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.

@MrsLCSofLichfield

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.

Oh Jif lemons were excellent! I used to squeeze it straight into my mouth I used to drink vinegar as well though so I'm a weirdo!

[quote Porcupineintherough]@Gwenhwyfar perceived by whom? Plenty of wc families round here eating dahl without thinking it is well posh.[/quote]
Do you mean people of Indian origin though?

@CurlyhairedAssassin slice and freeze a lemon and then when needed put a slice in your drink still frozen. Lemons on hand and no waste.

@strychnineinthesandwiches

Haha!! I got as far as lemon and thought, no I can't read anymore of this drivel...

Should I go back hahahaa

It's in The Guardian. The Guardian only ever gets worse tbh. It's so unbearably up its own...orchard. I can't read it anymore. Lemons are middle class ffs. Who pays for this crap - the Guardian, I mean, not lemons. Lemons are great and don't mind what class the people are that eat them, at all... I'm mean Lemon Meringue Pie. Lemons on pancakes. Lemon curd. All made with actual lemons by keen cooks in all classes and enjoyed by all.

@BarbaraofSeville:

Slice your lemon and keep it in the freezer for your G&T. Or dry it. So you can make one lemon last for several drinks.

I never waste a lemon if I've sliced some off for G&T. I'd just make a salad dressing with the rest. But it's a good tip, thanks.

"These are all totally sensible things to do with lemons but I don’t think they’re working class particularly."

I think an ordinary British family would have lemon squash more than freshly squeezed lemon juice they've made themselves.

The Guardian is a woman hating shit rag for the self hating middle class, who don't have any real problems, so manufacture some for themselves so that they can then self flagellate and get off on their own goodness and rightness.

Born working class, in my 50s, always had lemons growing up.

@LukeEvansWife - me too: squirting lemon juice down my throat and having a crafty swig of the clear malt vinegar which was only allowed out on Fridays to go on chips!

Flavoured Gin is more MC than a lemon.

Oh, no it isn't! The people I know who prefer very sweet lower alcohol wines and mixers etc are all obsessed with pink gin. And putting fancy garnishes in. A lot of pink gin is disgusting. Fake, sweet nastiness. There are a few decent ones, with a more subtle natural taste. Personally I think a good quality plain gin with decent tonic and a slice of lemon (or lime, or cucumber for some of them) is much more "classy" than some sweet fake coloured cheap pink gin.

Sussex Pond Pudding anyone? Or was that MC? I get very confused. Christmas pudding with spices? Marmalade and jam? My WC GM picked wild herbs, nettles and fruit during the seasons but maybe sugar was MC in the Twenties and it helped she was rural?

It seems to be all about perception from lentils, oysters, small beer, porridge, barley, potatoes, pasta, tomatoes.

Oh, no it isn't! The people I know who prefer very sweet lower alcohol wines and mixers etc are all obsessed with pink gin. And putting fancy garnishes in. A lot of pink gin is disgusting. Fake, sweet nastiness

Is this a subtle way of saying the people who do the above are wc and mc people would never drink anything so disgusting?

Personally I think a good quality plain gin with decent tonic and a slice of lemon (or lime, or cucumber for some of them) is much more "classy" than some sweet fake coloured cheap pink gin.

This is what I find bizarre, the notion that one drink is classier than the other so therefore better.

I mean. There’s quite a lot of hyperbole used for effect in that article.

Really you read it and your take home point was the bit about lemons? That’s what you took from it?

How bizarre.

I think the supermarkets and food producers themselves have a lot to answer for in creating the perception that something is middle class, because they price it out of the range of someone who is on a strict budget.

I think cumin was mentioned. We use LOADS of that. And loads of other spices and herbs too cos DH and DS are obsessed with curries of all kinds so we make one or two a week. So we go through a LOT of spices. If we have to stick to those crappy teeny tiny Schwartz pots for our spices, that our nearest big supermarkets sell, we'd be skint as they don't last us at all. So I guess then we might perceive them to be "posh". Luckily we have some Chinese and other world food supermarket near us and you can get massive bags of spices and herbs for way less than Tescos etc.

I wonder if demand for tiny jars of Schwartz spices has dropped off as people have cottoned on to much cheaper availability elsewhere, as our Tescos have in the past couple of years started expanding the World Foods aisle, containing much bigger bags of spices, and lentils etc. Half the time when I see people hanging around the Schwartz stuff I want to tell them to go a couple of aisles up and save themselve some money.

