Food is the substance that nourishes and sustains living organisms. It contains proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. Living organisms obtain nutrients from foods through the process of feeding. Foods may be of plant, animal or fungal origin. People secure food by hunting, gathering and agriculture. They cook and eat food to sustain themselves, to enjoy pleasure and to fulfill social roles.
As human cultures mixed through trade and migration, cuisines have become increasingly diverse. The cosmopolitan exchange of different food traditions has helped shape what is considered a healthy diet. People should eat from the five major food groups: cereal grains; fruits and vegetables; dairy; meat, poultry, fish or eggs; and nuts and seeds. The food pyramid outlines the suggested amount of each type of food a person should consume daily.
Writing an article about food can be challenging because it requires vivid descriptions of not just the dishes, but also the ingredients and cooking techniques. Using creative language and metaphors can help the writer engage the reader and make the food come to life. For example, Murakami’s description of the food in his novel “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” and Proust’s writing on the process of making a sausage can create a mouthwatering reading experience.
However, the writer of a food essay should be cautious about how she uses adjectives. Too many can weaken the writing. For instance, the adjectives “juicy,” “tender” and “crispy” are often overused to describe a dish, but the words can have the opposite effect on the reader, making it harder for him to imagine what he’s eating.
Likewise, if the writer describes a fried chicken dish, she should avoid using the word “juicy” as it can be offensive to some readers. The best way to avoid the overuse of adjectives is to read what you’ve written and then cut out the ones that seem unnecessary or overused.
Finally, the writer of a food essay should try to be ethical in her writing. Unethical writing about food can be a microaggression, which is an offensive statement that denigrates or insults someone’s culture, race or religion. For example, describing Mexican, Indian or Chinese cuisine as “cheap eats” takes money from the people who cook and serve that food. It can also perpetuate racist beliefs about these cuisines.
In addition, the writer of a food essay should avoid promoting culinary appropriation, which is when people from outside a culture profit from that cuisine. Examples include white people preparing and serving Mexican, Indian or Chinese food in restaurants or relegating these foods to the status of “cheap eats.” Ethical writing about food should celebrate global culinary traditions and respect the rights of all people to access those traditions.