Every week, like a hunter gatherer, I carry the bags of groceries into the kitchen while my husband exclaims there is no room in the fridge. I have bought too much, he claims.
An investigative look absolves me of guilt. I have not bought too much. The problem is that globalization has taken over my refrigerator.
While we are only three people, we tend to be open to experimenting with new foods. Hence the reason why there is not only Hellman’s mayonnaise, but also Kewpie from Japan as well as one from south of the Mason Dixon line. We have at least several types of soy sauces and ketchups, but the place of honor is reserved for mustards. I stopped counting after five. Not only do we have yellow, Dijon and stone ground, but I like a sweet Bavarian one and a sharp German version that comes in a mini-bier stein. We even have tarragon mustard to use for a Spanish pork loin recipe that I got from my friend Pilar in Madrid. Of course, we have the usual suspects of shrimp cocktail sauce and barbecue sauces, and a motley crew of jams, sun-dried tomatoes, and salad dressings.
What a contrast to my childhood refrigerator that had mustard, ketchup and a jam or two. Clearly, globalization is to blame for all these condiments. I mean, I cannot have bought all those mustards!
I’m Frances Jaeger, and that is my Perspective.
