Alex Burchmore, Tracing the long history of Aboriginal-Chinese people in Australia, through archives and art, The Conversation, 19 January 2026
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.
The later move into the kitchen can tell us something about changing attitudes toward cultures other than our own.