LET'S NOT BODY SHAME OUR WOMEN (part 3)

Female culinary illusions

Fast forward to the modern age and we still have women who have gained a high accolade for their contribution to the culinary world. Fanny Craddock, Nigella Lawson and Delia Smith are probably the biggest British cooks and food television personalities. 

Focusing on Delia for now, whose ‘niche’ or demographic has always been basic food and refining culinary skills for the masses. I doubt you could find a recipe of hers describing how to create caramelised sugar cages to be placed over a tart, or using liquid nitrogen to make ice cream. Instead, Delia generally sticks towards the more simplistic, homely and at times rustic palate. Her role can be seen as an educator for the masses of how to cook or bake, which is clearly represented in the titles of the books she has published: Delia Smith’s Cookery Course, Delia’s How to Cook (Book I, II and III respectively) and Delia’s Book of Cakes. A brief analysis of the language used places Delia firmly in a position of knowledge, skill and acts as an exemplary figurehead of how things should be done in the kitchen. Much like Mrs Beeton’s Household Management a century before her, Delia’s texts are much more than a simple cookbook to flick through for a fun recipe, but in fact a manual of how we should function. While Beeton included guidance on servants or medical advice, Delia’s books track the introduction of other cuisines and styles into the British diet. The “Delia Effect’ has been economically mapped - as consumers of her books or tv shows en-masse buy products or utensils which she has recommended. Egg sales allegedly rose 10% in 1998. Anita Singh outlines the gravitas of the so called ‘Delia Effect’: 

She caused a national cranberry shortage in 1995 and transformed the fortunes of a struggling Lancashire firm when she described their omelette pan as a "little gem", prompting sales to leap from 200 a year to 90,000 in four months.

The 'little gem' in action!

You can even buy said pan here on her website!

Sounds impressive, and it is. 

However, there is another side to Delia - she openly cheats at cooking. In fact, her initial cookbook was called How to Cheat at Cooking! A whole debate could be made as to what ‘cheating’ consists of, but I think it is easier you see it for yourself as she makes a Shephard’s Pie. 

One thing to note from her introduction is 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so when you taste it you'll know it's okay'. Okay seems to be the operative word here - immediately introducing audiences to a lower standard of proof when it comes to culinary delights (or is my inner cynic showing?). My inner cynic would go even further and say that her humility acts as a guise of 'cookers guilt' as she is fully aware the food she is preparing is not of quality... but for fear of a defamation charge I shall not continue. 

Thankfully later on in the clip she continues to show viewers how to prepare a leek, which is a surprise considering she grabbed a bag of ready prepared leek a few moments prior (to which a part of my soul vanished). For a recipe clip that is just over two and a half minutes it is upsetting to think that the only part of cooking skill/ability from scratch comes in at 1min 42 seconds. Not that I am saying all meals should be made from scratch, but for a television cook who based her career on educating the masses on how to cook it is troubling to see such blatant disregard for her own culinary niche.

Delia has been on British TV for decades and has published goodness knows how many books and recipes. Of course, I could factually look that up with a quick internet search… but in true Delia form I will cut corners to get a quicker finished product. 

Unlike Beeton who doesn’t really divulge in the origins of her recipes, Delia makes it very clear that she doesn’t make everything from scratch. Quite the contrary - she seems to revel in it. In fact if you once again have a brief look on her website - there is a whole section dedicated to her 'cheat' recipes - as the URL can reveal: http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/cheat

The themes and ideas I refer to above have  been seemingly put into practice in other forms of media. The music video ‘Everybody’s Fool’ by Evanescence is a prime example - exposing the superficial world we surround ourselves in. The introduction before the song starts is in a domestic setting that has a distinct late 60s/early 70s vibe to it. We see a teenage girl (played by lead singer Amy Lee) return from the kitchen with a pizza in hand, in what is clearly a television commercial. Twee music plays in the background as the family  hungrily awaiting their meal - are ecstatic to see the pizza. The other woman, presumably playing the mother asks the origin of the pizza:

“-And you made it all by yourself?”
“That’s our girl” 

The cut to the lead character who seems to break the 4th wall

This shot is pivotal. It immediately outlines the superficiality of the scene and shatters any culinary domestic skill we may have attributed to the character. Though brief, the almost overenthusiastic "OOPS!" - all in capital letters is undermined by the knowing smirk of deception. Ultimately - it is evident that this is a ready-made pizza, presumably frozen that has simply been heated through. 

This domestic setting is one dominated by women,  as in this example the male characters are submissive to the actions of women as to what the family is fed. 

The commercial ends with a summarative slogan that outlines the conflict for the rest of the music video “there is nothing better than a good lie” with an eerily cheery smily to boot. 

So - what has this all to do with body shaming I hear you ask? 

Well... everything and nothing.

After the patriarchal policing of what fruit a woman can be easily compared to in order to judge their body and the harsh ingrained judgement we cast on any woman that eats or 'drinks custard' - it only seems fitting that we shame the ways in which women prepare the food that is consequently consumed too. Fulfilling this domestic fantasy that has been conjured in the last century. The idea of the housewife, the domestic woman at home who is manager of the home. Beetonite women in the modern age. 

Rest assured I will include a brief analysis on Mrs. Beeton later on to add on to this entry!

