Comments on: The spread of British food

By: Rachel Laudan

Rachel Laudan — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:50:38 +0000

Jennifer, thanks for the comment. I’m looking forward to reading more of your blog. The Girl Scout cookie story is so typical. And it’s not just about meaning and identity. One man’s delicious is another man’s (or woman’s) disgusting.

By: Rachel Laudan

Rachel Laudan — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:48:45 +0000

Karen, fb won’t let me get to your nice post about never boring. So thanks for it her on comments. I’ll be posting more on taste and food.

By: Rachel Laudan

Rachel Laudan — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:46:24 +0000

Jennifer, thanks for commenting. I’m itching to write about chimichurri and your post will be a great help. Glad to hear that you enjoyed Hawaii. At the risk of self promotion, can I suggest that you look at my Food of Paradise. Though I say it myself it is the best book on the foods that people actually eat in Hawaii.

And I’ve put your blog on my reader.

By: Rachel Laudan

Rachel Laudan — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:44:21 +0000

Maria, your mother must have been really homesick. All those strange foods. She and so many others around the world.

By: maria v

maria v — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:05:57 +0000

in 1960s-1980s nz, i can remember my mum was always on the lookout for products on the shelves of stores that originated in her country, but there was very little indeed, only olives from pelion in central greece. they tasted nothing like the olives from crete that she was familiar with.

we were still able to get olive oil at an italian supplier, but it was considrered too expensive to use on a regular basis. in fact, the italian supplier procured all sorts of mediterranean products, and altho they were rarely from greece, they were the closest my mother got to store-bought mediterranean foods

the 1990s ushered a change when nz’s market changed when it lost uk as its main trading partner – now there are more products available from greece on nz supermarket shelves, even in places where there are traditionally very few greeks:
http://artanis71.blogspot.com/2009/05/1.html

By: Jennifer A. Wickes

Jennifer A. Wickes — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:25:33 +0000

Thanks for your thoughtful article. I am a freelance food writer that went to school for Spanish and Anthropology, but lived in Bermuda and Argentina…I appreciate your approach as a food historian. And I just returned from Hawaii 3 days ago!

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:05:02 +0000

Fascinating, Rachel. Particularly the call for objectivity. So difficult to do with anything in food!

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:59:50 +0000

I love your rule #1– and it is important. Food history has almost everything to do with meaning and identity and very little to do with taste. When a prominent U.S. food personality visited Adelaide a few years ago, she met with us and we were discussing our dissertations. When I told her about mine, which was on Girl Scout Cookies, she seemed to dismiss it by saying she didn’t like Girl Scout Cookies. I let it go, but wanted to say that liking them (or not) wasn’t the point. The point is that they mean something to almost every single American.