Food, Appropriation, Question (1/?)
So, mastoboops, ponder with me:
I love to cook, and I love a lot of flavor profiles that are common to various world cuisines, but because of some very frustrating food allergies -- nightshades and dairy both make me violently ill -- I can't really eat, and thus don't really cook, a lot of stuff folks would recognize as authentic.
This leaves me with a question: what do I _call_ this stuff?
Food, Appropriation, Question (2/?)
Right now, I've got a pot of black beans, zucchini, onion, and ground turkey in a thick sauce simmering on the stove. It's seasoned with cumin, oregano, black pepper, garlic, a hint of cinnamon, and a dash of orange peel. If it had chilies and tomatoes in it, or anywhere close to it, it'd be chili, but it doesn't and isn't. Its lineage seems obvious to me but it looks nothing like anything I've encountered or heard about from others in my limited exposure.
Food, Appropriation, Question (3/3)
Simply calling it "turkey and zucchini stew" says little about its spice profile or how it actually tastes. Labeling it according to any real-world ethnicity would be actively Not What I Want. Inventing a suggestive name without a real-world analogue feels like low-grade fantasy racism. Listing its full ingredient name every time is simply impractical. Every approach feels inadequate.
So, suggestions from the interboops?
Food, Appropriation, Question (3/3)
@literorrery Even the definition of “chili” is hotly debated. Some say if it has beans, it’s not chili. You’re using otherwise Mexican seasoning, so I think you could call it something like Mexican-Style Turkey Stew without offending anyone.
Food, Appropriation, Question (3/3)
@demonkind Probably. I picked that one because it's the one I was cooking at the time, but there's a bunch of other stuff I cook that derives from Italian, Cajun, and Indian cuisines where the definitions are less fuzzy, and the same problem exists.
Food, Appropriation, Question (3/3)
@demonkind Nowhere yet and Great Work I hope not. My parents are fourth-generation American Mutts who didn't seem to care who their ancestors were and are estranged from their respective families, and I'm estranged from both of them. I'd love to be able to blog about my cooking -- it's a skill I've actively been developing for years -- but once something is online, all hopes of managing context is lost.
Food, Appropriation, Question (3/3)
@literorrery Context question: where will people see these recipe names, and will there be anyone there who plausibly thinks you are claiming to be Cajun, Italian, etc.?