Food as religion

[jackal10]

Jonathan. I agree entirely.

Many of these shibboleths are irrational, or perhaps were once rational but now with better understanding and food processing are not relevant. For example over-cooking of pork to ensure against Trichinosis. The last recorded case in the UK was in 2000 in imported meat, although in the US there are still a handful of cases reported from eating bear and cougar. The risk of getting Trichinosis from eating undercooked pork in the UK is less than that of being struck by lightening while cooking or eating it, yet still we suffer from over cooked pork.

Others, like the demise of starch based sauces are simply fashion, and as such are used to distinguish the in-group from the out-group.