When I was a wee child in Sunday School for some reason I used to sing "Thank you for your taste and flavour" instead of "Thank you for your grace and favour". Possibly because as a weenie I could understand the former but not the latter.
In actual fact it was probably simply a false memory generated a little later in life when I thought it would be funny.
Many years ago in the Sixties my mother succumbed to a very bad bout of 'flu. She was in bed for a while with the doctor in attendance. She recovered. However her ability to taste diminished. Later in life after another bout of 'flu her ability to taste reduced considerably. Oddly my ability to taste also diminished after various bouts of 'flu. My last one was at Christmas 2000. My ability to taste is now very poor but seemingly random. Some things I can taste quite well and many not at all. Like my mother I realised that for me texture is far more important than flavour when eating many foods.
My parents were very active until their late 80s and 90s but, obviously the energy they expended as they got less active decreased as did their need for food. However Dad still enjoyed his food whereas Mum did not. For her food was simply fuel although I remember she developed a liking for packetted Vesta Curry in her mid '80s. I assume they were meat although my mother had never really enjoyed eating meat. However they were very easy to prepare when they were still living in their own house. She also loved omelettes.
All this has come back to me in the last year or so now I've reached 80. I still enjoy cooking but really only for other people because that provides an incentive to do something interesting. I find cooking for myself a chore which gets in the way of other things I want to do but my body still needs fuel.
I eat exceptionally slowly which adds to the boredom factor. So I have routines for getting through meals when I'm alone. Breakfast I do Wordle and Words with Friends. Lunchtime I do a crossword. Dinner I usually watch the news.
What does food mean to you?
Food means fuel, yes, but also enjoyment, comfort, delight, socialising, reward… quite a lot depending on circumstances, and often more than one of these.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to you I like to cook when I know there is someone that will eat the result with me. When O.K. and I have a weekend at my place, I like to think about what to do for our meals, mostly something seasonal and regional. I plan and buy and then cook, preferably alone in the kitchen, I lay the table nicely, light a candle, and after the meal, I don‘t mind at all cleaning up.
Same when I have more than just one guest; I work much better on my own innmy kitchen. But I like helping O.K. when we are at his place and prepare a meal for family or friends, and laying the table is one of my favourite parts. I want to make people feel they are very welcome and their visit is a joy. Again, I don‘t mind washing up etc. after the meal.
Texture is certainly important, and it is the one reason why I do not like certain desserts (puddings) - I find their texture inexplicably disgusting.
Meike, I understand absolutely where you are coming from. I used to cook happily for dinner parties of 10/12 (the maximum that I can seat) but all that has changed as people have moved away and or died. I rarely cater for more than 5 or 6 now. I enjoy that. But I don't like cooking for myself on a day in and day out basis. One of the puddings that I cannot abide the texture (or look) of is tapioca pudding.
DeleteI'm afraid I am somewhat like your mother. Food is fuel and I am not terribly interested in it, and certainly not cooking it. I do like nice food and tastes but it doesn't excite me at all.
ReplyDeleteAndrew we are obviously on similar food wavelengths for personal consumption.
DeleteI eat very quickly, too quickly so my wife says I don't taste the food. As I age I taste less and my appetite is less.
ReplyDeleteRed I'm with you on all but the speed of eating.
DeleteI am an unashamed foodie. I love everything about it from buying, to cooking, to eating. I remember those Vesta packet curries, and they also made a Chinese dish. I can't say I have very good memories of them.
ReplyDeleteCro, I admire and envy your being a foodie. I've never been a foodie although I used to enjoy cooking very much for dinner parties.
DeleteI used to really enjoy cooking and especially preparing food for visitors, taking great care in the hope that they would enjoy the meal. Nowadays I seem to have lost the motivation and will to make much of an effort and so just serve up the same old things every week for the two of us. Easy and simple meals now.
ReplyDeleteJayCee, I still try and make an effort when entertaining friends. Otherwise it's same old same old.
DeleteI eat to live. I like good food and appreciate the effort others make but am a pretty hopeless cook, though I enjoy buying decent ingredients.
ReplyDeleteJanice the fact that you enjoy buying good ingredients says volumes.
DeleteCooking and sharing go together..so cooking for one can be hard.
ReplyDeleteI've carried on making big batches of food that I like and freezing individual portions.
