AIBU to wonder how the fuck is LEMON a "MC food"

[Wazzzzzzzup]

amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/02/food-choices-proxy-class-britain

What the hell, people😂 What. The. Hell.

People need to learn some history. Lentils were a staple part of the basic peasant/serf diet for hundreds (probably thousands) of years. They only stopped being that when people became rich enough to buy more meat.

I think there are two things here. One is that avocados are relatively expensive here. Here is not Mexico. They are still fancyish here.

Are they? you can get one for the same price as a bag of crisps

Not super fancy, but still fancyish. Carrots or potatoes will give you better value for money. If an avocado is about £1 then that's a similar price to a multipack of cheap crisps.

@Porcupineintherough

People need to learn some history. Lentils were a staple part of the basic peasant/serf diet for hundreds (probably thousands) of years. They only stopped being that when people became rich enough to buy more meat.

I am aware of that. But there is a reason they were a peasant staple and cheap!

I do eat lemons though

@Porcupineintherough

People need to learn some history. Lentils were a staple part of the basic peasant/serf diet for hundreds (probably thousands) of years. They only stopped being that when people became rich enough to buy more meat.

So what? That doesn't change how they are perceived now. Look at the oysters example.

@BarbaraofSeville

Most of these 'x is middle class' are very outdated.

In 1980s Yorkshire we had asparagus growing in our garden but we didn't eat it because we didn't know what to do with it.

But now most people eat most of the foods mentioned and few are expensive compared with other foods and are often cheaper.

Asparagus is still expensive.

@LukeEvansWife

quinoa, polenta, sun-dried tomatoes, coffee, loose-leaf tea, coriander seeds, gnocchi, kidneys, goji berries, hummus, falafel, lentils, croissants, muesli, wine, tofu, soy milk, oat milk, almond milk, avocados

Other than coffee, loose leaf tea and wine, that list is completely wanky middle class.

Add in pesto, couscous and olives

It's the casually but self conscious way people talk about it.

I grew up in London - all those foods are WC foods. It simply depends what communities you are in what the small shops, hypermarkets and market stalls sell.

Not convinced there’s a class obsession…

I clicked on this thinking McDonslds were now claiming lemons as a McFood item and I was curious

MC for me stands for Mc

Not classed obsessed obviously

We usually have a lemon or two knocking about the place somewhere - it's handy for making honey & lemon drink if you're unwell, we often shove a half a lemon up a roasting chicken's jacksy, and you can use some lemon slices in a bowl of water to clean the microwave. Stick it on full for 2 minutes and the microwave is full of lemony steam. Makes it easy to wipe the crud off.

I don’t understand your point here - these would all have been (to me when I was growing up) quite posh things to do. These are all totally sensible things to do with lemons but I don’t think they’re working class particularly.

Asparagus is expensive out of season. But for those 8 weeks or so when the English crop has grown it's cheap. Love that time of year.

People always say on here when others say about having very little money to last the week 'oh get some lentils' - seemingly unaware that you then have to get a load of other stuff to go with it as lentils are tasteless

Not super fancy, but still fancyish. Carrots or potatoes will give you better value for money. If an avocado is about £1 then that's a similar price to a multipack of cheap crisps.

Well carrots & potatoes are incredibly cheap. Are peppers considered fancy? My corner shop sells crisps for 70p & an avocado for £1!

So what does the Gruniard make of LIMES????

@CurlyhairedAssassin

To be fair lemons are fairly expensive for what they are. 30p each or summat, for summat you eg squeeze over some fish for a sharp flavour. It's the same price for a whole bottle of malt vinegar. You can see how a squeeze of lemon over fish when you have fish and chips, for example, can seem "posher" than shaking vinegar over it all.

G&T: again, seems fairly wasteful to use a whole fruit just to flavour a few drinks. If I'm having plain gin with tonic I do like lemon in it. But if I have flavoured gin I just put ice in, no fruit. I guess the flavoured gin saves money. So to me, flavoured gin seems less "posh", since it doesn't need any additional ingredients.

You can't make a lemon drizzle cake with malt vinegar though...unless you're that odd woman from the Vicar of Dibley and add a tin of sardines to the icing.

Flavoured Gin is more MC than a lemon.

@Gwenhwyfar perceived by whom? Plenty of wc families round here eating dahl without thinking it is well posh.

Limes are much fancier than lemons surely?! 😆

@CurlyhairedAssassin

I meant to add, if this were a Mediterranean climate and everyone had a lemon tree in their garden like they do there, then lemons would be seen as peasant food, no doubt. Dirt cheap, or freely available for nowt.

I have a lemon tree in my greenhouse. I got 3 lemons from it this year. I'm hoping for more next year. 🍋 🍋 🍋

There's a bit in the article about a coffee shop opening in Soho 16 years age because it was impossible to get a flat white.

What is a flat white?

I thought a flat white was just a coffee with milk?

I have never really understood the flat bit though, is there more to it?

@StrawberrySquash

I think there are two things here. One is that avocados are relatively expensive here. Here is not Mexico. They are still fancyish here.

Are they? you can get one for the same price as a bag of crisps

Not super fancy, but still fancyish. Carrots or potatoes will give you better value for money. If an avocado is about £1 then that's a similar price to a multipack of cheap crisps.

I've brought bags of mis-sized avocados for a couple of quid in Morrisons. They had about 8-10 per bag.

I also the potatoes I prefer to eat are sweet potatoes. They started appearing in decent quantities in the late 80s and until about 10 years ago I would have to buy them from small shops, hypermarkets and market stalls in various parts of London. Now I can just get bags in a large supermarket.

perceived by whom? Plenty of wc families round here eating dahl without thinking it is well posh.

I think some mc people do think it's posh though

@Fridafever they are working class you just didn't have them in the community you grew up in.

I had forgotten about squeezy Jif lemons, but yeah, we had one. My family never bought fresh lemons. Spaghetti, macaroni and ravioli came out of tins. Coffee was always instant. I was brought up by my grandparents who were born during WW1 - they grew up in poverty, brought up their small children during WW2 rationing and considered that fruit was only for children and invalids. They were not at all unusual, most people ate the same way where I grew up.

Bugger me. From that article I'm MC although I'd never eat kidneys or goji berries I've bought and used all the rest at sometime.

I expect lemons are MC because of g&ts or in my case they are used to make lemon curd 😂

No-one eats a lemon like they would another piece of fruit.

You've clearly never met DS2. They are his favourite!