What's on the Menu?

Immigrants usually go through a period of adjustment in their new home. Every day is filled with a daunting set of challenges ­ from a new language, to new customs, to new types of food. And because, for most of us, the food we eat is a big part of our sense of feeling "at home," new arrivals tend to add as much to our national table as they receive.

"Individuals feel very strongly about what they will and won't eat," says Dane Archer, a social psychologist and professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Archer also says that people tend to think of their own diet as sensible and the diets of other cultures as strange.

During the course of his work, Archer discovered many food traditions specific to certain areas of the world. For instance, in some regions of Mexico, insects are cooked and eaten for protein. In India, the Jains, who try to do as little harm to the earth as possible, will only eat fruit and vegetables that have fallen off plants by themselves. In many Islamic countries, people don't eat pork because the pig is considered an unclean animal, while in Asia, pork is almost always on the menu.

Fortunately, in a diverse country such as the United States, every new group of immigrants influences our national table. It is not unusual for local markets to carry tortillas from Mexico, okra from the Caribbean, spicy Indian curry sauces, tofu ­ a soy protein ­ from China, and many other ethnic favorites. Restaurants reflect this trend. A dish of protein-rich black beans with rice (a meal widely eaten in the Caribbean), or crispy dosas (Indian fried pancakes stuffed with vegetables or meat), are becoming as common as the all-American hotdog. Top them off with flan for dessert ­ a popular custard dish in the Caribbean and Latin America ­ and American cuisine looks quite international.

"America is now a diverse nation with many different ideas about food and taste. The possibilities for experimenting are endless. This is just at the tip of the iceberg," says Archer. Bon Appetite!