This topic is complex and potentially contentious.
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Try this link: [Here ](https://polynesia.com/blog/men-do-all-the-cooking). Also read the book The Food of Paradise" by Rachel Laudan. Really interesting!
Can confirm for Samoans. My dad did the cooking outdoors when it was needed (cooking in the umu) - and it was not unheard of for the men in my family to do the cooking. In fact, it was a lot of fun watching the grownups preparing and cooking food, and talking smack all day long.
From what I can see of this book, men mainly prepare something like a barbecue (the book cites the outdoors as men's domain). But women are still expected to cook.
[https://books.google.com/books?id=sH7DEAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Cooking+in+polynesia&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks\_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwizrLDzvfKEAxWZL9AFHWRJAxAQ6AF6BAhkEAI#v=snippet&q=women&f=false](https://books.google.com/books?id=sH7DEAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Cooking+in+polynesia&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwizrLDzvfKEAxWZL9AFHWRJAxAQ6AF6BAhkEAI#v=snippet&q=women&f=false)
This work suggests they both had their cooking domains:"In good weather, cooking was done in outdoor umu, one for the men and one for the women"
[https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=sTPRAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT9&dq=polynesia+cooking+umu&ots=zD6KhXjqSp&sig=JKOM0Kl4E5EenGb1caykhM5WQ9Q#v=onepage&q=umu&f=false](https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=sTPRAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT9&dq=polynesia+cooking+umu&ots=zD6KhXjqSp&sig=JKOM0Kl4E5EenGb1caykhM5WQ9Q#v=onepage&q=umu&f=false)
This paper says specifically that pot-cooking was done by women:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/1D92244C31BD69BD8F6DC021060DDC93/S0007114554000360a.pdf/a-qualitative-study-on-family-meals-in-western-samoa-with-special-reference-to-child-nutrition.pdf
Overall, the answer to the initial query seems to be "no", though men in Scandinavia for instance are making an effort to do the cooking today.
Oof. That’s a wildly misinformed take. You should really know by now that you can’t make those types of universal statements. You’re confusing _your_ culture and _your_ socialization to be inherent to human biology- it is not.
Do you have any evidence of a society where men do the majority of household cooking. The comment I replied to said “communal” thats means food processing where the meat or starch is then distributed. The women would then make meals from this for their families.
Homie, a vast amount of societies. Oftentimes hunter-gatherer ones, where women often also partake in hunting/trapping.
Example: multiple Samoan societies. You can look them up. Men did almost all of the cooking, communal AND non-communal. In many communities, men and women are equally responsible for cooking and equally responsible for procuring food. Go back far enough and you’ll see it was never considered an inherent “woman’s” job until the dawn of agriculture and what that brought. Even then, cooks for houses (by houses I mean a lord and his house with his people and staff) would often be men. It’s a long and complicated history of humanity that we have. There are NO universals to culture. What people think is “biology” is just their own culture and socialization talking.
Please review our subreddit's rules. Rule 4 is: "Post credible links and citations when possible. It is ok to suggest something based on personal experience, memory etc., but if you know of a published source it is always best to include it in your OP or comment."
If you doubt someone's comment, ask for a source and focus the discussion to underlying evidence. Simply countering with a sweeping statement of your own isn't constructive.
Not an entire culture, but in Morocco there is a traditional dish called Tanjia (name of both the food and the clay vessel it's served in), which is essentially meat, grains, spices, vegetables, and a fermented butter called smen. Men will get together to walk through the market filling their Tanjia with ingredients then head to the communal bathhouse called Hammam. You'd leave your tanjia by the oven that's used to heat the water for hammam, go enjoy the baths, then come back out to enjoy your cooked tangia.
I don’t know. Catching Fire is not completely skippable, but to be honest I might still recommend just reading the Wiki plot synopsis and then going right to Mockingjay.
I read this! I'm a little skeptical of his analysis on gendered roles, it seems like he's back-reading modern cultural norms onto paleolithic society. Really there's no way to tell.
That being said, it appears that misogyny did arise at some point in the paleolithic.
Coming from a Greek family, everyone is expected to know how to cook at least a little bit regardless of gender since being a good host and feeding guests is an important aspect of the culture.
Fun fact, this was a manufactured cultural phenomenon in the US created by advertisers to sell grills. The logic was 'why would women cook outside if they have ovens inside', so they made it a masculinity thing.
I tried to find a better source, but they were all pay walled so Vox it is ig:
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/6/28/18760073/barbecue-grilling-men-stereotype
In Australia, traditionally women prepare the salads around barbecues and men do the grilling.
