It's been hard not to get caught up in the cooking hysteria that is masterchef, my own dad lost it when he got his own master chef official apron, but rest assured this post will expand your mind beyond the musings of Julie Poh or even Justine (Who I thought should've won, but let's face it in reality shows I always think the hot chick should win....)
People have been cooking by recipe for centuries. I reckon even Cave people when they decided to cook meat once upon a time, wrote down how to do it and passed it to their neighbours over a cold beer.. I feel like it's safe to assume that most people don't want to pass on a bad recipe, so wouldn't the world become a Darwinesque survival of the fittest (tastiest) for recipes? Wouldn't eventually we have only good recipes? Going on my family kitchen this isn't the case we have been through our share of bad recipes. But we throw them out. where are these bad recipes coming from?
As has become standard for my blog, i'll pose that question and then now answer it. I think recipes are a mere player in the grand narrative of global cuisine. Recipes are written but become dated as the narrative progresses. A bad recipe now may only be bad because the narrative has changed and microwaving everything is no longer a fascination or even appropriate. The narrative of food at the moment is Fresh and seasonal is the best, good ingredients result in Good dishes. The head to tail thing is big at the moment too. (yeah I ate cow tongue, and goat meat) There you have it now i'm off to cook some nasi Goreng 2 minute noodles.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Aaron Aaronson
A large part of my working day is spent reading what people's surnames are. Thrilling stuff I know, but it made me think of the lineage of surnames why they were chosen and where they came from.
My name is derived from the occupation a 'clerk' and the 'e' I heard denotes landowner. (Alright!) In my ponderings I wondered whether new surnames are still being invented and if so how?
My Name is from my parents and that's how it works for everyone so wouldn't it be right to assume that all surnames have now been thought of? When they first started using surnames did they just make it up? used something about their personality or occupation?
Taking this line of thought to a hyperbolic conclusion (quite common in my blog posts really...) If there is indeed a finite amount of surnames, wouldn't it lead to a homogenisation of surnames and eventually everyone would have the same one?
Names are changed through marriage and surnames die out, some surnames are more common then others and therefore with a higher number of people more chance of that name surviving. Common surnames will become more common and eventually everyone will have the same one! wouldn't that be rad!
My name is derived from the occupation a 'clerk' and the 'e' I heard denotes landowner. (Alright!) In my ponderings I wondered whether new surnames are still being invented and if so how?
My Name is from my parents and that's how it works for everyone so wouldn't it be right to assume that all surnames have now been thought of? When they first started using surnames did they just make it up? used something about their personality or occupation?
Taking this line of thought to a hyperbolic conclusion (quite common in my blog posts really...) If there is indeed a finite amount of surnames, wouldn't it lead to a homogenisation of surnames and eventually everyone would have the same one?
Names are changed through marriage and surnames die out, some surnames are more common then others and therefore with a higher number of people more chance of that name surviving. Common surnames will become more common and eventually everyone will have the same one! wouldn't that be rad!
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