EE1 Final

Adam Clark Eric Leake Writ-1133 EE1 What can’t be added to meals today Eating has always been about more than just food. Meals traditionally have been times when a family or group of people can communally come around a common meal. These meals had a lot of structure, happening at the same time everyday. It allowed people to come together and form relationships with others. It was also a time to escape from day to day tasks and relax for a while. It showed that food was more of a means of forming and building relationships and not solely eating. These more traditional meals are beginning to disappear though, and are often replaced by fast-unstructured meals. With this shift in meals, food though has kept a meaning beyond just eating. People now gather to do group work with food instead of using food to escape work. These Fast meals are advertised to an audience by appealing to emotions; people like the conveniences and emotions brought on by these advertisements. Foods connections to time and family are fading; people now see meals as more individualistic and add new things to their meals, forming new connections. Traditionally, meals were very scheduled events. Morning breakfast before school or work with family members and a family dinner at the same time every night. Dinner often revolved when parents got off work, being the same time every day. The importance on family meals was high, so families made their schedules around them. A family breakfast allowed communication of each other’s daily plans and family interaction before the work and school day begin. Dinner, a more structured meal, would consist of everyone sitting around the same table for the meal. The daily events of the family members lives could be discussed so everyone knew what happened in each other’s day and it allowed for strong family relationships. It was a time everyone was guaranteed to get to talk with his or her family. Society now though has become much faster paced causing a disconnection with the importance of traditional meals. These traditional meals can be seen as to time consuming to do everyday so families are beginning to go without them. This has made foods connection to family and relationships weaker, but it has brought other connections to food. The connection with food and personal relationships can still be seen with foods new connection to working. Food is now a common place in bringing colleagues together in work places, small meetings and student work groups. Food has migrated to these working groups as people see it as effective multitasking along with a relationship builder. Society has become faster paced, so combining two required daily things together appeals to people as it saves time. Instead of “wasting” time by just talking to someone over a meal, work can now be accomplished. The growth of this trend can be seen by the large growth of restaurants that cater to this atmosphere. Caribou, Starbucks, Panera, and Brueggar’s are all places that offer smaller meals with large places to dine in. In additional to the ideal workspaces provided, most of them offer free Wi-Fi to customers. Scott Hughes a spokesman for Brueggar’s wrote about a shift in the company’s transition supporting the idea that people want the ability to add work to their food. “Hospitality is a major emphasis” of the changes happening at Brueggar’s in recent years (Hughes). This hospitality to costumers is providing a place where they can work while they eat. The convenience of both of this greatly appeals to people and the fast paced society of today who can now add anything to a meal on the go. Foods growing connection to something other than family and becoming individualistic in nature can even be seen in environments under extreme control. Prison spread is food that provides inmates with a way to break away from the scheduled meals and establish prison status. . In Sandra Cate’s piece in “Breaking Bread with a Spread” she describes spreads as foods created by inmates often around a base of ramen noodles (17). Outside prisons people are fading away from scheduled meals, getting food on the go and multi tasking when eating. Spread is the inmates’ way of breaking the scheduled meals of prison. Meals are served at the same time everyday in prison, starting at 5:30 AM. Cate articulates that “spread is eaten on the inmates’ own timetable” (20). This is often sometime after dinner at night, but the inmate can make it when he or she pleases. Spread gives the inmate power to be individualistic, escaping from their very structured lives. Spread has also become a means of expressing power and status for prisoners. Prisons have always had an internal hierarchy within the inmates. Prisoners now are displaying this