Gastronomy and alimentary theology among Christians in Israel, Palestine and Jordan

Ulrica Soderlind ()
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Ulrica Soderlind: Umea University school of Restaurant and Culinary Arts, Sweden

Review of Applied Socio-Economic Research, 2018, vol. 15, issue 1, 45-63

Abstract: This paper focuses on what gastronomy and alimentary theology means among Christians in Israel, Palestine and Jordan in 2018. The case study is based on preliminary sources such as cookbooks, interviews and personal observation in the area in February 2018 and should be seen as a case study. The content of the modern cookbooks indicates that the food culture in the area is vivid and rich, where the main ingredients are vegetables and grains. The study shows the complexity of claiming certain dishes as unique to one nation. Theology not only pays closer attention to matters related to food and nourishment, and the many ways they can relate, inspire and inform theological reflection. It is a theology that envisions itself as nourishment: food as theology and theology as food. Several of the informants have a clear vision for what gastronomy can do for a peaceful coexistence today and for the future. The key is education in order to understand each other and gastronomy plays a very important part in that since everyone has a relation to gastronomy. The alimentary theological approach to gastronomy and faith reflects in the informants and in the following observations, since it seems to be implicit in everyone. A person's relation to God can be very complex and include a lot of space and people, or it can be a very close relation only between oneself and God, in that sense gastronomy and alimentary theology have a lot in common.

Keywords: Middle East; gastronomy; alimentary theology; Christianity; education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Z0 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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