But a Jape

“Well, when Americans do it, it’s because they’re disgusting, gluttonous pigs. When we do it, it’s because we truly understand how to elevate the flavors of fine cuisine.”

– the French, on using exorbitant amounts of butter in food

Maybe it’s because I’m Filipino and our culture has always been a bastard amalgam of American, Spanish, East, Southeast, and South Asian influences, but I have never cared much for the sentiment of, “How DARE you make X dish like Y?! That’s not how you do it!”

As long as the end result still tastes good (by whoever will be eating it), that should be the only thing of concern. My genuine response to any out-of-the-ordinary dish or food combination is, “If there are a good number of people who enjoy this, I’ll at least try it.” Even if my immediate response is, “Eugh,” my follow-up is usually, “but actually, what if?”

Then I noticed, these days it seems like it’s only white Americans (and Brits sometimes) who get this kinda flak. It used to be far more prevalent for “foreign” foods to be objects of ridicule, but with our modern “multicultural” sentiments, we’ve decided to be more embracing of foods that are perceived as “foreign,” but more hostile towards what is enjoyed by the “default” groups in power (i.e. white Americans). Japanese people put ketchup on their omurice and it’s oh-so-charming. Pacific Islanders and Koreans put spam in everything and it becomes the next food trend.

And on that note, why the hell does spam cost $6.99 at my local grocery now?! It’s supposed to be poor people food! Bacon got too expensive so you would think spam would naturally be the affordable alternative for cured-meat breakfast accompaniments! This is the real violation of food standards!

– James