Memory Continued
For my final project I wanted to continue my research and knowledge of memory and the brain. I found it fascinating how the brain remembers and connects foods with certain people. With this information, I chose to do my final project on memory and food. How a meal or ingredient can make you think of a certain person. I have captured this thought through a short series of photographs. Taking photos of my relatives delicious meals that will always be remembered not only in my brain, but also in my heart. To portray my memories with the food, I edited a photo of that person in the background at half opacity. Almost everything you choose to consume will directly or indirectly affect your brain. Most of us have a memory of a food that takes us back to childhood. No matter the importance, “memories involving food are vivid, and they sometimes feel more evocative than other types of memories” (Huffpost). Food memories are more sensory than other memories, they involve all five senses, “so when you’re that thoroughly engaged with the stimulus it has a more powerful effect” (Huffpost). Taste memories tend to be the strongest of associative memories that you can make. I am excited to share my memories of food with the class, and hopefully spread thoughts to everyone on their own food and memories.
Omi’s Christmas Cookies
Every Christmas season my cousins and I would go to my Omi’s house and bake and jelly these cookies. It was a whole day affair, the house always felt warm and cozy. The cookies are harder on the outside and soft on the inside. We still continue this tradition now that she has passed.
-Butter, Sugar, Eggs, Enriched Flour Baking Powder, Milk, Vanilla, and Smuckers Strawberry Jam
Omi’s Dobos Torta
A Hungarian layered cake, that was made for most holidays. Everyone looked forward to getting a slice. Dobos Torta tastes like smooth chocolate. The wafers always came in this circular form, so to cut it we made mini triangles. My sisters and I started to make this with my Omi once she got older and suffered with dementia. Now the wafers were discontinued so we have struggled to find another replacement.
-German Wafers, Powder Sugar, Butter, Hershey Cocoa, Eggs
Omi’s Rice Ball
We choose to serve the rice ball with linguini, but you can choose any noodle you desire. This is Omi’s take on an Italian meatball. We always made them a bit larger than normal meatballs. Her creation is also made to be for stuffed peppers, but my Opi had heartburn so she eliminated the peppers. I do not remember ever making this meal with Omi, instead I make them with my mom.
-Chopped Meat (Beef), Cooked White Rice, Onion, Salt, Pepper, Tomato Soup, Sugar
Omi’s Cherry Cake
A special cake made for birthdays. The only time I ever ate these soft Maraschino cherries was for this cake. Omi would put some on a plate and if she had extra we would be allowed to eat some. This cake is very rich, but has amazingly fudgy chocolate. I recommend eating a thin slice!
-Lady Fingers, Bakers Chocolate, Milk, Whipped Cream, Maraschino Cherries Stemless
Mom’s Rice Krispies
A treat my mom has made for my sisters and I ever since we were little. They are easy and fast to make. Homemade foods always hold a better taste and more memories. I remember if anyone came over our house and saw these freshly baked, you would have to rush to make sure you got a piece. They hold so much warmth, the perfect amount of butter and crunch.
-Rice Krispies, Small Marshmallows, Butter
Grandma’s Chocolate Cream Pie
My Grandma was an amazing chief, a true wizard in the kitchen. Unfortunately, I am her 13th out of 14 grandchildren, and did not get enough time to experience her meals as much as I desire. She always cooked, but I don’t remember too many of her dishes because when I came around she was getting too old, and cooking became more of a chore. With this said her chocolate cream pie was always a dish placed on the table every year for Thanksgiving. Everything she created was handmade, no matter how long it may have taken. She made the pie crust, pudding, and whipped cream all from scratch.
-Pie Crust, My-T-Fine Chocolate Pudding, Milk, and Homemade Whipped Cream
Research
“How do certain foods bring back memories?”
- An article published by Penn State, Author: Corey Michael Lapenna
“Not only does food allow for opportunities to create great and long lasting memories, but it also allows you to remember them. Have you ever noticed how when you are eating a certain food, whether it is your favorite food or your most hated food, you mind is filled with the memories from the past”?
“Associative memory, which means you connect certain smells and taste to certain things. Connected to the limbic system, which is in control of all the memories stored within the hippocampus. The process of this starts when your sensory organs transmit a signal to your brain which then are transmitted to the associative portion of the brain called the olfactory bulb. The olfactory bulb is connected to the amygdala which is responsible for emotions and then the signal travels to the hippocampus which is where the memory becomes apparent”.
“Psychologists Explain Why Food Memories Can Feel So Powerful”
- An article published by HuffPost, Author: Julie R. Thomson
You’re not just using your sight, or just your taste, but all the senses and that offers the potential to layer the richness of a food memory. “Taste memories tend to be the strongest of associative memories that you can make,” and explains that it’s because of a survival tactic called conditioned taste aversion”.
“Food memories feel so nostalgic because there’s all this context of when you were preparing or eating this food, so the food becomes almost symbolic of other meaning,” Whitbourne says. “A lot of our memories as children, it’s not so much the apple pie, for example, but the whole experience of being a family, being nourished, and that acquires a lot of symbolism apart from the sensory quality.”
“The idea of nostalgia, is that the sauce [for example] is associated not only with yummy pasta, but also with grandma and her home ― that’s because food is so reinforcing. All of this stimuli in the environment become associated with the reinforcing properties of that yummy pasta sauce.” Bergstrom, as a neuroscientist, uses food in his behavior studies for this very reason”.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/power-of-food-memories_n_5908b1d7e4b02655f8413610