Adventures in eating

"Anthropologists training to do fieldwork in far-off, unfamiliar places prepare for significant challenges with regard to language, customs, and other cultural differences. However, like other travelers to unknown places, they are often unprepared to deal with the most basic and necessary requirement: food. Although there are many books on the anthropology of food, Adventures in Eating is the first intended to prepare students for the uncomfortable dining situations they may encounter over the course of their careers." "Many cultures place significance on food and hospitality, and whether sago grubs, jungle rats, termites, or the pungent durian fruit are on the table, participating in the act of sharing food can establish relationships vital to anthropologists' research practices and knowledge of their host cultures. Using their own experiences with unfamiliarand sometimes unappealingfood practices and customs, the contributors explore such eating moments and how these moments can produce new under-standings of culture and the meaning of food beyond the immediate experience of eating it. They also address how personal eating experiences arid culinary dilemmas can shape the data and