Would you like some nutrition with your salt?

At some point, each one of us has turned around a bottle or can of diet coke and thought, "I wonder how something could have no calories, no fat, no carbohydrates, no sugar, and still taste good". I'm sure these thoughts resonated in our minds for a few moments before we shrugged, and tilted back the can to partake in the calorie free, sodium filled nectar.

The Experience of drinking diet coke is one which is very different from most refreshments. The funny thing is, not many of us stop to actually analyze what exactly it is that so addicting about the beverage. I personally indulge in a diet coke every now and then, and always find it quite pleasing. Yet, it wasn't until a few weeks ago in class that I really stopped to analyze, and answer the question; why are we addicted to diet coke?

As I sipped the the diet coke, I had mixed feelings, but only because we were just analyzing as a class just how bad diet coke really is for you. On any other day, I would have slipped on the blissful beverage with glee and not thought twice about it. But on this particular afternoon I began to analyze what exactly it was that made diet coke so delicious to me. I believe it begins with the carbonation, it fizzes on your tongue and down your throat with a chemical burn you just can't get from juice. This fizziness almost opens your taste-buds and sends a shock to its system, immediately wanting more. 

But then there's the debate on how to drink it. Personally, I like it out of the can with a straw, I think there's something about the aluminum which is so enticing. Others prefer lots of ice, which I feel waters it down and lessens the flavor. Either way, diet coke contains the sensory satisfaction which is  the combination of salty and sweet which covers your tongues every desire, and makes it so addicting. 

Independent Eating

Lets set a scene;

You're at a party with a buffet which looks amazing, meats, cheeses, fruits, and above all you're starving. You could dive on the table and swim in the food you're so excited, but there's one problem, no one else has touched it, or is even near it for that matter. You are torn between filling you belly and feeling awkward as the lone sole at the buffet. Finally, you find someone who is also hungary, eyeing the buffet in awe. You two decide to concur the buffet together, for together you are not alone, you have a partner, and half as many eyes watching you. Of course, once the food has been touched, others feel it is safe and slowly people mingle their way towards the food, to join you in your fully belly.

If this has never happened to you, and you're always the lone buffet approacher I applaud you. For most people, being the only one eating is awkward and embarrassing, and they would rather starve then eat by them selves. The same goes for ordering food, I have found myself to want to wait for the other person's food to arrive before digging in not just out of manners, but because I don't like to be the only one eating. So I pose the question then, why is it hard for people to eat alone?

When I stop and think about it, the only times I eat alone are when I am alone. If I'm hungary and want to go out to eat, I usually get it to go, rather than sit in the restaurant alone. Although I'm sure this reasoning varies from case to case, I realized I don't like eating alone in public because I feel as though others are watching me. This is not to say people aren't watching me when I'm with someone else, but again, you're sharing the amount of eyes that could be watching.

Then of course there's the dilemma of being with someone, but being the only one eating. This bothers me even more because I'm sure they're watching me, they're sitting right across from me. Suddenly I find myself wondering, do I have food on my face? Am I eating really loud? Am I not talking enough because I'm busy chewing? And suddenly I feel a sense of urgency and want to finish my meal so I might engage in the conversation better.

Again, these are only my experiences and I'm sure plenty of people are perfectly content with eating alone, but I must finally point out then when someone comes into the restaurant which I work at alone, they eat faster than anyone else there and I frequently see them looking around... so who's to say.

*What's in a name?

When the quarter first started I was looking over the syllabus, getting a feel for the class when I cam upon week 6, collard greens week. I honestly have no idea what collard greens are, but immediately I didn't like the sound of them. There was something about the name that didn’t settle with me right. I tried to place weather I had eaten the dish before and just didn't remember, maybe I had hated it as a child and the memories were coming back. Maybe I had eaten it and simply didn't know what it was at the time. As much as I racked my brain however, I couldn't come up with a reason, it simply just didn't sound good.

Weeks later, Ann brought up the food in class, and we began discussing its origins. Collard greens had been a food of slaves, and therefore, a food that was looked down upon during the time of slavery. Now I will stop here to say that I am not a bit racist and immediately felt guilty for my sour feelings toward collard greens. I couldn't believe I had had the initial unpleasant reaction, without knowing a thing about the food, and yet hadn't stopped to further examine why past my own lack of experience with the food. Appalled by my reaction, I slipped into an uncomfortable state, feeling shame for my guttural feeling but also curious. Why had I felt this reaction? Why when presented with a food that I thought I had no connection with or knowledge of had I reacted to negatively? It was then that the class discussion turned to "food taboos", and I soon realized my gut reaction was one which had been unconsciously engraved it me, probably from a young age.

