How to cut back on food during the credit crisis
Fancy wines, handmade cheeses, pate involving animals that you didn't know existed.... all of these luxuries will be the first to go as the families of previously-rich bankers re-discover the joys of canned ravioli.
Polly Vernon in The Guardian has some tongue-in-cheek advice for foodies:
"There is no room for olive oil that costs a smidgeon over three quid, for tomatoes that have their own pedigree certificate, for Iberico that costs more, per slice, than a unit of your gas bill; as a result, there's no room for the Foodie, who thrives on such wild decadence. No. Great. Loss. PS. We never really liked white truffle all that much. We just said we did."
It's a cheeky article, but it does trigger some hindsight on how ridiculous we all got when things were good. Spring water from Fiji delivered overseas? Are you crazy? That's an insane thing to pay money for.
Vernon also highlights some cheap joys, like the beauty of making chili con carne with regular mince, or cold cuts that come in strange forms. Bologna, olive loaf, that weird chicken loaf. Sure, they may not taste like any animal that you've heard of, but think how much money you're saving compared to buying imported Iberian jamon.
That crazy imported stuff runs about $100/kg here in Sydney, and the deli man will look at you condescendingly, as if you're blessed just to be sharing the same airspace. Sorry, I'll take the locally made ham, one-third the price, and still too expensive for me to eat guilt-free.
A little part of me wonders if the Spanish are paying $100/kg for jamon made in Sydney?
Probably not.
* this image is from If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger
