Pollo Saltado as I fended off a hungry llama in Cusco, Peru. Carne de Porco a Alentejana in as I fended a hungry friend in Sintra, Portugal. Seafood Gumbo as I filmed a hungry comedian in New Orleans. These are just a few of my favorite memories tied to food.
Food defines a place as much as the people and buildings in it do. Around the world people have distinct cuisines that define their culture. What they eat is a huge part of who they are. The question that I asked is: “Who am I?”
While in Phuket, Thailand over a spicy pad krapow moo sap a friend of mine asked, “You’re not white, what are you?” As I understood it, most of my ancestors are European, in other words: pretty white. I have dark features though, so much so a friend I have known for years asked me my ethnicity. Am I adopted and my parents didn’t tell me? Did my mom have a thing for the milk man? Is it just natural?
To answer that question I turned to 23andMe, the popular genetic testing service that gives you a detailed breakdown of your ancestry based on your DNA. Soon after I ordered I got a box to have my saliva sampled. There is a tube that you must spit in…and spit…and spit. I haven’t spit that much in well…ever. It was very simple to use and mail back.
A few weeks later I got the results and according to the results I’m pretty white, my DNA is 99.1% European. Here is the break down:
At least I equal 100%, I’d be concerned if I didn’t.
What am I going to do with these results? Same thing I do every day, Pinky, eat! My goal is to travel to each of these areas where my ancestors are from and try some of the more famous local dishes and share my journey with you in a series of articles. The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy better watch out because of I’m coming for them!
Another fascinating report that was included with my 23andMe results is a portion called “Traits” which breaks down likely traits you may have. I am 53% more likely to think that cilantro tastes like soap and can likely smell asparagus odor in my urine. I will explore the traits section in a few articles also (look Dad, I get to write about pee!)
