Then and Now — Food Evolution
I am a constant reader, with ecclectic tastes. On my nightstand you might find a British murder mystery, military history (Civil War or World War II), political biography, contemporary fiction, or a literary classic (anything I never got around to reading in English Lit or any leftover paperbacks from my sons’ English classes).
Right now, I’m reading The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, A Memoir, by Bill Bryson, a hilarious look back at growing up in the 1950s in Des Moines, Iowa.
Bryson takes us back to American food tastes then:
“Like most people in Iowa in the 1950s, we were more cautious eaters in our house. On the rare occasions when we were presented with food with which we were not comfortable or familiar — on planes or trains or when invited to a meal cooked by someone who was not herself from Iowa — we tended to tilt it up carefully with a knife and examine it from every angle as if determining whether it might need to be defused. Once on a trip to San Francisco, my father was taken by friends to a Chinese restaurant and he described it afterward in the somber tones of someone recounting a near-death experience.”
Bryson goes on to list the things they didn’t eat, which included pasta, rice, garlic, “foreign food of any type, except French toast, bread that wasn’t white and at least 65 percent air, spices other than salt, pepper, and maple syrup…”
Now:
The ethnic food category, a $75 billion market in the U.S., is among the fasted-growing segments of the food industry, accounting for one out of every seven grocery dollars, according to MediaPost Publications. A staggering 73 percent of consumers said they purchased specialty foods in 2007 (versus 65 percent in 2006).
It’s amazing how food preferences have changed within a lifetime, with ethnic foods moving from “niche” to “mainstream.” In many parts of the country, kids will as happily eat sushi or samosas as they would a ham sandwich. And in the U.S., there are now more Chinese restaurants than McDonald’s. This turn to ethnic foods will continue to grow as food-sophisticated Americans continue to search out new flavors to excite, amuse and educate their palates.
INSIGHT: With the cost of food and fuel on the rise and no relief in sight, expect manufacturers and restaurateurs to continue to take their cue from ethnic foods for new product development and new menu introductions, but focusing more especially, on low-cost but high-flavor, robust and healthy peasant foods. It’s a way to keep costs down while creating an exciting, novelty factor that should appeal to contemporary American tastes.
Bill Bryson, eat your heart out.
