Custom «New England Cuisine» Essay Paper Sample

The New England is easily recognized for its rocky coastline found around the region of Maine, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the rolling green mountains and dairies of Vermont, and the fertile farms and orchards of Connecticut. The undulating topography of the region is complemented by the rivers, bays, and oceans. Although most people who arrived in New England hoped for a treasure of its kind, the first settlers came in for religious motives. History has it that a small group of English separatists, the pilgrims came in the 1620s to form the Plymouth Colony. To their surprise, the area had a lot of hardship that their eventual resolution was survival rather than live in luxury. The Native Americans helped them to cope with adverse of winter and coped with the situations as they encountered every challenge of life.

The components of New England cuisines start with certain staples and specialties. Normally a blend of Anglo-American, European and Native American food traditions, the New England cuisine has managed to provide people with a combination of land sea food products (Nenes, 2006). Moreover, a combination of English recipe and local products has given the region a unique view as far as cuisines are concerned. These are the source of America's oldest fruit orchard as well as vegetable firms. There are abundant sugar maple trees and fiddlehead ferns. It's the home of cranberry supported by swampy bogs within the area of Cape Cod and Nantucket. New England is a region in America known for its bounty harvest of seafood. Sometimes referred to as America's seafood capital, it is the land of thanksgiving and home of the mighty cod (Vorhees, et al. (2008). The culture and its recognizable cuisine has earned it popularity around the globe, an honor that is associated with the abundant fish variety comprising of boiled lobster, which is celebrated at local "Lobsterfests" in the region (Vorhees, et al., 2008). These natural food resources make the region unique and have constantly built its heritage. These species makes the region a place for recollecting the historical past of the region.

It was with the influence of the Native Americans of the region that they embraced the local cuisine. The Native Americans' food ingredients formed the foundation for developing the historical cuisine. The deep rooted culture in terms of regional cuisine has endeared the region to many aspects of life, building an enviable background for any visitor. However, the cultural dynamism has also attracted interests of many people, who see the visit as a unique adventure. According to Vorhees et al (2008) advancements in culinary culture have changed the dining landscapes of cities around the region. It is noted that all cultural things are dynamic and continuously developing. For example, Boston, Providence and Portland are some of the cities that have developed rapidly with some of the local cuisines becoming popular with settlers in the past centuries. Of the most recent revelation is that these cities have developed pretty fast in the last decade in terms of cuisine variety and developments. The variety is created by the multifaceted local cuisines, drawn from the unique New England traditions and varied international influences in the past decades.

The development of new cuisines has been attributed to the need to have all collections of global cuisines centered in one place to carter for the growing international interest from visitors around the world. Kittler & Sucher (2007) subtly state: "you will be hard-pressed to find the old stand-bys such as Boston baked beans or New England boiled dinner on the many local menus" (p.149). However, local specialists for the traditional cuisines are still available. For example, maple syrup, artisan cheeses and, fresh seafood are still available for sample in many menus around the region.

However, the increased number of immigrants in the region during the 19^th century has given it a new dimension in terms of food samples. Still, seafood has remained a constant feature in any complete meal in the region. Traditionally served under Italian tomato sauces and in spicy Portuguese stews, the seafood has remained a constant feature in the local cuisine to date.

Drinks contain a very important combination of the local cuisine in New England. Although the Northeast is not as fertile as other regions such as Napa Valle, grapevine is known to be produced in the former region, eastern Massachusetts, Southeastern Rhode Island and Northwestern Connecticut (Nenes, 2006). The region is also known for its wine production.

Traditionally, old-fashioned New England meals are occasionally supplemented by the Indian pudding. Indian pudding is comprised of milk, molasses and cornmeal, which is baked to produce a mouth-watering delicacy. During autumn, local menus feature seasonal pies such as pumpkins, apple and squash. Squash forms a very important pat of the New England history as it's one of those elements of old-aged thanksgiving dinner.

Currently, New England is benefiting from the interests that many people around the world have developed in the need to return to organic and hormone-free milk and dairy products. Presently, Vermont is one of the regions that have become so popular with this new development such that many family farms have been transformed to produce organic food for consumption. Moreover, several family farms as well as small producers are producing artisan cheeses from goat, sheep, and cow milk (Nenes, 2006). There are great variety and high standardized quality of New England that will impress any one with interest in the local cuisine.