Assignment 1

One of the most interesting elements of American culture is the nature of both integrating incoming peoples as well as observing those characteristics that withstand the melting pot, those that remain unique to that group of society. While this can be seen more obviously in with recent immigration, these differentiations still exist today albeit in a far more covert sense. This is the case for my family, which has strong roots in Wisconsin and the Midwest, which allows for us to still maintain some remnants of our German and Scandinavian heritage along with that of a more classical sense of Americana.

That said, while one might try to escape from the stereotypical understanding of the food most often associated this area of the country (as it is associated more with the region rather than its European roots), it has ironically remained true in this particular case. Namely, what can be humorously referred to as the “holy trinity” of Wisconsin dining; brats, beer and cheese, have remained the staples of most family get-togethers that I can personally remember. The roots of these can be traced back to the dominantly northern European settlement in the area, and the fact that these communities remained relatively culturally distinct for a fair amount of time. To mention a more local example of this, Mt. Angel, Oregon will suffice, as it still shows obvious signs of its beginnings as a Bavarian settlement. That said, it should be noted that even though the iconic foods can be easily associated with their origins, they remain more as a regional characteristic and thus something more indicative of America rather than of northern Europe.

That said, bratwurst and most of the finer cheeses (often sent from our relatives back in Wisconsin) are reserved for specific family events, such as birthdays, but more often for times like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Even though these influences are more apparent in those circumstances, there are still areas where this is visible, mainly in amount of cheese we use for everyday meals, as a means of perhaps compensating for the differences between what is most often provided and our own family tastes. Because of the fact that this is so close to the rest of American “food culture”, it seems a slight regional curiosity rather than distinct in its own right. That said, this is probably the only notable aspect of my family’s cultural eating habits, and thus in this case warranted slight examination.

Although I couldn’t find anything specifically about Wisconsin cheeses in the library, here are a couple more general sources:

United States Department of Agriculture. Cheeses of the World. New York: Dover Publications Inc., 1972. Print.

Warren, D.Sc, C.H., G. F. Warren, PhD. Dairy Farming. New York: Macmillan Company. 1919. Print.