séminaire Montaigne@table

International research. Taste around the world

Jeudi 31 mars 2022 / 17 h 30-19 h 30, Amphi 2

Animé par Magalie Fleurot (CLIMAS)

Kunbing XIAO (School of Ethnology and Sociology, Southwest Minzu University, China), “The Audible Taste: The Inter-sensoriality in Contemporary Chinese Tea Events“

The consumption of tea in China has become increasingly ceremonialized. There are a number of relatively recent, regionally different, and changing Chinese customs around tea drinking. While some observers regard them as tea ceremonies, others do not see them as ceremonial but as practical procedures for securing the best taste of tea. Given that the ‘taste’ of a particular tea is a holistic and not just gustatory experience, it is not surprising that individuals may not always agree about its quality. They may be affected differently by its odour, colour, appearance, putative health benefits, preparation (including sounds), and social contexts which promote discussion and argument in the idiom of aesthetic and bodily appreciation. Through the sensory anthropology approach, these interlinked occasions in different contexts thus could be analyzed from a) visually focused ‘ceremonial’ silence and body language in tea preparation to b) the demonstration of proper vocabulary to describe the taste and correct poses to serve tea, finally, c) to open discussion in commercially-driven, competitive tea-tasting. It is the unspeakable sense that knows neither fixed name nor boundary. This article demonstrates how communicating through sensory multimodality constitutes infinitely creative meta-language with ever-extending but unsettled referents. To talk about the taste of tea is thus here to talk of almost anything but a universal definition of taste.

Stefano Magagnoli (University of Parma), “What’s in that taste? And what’s in that name? The unspeakable global reputation of Balsamic Vinegars of Modena “

Balsamic vinegars of Modena have become a worldwide well-known product like few others. It is common to find it in the shops and supermarkets all over the world, from Italy to Europe, from America to Asia. Its consumption has greatly increased and has crept into the eating habits of many countries, even in those that have a very different cuisine from the Italian one. 

This ability to hybridize with different tastes was made possible, in short, by some decisive factors: a) its sweet and sour taste (compatible with many cuisines), b) its reputation as a ‘made in Italy’ product (thus part of the quality of Italian food), c) its being (at the beginning of the globalization process of balsamic vinegar) a luxury product and therefore enviable and desirable. 

With this speech I want to reflect on the globalization process of balsamic vinegar, analyzing the times and ways of these dynamics, but also the reputation of a product whose name (balsamic), regardless of any other evaluation, has become synonymous with ‘good taste’ and ‘high quality’. 

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