hierarchy through their spreads. The spreads can become elaborate, requiring a variety of ingredients, so inmates can come together and share with each other forming friendships. These friendships are often radically defined though, another inmate Devon Gray notes (19). This defining of friendships often brings a status meaning to spreads. Spreads are a delicacy so the being able to have the food often brings an element of social and jail status to the food. An inmate Watkins strengthens this idea through stating “ if you and your contemporaries can spread together on a nightly basis, it shows that you have money enough on your books, as well as the strength in numbers” (qtd 19). This equivalent of a traditional meal for inmates is about much more than just building relationships, it saves them and is a passive way to establish their status in prison. Spread came as prisoners wanted to be more individualistic. As spread grew, inmates saw it as a means of displaying their status in the jail because it is a luxury and a means to escape the prison schedule. With foods growing individualistic nature, an emotional connection with food is developing as people can express their emotions through what they eat. With a traditional meal, an emotional connection may have been made, but it was an emotion connected to being happy with family. All emotions are being connected to food now, without a family connection. Products used to be advertised as “the number one…” or “Healthiest….”, but now an emotional connection to a product is often a better means of advertisement. This can be seen through how food products are now advertised to society. Advertising now often looks to appeal to emotions of a consumer rather than providing a product better than its competitors. Coca-Cola is a prime example of appealing to customers’ emotions. A major Coca-Cola campaign used the slogan “Open Happiness”. Its ads often displayed a bottle of coke with these words. The company does not say its product is a good product, its advertising happiness that comes with Coca-Cola. The idea of happiness is enough to attract buyers to a product. Two other advertisements for Goldfish and Cheez-Its were also analyzed with similar results. The goldfish ad featured animated goldfish crackers in a campout telling scary stories. Its audience, younger kids, relate this to having fun with friends in a similar situation. The name of the product in not stated until the end of the advertisement, but the goal is to get the consumers to believe buying the product will bring back more similar emotions that will please the buyer. Cheez-it similarly has a commercial designed to appeal to emotions of a buyer. The Cheese is being immature, cracking pointless jokes. Cheez-its appeal to a slightly old audience than goldfish can relate back to times where they cracked equally pointless jokes, thinking they were funny. Cheez-its then form a connection to enjoyable emotions in the buyers past, causing the buyer to want to purchase Cheez-its to relive those past emotions. This shows a strong growth in connection with food and emotion to express current and past feelings in an individualistic manor. Products are not always purchased because they are the best available, sometimes an emotional connection can cause a consumer to get a product to express a similar emotion it is advertised with. The transition from a traditional meal has brought a great change to how people perceive food. There no longer is a desire for food to be structured and a time away from work. Food has transformed to be just the opposite. People today can add anything to their meals, whether it is work, watching TV, or other multitasking. Today’s fast paced society has encouraged people to add anything to their meals to boost productivity. Food has also lost its once structured nature. Food is now an individualistic way to express oneself and to break other schedules society may make. Meals can now be things to eat on the go expressing food change in both structure and means of taking a break that it once had. People now eat different things to express and feel different emotions connected to a particular product that is advertised to them. These changes show how society has adapted food to tolerate anything to be added to it, allowing people to break a schedule and be individualistic with it. Works Cited Walkup, Carolyn. "Bagel Brands Seek Whole New Image with Fast-casual Makeovers." Nation's Restaurant News 41.16 (2007). ProQuest. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. . Cate, Sandra. "“Breaking Bread with a Spread” in a San Francisco County Jail." Gastronomica 8.3 (2008): 17-24. Print. Horwitz, Jamie. "Eating at the Edge." Gastronomica 9.3 (2009): 42-47. Print.

