What is gastronomy?
What Does gastronomy Mean
To know the meaning of the term in question, it is necessary to first discover its etymological origin. In this case, we can point out that it is a word that derives from Greek, it is exactly the result of the sum of several components of that language:
-The noun “gaster, gastrós”, which can be translated as “stomach”.
-The word "nomos", which is synonymous with "rule".
-The suffix “-ia”, which is equivalent to “quality”.
The concept of gastronomy is used with reference to the skill and knowledge to prepare food . The term can refer to the art consisting of the preparation of food , the set of culinary traditions and recipes of a place or the attachment to good food .
For example: “I really like gastronomy, I am always looking for new recipes to prepare for my family” , “Mexican gastronomy is characterized by the use of spicy ingredients” , “I spend a good part of my money on gastronomy and travel ” .
It is important to mention, therefore, that the notion of gastronomy has a very broad meaning. At a general level, it is linked to the relationship between people and their diet . That is why the word is associated with the preparation of food , the way it is served and its cultural relevance, among other issues.
Given this breadth of meanings, it is possible to classify gastronomy in multiple ways. Often appeals to this idea to name the dishes of a country or region: German cuisine , Japanese cuisine , Andean gastronomy , etc.
The usual thing is that each country and even each population is committed to promoting and extolling its gastronomy as a way to attract more tourism or to make one of the attractions of the place known. Precisely for this reason, from Córdoba (Spain) their salmorejo or flamenquín are known, from Galicia empanadas are famous or from Castilla la Mancha their crumbs stand out.
The fact that more and more tourists choose a destination taking into account its gastronomy has led Spain to establish what is known as the Spanish Capital of Gastronomy. The Spanish Federation of Tourism Journalists and Writers (FEPET) was the one that encouraged each year the Spanish Hospitality Federation to choose a city in the country to act as its representative at the culinary level and to publicize its wealth in that sense.
La Rioja, Burgos, Vitoria, Cáceres, Toledo, Huelva, León or Almería are the cities that up to this moment have had the honor of being chosen as capitals of gastronomy.
Depending on the type of ingredients used, on the other hand, it can distinguish between vegan cuisine , vegetarian cuisine and gastronomy frugivorous , to name a few possibilities. As for how to prepare food, it is possible to differentiate between the molecular gastronomy , the industry food and other.
There are many professionals who specialize in some facet of gastronomy. Anyone who is an expert in different aspects of this art is known as a gourmet .