Importance of taste/food in religion
In most religions, taste is a sense that seems to be very underrated. The foods prepared for religious holidays, ceremonies, etc. all have special meanings to the religion. Things such as where it is prepared, how it is prepared, and what is said before it is to be eaten is tradition. Also, getting together with family members for religious meals is very meaningful, which is touched upon by Elizabeth Pèrez in her book, Religion in the Kitchen: Cooking, Talking, and the Making of Black Atlantic Traditions (2016).
Growing up Jewish, I can definitely relate to how taste is incorporated within Judaism. Holidays such as Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah, and Pesach (Passover) all have certain foods meaningful to them, as we say the respective prayers and feast. The holiday that has always been a point of emphasis for our family to get together is Passover. Every year, my grandparents host both sides of the family for Passover. My grandmother being very religious, takes this very seriously as she makes sure she has all the foods necessary for the Seder and using special plates and silverware that are strictly for passover use only. Some of the foods that are incorporated into the Seder and have significant meaning are a shank bone, an egg, bitter herbs, haroset (mixture of wine, nuts, and apples), and karpas which is a green of some sort. For example, we eat bitter herbs to illustrate the bitterness the Jews went through when they were enslaved in Egypt. This is a great example of how we connect the taste and mind, using the sense of taste to relate in a way to our ancestors. This can be relatable to Religion in the Kitchen: Cooking, Talking, and the Making of Black Atlantic Traditions (2016) as in the religion of Lacumí they eat and perform certain rituals which allow them to connect to the gods they worship.
Growing up Jewish, I can definitely relate to how taste is incorporated within Judaism. Holidays such as Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah, and Pesach (Passover) all have certain foods meaningful to them, as we say the respective prayers and feast. The holiday that has always been a point of emphasis for our family to get together is Passover. Every year, my grandparents host both sides of the family for Passover. My grandmother being very religious, takes this very seriously as she makes sure she has all the foods necessary for the Seder and using special plates and silverware that are strictly for passover use only. Some of the foods that are incorporated into the Seder and have significant meaning are a shank bone, an egg, bitter herbs, haroset (mixture of wine, nuts, and apples), and karpas which is a green of some sort. For example, we eat bitter herbs to illustrate the bitterness the Jews went through when they were enslaved in Egypt. This is a great example of how we connect the taste and mind, using the sense of taste to relate in a way to our ancestors. This can be relatable to Religion in the Kitchen: Cooking, Talking, and the Making of Black Atlantic Traditions (2016) as in the religion of Lacumí they eat and perform certain rituals which allow them to connect to the gods they worship. 
The meticulousness with which your grandmother prepares for Passover, with the special dishes and the special foods, and the impression it makes on you as a participant, reminds me a lot of the kind of "devotional" but very nuts and bolts prep work that went in in the cooking of food for the orishas in Lucumi as describe by Perez. I use the word "devotional" quite intentionally , because I think it's a religious way of describing both the particular actions and the attitude of attentiveness involved in making special efforts, taking extraordinary pains to make food, and food ceremonies for others. But I also used the words "attentiveness" and "devotion" to characterize what goes into the preparation of the Indonesian Qur'an reciters to perform their recitations, in my comment to Alyssa's post about Rasmussen's book. The sensual activities of making tasty food or beautiful sounds can be occasions to heighten attentiveness in otherwise relatively ordinary activities. Indeed, one modern scholar of religion, Jonathan Z. Smith, defined religious ritual as "mode of paying attention." What I'll put out to you, Zach, is the question: Are the Passover celebrations you've enjoyed and are enjoying now something you want to continue yourself and for the homes and subsequent generations you make? Do you see what's involved, how it works? Are you you ready to learn how to take that on?
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