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Abstract Detail


Charles Heiser Special Contributed Paper Session

Duong, Vi [1], Taylor, David [1].

Our Daily Soup:Variability in Vietnamese Plant Utilization in Canh.

A fundamental measure of what domesticated/ cultivated plants are important to a people comes via analysis of the elemental foods in the daily diet. The standard daily soup "canh" from Vietnam is such a food, employing many plants. Canh is virtually universally eaten, and varies by region. We have selected canh in order to make comparisons among the plant products used "natively" in Vietnam versus those by expatriates in the US. This first step in the study provides a base line via study of plants in canh from the city of Truc Vunh. Although interviewees all live and work in the same city and have similar educational backgrounds and employment, generational differences and region of family origin appear to be responsible for variation in the plants employed in canh. Understanding the degree of ingredient variability and the factors affecting this variation in southern Vietnam is important when determining how food plant utilization has been maintained (or not) within the substantial South Vietnamese community in Portland, Oregon. The results of this study will be compared with others evaluating the commitment to fundamental foods among different immigrant populations (e.g., Puerto Rican foods in Puerto Rico versus those in markets in Hartford,CT).

Broader Impacts:


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1 - University of Portland, Department of Biology, Swindells Hall 108, MSC 163, 5000 N. Willamette Blvd., Portland, OR, 97203, USA

Keywords:
ethnobotany
Vietnam
Portland, OR
food plants
canh.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 15
Location: Lindell D/Chase Park Plaza
Date: Monday, July 11th, 2011
Time: 3:00 PM
Number: 15007
Abstract ID:542


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