Salt. Fat. Acid. Heat. Media.

Abstract: According to Samin Nosrat’s (2017) best-selling cookbook, salt, fat, acid and heat are key to cooking good food. At the same time, the process of making food has never been more connected with media. Given how intertwined food and media are today, I also add media to the list of ingredients. Food has become a popular topic in traditional media, as well as on new digital platforms. Since there is already a large body of research on food media texts, this thesis concentrates on food media related practices in the everyday life and the convergence between traditional and digital food media. For this study, a mixed-method approach was chosen, which included a questionnaire and a subsequent in-depth interview for the participants. The qualitative analysis of the data builds on a theoretical framework which draws first and foremost on Couldry’s (2004) Practice Theory which is complemented by Foth & Hearn’s (2007) Communication Ecology Theory to organize the practices. The food media practices of the study participants illustrated how embedded media have become in everyday practices and explained the convergence between traditional and digital food media. At the same time, the results brought media power dynamics to light and demonstrated that even media, that seems innocent at first, has to be consumed with a critical eye.