Sunday, May 16, 2021

On the edge

One thing I've never really gotten is the whole thing of cutting the crust off kids' sandwiches. Do kids really hate bread crust? I certainly have had weird food taboos that my parents had to choose whether or not to indulge, and some of them have lasted into adulthood. That ain't one of them. It's the part of the bread that you knew was going to keep its texture and flavor regardless of what happened, so I think I trusted it more. My thing of going for the heel of very crusty bread―Italian and the like―is more recent, but that's pretty much an opportunity thing.

2 comments:

susan said...

You're right that cutting the crusts off sandwiches for kids seems to be a bit weird. Maybe it's something the children get used to because their mothers do so and they never think about it one way or the other, but get upset if they're given a sandwich that has the whole crust. The only time I ever remember making them that way was long ago in home economics class when we were taught to make finger sandwiches to serve at an afternoon tea.

Food preferences are a pretty individual thing and there's no knowing what will appeal and what be refused until it happens. Some people don't like eggs with runny yolks. Maybe it's the texture. I never liked rice pudding or tapioca and still don't. Creamed corn is another I can't abide even the sight of, never mind the smell. When I was a kid a local mother who was watching over me forced me to eat the stuff and I promptly threw it up.

Crusty bread is excellent. There's nothing better than a nice baguette.

Ben said...

The case might well be that it's just something that kids get accustomed to because their mothers do it. Which raises the possibility/strong probability that these mothers do so because they've always heard children hate crust. Bit of a vicious circle, no? What with home ec class teaching the making of finger sandwiches for afternoon tea it's apparent that Canada was more a part of the British Commonwealth than it is now.

There's probably some neurological component to food preferences and how they change--or don't--but in effect you just like what you like. That's a funny story about the creamed corn. When the stomach wants to rebel against something it really goes whole hog.

Yes, baguettes are delicious. Toasted and warm with butter and what-have-you added, really hits the spot.