Food and the city. Cooking and gender in Pop Culture representations.

One of my favorite writers, Bee Wilson, has analyzed the topic with wits and humor. She argues that SATC is not about shoes, but about brunch. Furthermore, she looks into changes that intervened throughout the seasons, as far as food is concerned. In the early days, the girls were often pictured eating green salads and cups of fruit or yogurt. As the story developed, the food- just like the fashion- got heavier and more sophisticated. Yet, there was always a constant: from beginning to end, the protagonists always gathered around food. Sharing a meal together is done among close friends, it makes people open up and share their stories. Be it brunch on a sunny terrace, expensive burgers in the Meat Packing district, vegan or BDSM flavored, sharing food is always a means of getting emotionally closer.
In this article I will shift the focus and look at attitudes towards cooking and the underlining messaging. I will review the way both genders engage in cooking and how they position themselves towards it. And there are quite a few interesting elements that emerged from the analysis. I’ve chosen this series because I believe it represents a major pop culture landmark, but also because I probably know it by heart. I confess: I watched many times over. Read More

Writing for Eaten, the Food History Magazine

Writing about writing is far from being an easy task. When I started The Pickled Spruit, about two years ago, I had envisioned a completely different path for its development. With time, I started to better define and build my way and to tackle topics that peak my interest, such as literature, history, pop culture or architecture. The more I wrote, the more at ease I felt and I decided to take a big plunge by submitting a story pitch to what I consider to be a very respectable, well curated magazine: Eaten , the Food History Magazine. Read More

How to celebrate Easter like a true Romanian

While in the rest of the world Easter means chocolate eggs and furry, pastel bunnies, this is not the case in Romania…or the in rest of the Orthodox world, for that matter. Without being religious in any way, I religiously observe the (food) rituals linked to the major holidays. If Christmas means the pig slaughtering (in one’s backyard, thank you very much!) and the pig’s feast, Easter is, no doubt, under the sign of the lamb. Read More

Food & sex. “Pour some sugar on me, in the name of love”: the psychology behind the pop culture.

In this article, I will analyze the connection between food and sex, from various perspectives. I will talk about pop culture, marketing, linguistics, religion and the psychological theories supporting this connection. I will close with an analytical discussion about three sexual practices that make use of foodstuffs: sploshing, feederism and edible underwear. References and further reading suggestions can be found at the end of the article. Read More

Food, pleasures, markets and eating venues in Bucharest and beyond, early 20th century. A photo reportage.

Somewhat paradoxically, we tend to believe the emergence of the supermarket, a place that stores all or most of our necessities, has improved our lives. Rest assured, the people in the pictures below were eating much better than most of us today. There is magic in knowing the guy who grows the food that ends up on your table, that raises the pork that becomes your steak and the picks up the juicy fruit you enjoy. Without idealizing too much, life was hard then for the majority of people, working the land is never easy. We might have traded that, but what have we gained instead? The same applies to eating out, we now do it almost as a prerequisite, some of us even as a compulsion. We don’t care that much about the space where eating and conviviality (should) take place, sometimes we don’t even care about the food itself. Let’s step back and also look back. In awe.

Most of the photographs in this article have been taken by the German- Romanian photographer Willi Pragher (1908- 1992) in Bucharest. Others have unknown authors or undetermined years of reference. Read More

The daily olive no.1: new highs of human stupidity

“Equilibrium from Aquaesse is a B12 infused energy-yielding pure alkaline water specialty designed for vegan/ vegetarian lifestyle. Pure spring water taste with no sugar and no added flavours or colour. Just the essentials.” British Vogue, Aug 2017.

NO WORDS NEEDED. PLAIN STUPID. (at 1.90 EUR a pop for 33cl)

Food in political cartoons: depicting society. Main themes and evolution

Since our early days on this beautiful blue planet, we have been concerned with representing our world, as a form of understanding it better or simply archiving knowledge. There is no need to cite clichés that size a picture’s worth, suffice to say images are powerful. They can transcend language barriers and be filled with meaning and codes. It is only natural that food has taken a significant spot in our representations of the surrounding world. Narrowing the scope, I will have a look at food in political cartoons. I have chosen this particular form of expression because I find it a true radiography of society, a witty account of times passed, a lens through which we can look back and forward, too. Furthermore, I enjoy the satire, humor and wits cartoonist propose.

This time I decided to put my love of words and crossword puzzles to good work. This puzzle is far from perfect, so please be kind: I didn’t use any online tools creating it, just old-fashioned pencil and paper. You can download and print the entire puzzle: Food in Books, ep.4. I’d love to receive pictures with your solution; hope you enjoy!

What’s new on the pickled spruit?

I’ve been writing here for about a year now and I couldn’t be more grateful and intrigued by my blogging experience. I have learned and rediscovered so many things about myself. I have met so many wonderful people, always up for a good food-related discussion; people with academic and journalistic backgrounds who express their ideas with such wit and ease. They inspire me.

At the same time, I also realized what makes me happiest when it comes to writing. It is the exploration of ideas, the connection with literature, social sciences and art. I want to create interesting pieces, bring perspective, analyse and put forward new ideas. I will, hence, concentrate my efforts on the Food in Books and Stories series, which will most likely take a more academic spin. I will do my best to research well all coming articles and include the relevant links. I will try to improve my writing style. I’ll still post the occasional recipe and share my views on nutrition, as this was the genesis of The Pickled Spruit. So stick around, I’m always curious to hear your thoughts.

Food in books, ep.3: Food symbolism in Kafka’s Metamorphosis

Food symbols

From silly brand logos, to catchy metaphors, to the original archetypes in our collective unconscious described by C.J. Jung, symbols are shared codes that orient our lives and behaviors. We can understand and share unique symbols with our peers, symbols becoming thus, defining for the group; in the most banal form this is what we would call an “inside joke”. At the most deepest and transversal level, regardless of cultural background or other social factors, all of us humans share the same symbols: the mother, the father, the child, the god, the devil, the wise old man, the wise old woman, the hero, the trickster. Jung does not, as far as my knowledge goes, investigate symbols related to food. I think the most straight forward one would be the preservation of life. Sharing food with others could very well be an archetypal motif of the group inter-relativeness, the quintessential, core group being one’s closest kinship, the family. I will not, dear reader, go further in the analysis of what sharing food means, suffice to say I see it as one of the closest, strongest bounds that unite us. Sharing food unites us in preserving life and in generating pleasure, two of the fundamental traits of all living beings.
Most distinct food symbols are culturally driven and not necessarily stable in time. For example, fish used to be considered lesser food in medieval times. It looked a bit like a snake, rather than a beast and the elites were not enjoying it. Today, fish is considered a prized, fancy meal. It is a strong symbol in Christianity, however, it doesn’t bare much significance in Islamic culture. Still, some food symbols are shared by us all: think of the mother’s milk.
I don’t know if Kafka has relied on food symbols throughout his story, but I chose to find and analyze them. In this article I will, however, try to expose the symbolism of of food in the metamorphosis, as well as the connection between food and one’s humanity. This is my investigation. Read More

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