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.

"Seasonal and locally grown is extremely MC."

Don't forget organic!

Jiff is nasty! I tend to use fresh lemons and/or lemon zest for flavouring. But then we use loads of lemons here.

I didn't even know you can buy totally fresh lemon juice.

Yeah I think most of you're far more middle class than you realise.

And carbonara is gorgeous but if you add cream, very unhealthy.

I have whole lemons the freezer for when I need zest. Quite a lot of things I make use lemon zest. More than juice I reckon.

All this faux horror about people never having eaten pesto is a bit daft. You can be a middle class parent and dislike pesto and therefore your kids might never eat it and never feel the need to as an adult. It's hardly a life changer.

Eat what you want. It doesn’t need labelling or judging

@KittenKong

Jiff is nasty! I tend to use fresh lemons and/or lemon zest for flavouring. But then we use loads of lemons here.

As a single person, there's no way I'm buying even one lemon just to squeeze a tiny bit on something because it's in a recipe.

There is nothing wrong with jif or its equivalent.

@mokojolo

No, this article is saying that it's a mistake to associate lemons with middle classness. It is quoting someone who did and arguing against the notion. It argues that in fact lemons, garlic, polenta, houmus it gives many examples are international peasant foods and to rhetorically assign them to the middle class is to erase the reality of working class lives, histories, and culture in Britain.

So you are all agreeing with this article in fact.

A hot country's peasant food is a cold country's exotic treat. There was a point in history where pineapples were status symbols for some of the very wealthiest in Europe, likewise in the 17th Century owning an orangery (to allow cultivation of citrus fruits in colder climates) was a symbol of immense wealth. For many working class children even only 50 years ago, an orange might only be enjoyed as a Christmas present.

These days though, exotic produce gets shipped/airfreighted in cheaply so money is no longer really the problem. There will be many dinner tables around the UK however which never see fresh produce (exotic or otherwise) for reasons which include cultural (reluctant to try new things) or lack of time to prepare fresh food and learn new recipes.

@Wazzzzzzzup

Where does vodka stand ?

I'm not sure when it was introduced to the UK. It was generally a drink of the nobility in Poland but by the mid-19th century was drunk almost universally.

Whisky would have generally been the drink of choice among the British upper classes, I don't think that the working classes really had access to spirits, preferring beer unless they were sailors in which case rum was issued by the navy every day.

I am a proudly working class lemon lover, may have to rethink some life choices now.

@Gwenhwyfar

Hummus, falafel, tofu, lentils and plant milks are all just family staples if you are vegan or veggie.

Being vegan or veggie is more middle than working class despite it being cheaper not to eat meat.

I would imagine having the time and money to actually make some of that taste of anything probably helps

@Wazzzzzzzup

Fresh fruit and veg nowadays is bloody expensive and if you're on a tight budget, unaffordable. No wonder things like this are seen as the food of the well-off.

I have to disagree with that. Nice seasonal basic vegetable and fruit are really cheap here. Food in uk in general is actually quite cheap compared to other places like where my family is

I think as much as possible should be local/in season. However, other than potatoes, I don't eat root vegetables because they taste like shit and that is a lot of the winter seasonal stuff. So it's a choice of imported veg or cheap carbs

I too thought it was about a McLemon

Lemons are imported so were not cheap and will naturally go off quite quickly. The standard way of having lemon juice for cooking in my childhood 50 years ago was as Jif lemon that would keep for ages in the fridge.

I grew up in a very established middle class family in the 70s and 80s, my Mum was a cookery teacher and even we had a Jif lemon. I think we forget how seasonal food was over 30 years ago and lemons weren't always available, particularly if you lived in the back of beyond as we did. Now of course we always have lemons in the house.

As far as lemons for my gin goes, last January I sliced up all the leftover satsumas and dried them in a low oven (which took forever!) and have them in a jar in the drinks cabinet for my gin. I'm sure you could do the same with a lemon.

It is limes that were for scurvy?

I don't think that the working classes really had access to spirits

Of course they did, why do you think Hogarth painted 'Gin Alley'? 'Dutch courage' and 'mother's ruin' both tell you how ubiquitous gin was as a cheap spirit. It's much cheaper to make than whisky which is why there are gin distilleries everywhere these days.

I have a lemon tree in my greenhouse. I got 3 lemons from it this year. I'm hoping for more next year.
Not an expert on the British class system due to being foreign, but happy to report that there is an amazing citrus plant that is very happy outdoors in the British climate.

Yuzu. Much superior taste wise to limes and lemons, grows and fruits freely in the UK. Just choose a sheltered spot.

@forinborin

I have a lemon tree in my greenhouse. I got 3 lemons from it this year. I'm hoping for more next year. Not an expert on the British class system due to being foreign, but happy to report that there is an amazing citrus plant that is very happy outdoors in the British climate.

Yuzu. Much superior taste wise to limes and lemons, grows and fruits freely in the UK. Just choose a sheltered spot.

I am planning on Yuzu next year! I love the taste

Agree that peasant food in one country, is exotic expensive food elsewhere. I know people who grew up poor abroad who would eat mangoes everyday at a time when they were very expensive in Britain as they were imported. Look at quinoa, pure peasant food, but not in Britain.

We always have a couple of lemons in to make hot water and lemon in for sore throats/upset stomachs.

I agree one country's peasant food is an other country's MC food - I smiled to myself when the first food mentioned in the article was polenta. That's what my nonna made every week a when the bakers was shut (definitely peasant food in 1930s/40s Italy.)

Other side of the same coin I was talking about Christmas dinners to an Italien friend in Italy and she'd never tried parsnip.

I am planning on Yuzu next year! I love the taste
Try Meyer lemons too (a cross between a lemon and an orange). They do much better in cooler climates, but still better to move indoors for the winter.

Load of bollox. I’m working class and I eat lemon, polenta and a lot of other stuff.

I should try yuzu in my garden.

And polenta is peasant food and dirt cheap - you can buy a kilo of it for a couple of quid.

Lentils are lovely with tomato sauce, rice and dried chilos or in a vegetarian shepherd's pie (with tomato sauce in place of gravy). Or cold in a salad with roast pepper strips, black olives, red onions and parsley.

I thought polenta was a new foodstuff when everyone was talking about it. It is just a type of cornmeal. A very ordinary foodstuff.
I have no idea what yuzu are.

@forinborin

I am planning on Yuzu next year! I love the taste Try Meyer lemons too (a cross between a lemon and an orange). They do much better in cooler climates, but still better to move indoors for the winter.

Oooh. I might have to reshuffle some pots to fit this😱 sounds lovely!