Doufu, Rice Wine, and 面饼: Supporting the Connections between Precision and Cultural Knowledge in Cooking

Title of the Paper

Doufu, Rice Wine, and Flatbread: Supporting the Connections between Precision and Cultural Knowledge in Cooking

Paper Information

• Research Domain: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research, integrating cultural knowledge and precision control in food preparation
• Keywords: design theory, making culture, critical creation, technology and culinary innovation, precision control, home cooking, automation tools, cultural memory

Research Background and Problem

• Identified Problems or Challenges:

  1. Technological advancements and precision-based cooking practices often overlook the importance of cultural knowledge.
  2. For many individuals, the lack of necessary cooking skills and knowledge rooted in family or cultural contexts makes it difficult to recreate culturally significant dishes.
  3. Contemporary high-tech food preparation systems tend to focus more on precision and performance while paying less attention to everyday contexts and cultural heritage.

• Why This Problem Matters:

  1. Food preparation is not only a source of physical nourishment but also plays a significant role in strengthening social connections through performance, ritualization, and memory.
  2. In an increasingly globalized world, many people have moved away from their home countries and families, requiring culturally significant food preparation to maintain identity, emotional belonging, and cultural memory.

• Research Motivation and Related Work:

  1. Previous HCI research has explored how technology can support ancestral skills and extend existing culinary rituals, but there has been less focus on how precise digital tools can convey cultural knowledge.
  2. The authors aim to explore the potential of combining precision control with cultural knowledge in cooking to enhance home and personalized culinary experiences.

Solution

• Proposed Method or Solution: The authors developed a lightweight open-source hardware toolkit to bridge technical measurement with culturally significant home cooking. For three traditional dishes (flatbread, rice wine, and doufu), the toolkit supports the automation of precise tasks (e.g., measurement, counting, and timing) to allow cooks to focus on the cultural traditions embedded in the cooking process.

• Innovative Aspects of the Solution:

  1. The toolkit is modular and reconfigurable, enabling users to adjust sensors and actuators for different applications.
  2. With lightweight design and open-source accessibility, the toolkit is easy to share, expand, and balances user operation with technical support.
  3. The tools seek a balance between technical optimization and cultural heritage, avoiding reinforcement of gendered or racialized stereotypes in home cooking practices.

• Implementation Steps and Techniques:

  1. Construct modules, including sensors, actuators (e.g., heating devices, stirring equipment), and controllers.
  2. Use closed-loop systems to control tasks such as precise temperature regulation and ingredient dosage distribution.
  3. Open-source the toolkit design and iteratively optimize its applicability through experimental cooking.
  4. Record, reflect, and share first-person experimental insights, engaging deeply with culturally significant dishes (e.g., flatbread, rice wine, doufu) to extract new design insights that integrate technology and ritual.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Results:

  1. The study introduces a new perspective on the coexistence of "precision control" and "cultural knowledge," integrating industrial-grade precision technology into home cooking without abandoning cultural and skill inheritance.
  2. Developed and shared a lightweight open-source hardware toolkit to provide technical support for home cooking environments.

• Advantages:

  1. Compared to existing large-scale cooking automation tools, this toolkit is more lightweight, flexible, and tailored to personal application scenarios.
  2. The toolkit enables users to conduct high-precision experiments without losing agency, achieving a balance between learning, cultural transmission, and creative cooking.

• Experimental or Evaluation Results: The toolkit demonstrated effectiveness in experiments involving the creation of flatbread (four-layered), rice wine, and doufu. In these experiments, the authors utilized technology to optimize tasks (e.g., temperature control, time management) while experiencing the process of learning and transmitting traditional knowledge. The experiments also highlighted differences in ritualization and precision requirements across various recipes.

• Limitations and Future Directions:

  1. The toolkit's application is limited by users' understanding and operational skills regarding precision instruments.
  2. When dealing with traditional recipes, the toolkit may disconnect from cultural background knowledge. Future research could explore how technological support can more transparently help users understand cultural dimensions.
  3. The toolkit could be extended to applications in more culturally diverse contexts and tested in other everyday craft scenarios.

Conclusion

This paper demonstrates the potential of ritualized cooking practices through the development of a lightweight hardware toolkit that is both precise and culturally sensitive. It provides new perspectives to HCI research on culture and digitization, offering design insights for creating tools that support the transmission and practice of cultural knowledge.