RELISH Survey on Typicality: Shared Representations of Culturally Typical Recipes

The "Survey on Typicality" report presents the conceptual framework, methodology, and preliminary results of the Sacrilege on a Plate (Soap) study. This study derives from survey data on typicality conducted within WP3 (“INGREDIENTS - Data Collection”) of the RELISH project. Corresponding datasets can be found here: dishes_dataset & ingredients_dataset. Led by Institut Lyfe Research Centre (LYFE) under the coordination of Fundació Alícia (FA), with the contribution of all consortium partners for the translation and cultural validation of the surveys, this work contributes to Task 3.3 (T3.3) and supports the ontology and conceptual developments of WP4. Together with the data collected in T3.2, it contributes to building a contemporary cognitive map of European culinary heritage that will inform RELISH ontologies, recommendation systems, and participatory digital tools. The deliverable reports the first phase of a three-step cross-cultural study conducted in seven European countries to identify culturally typical dishes, characterise the relative importance of ingredients within recipes, and establish an empirical framework for investigating ingredient substitution. Beyond presenting the survey methodology and preliminary findings, the report introduces the concept of structured flexibility, which proposes that recipe adaptation should be understood as a continuum rather than as a choice between fixed tradition and unrestricted modification. This framework provides the foundation for the subsequent experimental phases of the project and contributes to the development of culturally informed approaches to sustainable recipe adaptation within RELISH. The report is a deliverable (D3.5) for the European Union-funded RELISH (Reframing European gastronomy Legacy through Innovation, Sustainability and Heritage) project, which innovates culinary recipes as digital and cultural tools to promote cultural heritage and connect with emerging adults.