EE1

Adam Clark Note on the Essay: THERE IS NO CONCLUSION. I know the citations are not currently formatted correctly, and I will be adding an additional source Eating has always been about more than just food. Meals traditionally have been times when a family or group of people can communally come around a common meal. These meals had a lot of structure, happening at the same time everyday. It allowed people to come together and form relationships with others. It was also a time to escape from day to day tasks and relax for a while. It showed that food was more of a means of forming and building relationships and not solely eating. These more traditional meals are beginning to disappear though, and are often replaced by fast meals. With this shift in meals, food though has kept a meaning beyond just eating. People now gather to do group work, but this gathering typically has a food component to it. Fast meals are advertised to populaces by appealing to emotions, people like the conveniences and emotions brought on by these advertisements. Food is always changing, but it will always represent more than just what it is. Traditionally, meals were very scheduled events. Morning breakfast before school or work with family members and a family dinner at the same time every night. Dinner often revolved when parents got off work, being the same time every day. The importance on family meals was high, so families made their schedules around them. A family breakfast allowed communication of each other’s daily plans and family interaction before the work and school day begin. Dinner, a more structured meal, would consist of everyone sitting around the same table for the meal. The daily events of the family members lives could be discussed so everyone knew what happened in each other’s day and it allowed for strong family relationships. It was a time everyone was guaranteed to get to talk with his or her family. Society now though has become much faster paced causing a disconnection with the importance of traditional meals. These traditional meals can be seen as to time consuming to do everyday so families are beginning to go without them. This has made foods connection to family and relationships weaker, but it has brought other connections to food. The connection with food and personal relationships can still be seen with foods new connection to working. Food is now a common place in bring colleagues together in work places, more individual meetings and student work groups. Food has migrated to these working groups as people see it as effective multitasking along with a relationship builder. Society has become faster paced, so combining two required daily things together appeals to people as it saves time. Instead of “wasting” time by just talking to someone over a meal, work can now be accomplished. The growth of this trend can be seen by the large growth of restaurants that cater to this atmosphere. Caribou, Starbucks, Panera, and Brueggar’s are all places that offer smaller meals with large places to dine in. In additional to the ideal workspaces provided, most of them offer free Wi-Fi to customers. Everything needed to be productive for school or business work is provided in addition to food. The convenience of both of these greatly appeals to people and the fast paced society of today. Prison spread is food that provides inmates with a way to break away from the scheduled meals, establish prison status, and a way to form relationships like traditional meals. Due to circumstances, this food for them has become much more than a relationship builder similar to traditional meals. In Sandra Cate’s piece in “Breaking Bread with a Spread” she describes spreads as foods created by inmates often around a base of ramen noodles (17). These spreads are often a social activity and Kermit Saunders, an inmate, says, “it’s like we bonding in here when we break bread with spread” (qtd, 19). The spreads can become elaborate, requiring a variety of ingredients, so inmates can come together and share with each other forming friendships. These friendships are often radically defined though, another inmate Devon Gray notes (19). This defining of friendships often brings a status meaning to spreads. Spreads are a delicacy so the being able to have the food often brings an element of social and jail status to the food. An inmate Watkins strengthens this idea through stating “ if you and your contemporaries can spread together on a nightly basis, it shows that you have money enough on your books, as well as the strength in numbers” (qtd 19). This equivalent of a traditional meal for inmates is about much more than just building relationships, it saves them and establishes their status in prison. The break from strict timetables and scheduled meals can be seen in prisons through the expansion of spread. Outside prision people are fading away from scheduled meals, getting food on the go and multi tasking when eating. Spread is the inmates’ way of breaking the scheduled meals of prison. Meals are served at the same time everyday in prison, starting at 5:30 AM. Cate articulates that “spread is eaten on the inmates’ own timetable” (20). This is often sometime after dinner at night, but the inmate can make it when he or she pleases. This desire to break from the strict meals is reflected by both inmates and those outside prison. This shows a clear change in society attempting to be more individual and fast paced. An emotional connection to food is also growing. With a traditional meal, an emotional connection may have been made, but it was an emotion connected to being happy with family. All emotions are being connected to food now, without a family connection. Also products used to be advertised as “the number one…” or “Healthiest….”, but now an emotional connection to a product is often a better means of advertisement. This can be seen through how food products are now advertised to society. Advertising now often looks to appeal to emotions of a consumer rather than providing a product better than its competitors. Coca-Cola is a prime example of appealing to customers’ emotions. A major Coca-Cola campaign used the slogan “Open Happiness”. Its ads often displayed a bottle of coke with these words. The company does not say its product is a good product, its advertising happiness that comes with Coca-Cola. The idea of happiness is enough to attract buyers to a product. Two other advertisements for Goldfish and Cheez-Its were also analyzed with similar results. The goldfish ad featured animated goldfish crackers in a campout telling scary stories. Its audience, younger kids, relate this to having fun with friends in a similar situation. The name of the product in not stated until the end of the advertisement, but the goal is to get the consumers to believe buying the product will bring back more similar emotions that will please the buyer. Cheez-it similarly has a commercial designed to appeal to emotions of a buyer. The Cheese is being immature, cracking pointless jokes. Cheez-its appeal to a slightly old audience than goldfish can relate back to times where they cracked equally pointless jokes, thinking they were funny. Cheez-its then form a connection to enjoyable emotions in the buyers past, causing the buyer to want to purchase Cheez-its to relive those past emotions. This shows a strong growth in connection with food and emotion. Products are not always purchased because they are the best available, sometimes an emotional connection can cause a consumer to get a product that brings them a happier feeling.

