What was once a peasant's meal now blesses the kitchens of many five star restaurants, but most importantly my own kitchen. Potatoes were originally eaten for a daily dosage of vitamin A and calcium, causing them to be considered a necessity instead of a luxury. Potatoes were easy to grow and took a lot less preparation than most of their original meals. Irish peasant life typically centered around potatoes because they had them three times a day. Even though potatoes are not as prevalent as they once were to my Irish heritage, potatoes represent much more than a side on a plate. To me, potatoes are the marking of a country’s social class, biggest disaster, celebration and an American-Irish family’s favorite meal.
September 1845 was a devastating …show more content…
Besides all of the pies, turkeys, and stuffing, mashed potatoes fill the counters of every American’s kitchen. Thanksgiving is a prime example of two cultures intertwining with one another, “Food, on which man’s identity depends, is not merely nutritional, but a reality rich in values, symbols, and meanings elaborated by the men and women who produced and prepared this food” (Montanari 2). Mashed potatoes identify with an Irish custom, but in return, represent a much larger segment of the world. Although many Americans are not Irish, to us, Thanksgiving mashed potatoes are both a specialty and common item. I can picture my aunt Karen slaving away in the kitchen during every Thanksgiving event. I would always offer to skin the potatoes as a little kid because I felt like a grown up being involved. I never necessarily recognized that every other family ate mashed potatoes on this day too. A lot more butter and sour cream goes into our mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving and in this case, that is why they are special, but in reality, it was just another day and just another potato. The biggest difference of mashed potatoes on a normal day and mashed potatoes as a celebratory item was that Thanksgiving gathered my entire family together to enjoy both sides of our culture. Thanksgiving cooking became a lot more stressful because of the amount of people my aunts and uncles had to cook for, whereas mashed potatoes on a normal Sunday night represented fun and
September 1845 was a devastating …show more content…
Besides all of the pies, turkeys, and stuffing, mashed potatoes fill the counters of every American’s kitchen. Thanksgiving is a prime example of two cultures intertwining with one another, “Food, on which man’s identity depends, is not merely nutritional, but a reality rich in values, symbols, and meanings elaborated by the men and women who produced and prepared this food” (Montanari 2). Mashed potatoes identify with an Irish custom, but in return, represent a much larger segment of the world. Although many Americans are not Irish, to us, Thanksgiving mashed potatoes are both a specialty and common item. I can picture my aunt Karen slaving away in the kitchen during every Thanksgiving event. I would always offer to skin the potatoes as a little kid because I felt like a grown up being involved. I never necessarily recognized that every other family ate mashed potatoes on this day too. A lot more butter and sour cream goes into our mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving and in this case, that is why they are special, but in reality, it was just another day and just another potato. The biggest difference of mashed potatoes on a normal day and mashed potatoes as a celebratory item was that Thanksgiving gathered my entire family together to enjoy both sides of our culture. Thanksgiving cooking became a lot more stressful because of the amount of people my aunts and uncles had to cook for, whereas mashed potatoes on a normal Sunday night represented fun and