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Geographic Cultures and Cuisines

This guide is dedicated to the rich culinary histories and traditions of various geographic cultures.

About This Guide

This guide is dedicated to the rich culinary histories and traditions of various geographic cultures. Food landscapes are vast and diverse, and these resources do not encompass the full histories of peoples and their varied connections to food. It is intended as a starting point for your own exploration of space, place, and food. 

Search Strategies for Specific Items, Cuisines, and Cultures

A Specific Geographical Community or Region:

When searching BU Libraries Search try searching for terms including:

  • (country/geographic/community name) AND food history
  • (country/geographic/community name) AND culinary history
  • (country/geographic/community name) AND food traditions
  • (country/geographic/community name) AND cooking

For example, if I was researching the food history of Peru, I might try searching BU Libraries Search with:

  • Peru AND food history
  • Peru AND culinary history
  • Peru AND food traditions
  • Peru AND cooking

A Specific Food/Beverage Item

For searching for a specific item of food or beverage, try searching BU Libraries Search  for terms including:

  • (country/geographic/community name) AND history

For example, if I was searching about the history and culture of Pepsi, I might try searching BU Libraries Search for:

  • pepsi AND history
  • pepsi AND culture
  • pepsi AND culinary traditions

Still stuck? Email Lucy, Librarian, at LFlamm@BU.edu.

Researching Food Studies

Start your search in BU Libraries Search for a broad range of results related to your topic. Or, look at some of these food-focused journals and magazines for inspiration for your topic:

  • Food, Culture & Society: An international peer-reviewed publication dedicated to exploring the complex relationships among food, culture, and society from numerous disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as in the world of food beyond the academy.
  • Food and Foodways: Food and Foodways is a refereed, interdisciplinary, and international journal devoted to publishing original scholarly articles on the history and culture of human nourishment.
  • Appetite
  • Gastronomica: Gastronomica is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary, international journal publishing critical, translational studies on food.
  • PressReader Food Magazines 

Librarian