This
article originally appeared in the Methow Valley News on 26 September 2018
We
recently enjoyed a dinner with friends from Singapore. Our friends joked about
the common American greeting, “How’s it going?” My friend spoke in amused
amazement about the number of people who would walk by him, make eye contact,
smile amicably, and say, “How’s it going?” Before our friend could answer, the
person would be long gone, never breaking stride – obviously not interested in
details. He mused that it was much like a traditional Chinese greeting used by
the older generation, “Have you eaten?” This older greeting could have
originated when people did not have enough to eat.
For days
after our discussion, I mulled over the cultural aspects of both greetings.
I’ve been in countries where the simple act of ordering food becomes a lesson
in family history, “my mother, rest her soul, learned this recipe from her
mother, who learned it from her mother, who stole it from the invaders after
crushing their souls. I added cream.”
The
discussion of food insecurity affecting a cultural greeting had me remembering,
of all things, my little red wagon full of cheese back in the 70s.
Once a
month, mom and I would walk downtown pulling my red Radio Flyer wagon. We’d
roll that wagon up to the front porch of an old, two story blue house with a
wraparound porch and pretty framed windows. Two front rooms were filled with
cardboard towers of food. A woman with multiple pens and pencils poking out of
her copious bun of hair, would scan a pile of papers on a clipboard before
calling out the number of boxes of powdered milk, blocks of butter, and bricks
of cheese that we could pile into my wagon. The cheese was wrapped in brown
paper and stamped USDA. That government cheese was amazing. It sliced without
crumbling and melted smoothly with no oily residue. I’ve often wondered if it
was really that good, or if the lens of childhood bliss affected my taste buds.
A recent
podcast of Planet Money answered my questions. The cheese was indeed as good as
I remembered. In the 1970s, the government tried to increase market demand for
milk by purchasing surplus dairy goods that could be stored: butter, dry milk,
and cheese. To prevent fraud, the government also hired cheese graders to taste
and test the cheese. The result was a processed Grade A government cheese for
food banks, schools, and the military that melted smoothly and was a hundred
times better than Velveeta.
Another
food memory was tagging along with my dad while he worked at the homeless
shelter. He’d take his toolbelt and go fix something, while I helped fix
something in the kitchen. One of the cooks made colorful candies that she would
send home with me, winking, “for your mother.” She thickened a flavored
gelatin, and dusted the cooled squares with powdered sugar. It looked and
tasted like jell-o gone wrong – I did not care for it and happily passed along
the entire bag of candies to my mother. I may not have been a fan of those
brightly colored Turkish Delights, but I did enjoy applets and cotlets candy
from the store.
The
government cheese I grew up on is no longer available, but I found a Turkish
delight recipe that looks palatable, with a result similar to applets and
cotlets. Mix two quarter-ounce packages unflavored gelatin with a 1/2 cup
of applesauce and let stand for 10 minutes. Pour two cups sugar and ¾ cup
applesauce into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the gelatin-applesauce
mixture and cook over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add ½ cup
finely chopped walnuts and 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla, stirring to mix well. Pour
the warm candy concoction into a greased 8” x 8” pan. Let cool at room
temperature for at least two hours. When cooled, slice into squares and toss
with powdered sugar to coat. To make cotlets, substitute the applesauce for an
apricot puree.
