Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities
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Pertanika ยท Universiti Putra Malaysia Press

Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities

Official journal of Universiti Putra Malaysia for scholarly work across the social sciences, humanities and related interdisciplinary fields.

e-ISSN 2231-8534 ISSN 0128-7702
Research article

Cultural Obstacles to Changing Social Food Taste of Iranians; Case Study: To Change the Taste from Traditional to Bulky Bread

Zohreh Anvari

KeywordsBulky bread, eating habits, social taste, traditional bread
Article content

Abstract

Due to social, cultural, and economic reasons, however, eating habits are not easy to change. Food taste formation begins at birth with breastfeeding and evolves throughout the life course under varying social and cultural circumstances. Since the formation of food taste occurs within social and cultural contexts, changing the related habits is subject to the same influences. In this research, we demonstrated how our samples preferred to use traditional white breads like “Sangak”, “Barbari”, and “Lavash”, instead of bulky baguettes and French breads that were presumed to be more nutrient-richer. This research was done by deep interviews with 20 people from Tehran, the capital city of Iran. Our study had been conducted in the qualitative research framework through in-depth interviews. The major reasons people gave for their food choices in favour of traditional breads included availability, family routines, ceremony, lower prices of traditional breads, and, most importantly, the habit of consuming traditional breads developed from childhood. On the other hand, and despite the constant media promotions in favour of bulky breads, its consumption was not equally distributed among social classes. This research shows that economic condition, education, and exposure to media are influential factors in determining consuming behaviours regarding bulky and traditional breads.