Horwitz's Eating on the Edge

Horwitz sees eating on the edge as how food has become an additive to different situations in a positive manor. Food used to be very related to time and space in which it was consumed. Family meals happened at the same time every day and people schedules worked around the meal (42). Horwitz states though that now "taking time to share food, as a part of daily routine, is becoming less common in the u.s. as unstructured eating patterns become more familiar and varied" (45). People now get snacks to go, skip meals and eat by themselves. These snacks can replace meals, and people now expect to eat at convenient times for themselves, and do not worry about eating with family and friends. Everything is so fast paced now that people will not take time to slow down and eat a full meal with others because they expect everything to fit their schedule. Eating now happens when some one is on the computer, working alone or watching tv as it an easy thing to be multitasking. Sitting in Brueggar’s is a good example of how eating has turned into eating on the edge. A majority of the people there were doing work with a group. They chose Brueggar’s as it got them “off campus” and is a convenient place to work. They did not go there for the food, but since it is served there they added it to the working. The food served also relates to peoples expectation of eating on the edge. Everything was in smaller portions, more snack like, and it was easy food for someone on the go.

SE 3

Adam Clark
Writ 1133
Erik Leake
SE3
Bruegger’s
For my observations of peoples’ interaction with food, I went to Bruegger’s. The Bruegger’s is located off South University Boulevard towards the north end of campus. It serves mostly bagels and bagel sandwiches, but also has soups, coffee, and salads. It is a convenient spot close to campus that allows students to escape Sodexo’s food or a different place to study. I went on a Sunday afternoon starting at around 2:00 O’clock PM. It was a cold and cloudy day, and started raining while I was there.
Once inside it was clear as to its appeal to customers. The tables and booths inside were set up for 2 to 4 person groups and a majority of them were full. The booths were big with comfortable padded benches; all of these were taken when I arrived. The groups were all doing work; no one was solely eating. The table set up works well for this and Bruegger’s offers free WIFI connections, which makes it a prime location to group work as you can still connect to the web. Every there had some sort of drink or food, which can be seen as “buying” the space they were using to work in. There was soft music playing, mostly current poplar songs, which offered a calming effect as it was loud enough to block other people’s conversations without being to distracting. The store also had wall-to-wall windows to naturally lighten the atmosphere, which makes it more suitable to work, as the customers do not feel they are in a work place filled with industrial light.
Bruegger’s menu is an affordable one with bagels for a couple dollars, sandwiches just over 5 and salads about 7 dollars. This is to cater to a younger audience who wants cheap easy food to go or eat while studying. The portions were fairly small, typically a single bagel. They also served hot drinks, which were especially popular as it was a cold day. Customers placed their order at the counter and could see it prepared before them. The food was ready to be picked up by the time they walked down to the register. The speed of service appeals to a fast paced crowd that does not want to waste time on meals. All sandwiches were wrapped the same to go, giving the customer the option to stay or go. Those who at Bruegger’s were expected to clear their trash and leave the table presentable to the next customer. The two people working were one college aged person and one older gentleman.
The demographic of people working in Bruegger’s was broader than I anticipated. It was a 50/50 split on college kids doing working inside and a younger business crowd. The college students were more likely to have food in addition to a drink from Bruegger’s. The older people working, though, all had a Starbuck’s coffee instead of Bruegger’s coffee. I saw this more of a status symbol of them being older and above the generic Bruegger’s coffee. No one that was working when I arrived got more food while I was there. Around 2:30 a lot more people began to come and get take away sandwiches. Most of them were groups of 2-6 college students. They seemed to be getting bagels with cream cheese or bagel sandwiches. At this time there were a couple tables that were people just eating now with larger groups. An older college student also came in with an older gentleman and discussed a resume for a job.
Restaurants similar to Brueggar’s are popular around the country. A convenient place to work with groups that offers Internet and reasonably affordable food appeals to a large demographic. Today is a fast paced society so there is a large demand for quick food. Brueggar’s saw this and in 2003 publically stated it would make changes accordingly. Scott Hughes a spokesman for Brueggar’s said “ We have made the transition from just a bagel bakery into fast-casual positioning” (Walkup). This is aimed at both college aged and a younger business crowd. To do this, Bruegger’s added new items to their menu aimed at a mid afternoon crowd (Walkup). This was sandwiches, salads, and specialty drinks like iced coffee and teas. These changes which began in 2003, could clearly been seen as appealing to the crowd that was at Brueggar’s. Most people had one of these specialty drinks and got sandwiches to go. These sandwiches were ready to go in minutes allowing the customer to come and go quickly. In addition to changing the menu, “hospitality is a major emphasis” of the changes to the company (Walkup). The restaurant was very much set up to suit the customers. People enjoy going there for the environment it offers and will buy food in exchange for the space. A key element to the space is that it is causal. This appeals to quick business meetings that do not need to be formal, and to students who want a unique place to study. People today are looking for a work friendly environment as much as a good place to eat. Bruegger’s noticed this and changed its menu and ideal to suit this.
Works Cited
Walkup, Carolyn. "Bagel Brands Seek Whole New Image with Fast-casual Makeovers." Nation's Restaurant News 41.16 (2007). ProQuest. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. .

