According to the IB Course Companion, culture “is a system of meaning for a group of people and it includes languages, laws, customs, myths, images, text, and daily practices.” (Chapter 3, 2014). Personally, I identify myself with the Belgian culture. The Belgian culture participates in uniting our main cultural communities: Flanders (Dutch-speaking) and Wallonia (French/German-speaking). Even though I was born and raised in Flanders, I still share the same cultural aspects shared by all Belgian communities.
In order to sustain life, individuals must obtain, acquire, provide and produce food every single day (1). The way in which they complete this reflects their interrelationship towards a specific cultural group, certain individuals, and their surrounding milieu (1). The Belgian cuisine is a vital cultural marker in the Belgian culture, as it has been characterized by our daily practices and traditions throughout history. Yet a common misconception is that Belgium “simply stole their traditional dishes from their neighboring countries” or that they “don’t even have a cuisine at all”. No, French fries are not French, chocolate pralines are not Swiss, and not all beer is from Germany.
Despite its name, French fries are not French. In fact, the ‘French fry’ was actually discovered in Belgium in the late-1600s. According to historians, poor villagers living near the Meuse Valley actually also ate fried fish that they caught earlier that day (3). During the winter, the river froze and thus they used potatoes and other root plants to be fried and consumed instead. Then why is it called ‘French’, you may ask? During World War I (1914-18), American soldiers were introduced to the dish by the Belgian army (3). However, during 1914 the official language of the Belgian army was French, therefore, the Americans named the fried potatoes “French fries”.
What about pralines? The Belgian chocolatier Neuhaus Jr. was the first to introduce praline in 1857 (2). His father, a Brussels pharmacist Jean Neuhaus used chocolate do cover medicine and its atrocious taste. Later in 1912, Neuhaus Jr. then replaced the medicine with chocolate filling, also known as the ‘praline’ (2). Belgium is also home to 1150 original Belgian beers, 146 breweries, and 44 beer companies (3).
Nonetheless, our cuisine palette does not solely consist of fries, chocolate, and beer. The Belgian cuisine stretches from a wide variety of regional specialties to national classics. Including waterzooi (Gent), couque biscuits (Dinant), tarte au riz (Verviers), as well as carbonades flamandes/stoverij, moules-frites, chicons au gratin/gegratineerde witloof, tomates crevette and paling in’t groen just to name a few. On average, Belgians consume 32 tons of mussels, 170,000 tons of chocolate and 22 tons of waffle a year, ranking us in the top 10 consumers of regional trade. In Belgium, it’s a common tradition to invite relatives and friends accompanied by traditional specialties. Our cuisine doesn’t simply represent our country; it unites our communities to a stronger self. Although Belgium is a small, densely populated country, our cultural cuisine plays a dominant role in showcasing our traditions, customs, and etiquettes.
Understanding this cultural marker promotes more effective communication, as it enables each society to clarify different customs and traditions established throughout history. Each culture is unique to its own personal history and when we succeed to clarify misconceptions regarding cultural markers, it allows us to fully express our emotions and language with one another.
Works Cited
(1) Axelson, M. L. The Impact of Culture on Food-Related Behavior. University of Maryland: Departement of Food, and Institution Administration, 1986. Print.
(2) Bussemaker, Jet. "Belgian Pralines: A Sweet but Not so Short History | Discover Benelux." Discover Benelux. The Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
(3) White, Samuel. "Do French Fries Really Come From France?" Wonderopolis. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
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