Food and culture: Measuring the intricacy of rule systems

Constructing Food Choice Decisions

“…These ideals provide the standards used as reference points by individuals to assess and judge food behaviors as "right," "normal," "inappropriate," or "unacceptable." For example, a meal has a cultural grammar for the type and proportions of foods, like the English meal formula for a proper meal of A+2b that represents a main dish plus two side dishes [65][66][67]. People are socialized and acculturated into cultural and subcultural ideals that they selectively invoke and perform in constructing food choices.…”

Applying Concepts from Historical Archaeology to New England's Nineteenth-Century Cookbooks

“…1). Some pots were strung from rafters; sequence of three courses of decreasing importance: (1) a hot and savory main course; (2) a sweet dessert course, either hot or cold, based on a grain dish containing some wisp of fruit, or a fruit dish with a sauce made of liquid custard or cream; (3) a hot beverage and a cold biscuit (i.e., a cookie) (Douglas 1972;Douglas and Nicod 1974;Douglas and Gross 1981). An aesthetically pleasing decorative appearance was an important element of the second course; this practice appeared in 19th-century British texts imported into New England, where it was initially adopted by upper-class families.…”

Modeling Communities through Food: Connecting the Daily Meal to the Construction of Place and Identity

“…A study of food sharing associated with daily subsistence activities in Helvetia includes regular meals at the dinner table, as well as food sharing that was more informal in nature (e.g., snacks, which Douglas and Gross [1981] separate from meals in terms of the rules that guide them; snacks are informal, unstructured, and outside the domain of meals). Formal dinners were generally associated with holiday gatherings and celebrations among family and extended family members.…”