So... There's this joke going around. This is sure to ruffle a few feathers, but if you're really, genuinely, actually offended by this, I feel kinda bad for you. So what is this joke?
"The joke is, white people had the nerve to invade 90% of the world for spices and then not use a single one." -shuttersmiley
OK, perhaps that joke is pretty insensitive, but it's not meant seriously. However, there is a DEFINITE trend in Western cooking to shy away from spices. This was made worse in the US of A during the great depression, and the echoes of that can still be felt today (wonder bread, anyone?). Sure, we've got our barbecue sauces, steak rubs and Buffalo wings, but then we've also got our baked potatoes with butter, our green beans with butter, our grilled meat with nothing on it, and that horrible frozen brick of spinach that nobody has ever enjoyed ever. You know the one.
Yum yum!
But why is this? Why do we think of Western food as being kind of bland, while Latin, Mediterranean and Asian food has a reputation as being exotic in its spiciness? It turns out there is a reason. However, this reason made my head explode. NPR has the story here.
So if you want the TL;DR version or just felt confused by all that, the take home message is that rich Europeans stopped using spices because they became cheap enough for everyone to afford and were thus no longer an exclusive status symbol.
I. So. Literally. Can't. Even. Right. Now.
Okay, so sometimes I feel a little lazy or just want to keep it simple and put nothing more than salt and pepper in my eggs. Sometimes I even say "no nutmeg for my eggnog, thank you." But to give up my spices just because everyone else is doing it? Oh hell no. I don't want to live in a world where people stop using pumpkin spice just because it's basic, let alone all spices altogether.
So what have we learned? Trends are stupid and you should never follow them. Especially if they make no sense. I'm looking at you, kale!
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