Amerikai bors, indiai curry és magyar paprika: Lokális és globális fi gurációk a kulináris ízlés társadalomtörténetében
AMERICAN PEPPER, INDIAN CURRY AND HUNGARIAN PAPRIKA: LOCAL AND GLOBAL FIGURATIONS IN THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF CULINARY TASTE

Summary/Abstract: The overall diffusion of foodstuffs, dishes and cooking styles of foreign origin, which are partially or entirely regarded as exotic, constitutes one of the most conspicuous phenomena of cultural globalization. The multicultural diversification of food supply is intertwined, among other things, with a shift in the sources of immigration and the transformation of modes of social integration typically expected from immigrants, the growth of tourism to the third world and its presence in the media, the production and trade of exotic ingredients, as well as the phenomenon of “omnivorousness” identifiable in all forms of cultural consumption. Nevertheless, similar global processes have already shaped the foodways of distant but relatively well-connected societies and social groups for centuries. The article examines earlier forms of culinary globalization and attempts to identify their diff erences from the present one through the analysis of changes in the use of spices, especially hot spices. It describes the characteristics of flavouring food in Middle Ages and its divergence from modern culinary taste as perceivable from the seventeenth century onwards and now undergoing radical changes again; then, concentrating on one single spice, chilli pepper, the article reconstructs the processes of its early diffusion and those of its becoming an exotic, as well as a national (multinational) seasoning.

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