That gets around the problem of by the time you've cooked a meal for one that you no longer feel like eating it!
GZ, you've hit the nail on the head for me: cooking and sharing go together. Like you I make big batches and freeze: particularly things like lasagne and curries.
DeleteFood (real food) and everything to do with it is an absolute delight, but as my partner developed type 2 diabetes (he only eats processed absolute junk if left to himself), i find myself having to restrict the range things I might have produced - desserts, cakes and puddings obviously - all the fun things - and it has become something of chore to plan meals within new restrictions. (And he still sneaks junk!)
ReplyDeleteTigger's Mum, it looks as though you have a real problem to deal with. I'm also a Type 2 diabetic but fortunately prefer savoury good things to sweet bad things (and always have) so my idea of sitting in front of the tv (a rare occurrence) with junk food is sitting with a pear and a load of mixed nuts. I reserve the dark chocolate for coffee times.
DeleteI really enjoy food. In general my wife and I are quite creative and we cook every day. We both enjoy it, and a fine dinner with a bottle of wine is enjoyed a couple of times a week. If we have friends over for dinner the pleasure is magnified and we tend to go “all out” for those occasions. I hope it will continue thus.
ReplyDeleteDavid, I hope it continues thus for you both. I'm fortunate enough to have friends and many visitors to cook for and I enjoy that. It's cooking for oneself that is the chore. Ironically people who used to say that to me as they got older irritated me at the time. One has to be very careful with one's irritations because they can come back and bite one on the bum.
DeleteFor me, food means more than mere sustenance. I enjoy pretty much everything I eat and I enjoy preparing meals each evening. However, on the rare occasions that I do eat alone I notice that my motivation is much reduced and I can imagine that after a week or two it might become a chore.
ReplyDeleteYP, you've always been the very picture of good wholesome cooking. I used to enjoy it too. I've lived on my own for a quarter of a century. Enough said I think.
DeleteSeveral years ago, at the request of my doctor, I met with a nutritionist. Since then, I'm keen on trying to balance protein and carbs. However, recipes I prepared years ago as the main cook, I rarely bother with. I kitchen forage, whatever is quick and easy to eat. After the 2022 covid booster, I lost nearly all my sense of taste and smell. Salty I can taste.
ReplyDeleteA nurse at our practice when giving me my annual check-up decided to send me to a dietitian (nutritionist). She basically said that she wanted me to do all the things that she told other people not to do because I had lost far too much weight. I've now regained some of it.
DeleteMy oldest son lives with me and it's nice to share a meal with him. He is always very appreciative and eats whatever I make. I try to serve a variety but we have our favorites that are repeated often. I keep it simple when I can. I do the large family dinners when we gather for holidays but those are more stressful for me. I'm always glad when we are done! ;)
ReplyDeleteApologies Ellen but your comment went to spam along with other including some of my own responses! I don't do many large gatherings these days although having had family/friends staying recently I've rediscovered the joy of providing 'family food'.
DeleteWell for me, i enjoy trying new things. I have Chinese ancestry on my mother's side so there are a few of us including my youngest who need to cook interesting tasting meals, we add ginger, garlic and chilli to dinner meals quite a bit. I think Kiwis in general can be quite boring in terms of food.
ReplyDeleteAimz, I agree that Kiwis are not the most adventurous of eaters but then neither are many Brits these days with so much boring and bad junk food. Like you I use a lot of ginger, garlic and chilli. I used to do a lot of Chinese and Indian cooking when I entertained. I still eat a lot of stir fries because they are both nutritious and I can at least taste some of the sauce.
DeleteFor me, food is fuel. I prefer tasty, simple meals, which can be cooked in one pot. If food is stacked, served on a piece of slate, or has a jus, then I'm not interested.
ReplyDeleteJules, not having much ability to taste texture is important to me but, like you, simple is usually more appealing to me.
DeleteSince having some intestinal problems last year I have taken a different view and interest in food. I now see it as a fuel and not much else and see little or no point in fancy meals. Seeing Jules comment reminds me of a meal I went for with some girls I was working with. The food was served on a piece of slate. At the end of the meal I told the waiter that I would have preferred to have eaten it off a plate.
ReplyDeleteRachel, having digestive problems is the pits. You have my sympathy. I tend to regard food as fuel too. Just occasionally I can get excited by textures or strong tastes.