Possible Article to use with SE2

http://0-search.proquest.com.bianca.penlib.du.edu/docview/229342909

This article talks about how Bruegger's changed its menu to accommodate a more fast-casual person.

Cate and O'Donnell

In O’Donnell’s study, food defined economic status and region of the country you were from. The northern part of the country was considered “dumber” because they simply raised cows and chickens, which were easy to raise and kill, so they would always have food. This lead to a more socialist society. The southern part of the country was considered wiser as they had to be more cunning to successfully catch fish. The more fish one caught the better off they were, a more capitalist society. By simply looking at the food someone ate, his or her economic status could be determined. As china industrialized, the government rationed food to those who promoted economic growth. This lead to larger growth as the more you contributed the more food you received. Those in rural farms though received no rations, they were expected to grown grain for the government and eat off the extra they produced. As it became more industrialized, traditional foods of different groups continued to be sold at new restaurants and people went to the restaurants they traditionally identified with. Cate looked at inmates and their food. Inmate’s created spread to relate to meals they once had. The spreads each inmate made was very much based off their ethnic background. The spreads were to provide a tasty meal that normal jail food does not. The inmates took pride in creating a new spread that tastes like a meal they remember. The spreads were also a social meal as inmates would collaborate to make them and enjoy them together. The spreads were treats they could make off little food they could buy or save from meals. It was their highlight to have a couple times a week. Its amazing how creative they can get with the little resources they have. No one outside jail would ever consider mixing the ingredients in a spread, but to an inmate the spread is a delicacy, and not something they can eat everyday. Both these communities came together around the food they had and related their food to the past they once had.

Comparisons to Scott's SE2

Scot's commercails about the Panda Cheese and Chic-Fil-A were similar to the ads I analyzed as they focused mostly on entertainment and almost nothing about the actual product being advertised. Neither of the commercials we looked at were for healthier food's, so the companies must sell their product in a different manor, entertainment. My commercials had quick couple second comments on the product while Scot said nothing about his products were mentioned. The commercials all picked a demographic they commonly appeal to and aimed their commercials to these people. By entertaining an audience the commercial gains the audiences trust, and an audience wants it because I believes it will bring them more enjoyment.

