Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Signs You are Not a Foodie

Seriously, I am so sick of the term. When I entered the profession fifteen years ago, not many people used it and the ones who did were credentialed, either as professionals or passionate cooks. Now everyone who eats thrice daily is a foodie.

I don't call myself a foodie for a few reasons. One is heirloom tomatoes, which I'm embarrassed to admit I just don't care for. Another is condiments including, but not limited to, Heinz ketchup and Hellman's/Best Food's mayonnaise. The last is Philadelphia cream cheese. In each case, the product equals the brand. Oh, I'll add Heinz malt vinegar here, too, since I can't possibly shake anything else onto my oven fries.

Perhaps someone with a very sophisticated palate would not insist upon zero variation in the taste and texture of their tomatoes, condiments or cream cheese. Maybe only a real foodie can appreciate Zingerman's fresh cream cheese or Aunt Fern's homemade ketchup. Maybe only real foodies are delighted by non-conforming tomatoes.  But I don't. So I cannot be a foodie.

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The Ketchup Conundrum (gladwell.com)
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2 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm totally with you on the ketchup and mayonnaise, but I have to confess I don't think I could tell the difference between any two brands of cream cheese. State your case.

Katie Fairbank said...

i don't care for the flavor or texture of other brands. grocery-store cream cheese is made using various stabilizers like xanthan, carob bean and guar gum. as gross as that all is, the balance is very important to how the product will taste and behave when you beat it, or smear it on a toasted bagel. philly behaves well.