Can we let go of the term 'fusion cooking' once and for all?

Culture, Media, General Culture, Chains, General Discussions
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There’s an argument to be made that cooking - because it allowed us to expend fewer calories digesting our food - was integral to our evolution.

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Agree. Fusion cooking has been around us forever - tomatoes were once not native to Italy.

https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/noodles/2018/07/03/history-of-the-tomato-in-italy-and-china-tracing-the-role-of-tomatoes-in-italian-and-chinese-cooking/

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I don’t think it need to be a yes and no, or 100% vs 0% situation. I do think the term “fusion” is way over used. However, it can be useful in some situations. If people will cut its usage down by 70-80%, then I think we are in a good spot.

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“Artisan” is slowly losing meaning, too, for me. Make bread by hand. I’m an artisan.

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And if you make bread by hand and cook it in a gas oven, you’re a Fartisan!



To OP’s question, decades ago when I wasn’t too familiar with various styles I found a label like “Thai-Singaporean Fusion” useful enough once I learned at how those styles might be said to differ and reviewed the restaurants offerings. Now, not so much. I don’t care - I mean, I won’t go out of my way to avoid a restaurant calling itself a fusion place as some others above have mentioned, but it doesn’t bother me one way or the other.

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I been a Fartisan for years. :fuelpump: 'scuse me!

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Wisco. Whaddya gonna do?

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All them brats and Leinie’s.

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Are anti-fusion people in a state of con-fusion?

…Sorry, I’ll let myself out.

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Why?

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If you combine two ethnicities in the descriptors of a food, is not the concept of “fusion” implicit?
Chino-Peruvian? Kung Pao Tacos?

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Because:

Which is:

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Did you ever go to Greenwich Grill above Sushi Azabu in Tribeca? Japanese/Tokyo Italian.

Yes. Indianized was adjusted to the Indian palate with locally available ingredients.

Pijja Palace’s kind of fusion seems to be a deliberate play on recognizably Indian elements / dishes, but in an Italian context.

It reminded me of Greenwich Grill’s Japanese sensibility applied to an Italian menu.

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Yep. This.

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There ya go. It’s redundant to follow that by “fusion.” I think the word got popular cuz it sounds cool; or, sounded cool.

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Plus if you use a term that the listener does not fully comprehend, they may think you are more knowledgeable than they are, even if you cannot explain the term yourself!

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37

And now this

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38

Today it fits. A pastrami Reuben made with kimchi in place of sauerkraut. Very tasty.

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I like to think of culinary evolution much like natural evolution. Most do not improve, nor sustain, but some do. The small changes and experiments are necessary for the overall growth.

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