Tasting as a social practice: a methodological experiment in making taste public

• Published in: Social & cultural geography Vol. 23; no. 5; pp. 739 - 756
• Main Authors: Jackson, Peter, Evans, David, Truninger, Mónica, Baptista, João, Nunes, Nádia Carvalho
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 13-06-2022; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Comida; Communication; Concept formation; Cooking; Embodiment; Families & family life; Food; Food preparation; Friendship; goût; Nourriture; Ontology; Portugal; pratique sociale; práctica social; Reino Unido; Royaume-Uni; sabor; Shopping; social practice; Social relations; Taste; Portugal
• ISSN: 1464-9365; 1470-1197
• DOI: 10.1080/14649365.2020.1809013

Based on fieldwork in the UK and Portugal, this paper considers the relationships between cultural analyses of taste and the embodied activity of tasting. As part of a wider project on the multiple ontologies of 'freshness', the paper conceptualises taste as an emergent effect of tasting practices. Drawing on evidence from a series of 'tasting events' (where research participants were recorded shopping, cooking and eating a meal with friends and family), the paper explores the multiple dimensions of taste concluding that even the most personal and sensory aspects of tasting food involve a social dimension which we interpret through the lens of practice theory. The paper identifies three specific dimensions of tasting as a social practice involving food's material and visceral qualities; the links between embodiment and emotion; and the contextual significance of family and social relations. Our findings contribute to recent debates about 'making taste public', even in the apparently private context of household consumption.