Metaphors of cooking and eating are a firm favourite among writers on multiculturalism. No comment on cultural contact seems complete without the proverbial “melting pot”. This metaphor tends to imply a balanced mix of diverse ingredients, each adding its own flavour but merging with the whole.
We now associate this image with visions of broth, stew, maybe a fondue. In the early 20th century, however, the phrase more often suggested an alchemical blending of base metals in a crucible. The turning of lead into gold stood in for the conversion of the foreign into the familiar.
