The outlook for food production in 2024 is bleak,” he underscored, urging that a peaceful political solution and immediate cessation of hostilities is an essential first step to eliminate the risk of famine.  “Where farmers can access land and inputs, they will produce food,” he stated, underlining that funds life-saving agricultural assistance “must come now”.

In the ensuing debate, a number of Council members — including the representatives of Switzerland, Slovenia, Malta, the United Kingdom, Republic of Korea and Japan — echoed the briefer’s warnings of a famine in Sudan that is materializing today — further calling on the parties to the conflict to silence their weapons immediately and engage in dialogue towards a political solution.

The representative of Algeria, also speaking for Guyana, Mozambique and Sierra Leone, observed that, “if we had the ability to reverse the hand of time”, it would have been “unimaginable” for a country like Sudan — a breadbasket known for its abundant resources and agricultural traditions — to face acute risk of food insecurity.  He therefore underlined the need to ensure unrestricted access for humanitarian aid to reach affected areas across borders and front lines, welcoming the Sudanese Government’s decision to facilitate access through several cross-border points and calling for speedy implementation. 

Stating that it is “clear” that addressing humanitarian aspects must go hand in hand with reaching a comprehensive political solution, he called on the protagonists to “clearly commit” to a ceasefire as a critical first step.  While Council resolution 2724 (2024) brought hope, there is much to be done to ensure its full implementation.  “The situation in Sudan is not of any less importance than any other file on this Council’s agenda,” he said, urging those present to remain focused on deescalating tensions in coordination with the Sudanese authorities. 

Echoing that Sudan was once considered the future breadbasket of East Africa, Ecuador’s delegate called for international cooperation aimed at rebuilding or creating infrastructure.  He warned that the fighting has created the highest number of displaced persons on the planet — almost 8 million people — which may destabilize the region, calling for the cessation of hostilities during the month of Ramadan, as a peaceful settlement is the only way to prevent a humanitarian disaster. 

Similarly, the United States’ representative called for the parties to not only immediately ensure unhindered humanitarian access but begin direct negotiations and cease hostilities.  Reiterating that members of the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces have committed war crimes, she demanded that they protect civilians in all circumstances — urging regional Powers to immediately end the provision of weapons to the parties in Sudan. Recalling that the United States is the largest donor of humanitarian aid to Sudan and neighboring countries, providing more than $968 million since September 2023, she stressed: “We cannot do it alone.”

The speaker for France called on the two parties to “bend to international law” and respect their commitments to protect civilians, protect humanitarian workers and lift all obstacles to aid delivery across borders and front lines.  Spotlighting the “almost virtual collapse of the food system as a whole” in Sudan, she noted that facilitating access on the ground is one of the main goals of the international humanitarian conference for Sudan and neighbouring countries that France, Germany and the European Union have organized for Paris on 15 April. 

However, other Council members decried the politicization of humanitarian issues, with the Russian Federation’s delegate warning that economic and other restrictive measures applied by the West have undermined the stability of Sudanese society.  While some delegations and UN representatives fear that Sudan is almost completely engulfed in famine, “such alarmist assessments are not shared by everyone,” she stated — and the reality is that food is available and the shelves of markets and stores are not empty.  The problem, as reported by the World Bank, is that Sudan's economy is shrinking significantly, by 12 per cent in 2023.  She urged the Council “not to turn everything on its head”, as Sudanese authorities are demonstrating their openness and constructive cooperation.

Echoing that sentiment, China’s delegate stressed that that countries have recently used humanitarian aid as a political tool to pressure and sanction, and have even directly interfered in Sudan’s internal affairs.  This is one of the major contributors to the prolonged turmoil, which eventually plunged the country into deep crisis, an unfolding tragedy deserving in-depth reflection by the Council. 

For his part, the representative of Sudan insisted the country is facing “an aggression”, with the United Arab Emirates supporting, financing and supplying weapons and equipment to the Rapid Support Forces.  Calling on all States that are contributing to the conflict to stop, he recalled that there is an arms embargo that should be respected.  Countering a narrative, he recalled that all passage points are open, especially the al-Tineh crossing.  “There is no attempt to hinder the supply and delivery of humanitarian assistance,” he stressed, and “there is no indication that Sudan is hovering around a famine.” 

