Why do vegetarian restaurants serve hamburgers? Toward an understanding of a cuisine

Abstract

Toward an understanding of a cuisineCuisines are mostly regarded as a collection of appropriate combinations of ingredients, cooking methods, and dishes into an acceptable repertoire out of which individuals could select their daily dishes and meals and at a specific historical context. The sociology of food discusses the formation of cuisines, looks at the latter as reflecting upon eating habits and culinary repertoires, and sees cuisines as subject to conventions that guide the correct combinations of ingredients, the order of appearance of dishes, and their cooking and serving methods (Douglas

Men, Meat, and Marriage: Models of Masculinity

“…Meat dominates meals-when asked what they had for dinner, people commonly name the main meat dish rather than the subordinate side dishes (Gvion Rosenberg 1990). Marriage in the U.S. and many other societies has traditionally been a patriarchal institution, with men controlling many family decisions-including inclusion of meat in meals (e.g., McIntosh and Zey 1989).…”

“…This symbolic meat-centered meal formula of Western food culture is even replicated in vegetarian meals, with a meat substitute as a core meal component (Gvion Rosenberg 1990).…”

Preferences, quantities and concerns: socio-cultural perspectives on the gendered consumption of foods

“…The importance of meat relative to vegetables as constituents of meals was also identi®ed in a later analysis of restaurant culture in the United States in which vegetarian and conventional menus were compared (Gvion Rosenberg, 1990). It was found that when vegetables constitute the centrepiece of a vegetarian main course, they are conceptualised and treated Ð structured, named, shaped, dressed and textured Ð in a manner that is as similar to meat dishes as possible.…”

“…In conventional cuisine on the other hand, meat or ®sh are sometimes treated in the manner of vegetables, being chopped into small pieces as a mere ingredient of a salad or ®rst course. Their relative superiority to vegetables is maintained, however, in so far as meat or ®sh always assigns its name to the dish of which it is a part Ð whether, for instance, it is a chicken or a seafood salad (Gvion Rosenberg, 1990).…”

Towards an integrated approach to food behaviour: Meat consumption and substitution, from context to consumers

“…Meat can be seen as the central axis that structures a meal, subordinating the rest of the ingredients to its predominant position (Douglas & Nicod, 1974). And even meals which do not have any portion of animal flesh often use ingredients that are selected, cooked and plated in a way that replicates the models in which meat is the structuring axis (Gvion-Rosenberg, 1990). …”