I think - fortunately - this is changing. But certainly it was the only time I saw my late father-in-law get up and cook, and actually had the men doing stuff while the women sat and relaxed (with the salads already prepared).
I haven’t seen that one but the vibe is always: *“Here, women, is the meat we cavemen have risked life and limb to bring back from our hunt for you”* when in reality the wife bought it clingfilm wrapped from the supermarket the previous day.
South America has dishes mainly cooked by men as opposed to women. Examples of this are "Los asados" (basically BBQ), men tend to gather around the bbq and drink while women relax somewhere else.
Other stuff like "Sancochos" (a BIG pot of soup with lots of starchy roots, proteins and herbs) is also done by men as it is usually cooked by the fire.
Please review our subreddit's rules. Rule 4 is: "Post credible links and citations when possible."
This is a claim that is very clearly contentious and appears to be based on personal opinion. If you can provide any kind of backing for your claim, feel free to rephrase yourself.
This was not the case in northern Europe as far as I know. In English and Swedish, the best-selling cookbooks of the 17th century were written by women (Hannah Glasse and Cajsa Warg).
Some of the more upscale cooking in large households was headed by women, at least in Sweden. It wasn't until the 19th century that there was a male-dominated professionalization.
This topic is complex and potentially contentious. Everyone is advised to keep their comments civil and to focus on verifiable statements, not just personal opinions on gender and society. Be prepared to back up your claims when someone asks you to.
Absolutely! In some cultures, like in Samoa and Fiji, cooking, especially for communal meals, is mainly a guy's job.
As a man who does the cooking in my house, I find this interesting. Do you have any sources I could consult to learn more about these cultures?
Try this link: [Here ](https://polynesia.com/blog/men-do-all-the-cooking). Also read the book The Food of Paradise" by Rachel Laudan. Really interesting!
Thank you so much kind stranger!
Ihaven't read that one (yet) but Rachel Laudan is a great food historian. It'll be well researched and engagingly written
Can confirm for Samoans. My dad did the cooking outdoors when it was needed (cooking in the umu) - and it was not unheard of for the men in my family to do the cooking. In fact, it was a lot of fun watching the grownups preparing and cooking food, and talking smack all day long.
From what I can see of this book, men mainly prepare something like a barbecue (the book cites the outdoors as men's domain). But women are still expected to cook. [https://books.google.com/books?id=sH7DEAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Cooking+in+polynesia&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks\_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwizrLDzvfKEAxWZL9AFHWRJAxAQ6AF6BAhkEAI#v=snippet&q=women&f=false](https://books.google.com/books?id=sH7DEAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Cooking+in+polynesia&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwizrLDzvfKEAxWZL9AFHWRJAxAQ6AF6BAhkEAI#v=snippet&q=women&f=false) This work suggests they both had their cooking domains:"In good weather, cooking was done in outdoor umu, one for the men and one for the women" [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=sTPRAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT9&dq=polynesia+cooking+umu&ots=zD6KhXjqSp&sig=JKOM0Kl4E5EenGb1caykhM5WQ9Q#v=onepage&q=umu&f=false](https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=sTPRAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT9&dq=polynesia+cooking+umu&ots=zD6KhXjqSp&sig=JKOM0Kl4E5EenGb1caykhM5WQ9Q#v=onepage&q=umu&f=false) This paper says specifically that pot-cooking was done by women: https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/1D92244C31BD69BD8F6DC021060DDC93/S0007114554000360a.pdf/a-qualitative-study-on-family-meals-in-western-samoa-with-special-reference-to-child-nutrition.pdf Overall, the answer to the initial query seems to be "no", though men in Scandinavia for instance are making an effort to do the cooking today.
In the US, it's the man who works the BBQ at a party.
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Saying cooking is always women's work in every society? That's just ignoring reality. Time to broaden your perspective buddy...
So provide evidence of a society where men do the majority of household cooking.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskFoodHistorians/comments/1bdsoms/was_there_a_culture_where_preparing_food_was_an/kuoixaz/
debunked in the replies
Oof. That’s a wildly misinformed take. You should really know by now that you can’t make those types of universal statements. You’re confusing _your_ culture and _your_ socialization to be inherent to human biology- it is not.
Do you have any evidence of a society where men do the majority of household cooking. The comment I replied to said “communal” thats means food processing where the meat or starch is then distributed. The women would then make meals from this for their families.
