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Seasonality
How time shapes what is available in Tunisian households
Expectation Is Disciplined
Certain foods are not expected at all times.
When something is out of season, it is simply absent.
The decision ends there.
Households do not search for replacements that recreate the missing food.
They move on to what is present.
Desire contracts to match availability.
Absence Ends the Question
Markets do not promise continuity.
They signal timing.
When a product is missing, the absence itself is information.
It removes the option without explanation.
No additional effort is required.
No frustration is expressed.
The meal adapts.
Substitution Without Emphasis
When freshness ends, preserved forms take over.
Dried, stored, or conserved ingredients enter meals quietly.
They are not framed as lesser versions of what is missing.
They are simply what exists now.
Seasonality does not interrupt eating.
It redirects it.
Repetition Increases
As availability narrows, meals simplify.
The same foods appear more often.
Menus contract rather than diversify.
This repetition is not discussed.
It is accepted as part of the year.
Eating becomes predictable again.
Time Is Treated as a Constraint
Seasonality is not managed emotionally.
It is managed structurally.
Households adjust their expectations instead of trying to overcome time.
What is available defines what is eaten.
The calendar does not need to be explained.
It is already understood.
What This Makes Possible
Because seasonality is accepted, food does not require constant negotiation.
Absence does not create urgency.
Presence does not require celebration.
Time is allowed to pass without resistance.
Meals continue.
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