Religious taste: A reflection repertoire for teaching food diversity

Food, taste and meal cultures change over time, according to place and occasion, and food diversity contributes greatly to identity formation. This includes factors like gender, age, religion, ethnic origin, education, occupation, attitudes, emotions, etc. Food education, e.g., Home Economics Education, provides very few guidelines on how to teach religious taste as an important part of food diversity. The general objective of the present research contribution is to highlight the impact of religious traditions and rituals on food and/or taste education. The research combines theoretical and empirical approaches, including taste philosophy, systems theory, taste didactics, and empirical studies. Moreover, the article uses survey data to illustrate the relevance of teaching food diversity, including religious taste, in food education. The article provides three empirical examples of religious taste: Muslim taste, Jewish taste, and Japanese taste cosmology, which all contribute to a reflection repertoire for teaching food diversity.