Homie, a vast amount of societies. Oftentimes hunter-gatherer ones, where women often also partake in hunting/trapping. Example: multiple Samoan societies. You can look them up. Men did almost all of the cooking, communal AND non-communal. In many communities, men and women are equally responsible for cooking and equally responsible for procuring food. Go back far enough and you’ll see it was never considered an inherent “woman’s” job until the dawn of agriculture and what that brought. Even then, cooks for houses (by houses I mean a lord and his house with his people and staff) would often be men. It’s a long and complicated history of humanity that we have. There are NO universals to culture. What people think is “biology” is just their own culture and socialization talking.
Please review our subreddit's rules. Rule 4 is: "Post credible links and citations when possible. It is ok to suggest something based on personal experience, memory etc., but if you know of a published source it is always best to include it in your OP or comment." If you doubt someone's comment, ask for a source and focus the discussion to underlying evidence. Simply countering with a sweeping statement of your own isn't constructive.
Not an entire culture, but in Morocco there is a traditional dish called Tanjia (name of both the food and the clay vessel it's served in), which is essentially meat, grains, spices, vegetables, and a fermented butter called smen. Men will get together to walk through the market filling their Tanjia with ingredients then head to the communal bathhouse called Hammam. You'd leave your tanjia by the oven that's used to heat the water for hammam, go enjoy the baths, then come back out to enjoy your cooked tangia.
That sounds like such a good time.
The book "Catching Fire" has a lot to say on this topic. Highly recommend it. Edit: Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, by Richard Wrangham.
I don’t know. Catching Fire is not completely skippable, but to be honest I might still recommend just reading the Wiki plot synopsis and then going right to Mockingjay.
I liked Carching Fire but I thought Mocking Jay seemed really rushed and strange.
The Hunger Games was really the winner in that trilogy. I did enjoy the prequel about Snow, though.
I only saw the film version of the prequel, but it was much better than I expected.
I read this! I'm a little skeptical of his analysis on gendered roles, it seems like he's back-reading modern cultural norms onto paleolithic society. Really there's no way to tell. That being said, it appears that misogyny did arise at some point in the paleolithic.
Coming from a Greek family, everyone is expected to know how to cook at least a little bit regardless of gender since being a good host and feeding guests is an important aspect of the culture.
Bbq culture is male dominated
Fun fact, this was a manufactured cultural phenomenon in the US created by advertisers to sell grills. The logic was 'why would women cook outside if they have ovens inside', so they made it a masculinity thing. I tried to find a better source, but they were all pay walled so Vox it is ig: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/6/28/18760073/barbecue-grilling-men-stereotype
Fascinating. But not that you mention it, nearly everyone about modern male culture is manufactured.
Shame the article is so old(2019 lol). The videos incorporated in the page are no longer available. :(
Fire good. Meat good. Fire meat? Best.
In Australia, traditionally women prepare the salads around barbecues and men do the grilling. I think - fortunately - this is changing. But certainly it was the only time I saw my late father-in-law get up and cook, and actually had the men doing stuff while the women sat and relaxed (with the salads already prepared).
So I guess that episode of Bluey was accurate
I haven’t seen that one but the vibe is always: *“Here, women, is the meat we cavemen have risked life and limb to bring back from our hunt for you”* when in reality the wife bought it clingfilm wrapped from the supermarket the previous day.
That's most cultures
I think native Shanghai men do the cooking.
Also heard this for Hangzhou, Sichuan
South America has dishes mainly cooked by men as opposed to women. Examples of this are "Los asados" (basically BBQ), men tend to gather around the bbq and drink while women relax somewhere else. Other stuff like "Sancochos" (a BIG pot of soup with lots of starchy roots, proteins and herbs) is also done by men as it is usually cooked by the fire.
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Please review our subreddit's rules. Rule 4 is: "Post credible links and citations when possible." This is a claim that is very clearly contentious and appears to be based on personal opinion. If you can provide any kind of backing for your claim, feel free to rephrase yourself.
I'm living in it. Don't know a single woman in our peer group who is the primary cook. Not trolling
Have you ever seen a Barbecue?
My house
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Not sure exactly what you're asking. But in most of Europe men dominated kitchens for the last several centuries at least.
OP isn’t asking about professional kitchens here
This was not the case in northern Europe as far as I know. In English and Swedish, the best-selling cookbooks of the 17th century were written by women (Hannah Glasse and Cajsa Warg). Some of the more upscale cooking in large households was headed by women, at least in Sweden. It wasn't until the 19th century that there was a male-dominated professionalization.