Instapundit links to a food article at a website called getpocket.com. Food articles I almost never read but this one caught my fancy, and maybe it will catch yours. The title was what got my attention.
The Economics Behind Grandma’s Tuna Casseroles
Author Megan McArdle makes a couple of good points about the past. First, that much of what we take for granted simply did not exist then: fresh vegetables out of season, inexpensive spices, elaborate food prep appliances. Second, we rarely ate at restaurants as we couldn’t afford it and take out wasn’t widely available so bad cooks, of whom there were plenty, still had to put something on the table every night.
I found this interesting, perhaps you will too, if like me you’ve lived a long time, experienced a few memorably bad cooks, and eaten a lot of thrown-together ‘cuisine.’ I’m remembering the two years in the 1960s I shared a house with two other grad student guys.
We had 6 standard meals we’d make once a week, regardless of who was cooking, and Sundays we were left to fend for ourselves. I remember some of them: tacos, pizza, spaghetti, burger gravy on rice, everything contained some purchased processed stuff and was based on ground beef which was cheap and useful in many ways. Mostly they tasted good, filled our bellies, were quick to prepare, and easy to clean up.
See McArdle’s conclusion:
Explaining the food of yesteryear doesn’t require exotic theories about culture and politics. It mostly requires understanding the economics of food production and distribution, and the path dependence of culinary choices. The past is indeed another country, and like every country, it had its own cuisine that made the most of local resources.
