The ritual of the celebration of the Passover Seder involves a number of symbolic items: the matzah, bitter herbs, greenery, a roasted egg, a lamb shank bone and the sweet charoset. Each of these items has a story and a meaning, which is not only spoken of, but also literally taken in through eating.
What foods serve as symbols for you?
My most conscious remembrance of a certain type of food is of “greens”. Although my dad (and mom) were from the Pennsylvania Dutch area of that state, even when we lived in the Midwest, as a child I remember my dad coming home from the local farmers’ market with bushel baskets of fresh collard greens, mustard greens, kale, turnip greens and occasionally beet tops. It was my mom’s chore to clean and cook them, plain, with no fats included. Eaten with lemon juice and perhaps s/p, I grew up learning to enjoy these foods. Wasn’t I lucky? I find few people in my circle of friends who truly like them. Now with the current rage over “baby kale”, I find it rather hilarious that they have found this new kind of nutrition which I’ve always known of.
I don’t know if any foods serve a deep symbolic meaning for me, but my family certainly has specific foods for specific holidays. There certain cookies only for Christmas. Birthdays come with cakes and with a meal of the person’s choice. Easter has a special cake, a special orange-flavored dessert, and candy. And so on.