Rice: cultivating culture and care
Attending NYC's Rice Stories
During my last few days living in New England, I ventured to the big city. There, I met up with my mom, the Cuban woman who has made me rice and black beans lifelong, and her colleague, friend, and son she never had, Rick, to attend the Museum of the City of New York and MOFAD’s collaborative Rice Stories. A panel, composed of food writer Priya Krishna, Chef JJ Johnson, Chef Oscar Lorenzzi, farm educator Anisha Rathod, and restaurateur James Gonzalez, discussed the cultural significance of rice.
The value of rice
Predominately, the passionate, hearted discussion surrounded how rice seems unappreciated in modern culture. From the hospitality industries eyes, populations seem unwilling to pay for quality rice experiences, with exceptions for esteemed risotto and paella or exotic sushi and mochi. In Puerto Rican, Peruvian, Indian, or West-African cuisine, rice seems unable to garner the same fanfare; the trend is that patrons will only pay so much for the rice of these traditions. The under-appreciation of rice of certain cultures becomes an issue in the restaurant world when chefs desire to honor and share the cultural significance of rice in their respective heritage, exploring the bounds between dishes evoking home and culinary innovation. Unfortunately, when patrons are unwilling to pay for the actual value of rice, chefs wanting to share beloved rice dishes can feel forced to cut corners. Chefs, unempowered to source rice that positively impacts the people and places of their respective heritages, often source rice that exploits and marginalizes select cultures and the environment. The same story goes for food items added to the dish. With awareness, dishes that harm become hard to swallow and bitter-sweet. Without awareness, dishes perpetuate the harm of the hands and plants that feed us.
Holding rice with esteem
The undervaluation of rice is occurring both among those for whom rice is and is not culturally significant. When rice is viewed insignificantly, it has a bad rap of being plain and unhealthy. This population lacks experience with the heart of rice, parents and grandparents who share rice as a labor of love, or cultures who have relied on rice cultivation as a mode of caretaking to their communities- human and non-human. We must learn to eat with an awareness that whatever food we are eating is of the utmost importance to someone/some culture.
I had a roommate who lived in Ghana for a year, and her host family taught her to make red-red, African-stewed black-eyed peas served with plantains or rice. Whenever she made red-red for me, it was delicious, warm, and full of heart. Once, we even ate it with our fingers in true Ghanaian fashion. We are not Ghanaian, but we do not need to be to appreciate red-red. Eating the dish on a foundation of relationality, people we care for and who care for us sharing what they hold respect for, the love in the dish will be ever-present for me. To love and value our food, it is essential to eat with this frame of relationality.
Those with rice food traditions have grown up with their loved ones making rice. Rice is the very crux of their household. When they are going out to eat, they might not be inclined to pay for a dish that has seemed so accessible to them. That being said, in an increasingly fast-paced culture, taking less time and space to cook and pass down family recipes, perhaps cultures with rice significance will increasingly rely on restaurant rice to evoke identity and home. For those with rice heritage and facing cultural marginalization, it’s tricky to ask them to pay for the true value of rice, when both they and their heritage dishes have been devalued by the hands and minds of a dominant culture. That being said, Chef JJ shared that he was familiar with people in his community coming in to his restaurant FIELDTRIP to buy a rice bowl with their last $20. These individuals understand that honoring their heritage and community is priceless, and that what goes around comes around.
Call to action
By the end of Rice Stories, I am sure every soul in the room was willing to pay for the real cost of rice, to honor the ingredient origins, the heart and talent of our chefs, and what it takes to sustain the restaurants our communities depend on for local produce, employment, and delicious meals. My mom was eager to head to the kitchen and carve out space in her workaholic lifestyle for the dishes of cultural significance that bring her, and me, joy. She refused to leave without chatting up James of Harlem’s Puerto Rican restaurant La Fonda about his Sofrito recipe. Even our friend Rick, honest about his distaste for cooking, proclaimed at the end of the event that he felt moved to go home and cook rice. I could not resist buying gorgeous organic jade pearl rice at NYC’s Kalustyan's the following day. These examples demonstrate the importance of learning more about what we are eating, to regard our communities with growing love and respect. Had Rice Stories been Bean Stories, Lettuce Stories, or Sugar Stories, I feel sure the audience would have walked away with the same care for those that we now hold for rice. Therefore, my call to action for those of us interested is to learn the story behind a food we enjoy weekly. We can consider the ingredient origins, in what climate they grow, who historically and presently do the cultivating, and any environmental and social impacts. We may also consider whether know anyone culturally linked to this food tradition, and make an opportunity to deepen a relationship with them. This person might be a neighbor, colleague, or a chef in your community; ask them what foods they grew up eating of cultural significance to them. In my experience, these conversations evoke so much heart, and I am always so glad I have asked! This week we have learned about rice together; feel free to comment below which food you enjoy that you will learn more about next week. You’re invited to come back to this post and comment on what you’ve learned so that we can continue to learn from and be inspired by one another. Together, let us grow our food enjoyment from lustful to loveful.