References:

Evanescence - Everybody's Fool accessed 11/09/16 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhC1pI76Rqo

Delia Smith's website accessed 11/09/16 http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/cheat - http://www.deliaonline.com/equipment/delia-online-little-gem-frying-pan

Screenshot from Everybody's Fool accessed 11/09/16 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/it/c/cd/Everybody's_Fool.png 

Delia effect quote - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/6709518/Delia-Effect-strikes-again.html 

The 'Euromyth' of Cucumber curvature.

Bonsoir (French), dobra večer (Croatian), Kalispera (Greek)… Good evening Europe, London calling. 

No, that wasn’t my attempt of showing off how nifty I am (with the help of an online translator to make sure everything makes sense!) 

War is coming. Apples will be harmed. Celery will be used as artillery. The less said about the state of tomatoes, the better. 

If you have been living under a rock for the past few months in British media, the UK will be holding a referendum in the coming weeks on whether or not we should remain a part of the European Union (EU) or leave - which will take place on June 23rd.

A map of the economic and political ties between European states

Already there has been be lots of discussion, debates, scaremongering, dare I say propaganda of ‘factual fiction’ on lots of issues that surround this bubbling issue. I think it would be just to say the core of all of these issues are pinned down by the cucumber. Perhaps a banana at a push.

That’s right. The mighty cucumber. The plant that is added to a salad, served as a refreshing snack or pickled with other fruit/veg, herbs and spices. It doesn’t have a great deal of flavour and compared to other popular fruits or vegetables it doesn’t offer much in the way of nutrition either. Some have a super-subtle sweetness, not unlike a melon. Others have a sense of bitterness about them as a result of the compound cucurbitacin. Most raw cucumbers are over 90% water.

As with any plant there are many different varieties and forms, but for the purposes of this blog entry I am exclusively referring to the ones you would commonly find in a supermarket, greengrocers or fruit and veg stall. From my brief research I believe the variety is a ‘Green Tasty’ - though I could be totally wrong. Though there are many variants and strains that have common characteristics, as with any plant, they come in all shapes and sizes. 

The dichotomy of taste perfectly reflects the ‘in’/‘out’ campaigns that we will all be subjected to for the next few weeks. 

This man won't hold any prisoners if you don't vote

The media took vegetable body positivity (if there ever was such a thing!) to a whole new level a few while back where rumours and articles of the EU banning any fruit or vegetable that did not conform to a set specification would not be allowed to be sold. 

This was consequently backed up by EU commissioners, with Commission Regulation (EC) 2257/94 which states bananas must be “free from malformation or abnormal curvature”. There is no guidance as to what is to be interpreted as ‘abnormal curvature’, which led to inflammatory arguments from the media. These claims were completely blown out of proportion, but still remains into the mindset of the public to this day with some journalists making the point that the "most famous Euromyth of them all" is in fact straight bananas. 

This contrasts from the case based on cucumbers (Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1677/88) where class I and ‘Extra class’ cucumbers are permitted to have a 10mm per 10cm bend. Class II cucumbers can bend twice as much. 

I should highlight that despite every piece of EU law or legislation being translated into every language of  the culture of the general public seems to be somewhat dependant on being apathetic when it comes to the political sphere. 

Though cucumbers are used in cosmetic products and home remedies for it’s naturally soothing properties, there aren’t many products that you can buy that are flavoured with cucumber or you buy primarily because it contains cucumber. In one sense, it is a rather trivial addition to our plates. Similarly, while this ‘euromyth’ I have referred to above is just a trivial creation of the British media it will be used as a weapon for leaving the EU. Dare I say it may even be possibly viewed as equally crucial as immigration or benefit breaks. Well, we will see about that anyway. It represents a mainland European challenge to our parliamentary supremacy and authority that we once held as an arguable world-leader in the Victorian age… yet it is artifice.

In the world of heated bureaucracy, political customs and systems the average human population too often are left out to get cold. Much like that poor dollop of sad, stagnant tinned mushy peas on the side sometimes served with glorious and lovingly made fish and chips from scratch. If you was wondering, yes, I am rather hungry writing this! 

Therefore I predict, for better or for worse, that food will be used as a language translator between the world of politic and the greater people. Economic plans or the intricate details of the core issues such as the ‘Free Movement of Goods’ or ‘Free Movement of Persons’ turned into much more domestic analogies or comparisons. 

By transposing all of this into a form people can understand, it can be used as a political weapon. Following this logic and without bigging it more - it is essentially Excalibur to the ‘question’ of European membership. 

However, as a result this poses the risk of conflation, as complex issues are collapsed into a simplistic comparison. As I said earlier, it is rare you buy a product because it contains cucumber itself. You buy it in addition with lettuce, tomatoes perhaps even yogurt. Cucumbers need context to work, much like you need the details behind the headlines to see things for what they are. 

All of this talk about the UK’s relationship with Europe and I’ve just discovered that the origins of cucumbers are thought to be South Asia. Oh sweet, sweet irony. 

Gourd for thought*?

*Come on, I needed at least one shoddy pun to lighten up this potentially very serious issue!

For a much more light-hearted visual interpretation of this blog, I have found this entertaining clip from a cartoon my sister used to watch. Readers, you can decide whether or not the characters flinging fruit/veg is either 'remain' or 'leave':

References:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Supranational_European_Bodies-en.svg/600px-Supranational_European_Bodies-en.svg.png accessed 30/05/16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBfOOmBnfH0 accessed 30/05/16

http://i.imgur.com/72vNIsS.jpg accessed 30/05/16

https://twitter.com/BBCNews/status/737399821615681537 accessed 30/05/16