The cooking traditions of a group or community are called foodways.
	[PHOTO BY ERIN ROTH] Marjorie Nejdl from Cedar Rapids makes a Czech pastry.

Foodways consist of items grown, gathered, or procured for eating; customary ways of food preparation; the utensils, tools, and technologies used to prepare, serve, and eat the foods; and the social contexts and practices that make preparation, cooking, and eating meaningful—for example, kitchens and backyard barbeques, holiday meals, and stories told about certain dishes and occasions.

Folklife Background

The handout, a recipe and commentary for stroopwafels from Loretta Hegeman and Elaine Kane, provides a beginning point for this lesson. Stroopwafels are Dutch syrup cookies, still made in Iowa for various celebratory occasions. As is evident in the handout, stroopwafels are more than just a food—their cooking provides an occasion for family get-togethers and discussion. Making the stroopwafels involves the passing of knowledge from one generation to the next, and a particular utensil—in this case a Norwegian krumkake iron.