Delicious UK - (10)October 2020

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deliciousmagazine.co.uk 15

food for thought.

T

hishasbeenthemost

contradictoryyear.It will

berememberedastheone

whenwecherishedourhomes

andyearnedtogetoutofthem,

lovedourfamiliesbutsometimes

couldn’twaittoescapefromthem,

embracedtechnologyandgrew

exhaustedbythework-from-home

tyrannyit imposed.It’stheone

wherewedressedsmartlyfrom

thewaistup,inpyjamasfromthe

waistdown.Wecutourownhair,

didourowncolourandjustgoton

withit asbestwecould– allthe

working,thedisinfectingandthe

home-schooling,plusthejigsaws,

needlepointandgardeningwe

slottedintothespacewhere our

sociallivesusedtobe.

Forsome,‘asbestwecould’

involvednurturingkimchiand

tendingsourdoughstartersas

thoughtheywerethemostprecious

ofnewborns.Whenit comestoall

this,I’masbadasanyone,but

sometimesthesefancy-pants-in-

a-crisiswayswillcatchyouout.On

thehottestdayoftheyear,oneof

ourbottlesofhomemadekombucha

explodedalloverthekitchen.It had

hadenough.We’dallhadenough.

Butformany,accordingtoa

shoppingreporttheCo-opcarried

outwith2,000ofitscustomers,the

foodswecravedthisyearwereones

thatwouldhavefittedquitehappily

inourparents’orgrandparents’

shoppingbasketsinthe1970sand

1980s.SalesofSmashinstantmash

wentupby 59 percent,cornedbeef

wasup 90 percent,tinnedfishsales

soaredsix-fold,packettrifleswent

upseven-fold,andjellyandBird’s

custardpowdersalestrebled.

Tinnedfruitgota boosttoo,with

pineapple-ringsalesthreeand

a halftimesbiggerthannormal.

Thisdoesn’tsurpriseme,giventhe

frequencywithwhichI haveseen

thatretrocharmer,thepineapple

upside-downcake,showingup

onmyInstagramfeed(nonewson

glâcécherries,butI’msurethey

have also seen a rise in sales – if

weweren’tdoingourownhair,

it seems we were baking).

COMFORTSHOPPING

Ofallthethingsthatgarnered

attentiononmyownslightly

shambolicInstagramaccount

(followme@lickedspoon,I’m

needy),it wasn’tthewarmsquid

andpotatosaladorthecanardaux

cerisesbutthecornedbeefpiemade

tomyAuntieLouie’srecipecirca

1968 thatdrewthemostadmiring,

madeleine-momentresponses.

Ofcourse,someofthisis easyto

explainaway.Ata timewhenwe

werealllimitinghowoftenwewent

tothesupermarketandmakingthe

mostofanygrocerydeliveryslots

wemightbeabletogetourhands

on,it madesensetostockupon

foodwitha longshelflife.

Butit’saboutmorethanthat.

Whenwereachedfororclickedon

Smashandpackettrifle,wewere

choosingfoodsthatremindedusof

a timewhenpossiblylifefeltsafer

andmorecertain,moreoptimistic,

thanit doesnow.WhenI look at

thelistofold-turned-new

favourites,it remindsmeofSunday

afternoonsatmygrandmother’s

house.Admittedly,shewasa

terriblecook– butshewas

a wonderfulperson,andmy

memoriesoftimespentwithher

areveryhappyones.Weknitted,

wesewed,sherecitedhugechunks

ofShakespearefrommemory,we

madepackettrifleandcheesecake

froma box,andSundaylunchwas

alwaysfollowedbytinnedfruit

salad with condensed milk.

AREWEJUSTWHATWEEAT?

Whatweeatis aboutmorethan

physicalnourishment.WhileI love

to cook, shop for food, try new

things,visitnewrestaurantsand

exploreculturesthatareunfamiliar

tomethroughtheirfoodtraditions,

sometimesI gettired.I gettiredof

thewaythat,insteadofbeingabout

pleasure,foodis oftenusedasa

socialsignifier:a wayofdenoting

classandsophistication,a wayto

getoneoveronanotherperson–

it’sone-upmanshipwithknifeand

fork.Butyouknowwhat?Takea

seatfora minute,LadyJudgment.

Weareallweary,andsometimes

whatwereallywantis triflefrom

a packet,if that’sokaywithyou?

Ofcourseit’smoreimportant

thaneverforustoknowwhereour

foodcomesfromandhowit’s been

grownandreared– if nothing

else,thesepastmonthshaveshown

ushowwemustcherishanddo

everythingwecantopreserve

ourowngoodhealth.Butthe

levelsofculinaryshow-offery,

theexhausting,relentless,

performative,Instagrammable

perfectionofsomuchweonce

aspiredtoachieveinthekitchen

nowfeels– tomeatleast– slightly

outoftouchwiththetimes.

Letpeoplelovewhattheylove.

Ofcourse,allofusflippingthrough

thesewonderfulpagescrave

beautiful,seasonal,carefullymade

andinterestingfood,butsometimes

youjustwantSaladCreamonyour

saladratherthana homemade

vinaigrettemadewithsingle-estate

cold-pressedoilfromtheleft-hand

sideoftheolivegrove– andthat

is absolutelyfine.Rightnow,

whateveryouneedtohelpyou

getby,toimproveyourstateof

calm,tocheeryourself up, seems

allrightwithme.

Theheartwantswhatit wants,

andif sometimesthat’sBird’scustard

and jelly, knock yourself out.

Foodisoftenusedasasocialsignifier:

awayofdenotingclassandsophistication,

awaytogetoneoveronanotherperson–

it’s one-upmanship with knife and fork