This "slave food" came about because slaves weren't given a large variety of food in which to choose from. Due to these circumstances, collard greens became a staple. The poor collard green, (which really was innocent if you think about it) became labeled as unworthy, a food of a lower class, dirty even. Funny to think that if collared greens had been popular amongst slave owners, the taboo would have never come about. Imagine if mashed potatoes had been slave food, then how would we react to it?

I suspect I'm not the only one who had this reaction, but it was so unconscious I couldn't find it's origins so save my life. It makes me wonder what other food taboos I have lurking, waiting to spring out and make me feel guilty again. As much as I dread that happening though, I also look forward to it, because I believe you learn something about yourself. I learned that my pre-conceived notion was not made up and actually held a deep cultural meaning, which I was completely unaware of.

*An Identification with a Love of Food

When I first read the prompt to write about a food I "identify with", I was a bit puzzled. I began thinking about the possible connections I could draw upon between culture, race, family etc, and the food that I consume. I began with race. As someone of mixed backgrounds, I have never fully identified with one food group. I cold have an English breakfast, Irish lunch, Native American snack, Mexican dinner and French dessert and still not have eaten from every background.

I suppose though, having an aunt who makes the best Menudo you will ever have, makes it easy for me to identify with Mexican cuisine, specifically my aunts Menudo. In fact, the Menudo recipe is one that I have wanted to get for her from sometime. Just writing about it makes me crave it. It is by any definition, the ultimate Mexican hang-over-cure soup. Being a festive bunch that my family is, the soup is typically prepared for the next morning, and there isn't a single person who passes it up. Menudo not only acts as a cultural identity, but as a family one as well.

But then, there's the Caesar salad my mom makes. That’s a whole other story. The Caesar dressing my mom makes has so much garlic in it you're mouth will burn. But that won't stop you, because it is so good it’s worth the burn, and the smell. The recipe, which I believe originated from a cook she once knew in San Francisco, has taken on my mother's love of antioxidants and hence the large amount of garlic. Like any good mom, she used to be concerned with me going out to parties in high school, and would make Caesar salad before I left, which of course I couldn't resists, and so of course I would reek of garlic all night. Nonetheless, the Caesar salad is a necessity whenever I come home. So it would be easy to say then I suppose, that I identify myself with Caesar salad, but not just any, I identify myself with the tongue-burning, reeking of garlic Caesar salad which my mom makes.

So it would seem that although my food identifications can be traced to linage, they are primarily an identification with the love the food is associated with. In a city where food from around the world is available at your finger tips, you would think something as simple as Caesar salad would be any easy craving to meet, but let me tell you, finding something as good as mom's is impossible. And although I know most Mexican places serve Menudo on Saturday mornings, its resemblance to my Aunts would be all but disappointing. It is this love of food, and love of sharing food with loved ones, which I identify with.

*Learned Morals

If it is not yours, don't take it. A value that we learned as children, but apparently we forget, as we grow older. The simple morals that we are repeatedly taught as a child seem to fade, and morph with age, and instead of abiding by these morals, we find ways to re-word them, to re-adjust them, and eventually recreate them.

What baffles me the most though, is the people who are in charge of it all. I honestly want to know how an intelligent (although I suppose that could be debated) human being could feel good about knowingly ignoring human moral values. I do not understand how someone could have so much greed that even though they know they are hurting many people, could keep on going. And not only do they keep on going, but they justify themselves. The saddest part is, it's almost always for money.

There are so many examples of this, it's actually quite sad. From Native Americans being kicked off their land to Americans who are sick but cannot afford to go see a doctor. And of course, the farmers who are being forced to kneel to corporate takeover and burn seeds which have been harvested for decades. I really just want to know, who are these people? Who is it that makes a decision to sue a honest farmer and take him for all he's got? Who is it that runs these corporations and feels good about is able to sleep at night? And for what? Well let’s see, there’s the big house, the fancy car and all the toys that money can buy you. All of these things which we surround ourselves with to make us "happy". It is in my experience that the happiest people I have met are not millionaires. They do not have multiple cars and giant homes, they are happy with a lifestyle that does not need these things to be complete. It is these people who give me hope. Everyday I hear about another scandal, another big company taking over, another person loosing everything in the fight for what is right. I can't help but ask myself, when will there be an end? When will we start caring about each other, the other lives on this planet, instead of trying to exploit them?