SE 2

Adam Clark
Prof. Leake
SE 2
04/04/2012
Cheesy Crackers Duel
The two food advertisements I chose to look at were TV commercials for Goldfish and Cheez-Its. They are both marketed to a similar audience, as they are competing products, and they both play off and negate each other in their commercials. The two commercials take very different approaches in their presentation; one being a more serious setting while the other is animated.
The Goldfish commercial is clearly aimed towards a younger audience. It is animated which appeals to younger people, and the goldfish are telling scary stories while they are “camping” in a Goldfish bag. A younger audience can easily related to this and it is something they will find interesting. Similarly, the Cheez-it is partially aimed at a younger audience, but also an older audience as well. The maturing cheese makes a bad joke, which would appeal to a younger audience as it is funny to them and gets them interested in the commercial. The commercial is not animated though, so it will also appeal to an older audience as well. Also an older audience can related to the immature argument the man and the cheese get into. The Cheez-it uses mature cheese so it can be seen as acceptable for a mature or older audience as well, where the animated goldfish may not appeal to an older demographic.
The selling point on both crackers is the same. They both start off by appealing to a particular audience to get their attention and finish by quickly talking a little bit about their cracker. Both crackers are baked and made with real cheese. This is important for both crackers to mention as it is trying to show them as real and not bad for you. Baking is considered a healthier method of cooking and they both use real cheese, thus are not an artificial snack. The goldfish say that they are “fun shaped” a major selling point on them over competing crackers like Cheez-it to a younger audience, while the Cheez-it commercial reminds its audience that it uses mature cheese appealing to its older audience. Since they both mention the same points it is clear that some values our culture wants in a cracker are real incredients and a snack that is not bad for you. Neither mentions the cracker as a healthy snack, but the baking method can be interpreted as not bad for you.
The Goldfish commercial uses distinction in a couple different manors. Firstly, when the camera view goes into the bag, the gold fish can be seen by their sleeping bags. These sleeping bags though are ribbons that Goldfish had won. One of them can clearly be read and it says “ 1st Best in Show.” This is noticeably their selling feature that sets them apart from competitors. This similar idea of their unique shape being the best is shown through the scary story one goldfish is telling the group. “When the woman opened the package there were crackers alright, but they were flat! And square!” as this is told the other goldfish gasp at the fact that there are square and flat crackers. This is a scary concept to them and by seeing this the goldfish are portrayed as the best cracker because they are not square and flat like every other cracker.
The Cheez-it commercial can also be seen using distinction over goldfish and other crackers. Cheez-it lets its cheese mature and this can be seen as negation towards Goldfish. The talking Goldfish are not mature, but the Cheez-it is mature because it is tested repeatedly to make sure. Being mature cheese, or better cheese is how the Cheez-it is better than a goldfish or other competitors.
Since both adds have parts that are aimed towards a younger audience, it can be seen that these snacks are mostly for them. Their selling points though are things that would appeal to the younger audience’s parents as it is likely they would be buying the snack for their child. The Cheez-it though does present it as a mature snack that is ok for an older audience as well. Both the commercials though talk about the prodeuct for only a fraction of the commercial time. This can be seen in countless other commercials as well. We are impulsive buyers and will buy a product that interests us, not one we know a ton about. It is about appearance not the composition of the food. Both these commercials focus on getting attention, not about how good the product is. Food advertising today is all about negation of competing products and visual appeal as both these commercials show.

Cheez-it commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGkXTsxJvd0
Goldfish Commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHwLgwBd6k0

