Pride and Grocery Buying Habits
This is an interesting thing that came up when I was reviewing my post about convenience foods, like bagged salads and cooked cakes. I mentioned when I started buying these items if ever and why.
I had mentioned how my Mum has always bought pre-cooked chickens. Well, at some point after we left farm life when I was a teenager she did this. I'm wondering now if she bought cooked chickens while she lived on her hobby farm in recent years, as she had chooks for eggs again. She also buys things or did, like fresh buns or bread rolls, even back in the 60s bought kabana and nuts for dinner parties.
Then I mentioned my Nana's rustic cake racks.
Both these people are house proud. Mum's is slightly different, I am not sure that she does rustic except maybe in a subtle way. Mum's house to me on Christmas Day was like a resort. It isn't an expensive house, very decent though, nothing is out of place. The difference between the two people is that Nana kept her purchases to a minimum, so the gold tasseled new cushions on Mum's couch were very "her".
How does that relate to food?
Do people that spend a lot of time making sure their person and their house look good tend to buy more convenience foods? Do the convenience foods help keep up their standard of showing themselves off? Chicken was in the 70s vaguely a status symbol, it is getting harder to remember now. Cold chicken perhaps. Or is it purely about entertaining? Mum's new husband was very much into entertaining when she met him, but Mum as always had dinner parties.
Nana took no short cuts. She did enjoy buying cooking chocolate to make special slices or bars or tray bakes.
Maybe it is not pride, but hospitality? Can frugal people still be gracious hosts? Does all good entertaining have to involve glamous foods? Are you able to read Table magazine and not find it full of consumerism? Can you read an Australian Woman's Weekly these days and not find it full of consumerism. Has my cutting back gone too far?
To be honest, I have looked at a particular dip on the supermarket shelves all year. Mum had this dip, with nice crackers, grapes, a nice cheese and cashews on a plate when we arrived from our long drive after an early start. It was very much appreciated. I will definitely be buying the dip myself. It was chili and it had cashews in it, a red colour.
Just as interestingly I enjoyed a forum post this year from a friend who talked about garlic scrapes or whistles and her favourite dip. So I guess there are different ways of doing the same thing. My friend made garlic scrape pesto.
I had mentioned how my Mum has always bought pre-cooked chickens. Well, at some point after we left farm life when I was a teenager she did this. I'm wondering now if she bought cooked chickens while she lived on her hobby farm in recent years, as she had chooks for eggs again. She also buys things or did, like fresh buns or bread rolls, even back in the 60s bought kabana and nuts for dinner parties.
Then I mentioned my Nana's rustic cake racks.
Both these people are house proud. Mum's is slightly different, I am not sure that she does rustic except maybe in a subtle way. Mum's house to me on Christmas Day was like a resort. It isn't an expensive house, very decent though, nothing is out of place. The difference between the two people is that Nana kept her purchases to a minimum, so the gold tasseled new cushions on Mum's couch were very "her".
How does that relate to food?
Do people that spend a lot of time making sure their person and their house look good tend to buy more convenience foods? Do the convenience foods help keep up their standard of showing themselves off? Chicken was in the 70s vaguely a status symbol, it is getting harder to remember now. Cold chicken perhaps. Or is it purely about entertaining? Mum's new husband was very much into entertaining when she met him, but Mum as always had dinner parties.
Nana took no short cuts. She did enjoy buying cooking chocolate to make special slices or bars or tray bakes.
Maybe it is not pride, but hospitality? Can frugal people still be gracious hosts? Does all good entertaining have to involve glamous foods? Are you able to read Table magazine and not find it full of consumerism? Can you read an Australian Woman's Weekly these days and not find it full of consumerism. Has my cutting back gone too far?
To be honest, I have looked at a particular dip on the supermarket shelves all year. Mum had this dip, with nice crackers, grapes, a nice cheese and cashews on a plate when we arrived from our long drive after an early start. It was very much appreciated. I will definitely be buying the dip myself. It was chili and it had cashews in it, a red colour.
Just as interestingly I enjoyed a forum post this year from a friend who talked about garlic scrapes or whistles and her favourite dip. So I guess there are different ways of doing the same thing. My friend made garlic scrape pesto.
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