The Far North Nutrition: Food, Taste and Supply Ethnography in Chukotka

The present research is a description of particular aspects of nutrition practices of the people living in the Far North. The authors focus on the examination and analysis of particular case studies located in a specific territory – namely, one village and one city within the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Such a focus is due to the variability in culinary traditions, dietary practices, and food supply practices across different population centers. Based on ethnographic field materials acquired by the authors in the Chukotka village and city, the study delineates local variations of traditional dishes in the Chukchi national cuisine, while also analyzing the challenges of food supply and practices for procuring nutritional resources in Chukotka. The investigation addresses questions regarding how food, along with its taste and flavor, can elucidate cultural and social processes occurring in modern northern communities, as well as the formation of dietary habits in urban societal contexts.