ABSTRACT
In a remarkable essay called "Gastrosophy", the celebrated Mexican poet and writer Octavio Paz investigated the matter and came to some fascinating conclusions. Paz compares American food with Mexican and French food, both of which he says involve blendings, transubstantiations, and mysteries. Compared to these cuisines, American food, with its emphasis on purity and passion for milk and ice cream, is rather tasteless and bland. Different foods and different kinds of foods have different statuses. When people are invited out to dinner, it is not unusual for them to speculate about what will be served. Although food is one of those subjects most people tend to take for granted, it is a subject of immense importance. Anthropologists have been engaged in food research for many years and many are now involved "with deciphering" meals, analyzing them in terms of their principles of organization and not in terms of kinds of foods served.
