The More I Know About Food By Linda Stowe
I learn something new about food almost every week. The information rarely comes from a single source or in any organized way—I simply grasp bits from random comments, online posts, and even the occasional piece of clickbait. You’d think I already know more than enough about food, but when something new comes my way, I pay attention.
Some examples of what I learned recently:
This past week, Alex, a Mexican line cook I follow on YouTube, talked about the challenge of recreating the kitchen he had in California now that he has moved back to Mexico. He mentioned that the “secret sauce” (not really a secret) used on hamburgers by many fast-food chains is a variation of Thousand Island dressing. One key ingredient is pickle juice, but Alex can’t easily find pickles in Mexico because they simply aren’t common there—a fact that surprised me. He worked around it by using vinegar instead. But I wondered why Alex wanted to recreate his California experience in Mexico.
Yesterday I read an article about unusual food choices by presidents. Surprisingly, Trump was mentioned only in passing. The examples that stood out were the breakfast habits of Grant and Nixon. Ulysses S. Grant began every morning with a pickled cucumber and a cup of coffee, a routine he developed in the Union Army. Richard Nixon preferred something from his childhood: a bowl of cottage cheese with ketchup on top, like gravy. Regardless of how powerful these men were, they still reached for food that offered comfort.
That’s what fascinates me about food. It tells us about people—their history, their culture, and the lives they’ve lived. If you want to understand someone, notice what they eat.
Wordle guess words: about, learn, grasp, gravy
~~~~~~~
Polly here.
I love that some people learn every day. Linda is one of those people. She learns about a wide array of topics, from food to beaver dams to walking in New York City. And everything in between.
But food is the topic of discovery here. I, along with many other people, love to eat. Some of us love to try new things, while others prefer to stick to the same old, same old.
For most of my life, I have been a repeater when it comes to food. I eat the same things over and over. But given the chance, I will gladly try something new. I love to experience things I’ve never known before. I remember one time, in Amsterdam, the item on the menu was a “meat” sandwich. We asked what kind of “meat” it was, and the waiter was not sure of what it might be. I threw caution to the wind and ordered that meat sandwich. It was delicious, whatever it was.
And, despite the fact that it was Crooked Nixon, I now want to try cottage cheese topped with ketchup.
Food is to be discovered. Imagine the first person to eat an egg or peel an orange. What a concept.
Perhaps food is a great reminder that our entire Universe is something to be discovered. Those things that we have never known before await us patiently. And so we should go. May we all look outward and inward with voracious appetites for the wonders that lie in waiting.
