To capture cultural reality and apply it to nutrition research, ethnographic research should be integrated with nutrition research and community-based nutrition research designs should be dictated by the local culture. Choosing the most appropriate dietary assessment for a study population requires attention to culture-specific technology for food acquisition, storage, exchange, processing, and preparation, as well as consideration of cultural rules pertaining to food distribution and consumption at the household level. Nutrition researchers should work with ethnographers to determine whether the assessment method used in a specific culture should capture the food intake of the household as a unit or of the individuals in each household.