Lemons and limes are expensive considering they dont fill a belly. We were poor growing up but ate well. My mum would plump for a bag of apples and oranges over something thats only going to flavour food.

Hell we arent well off and whilst I buy avocados albeit the cheap, ripen at home ones because theyre filling and equate to four breakfasts for £1.10 or whatever they are in Aldi (( with toast of course)) id view spending £1 on a few limes as a luxury so rarely buy them

@Gwenhwyfar

"These are all totally sensible things to do with lemons but I don’t think they’re working class particularly."

I think an ordinary British family would have lemon squash more than freshly squeezed lemon juice they've made themselves.

Yes, i was surprised to learn that in other cultures they don't have squash at all. My Greek friend tells me she found the idea wierd when she came to England. I guess it comes down again to the availability of the fresh fruit in your local area.

"i was surprised to learn that in other cultures they don't have squash at all. "

I live on the continent and here they have 'sirops' which are drunk diluted like squash and are even more sugary.

I still remember a relative coming over and helping himself to a bottle of squash - pouring a glass and gulping it down (and then spitting it out). I’m my defence - I was only little and was wondering if that how the drank it where he was from. He also put butter and jam on his fried bread, so...

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

I do and so does one of my children. I'd only buy a lemon if it was to eat, if it was for cooking I'd buy lemon juice in a bottle.

@buttermutt

Oh, no it isn't! The people I know who prefer very sweet lower alcohol wines and mixers etc are all obsessed with pink gin. And putting fancy garnishes in. A lot of pink gin is disgusting. Fake, sweet nastiness

Is this a subtle way of saying the people who do the above are wc and mc people would never drink anything so disgusting?

Personally I think a good quality plain gin with decent tonic and a slice of lemon (or lime, or cucumber for some of them) is much more "classy" than some sweet fake coloured cheap pink gin.

This is what I find bizarre, the notion that one drink is classier than the other so therefore better.

You're right, you know! It's a stupid notion. I don't know why I feel that way but I do. Maybe I'm old fashioned. I just find some attitudes towards certain food & drink items a bit "nouveau". It's when it gets ubiquitous, cos it's seen as the thing to do, or a special treat. Like the prosecco thing. Seen as a treat but actually cava is much nicer for same money.

I think for me I just get a bit irritated at people jumping on the bandwagon purely because something is seen as "posh". I've done it myself in the past, and then realise that actually the item is shit and there are better alternatives for the same price, that maybe just aren't "fashionable."

I think it depends on where you're from. My working class family never bought fresh lemons because we cooked typical British dishes. We had bottled lemon juice for pancake day that lasted for years and only saw lemon sliced in a drink at the pub.

Our next door neighbours were from India and always had a bowl of lemons or limes for cooking. I remember being horrified the first time I saw the mum squeezed some lemon over a Dahl at the end of cooking. Obviously it was delicious but I was silently panicking because I was clueless and thought it would be horrible and sour.

This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard of. I’m not British so can’t even pretend that I understand your obsession with class here.

It must be mentally exhausting to be constantly worried about being “posh” and if you are doing “middle class” right.

I just don’t understand how this helps the country having this strict social class structure. I am embarrassed whenever I hear anyone talk about who or what is posh. Any food especially.. anyone can eat any food they want.

Frankly.. the people that I’ve met who are obsessed with this whole middle class and posh nonsense are people that I consider insufferable people who need to be in therapy.

The fact that is was even published and people are debating this is really sad. I weep for the children of this nation if this is what nonsense they will inherit from the culture. It’s embarrassing that you even still talk this way.

Uhm...some drinks definitely are more classy than others!

A Negroni has class. Flavoured gin in a bright purple bottle does not.

@TiredSloth

I’m poor but I regularly buy lemons. All my WC friends also buy lemons.

What do people mean actually when thry state "I'm poor". Poor DOES Not automatically equal working class. To me, poor would mean families needing to use food banks, struggling to clothe their children and being unable to heat their house. Not buying lemons. There's an awful lot of posts happily proclaiming, "I'm poor". Really?

I agree with him.

The WC is a very diverse group, from those that are the fourth generation reliant on benefits to a ward manager married to a headteacher earning well in excess of 100k.