“To Make a Curry the India Way”: Tracking the Meaning of Curry Across Eighteenth-Century Communities

With attention to the cultural mobility of local and global foodstuffs, this study examines the movement of curry as a product of England’s colonization of India. The concept of a curry was developed by the British East India Company while stationed in India. Members of the EIC would describe any saucy Indian dish as a “curry,” and when these men returned to England, they brought back their desire for Indian food. The movement of curry helped to shape its definition as a colonial product of India incorporated into English cuisine. By tracking curry and curry powder from its inception as an East India Company staple to the cookbooks and kitchens of eighteenth century Britain, this study shows how the distinct locality of curry changed its meaning over time.