Food and Culture in Northeast India: The Culinary Tradition
Food, more than a material substance is also a cultural expression handed down from generations to generations. In most societies, the older people pass on their knowledge of food and what constitutes “healthy or good” food to their new members. In this sense, the idea of food also marks a society’s relation with the larger environment- human and biotic. But, food also defines what is “within” from what is “without,” so that culinary skills, inherited through years of practice could be transferred to those who make up the members of a legitimate community.