No harm, no foul

It was a week that saw a white girl wearing an Asian-style dress to a high school prom and being accused of the sin of “cultural appropriation” and Sweden confessing that Swedish meatballs actually had their origin in Turkey.

In the first instance, the only real sin was the cyber bullying on the part of the girl’s accuser, although perhaps he did her a favor. She now has the most famous prom dress in America.

The second news item seems slightly more serious, although thankfully not even the Turks are taking it seriously. They enjoy the Swedish meatballs served at Turkish Ikea stores just as they enjoy the meatballs served in their own homes and restaurants. Turkey likes the attention being given to its meatballs, as China likes the attention being given its traditional style of clothing. As they say in sports: No harm, no foul.

Apparently a Swedish king back in the 18th century visited Turkey, loved their meatballs and brought the recipe home with him, where the meatballs became a Swedish favorite and then an international favorite. The Turkish connection unfortunately got lost along the way.

Rightly or wrongly, the names of places have often become attached to certain foods. We have, for example, French fries, French bread, French dressing, Belgian waffles, German potato salad, Irish stew, Italian dressing, Italian bread, Danish pastry, Spanish rice, Cuban sandwiches and so on. The other day I noticed Panamanian ceviche on a restaurant menu. Put pineapple in anything and you seem to be able to add the word Hawaiian to its name. Even when the food tastes less than authentic to those familiar with the food actually served in those places, the names seem more a compliment than an insult.

When my wife and I toured France 15 years ago, we stopped one day at a small restaurant across the street from a castle and ordered sandwiches. Then Linda asked the counter man for some French fries. He didn’t speak English and we didn’t speak French, so what she got was a cup of ice cubes. Because soft drinks in Europe are served at room temperature, I was glad to have them.

What Americans call French fries, the French call pommes frites, or just frites. Supposedly Thomas Jefferson had a French chef in the White House who served potatoes fried in this style. They were a hit with Jefferson’s guests, and they soon became known as “French fries” in the United States. According to a Wikipedia article, however, this manner of preparing potatoes may have actually had its origin in Belgium or Spain.

People are free to disagree, of course, but let's hope they also continue to enjoy the freedom to call their food dishes whatever they choose and, whatever their cultural origin, to wear the clothing they choose, whatever its cultural origin.