Food Innovation and Tradition: Interplay and Dynamics

Food innovation is commonly perceived as the antagonist of food tradition, functioning either as a threat or as an opportunity within societies. However, the interrelation between both terms is much more complex than often assumed by the public and played out by contemporary food marketing. To illustrate their multidimensionality and intricate dynamics as social and historical constructions (e.g., relying on heritagization moments), the present chapter presents the case studies of meat, bread, and tea. In that order, they represent foods that cover vastly different time-scales of consumption, with their origins in the western world historically dating back to the Paleolithic, the Neolithic, and Early Modernity. As such, they demonstrate that tradition and innovation are mutually constitutive, with tradition feeding into innovation and vice versa.