Cultural Tour: Grocery Market in Mount Vernon Research Paper

Introduction

Cultures of different countries can be expressed in various aspects, such as architecture, music or literary works. One of these forms of presentation is also the local cuisine. This manifestation of cultural customs is especially interesting to study, since each nation has its own ideas about the taste and method of cooking. Thus, this research paper examines the topic of cultural foods in an ethnic neighborhood. It will present a comparison of Dominican cuisine with ethnic food found in a mainstream supermarket. Moreover, in the second part of the work, a meal project is presented, in which a recipe for a Dominican dish will be presented and its components evaluated in accordance with the selected parameters.

The cuisine of the Dominican Republic is praised in many parts of the world, as it has its own peculiarities that cannot leave anyone indifferent. It is characterized by a combination of the best traditions of indigenous peoples such as Tainos, Spanish conquistadors and African slaves (“Dominican dishes”, n.d., para. 1). Thus, Dominican dishes skillfully convey the history, tradition and personality of the peoples of this part of the world. It combines many different blends of herbs, cheese, meats, onions, tomatoes, and sazón. The last ingredient stands out especially among the others and is a sauce topped with leftover stew. In 2018, and in 2019, the city of Santo Domingo was named a Culinary Capital of the Caribbean (“Dominican dishes”, n.d., para. 2). Thus, the public highlighted the special position of this cuisine and noted how well it conveys the nature of the Dominican Republic.

In the course of my research, I visited a Grocery Market in Mount Vernon, New York. In this place there are many rows and tents that represent the cuisine of various countries and their cultures. As indicated on the site of this place, it provides not only ordinary goods from different countries. On the contrary, they take actions for the most accurate transmission of the nuances of each national cuisine in order to satisfy any client. Examples may be the provision of Peruvian cuisine in the form of products such as papa sasha in order to make carapulcra. Or the Food Bazaar makes huitlacoche deliveries to make tamales (“About us”, n.d.). This ensures increased loyalty and satisfaction of visitors who are interested in buying unique products.

Food Bazaar provides an opportunity to purchase various products to create unique dishes. Moreover, the organization provides an opportunity to purchase party platters and sets designed for catering for everyday and festive events. Next, a list of products, their ingredients and prices is provided:

• Assorted Muffin Platter (16 assorted muffins served with specialty jams) costs 19,99.
• Fried Chicken Dinner costs 39,99.

Moreover, people can find products to make Dominican dishes such as:

• Baldom Ranchero Liquid Seasoning-2,99.
• Sazon Ranchero Liquido Dominican Ranchero- 4,09.
• Goya Sofrito, Tomato Cooking Base-5,99.

Given that I do not have much experience in cooking and a general understanding of Dominican culture, many of these products turned out to be new to me. Henceforth, I managed to try Ranchero Liquid Seasoning, which is often used in dishes of the Dominican Republic (Figure 2). For the preparation of this dressing, the sauce made from tomatoes, onions, vinegar, salt, corn starch, and sugar are used. The sellers said that often, this sauce is used to the taste of the people who cook it so that it can be used with any products at will, especially poultry, meats, seafood, and beans. Visiting this place filled me with inspiration to cook a special Dominican dish, as I was impressed by the culture, tastes, and smells of this culture.

Mainstream Supermarket Tour

After visiting the market, I visited the “mainstream” supermarket ShopRite of New Rochelle in the Rhine in which I live. Unlike Food Bazaar, it provides a much smaller number of national products and dishes that may be needed to prepare Dominican dishes. Another difference of this store is the sufficiently high cost of all products, even the most ordinary ones. The only product I could find that was slightly related to the cuisine of the Dominican Republic was Dr. Praeger’s Purely Sensible Foods Huevos Rancheros Breakfast Bowl for $3.49. Of course, it is possible to replace it by buying the necessary ingredients and creating your own sauce. However, this does not equate to purchasing an original product made in the original country.

Price Comparisons

Conclusion

During this work, two stores were analyzed for the availability of Dominican cuisine products. At the end of the analysis, I can conclude that I got more valuable experience in Food Bazaar. The reason for this is that in this institution, I was able to experience all aspects and special features of each culture and how they are expressed in the cuisine of each nationality. Moreover, it also inspired me to choose the cuisine of the Dominican Republic and the choice of two recipes for the mealproject in appendix A.

References

About us.(n.d.). Food Bazar Supermarket.

Dominican dishes: The most traditional Caribbean flavors. (n.d.). Barceló Experiences.

Dominican products. (n.d.). Food Bazar Supermarket.

Tour: Food Bazaar – Mount Vernon, NY. (2017). Market Report Blog.

Appendix A

Meal Project Paper

This part provides a recipe for a Dominican dish for a family consisting of four people. Moreover, an assessment of this dish and its ingredients will be presented. The recipe I have chosen is represented by Pollo Guisado (Dominican chicken).

Recipe:

• 2 lbs chicken,
• Juice of 1 lime
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• 1 small red onion, stalks cut into slices
• ½ cup chopped celery,
• 1 teaspoon salt,
• ½ teaspoon mashed garlic
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 cup water
• 2 green bell, or cubanela (cubanelle) peppers
• 4 plum tomato, cut into quarters
• ¼ cup pitted green olives, (optional)
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 bunch cilantro
• ¼ teaspoon pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground)

All the spices listed in the recipe are added to the chicken, after which it must be fried. Then, you need to add water and summer it, then add all the necessary vegetables. Next, tomato sauce is added and everything is stewed for some more time.

A simple and inexpensive Arroz con Leche (Spiced Rice Pudding) recipe was chosen as a dessert.

Recipe:

• 1 cup rice
• 6 cloves
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 6 cup water, , divided
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup sugar (white, granulated)
• ¼ cup raisins
• 2 tablespoons butter (salted)
• ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg (freshly-grated)
• Cherries for decoration, (optional)

The rice is soaked in water with the addition of cinnamon and cloves, and then, after two hours, put it to boil. Then add milk, sugar and raisins, boil again, remove from heat and let cool.Despite the large number of ingredients, this meal is quite budget-friendly and does not exceed twenty-one dollars. Moreover, most of the products do not need to be purchased, since they can already be found at home. A preliminary cost analysis showed that the most expensive ingredient of this dish is chicken.