German Old Beerism

Author: (Japanese) Shinko Oshima
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: When we travel to a new place, what's the easiest way to immerse ourselves in the local culture? It's food! When in Italy, not eating a few freshly baked pizzas and a bit of heavily seasoned Italian pickles would feel like a disservice to our stomachs; when in France, not enjoying a French feast would feel like wasting our travel expenses; when flying to Germany, eating a few sausages and downing a few beers would only make us feel at ease, as if we've truly experienced the place. We're increasingly relying on our taste buds, our noses, and our stomachs to tell us that Taipei and Paris are just a time zone apart. As soon as we step off the plane, we're eager to seek out familiar or vaguely familiar, or even entirely new scents; after visiting museums in the city, we rush to find a scent to complement something that still hasn't quite settled in our minds—perhaps a blueberry cake, or simply a rich cup of coffee; after a performance of opera, we might suddenly feel the urge to have a few sips of whiskey or a plate of pasta generously sprinkled with cheese. So, on the streets of New York, while watching street performers, we savor a cold, dry hot dog bun with great relish. When in Provence, the atmosphere guides us into the forest in search of the scent of mushrooms. When in Germany, after visiting one castle after another, it feels like the perfect time to drink some beer. Through the same cultural food, we extend the awe, joy, sorrow, or various moods we just experienced, and through the scent of food, we prolong the emotions that haven’t yet fully left us. Therefore, sometimes we buy spices in foreign markets, completely unsure how to use them; we also keep searching for familiar scents on the streets of our hometowns; and we don’t want our journey to end, as through food, we continue to explore.
However, food is also the easiest way to lead us astray. We love comparing food—Is Italian cuisine better than French? Are Japanese dishes more refined than Chinese? We don’t just compare food; we compare cultures, and without realizing it, we reveal a sense of superiority in our food choices. We judge based on our own taste buds, and the hardest part of gourmet dining is transcending regional boundaries. Do Americans really not know how to eat? Are the British really only good for fish and chips? Can we fully appreciate the fish and chips in a small tavern? We want to understand culture through food, sometimes as a global village, and sometimes with national borders. Therefore, we seek out foods with different scents, experience foods from different cultures, and chase after foods from different regions. Similarly located in Europe, the Germans are completely distinct from the French. They are known for their rationality and love of meat—sausages and beer. Yet, when faced with food, rational Germans are filled with passion. They take their preferences to the extreme—there are dozens of types of sausages, and hundreds of kinds of beer, to the point where it’s almost like they follow a certain ideology.