Culture of Food

During the 1960’s, food became a form of youth culture and resistance. People begin moving away from the typical meat-and-potatoes dinner to more natural and organic foods. This is apparent when Belasco explains how upset he could make his roommates by “leaving the meat out of the lasagna, injecting the roast beef with red dye, or serving octopus instead of tuna salad.” He then continues by adding, “In 1970, my wife and I met our first macrobiotic, who seemed irritatingly self-righteous and mystical; but soon we too turned vegetarian and came to appreciate the provocative power of refusing steak at the family dinner table” (Belasco). In the Ruth Reichl book, she explains how she simply wanted that sense of belonging and how food became a part of her culture. She wanted to be a good cook in order to gain social acceptance. She wanted a niche, but she already had a humorous friend and a beautiful friend, so cooking was her only other option. Belasco then shows how the culture of food had changed worldwide. He explains that “eating is more than just a private, physiological act; it connects us to people and places all over the world – past, present, and future” (Belasco). Ruth also experiences a similar adjustment in culture due to food. Ruth initially shows some resistance when she refuses to go to France because she just wanted to be normal and work at Dairy Queen. However, she eventually agrees to move to France and upon arrival, she notices how her outlook on food has changed. She has begun seeking out new foods and ingredients to incorporate into her diet and cooking. Food became a part of her culture. Another common occurrence during this time period is the sense of temptation and the act of over indulging. Teenagers are always dealing with this sense of temptation and over indulgence. One example that Ruth refers to is devil’s food cake, which is very tempting and people tend to over indulge when eating it. Devil’s food cake embodies the culture of the time period.

"Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch"

American’s are becoming increasingly fascinated with cooking shows, while cooking in the home is on the decline. Michael Pollan, the author of the article “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch,” argues that “it has been easier for us to give up cooking than it has been to give up watching it.” He continues to make his point by adding that “watching other people cook is not exactly a new behavior for us humans. Most of us have happy memories of watching our mothers cooking in the kitchen.” The typical American has nearly eliminated cooking in their everyday life; according to Pollan, “the average American spends a mere 27 minutes a day on food preparation and another 4 minutes cleaning up. This suggests that a great many Americans are spending considerably more time watching images of cooking on television than they are cooking themselves.” This is occurring in virtually all American households so much so that the definition of “cooking” had to be adjusted. Harry Balzer of the NPD Group “noticed that the definition of cooking held by his respondents had grown so broad as to be meaningless, so the firm tightened up the meaning. To cook means to prepare a main dish that requires some degree of ‘assembly of elements.’ Microwaving a pizza doesn’t count as cooking, but washing a head of lettuce and pouring bottled dressing over it does” (Pollan). The shift in American culture has been attributed to our fascination with cooking shows. This is due in large part to Erica Gruen, the cable executive often credited with putting the Food Network on the map. It was her understanding that “people don’t watch television to learn things. So she shifted the network’s target audience form people who love to cook to people who love to eat” (Pollan). Many of today’s cooking shows also utilize ingredients which contain a combination of other ingredients. Pollan claims that “canned soups, jarred mayonnaise, frozen vegetables, powdered sauces, vanilla wafers, limeade concentrate, and Marshmallow Fluff” are all “ingredients” used in many of today’s cooking shows. Many ads on the Food Network also shy away from cooking in the home. These “food-related ads hardly ever hawk kitchen appliances or ingredients.” They tend to “push the usual supermarket cart of edible foodlike substances, including Manwich sloppy joe in a can, Special K protein shakes and Ore-Ida frozen French fries, along with fast-casual eateries like Olive Garden and Red Lobster” (Pollan). They advertise cooking with already assembled products that you only have to heat or mix. These shows and advertisements provide us with more satisfaction than the actual task of cooking. It is easy to see why this fascination with cooking shows is driving Americans out of the kitchen.

References:

Pollan, Michael. "Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch." New York Times. 2 Aug 2009: MM26. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/magazine/02cooking-t.html>.