Delineating data on crops, and the need for imports, he noted that the Rapid Support Forces are preventing farmers from reaching their fields.  After those attacks, there is a deficit of 1.5 million tons of corn which can be remedied by importing.  He called upon the UN to help end to the war of aggression supported by the United Arab Emirates, for humanitarian assistance to strengthen local production and food security.  Sudan further needs help to combat epidemics, and in strengthening infrastructure for irrigation and to better use seeds and grain provided by the FAO.

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Eat, Memory: Great Writers at the Table: A Collection of Essays from the New York Times Hardcover – November 17, 2008

Memorable moments with food―collected by "one of the best of the young food writers" (Jeffrey Steingarten, Vogue food critic).

• Print length 208 pages
• Language English
• Publisher W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date November 17, 2008
• Dimensions 6.5 x 0.8 x 8.6 inches
• ISBN-10 9780393067637
• ISBN-13 978-0393067637
• See all details

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• ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0393067637
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; First Edition (November 17, 2008)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780393067637
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393067637
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.9 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 0.8 x 8.6 inches
• #314 in Gastronomy Essays (Books)

About the author

Anna winger.

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Guest Essay

A Year on Ozempic Taught Me We’re Thinking About Obesity All Wrong

By Johann Hari

Mr. Hari is a British journalist and the author of “Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits — and Disturbing Risks — of the New Weight Loss Drugs.”

Ever since I was a teenager, I have dreamed of shedding a lot of weight. So when I shrank from 203 pounds to 161 in a year, I was baffled by my feelings. I was taking Ozempic, and I was haunted by the sense that I was cheating and doing something immoral.

I’m not the only one. In the United States (where I now split my time), over 70 percent of people are overweight or obese, and according to one poll, 47 percent of respondents said they were willing to pay to take the new weight-loss drugs. It’s not hard to see why. They cause users to lose an average of 10 to 20 percent of their body weight, and clinical trials suggest that the next generation of drugs (probably available soon) leads to a 24 percent loss, on average. Yet as more and more people take drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, we get more confused as a culture, bombarding anyone in the public eye who takes them with brutal shaming.

This is happening because we are trapped in a set of old stories about what obesity is and the morally acceptable ways to overcome it. But the fact that so many of us are turning to the new weight-loss drugs can be an opportunity to find a way out of that trap of shame and stigma — and to a more truthful story.

In my lifetime, obesity has exploded, from being rare to almost being the norm. I was born in 1979, and by the time I was 21, obesity rates in the United States had more than doubled . They have skyrocketed since. The obvious question is, why? And how do these new weight-loss drugs work? The answer to both lies in one word: satiety. It’s a concept that we don’t use much in everyday life but that we’ve all experienced at some point. It describes the sensation of having had enough and not wanting any more.

The primary reason we have gained weight at a pace unprecedented in human history is that our diets have radically changed in ways that have deeply undermined our ability to feel sated. My father grew up in a village in the Swiss mountains, where he ate fresh, whole foods that had been cooked from scratch and prepared on the day they were eaten. But in the 30 years between his childhood and mine, in the suburbs of London, the nature of food transformed across the Western world. He was horrified to see that almost everything I ate was reheated and heavily processed. The evidence is clear that the kind of food my father grew up eating quickly makes you feel full. But the kind of food I grew up eating, much of which is made in factories, often with artificial chemicals, left me feeling empty and as if I had a hole in my stomach. In a recent study of what American children eat, ultraprocessed food was found to make up 67 percent of their daily diet. This kind of food makes you want to eat more and more. Satiety comes late, if at all.

One scientific experiment — which I have nicknamed Cheesecake Park — seemed to me to crystallize this effect. Paul Kenny, a neuroscientist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, grew up in Ireland. After he moved in 2000 to the United States, when he was in his 20s, he gained 30 pounds in two years. He began to wonder if the American diet has some kind of strange effect on our brains and our cravings, so he designed an experiment to test it. He and his colleague Paul Johnson raised a group of rats in a cage and gave them an abundant supply of healthy, balanced rat chow made out of the kind of food rats had been eating for a very long time. The rats would eat it when they were hungry, and then they seemed to feel sated and stopped. They did not become fat.

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