What a generic title...

So this blog is off and running! The title of this blog is only temporary, I know it seems a bit dull.

So today was the first day of my introsem "The Linguistics of Food" and I made everyone jealous telling them of how fun this class already seems.
We did a little experiment with a variety of chips: about half were from expensive brands and the other half were of cheaper brands. One thing I noticed as I walked back to my dorm was that on all the cheaper brands, the companies stressed either simplicity or wholesomeness, "The Original", or "Classic". Their appeal is one of nostalgia I think. Sometimes people don't want to try something new, they want food that's familiar and makes them think (perhaps) their childhood. I myself preferred a thick cut Ruffle chip to a Hawaiian chip. Sometimes less is more.

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Mhmm, Delicious?

OUTLINE: of my project: Frish and Frosh Experiment Here is the outline of my experiment: Research: the vowels and sounds used in words that mean "big, small" etc. in *Sri Lankan, spanish, and french. 1. Following the procedure of the Frish vs. Frosh experiment, I will see if their conclusion holds true with international students. 2. I will have one or two native speakers of english as a control. I will then use one native speaker of sri lankan, spanish, and perhaps french. *note: the languages are tentative. 3. I will take the experiment one step further: I will give the participants two bowls of icecream: one named frish and the other frosh. I will tell them that they are the different icecreams they read about. 4. But there is a catch: actually they are eating the same ice cream. 5. Will what they have read about the icecreams affect how they feel the icecream tastes? Will one icecream taste better than the other? 6. Powerpoint presentation, perhaps. I found it quite diffi...

Reward yourself....with a Milano Cookie

Milano cookies are part of a series of cookies made by Pepperidge Farm (which also make a series of grain breads) made for those who have a "discriminating taste". The taste terms I chose for today's post are "distinctive cookies" and the line "Picture if you will, its subtle contours, its perect balance". Makes me think that what I am eating is not just some cookie but a work of art. That is, I think, the feeling Pepperidge Famr is trying to convey. Just take a look at the side panel of the package the cookies came in: "The Art of the Cookie...Begin with a baker;s soul. Seek the finest ingredients...Open... Taste...Delight. By taking a bite of one sweet, crunchy Milano cookie, you are going to "entertain inspirations" and "embrace decadent cravings". A Milano cookie is not some calorie-ridden dessert that follows a meal...it is an experience unto itself. These cookies are definitely not made for the same type of consumer as N...

Should I braise it, bake it, or roast it?

Taken from the Oxford Dictionary (online): 1797 Lond. Art Cookery 149 Serve this ragoo under two ducks, cut into quarters, and brazed in a well seasoned braze. 1846 French Domest. Cookery 41 Braise : to stew meat tender with fat bacon. When I think of the verbs braise, bake, roast, I think of meat in an oven. But intrinsically I know there must be some subtle difference, otherwise why would there be three different words for the same thing? You can roast vegetable, but you can also bake them. For some reason, when I think of savory foods that are baked I immediately find them less appealing than if you used the verb "roast". Both words are under the lexical category of "cook", and if you made a features matrix for any of the three words in question, they would all have [+oven] in it. So why would I be less likely to eat a baked chicken than roasted chicken? I suppose it has to do with the personal bias and connotations I have concerning bake...

Le Petit Mangeur

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