Should I give you a try? Consumers’ familiarity shapes preparation and consumption of dishes at home

We consume foods daily. Higher levels of familiarity to foods translate into more informed decisions that shape dietary habits. Previous studies have investigated consumers’ familiarity with individual foods while a handful have examined dishes, commonly the primary source of food intake. This emphasizes the need to consider consumers’ familiarity with dishes to better understand its influence on food choices and ingredient usage. This thesis investigated the role of consumers’ familiarity in the adaptation and adoption of home-cooked dishes. Traditional dishes and ethnic dishes, traditional dishes from abroad, were studied to portray different levels of familiarity. First, consumers’ baseline familiarity was determined by studying inhabitants’ perceptions of traditional foods and beverages (TFBs) in nine countries in America, Europe, and Asia. The key findings of the survey revealed that six out of nine countries exhibited a homogeneous food identity across generations, i.e., a distinctive core of TFBs across the age cohorts studied. Younger generations are reshaping the food identity in some countries by introducing new versions of TFBs, often emphasizing snacks and options that are easy to prepare and consume on-the-go. Afterwards, the Consumer Dish Familiarity Index (CDFI) was developed to measure consumers’ familiarity level to dishes. In-depth interviews were conducted with inhabitants from The Netherlands and Chile, countries with contrasting levels of globalisation, to study their motives and preferred contexts for preparing and consuming dishes. A highly familiar traditional dish (mashed potatoes with kale or chicken soup), a highly familiar adopted ethnic dish (lasagna Bolognese), and an unfamiliar ethnic dish (sukiyaki). Motives were predominantly individual-related. Dish-specific or social motives became significant when consumers were highly familiar or mainly unfamiliar with a dish, respectively. Home and restaurants were the most preferred consumption locations, with restaurants or home delivery for Dutch consumers. Dishes were typically consumed with family and friends. The connection between consumers’ familiarity and their home cooking practices was studied by identifying the types of adaptation strategies used when home cooking the dishes. Four strategies were identified: keeping, substituting, adding, and removing. The results showed that the four strategies were applied by consumers when home cooking the traditional dishes and lasagna Bolognese. Other ingredients from the national cuisine were added to traditional dishes. Sukiyaki underwent substitutions and removals when an ingredient was unknown. Dutch consumers also proposed additions to sukiyaki. Finally, conjoint analysis surveys were conducted to quantify the previous findings and apply them to a larger population. The results showed that keeping, removing, and adding ingredients were the leading strategies when home cooking lasagna Bolognese. Keeping and substituting were favoured when hypothetically preparing sukiyaki at home. Overall, consumers’ familiarity with a dish, its ingredients, and the possible substitutions available in the market shape the preferred adaptation strategies used by home cooks. The outcomes and tools developed in this thesis can be used by the food industry when developing and reformulating foods to be introduced into (new) markets. Health institutions could use them to better understand inhabitants’ home cooking habits to promote healthier diets in the population.