“Yunnan Food” explores the foodways of Yunnan by examining the communal meals and home kitchens of local families I encountered in my travels. 

The families who shared their meals with me are the last generation to know the traditional way of life before popular culture arrived through television — a time when fresh water came from wells and streams, not faucets. That way of life meant that girls stayed home to herd goats and cook labor-intensive meals, while boys donned modern clothes and went to school to learn Mandarin. The parents grew up farming and foraging for ingredients the way their grandparents taught them. They prefer the flavor of food cooked in open wood-burning stoves, despite the dense smoke it creates in their homes. But all that is changing quickly with the younger generation.

Some families question the precariousness of nostalgia: are the ways of their elders better than the modern conveniences they have now? How can they assimilate new influences without losing their unique culture and identity? The parents hope that their children will move to the city, go to college and live an easier life without the grueling physical labor they know. Yet, they cannot imagine their children having meals alone, forgetting the food of their culture, and being disconnected from the land and the food of their grandparents and parents.