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Chicago Food Culture

in The Too Busy to Diet Blog on September 21, 2014

Writing by Claire Allen, Dietetic Graduate Student at The University of Illinois at Chicago.

This past week, I had the opportunity to engage in an Ethnic Food and Community Nutrition Tour throughout Chicago as part of my curriculum at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  The tour began exploring Korean, Mexican and Middle Eastern markets, with a stop for a light lunch to taste Middle Eastern food, and ended exploring Asian and African grocery stores.  It was incredible to see first-hand all of the unique cuisines that Chicago has to offer within just a few miles from one another. 

As I was exploring each market, there were many foods that I had never been exposed to in my own American cuisine.  One food that caught my eye, was dried black lemons.  Upon a little bit of research, I learned that black lemons are not actually lemons at all – they are limes!!  Black lemons are a popular ingredient in Persian and Arabic cooking, and are made by boiling fresh limes and then leaving them out to dry in the sun. The powder made from black lemons has a sweet-tart flavor that is often used as a souring agent in soups, stews and chutneys.

As a resident of Chicago for the past ten years, it was an eye-opening experience to realized all of the unique ethnic foods that were literally right at my fingertips .   I’ve made a promise to myself to venture out and try these cuisines in the future, and I encourage you to do the same.