Skip to main content
Event

Food History Seminar- Joint session

Event information>

Dates
Time
5:30 pm to 6:30 pm
Location

Online- via Zoom

Institute

Institute of Historical Research

Event type

Seminar

Event series

Food History

Speakers

Patrick Charbonneau (Duke University)

Contact

Email only

Patrick Charbonneau - Sucre à la crème: Origin and Trajectory of an Authentic Québec Confection
Although the emergence of sucre à la crème -- a fudge-like confection made with cream and maple or brown sugar -- left little paper trail, various lines of evidence point toward a late 18th-early 19th century origin in rural French-speaking communities of the St. Lawrence River valley. Successful preparation of the confection relied on a mastery of sugar crystallization, which was common among contemporary maple sugar makers, but few others. Such humble beginnings have colored perceptions of the sweet ever since. Early Canadian cookbooks, which mostly adapted European cuisine to a local context, neglected it. It nevertheless spread widely. The ubiquity and distinctness of the dish have loaded it with cultural meaning. Yet, many food historians and ethnographers have sought an exogeneous origin for it, thus perpetuating received ideas about the history of Québec eating and drinking. Using a variety of historical and ethnographic sources as well as insight from physical chemistry, this talk attempts to redress the history of sucre à la crème.


Axel Elías - Mexican Gastronationalism and Vitiviniculture: Contrasting Foundational Myths with Contemporary Multicultural Foodways in Querétaro
The state of Querétaro is currently one of the three main wine producers in Mexico. The stsate is located in a region called, El Bajío, and has historically been one of the wealthiest regions of the country, benefitting from trade North-South trading routes, being just 200 km from the country's capital, as well as generating resources from mining. Wine production in Querétaro dates back to the sixteenth century; however, its wine industry took off until the second half of the twentieth century. In comparison to Chile and Argentina, Mexican winemakers, have smaller distribution channels and far less prestige. It is in this context that I analyse how Mexican wine production companies have used experience-based tourism to promote their wine at a local and national level. In this regard, I pay particular attention to how Mexican cuisine is used (as a form of everyday or banal nationalism). To undertake this research, I interviewed small, medium, and large-scale wine producers in Querétaro to trace the strategies they have followed, particularly those who have created conditions to pair wine tasting with Mexican cuisine. With this research, I trace the extents through which wine makers in Querétaro use everyday gastronationalism as part of their merchandising/legitimising strategies.

All welcome - This event is free, but booking is required.

This page was last updated on 6 February 2025