Potato chip advertising

Differences in our language culture and economic status can be easily seen through the food we eat. Different foods are advertised to different groups of people. For every kind of food there are different brand/types advertised and marketed to different economic classes. Freedman and Jurafsky looked at something as simple as potato chips. They noticed that something as simple as a potato chip could change in its appearance and language based on the audience it was marketed towards. Weird to think there is actually a “high-class” potato chip. Those most interesting part was how clear the differences were in expensive and inexpensive potato chip advertising. When looking at the word choice on the two groups, the expensive brands were written at around an 11th grade level while the inexpensive were at about an 8th grade level. It is interesting to note how the more expensive chips are written at a higher reading level, and more education is often associated with upper classes. The more expensive chips also used distinction almost five times more, saying how they were better, healthier, or different (in a good way) from other chips. The upper class often wants a “better” product because they think since they have the money they should not settle for “normal” items. I found the difference in authenticity quiet interesting. The more expensive chips talked about being all natural and made form better ingredients. Upper class often want to buy what they are told is the healthier option. The inexpensive chips talked about tradition, and being around for a long time. This kind of shows the hard work or possible struggles the company has worked through appealing to the working class more. I think similar results would come when looking at any other foods and food advertising. Upper class, typically, looks for the healthier options even if that means smaller quantities at a higher price; health is something they are willing to pay for. Lower class though wants quantity, to feel like they are getting the most for their money. Advertising then is going to target one of these groups. This type of food advertising is not limited to food at a grocery store but restaurants as well depending on their catered audience.

SE 1

Adam Clark
Professor Leake
Writ 1133 4-6pm MW
My family has always lived in Minnesota going back at least four or five generations. With this, many of our traditional family meals consist of the boring foods Minnesota is known for. Even with the already bland food; this does not mean it is bad, it can just get dull, I was an especially picky eater until sophomore or junior year in high school. Because of this I am often the center of some family jokes about branching out and trying new food. Having large roots in Minnesota has brought me to not expect “wild” meals that have a potential of being very bad; a dinner at home always means a solid meal because I know it will be something we have had countless times that may be bland to most but still good to my family and I.
When I was younger I was a very picky eater. Picky meant that all the food on my plate was separated as to not “contaminate” other foods with an unwanted flavor. 85% of what I ate was white food, with 10% of the non-white food being meat, and every meal had a side of buttered noodles. So for at least the first 10-12 years of my life I have almost no desire to try new foods. So even in the land of bland food I found a way to make it even “blander” by rarely eating mixed foods and sticking to only what I knew I liked. Because of this, almost every meal with my extended family results in jokes, and some serious questions, about me previously being extremely picky and only eating white foods. These questions are now getting old as I have, for many years, been eating just about anything that is served to me as to expand my once very small group of foods I like. Also now with the dinning halls it would be near impossible to survive as a picky eater. Having an auntie ask at every family meal, “is there enough food you like to eat here?” gets quiet annoying when the most “out-there” food on the table is a toss up between a new vinaigrette on the salad or using a different recipe for the potato salad. But I did bring these questions on myself by being picky so now I have to play with the jokes dished at me.
Extended family meals almost always consist of the same side dishes with a small variety in the meat served. Most everything is a stereotypical food associated with Minnesota and the mid-West. At every meal one can expect at least one potato dish, generally mashed potato with the potential for an additional potato salad. There is always rolls and when possible corn or asparagus and another vegetable dish. Our appetizers are both very traditional Minnesota foods. We always have deviled eggs and lefse. Lefse is prime example of the blandness of Minnesotan food; it is like a tortilla made out of potatoes and is eaten with butter and if adventurous brown sugar as well. Another possible appetizer is spam. Yes, spam. My dad’s family grew up in Austin Minnesota, the spam home and capital of the USA so everyone in my family eats it. I doubt many people can say they have been to the spam museum, yes there is one, but that is to be expected from everyone in my family. I do not understand my family’s strange obsession with a food meant to last for years made for war times, but it is has become normal to see it served at our family events and meals.
Minnesota many be the land of bland food, but its what I am accustomed too. Though I do often want more unique meals, my mother fits just about all Minnesota stereotypes with food therefore that will not happen. She is one who finds ketchup to be a little spicy, yes she is very Minnesotan, and also wont eat a spicier BBQ sauce than Famous Dave’s rich and saucy. So compared to a lot of people outside the mid-West, our food may seem bland, repetitive and boring, but it is good to me and now coming home to a freshly prepared meal after eating Sodexo for months reminds me of how much I miss home cooked meals everyday even if most consider it bland food. Just thinking oh how all our family meals fit so many stereotypes of Minnesotans makes me laugh and remember all my extended family at these meals.