DeleteI love to eat but after cooking for a family for 30 years I'm over cooking. Or maybe I'm not over the cooking but the cleaning up and the packing away and the planning.
ReplyDeleteMy dad who turned 84 this year keeps saying he doesn't get as hungry as he did but he's showing some symptoms of malnutrition so I try to provide tempting food when I cook for my parents.
Kylie, when I was married (it ended over 30 years ago) my wife insisted on doing the cooking and she was an exceptionally good cook and hostess too. I've got fed up of all the palava associated with providing myself with food.
DeleteI honestly believe that if I didn't have a husband who wants regular meals, I think I'd probably live on juice and salads. Cooking just seems like a lot for one person, and I really do love juicing vegetables.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous (I'm curious) I was having too many vegetables and not bothering with other things and the nutritionist gave me stern talking to.
DeleteI wouldn't say I regard food as just fuel, but I've never been all that interested in cooking and trying a lot of new dishes either. I tend to keep to a few simple favourite recipes with minor variations. When I cook I usually make 4-5 portions and freeze some, so that other days I don't need to cook from scratch but can just heat something up and eat with mixed salads (which tend to be rather repetitious as well). I try to vary between (minced) meat, chicken, fish, omelettes etc. In the evening I sometimes just make sandwiches (still with salad on the side). I also eat quite a lot of fruit. I often have both lunch and supper in front of the TV these days. Breakfast at the kitchen table though, while reading my local newspaper - nowadays electronically on my tablet.
ReplyDeleteMonica, your eating life sounds very much like mine in many ways. I really should eat a greater variety of fish though (smoked salmon is about all the fish I eat these days although I eat a lot of it - the whole fish type smoked not the thin sliced smoked). I eat very little meat apart from chicken and minced beef in lasagnes etc.
DeleteWe both enjoy cooking at home, but not at the same time, due to the limited space in our galley kitchen. The only thing I dislike about cooking is the time it can take to prepare a meal, when I would much rather be going other things. In recent weeks, a crockpot has been very handy and will continue to be so because prep work is all done upfront and cleanup is minimal, plus there are always leftovers!
ReplyDeleteBeatrice. I haven't used my crockpot for ages. Principally because I haven't been cooking for anyone other than myself. When I cook for more I don't usually use 'crockpot' type recipes.
DeleteAs anyone who can see me from the back knows, I adore food. Happily, I also enjoy cooking (when I have the time) so it works well. My husband and I rarely have the time / desire to cook breakfast, however, so I have taken up making quiches (sans pastry) because they are delicious, protein-ful, and easy to slice up and pop into the microwave for a quick morning snack. Sometimes I even put HP sauce on it - yum!!
ReplyDeleteI have foods that I eat because I love them, like popcorn. I could probably live on popcorn and not complain, so long as I could get the occasional chicken tikka masala, and make my homemade salsa recipe in the summertime.
Some folks are sugar junkies, but not me. I do enjoy a sweet now and again but what I crave is crunchy, salty snacks. You can take all the holiday cakes and candies, just give me a bag of Doritos or a bowl of popcorn. Savory is my bag, baby. I do love chocolate covered pretzels, and one time my cousin made these "bird nest" things out of crushed Doritos covered in chocolate - I nearly passed out with happiness!
As for food, I love home-made lasagna, restaurant linguine with white clam sauce, raw clams on the half shell, hot lobster rolls, the aforementioned chicken tikka masala with jasmine rice, spicy crunchy salmon/tuna sushi rolls, pad thai, home-made "green soup" (kale, spinach, mushrooms, onions, broccoli, asparagus, curry/salt/pepper, chicken broth, coconut milk, nutritional yeast, cooked and pureed with a stick blender until creamy). I adore an Italian hero (the sandwich, not Giuseppe Garibaldi) with "the works" and oil/vinegar dressing.
Don't even get me started on my favorite cocktails.... heh!
Marcheline the idea of a cooked breakfast is just not one I would ever contemplate in my home environment. My approach to food is basically as fuel with as much enjoyment as I can muster. I rarely eat for the pure pleasure of it. An approach which I think you and hubby would greet with a mixture of disbelief and disdain.
DeleteI find I am keener on toast than I used to be. But I don't know if that means anything!
ReplyDeleteHard for me to say, Jenny, because I've been a toast lover all my life. There must be something though because when you come round after an operation the first thing one is usually offered is toast.
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