FOOD FIGHT RAGES IN THE CAUCASUS
January 17, 2013
Many in Armenia have been incensed that “Keshkek” has been added to
a UNESCO heritage on behalf of Turkey. They claim that the wheat or
barley stew is actually an Armenian dish known as “Harissa.”
There is perhaps nothing more closely bound up with one’s national
identity than food.
Specific local dishes are often seen as the embodiment of various
cultures and many nations promote their food as a celebration of
national identity.
Sometimes, however, a country’s cuisine can also be used to highlight
national rivalries.
Czechs, for example, sometimes affectionately (some would say
condescendingly) refer to their Slovak cousins as “Halusky” after
the typical gnocchi dish that comprises part of their national cuisine.
Similarly, the English often disparagingly call their French neighbors
“Frogs” because of the Gallic penchant for eating the legs of said
amphibians.
Culinary flashpoints can also arise when neighboring nations all lay
claim to the same regional dish.
For instance, the Scots, English, and the Irish often bicker about
whose fried breakfast is the original and the best of the species.
In the volatile Caucasus region, though, it seems that such food
fights have now been taken to a whole new level.
As Eurasianet.org reports, many Armenians are up in arms about a
recent UNESCO decision to add the Anatolian stew “Keshkek” to its
Intangible Cultural Heritage List on behalf of Turkey.
They claim that “Keshkek” is actually an Armenian meal, which they call
“Harissa.”
Now a group of ethnographers from Turkey’s western neighbor are
actually compiling information on the dish to appeal the ruling by
the UN’s cultural agency.
According to the News.am website, Sedrak Mamulyan, the chairman of
the “Development and Preservation of Armenian Culinary Traditions”
organization, is intent on demonstrating that “the utensils, methods,
and ingredients used for making…Harissa have a pure Armenian origin
and it is a purely Armenian dish.”
The traditional Khash soup is another dish whose “nationality”
is disputed.
The same organization has also attacked Georgia for commandeering
“Khash.” It insists that this tasty beef soup is in fact an Armenian
national dish.
Armenia, meanwhile, has itself come under fire from Azerbaijan, which
has accused its neighbor and regional nemesis of “cuisine plagiarism.”
Baku’s National Security Ministry has even set up a National
Cuisine Center to reinforce its claim to the nation’s cuisine and,
in particular, to help counter any Armenian efforts to appropriate
what it feels are Azerbaijani dishes.
Azerbaijan and Armenia are at loggerheads over the origins of Tolma.
The “Tolma” dish, which consists of meatballs wrapped in grape leaves,
seems to be a particular bone of contention between the two countries,
especially since Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev publicly announced
last year that it was an Azeri national dish.
This provoked a furious response in Armenia and various initiatives
have been launched to help save the country’s national dishes from
“occupants.” This even includes holding an annual Tolma Festival to
reinforce the idea that it is a typically Armenian food.
Whatever the upshot of these culinary claims and counterclaims, it
sadly doesn’t seem like these regional rivals will be sitting down
to break bread with each other anytime soon.
— Coilin O’Connor