SC - re: sc - box table

Tue Apr 20 11:09:44 PDT 1999

> 
> > Hey, I don't make these rules, and often I don't even follow them, but
> > that doesn't mean they don't exist ;  ) . I'm reporting the tradition as
> > reported by Tolbert and many other sources. It could be worse. In
> > Germany the Rheinheitsgebot was enforced as _law_ for centuries.
> 
> 
> While I agree with everything you are saying, I can't help but wonder if
> it really matters. I am not questioning this to discount or minimize
> what you are saying, but trying to put it into perspective. What are
> these "rules" you are quoting. I don't understand what you mean
> entirely.

Hunh Yeah!
Who is the arbiter of all these so-called "rules"?
Just because somebody in the country of Texas made a dish that he called chilie 100 yerars ago, that does not mean that all dishes which are called chili must be exactly the same.

"Chili" is the NAME of a Dish
"Chili" is also the NAME of a CLASS OF DISHES with similar traits
"Chili" is also the NAME of a CLASS OF CAPSICUM PEPPERS.
So What.

If I have a Dish that I Choose to call "Yankee Firehouse Chili" (Which I do) 
And that Dish contains some stuff not in that original Texan trailside cook's "chili"...
WHO THE HECK CARES?
As long as it tastes good, and is sufficiently spicey to bring yowls of appreciation, even from the expatriate Texans who have eaten of it, what's the diff?
I calls it "chili", as does my father who taught it to me.
As does my Grandfather who learnt it in the Portchester, New York, Fire Company.
It has ground beef, tomatoes, beans and a bunch of other stuff, so what?
Chili "purists" should get over it, or don't eat it. 
The dish has migrated and evolved even beyond the control of the Grand Republic of Texas.
And so it has regional variants. That is what happens when a food becomes ubiquitous. 
How many dishes in the Medieval Cookbooks we study have the same name, but only a "passing resemblance" to each other?
How many of those have only 4 or 5 ingredients, out of many, in common between them, or completely different preparation methods?
More than a few, I should think.

Get on with it!  If you like it, eat it. Who cares what it's called?

brandu

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