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The Philosophy of Food | Wednesday, 3rd Period

Hannibal arranged everything on the desk carefully, then sat and waited for everyone to arrive.

Once they were there, he nodded. "We discussed last week what makes something food, why some things are or aren't. This week, we have another question. Why do we eat?"

He waved at the food and drink. "There are the obvious answers; most people will say, 'we eat because we're hungry'. But it is rarely so clear-cut. Each section here is a pair of foods. You may eat or drink only one from each pair. Choose one - or neither - and explain to us why. Feel free to debate it with each other as well. Feel free to ask me or each other questions."

He leaned forward. "Remember, there are no wrong answers; it's the reasoning we're after."

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"Cotton candy. It's not so thready as the mass-produced stuff, and the dye is cabbage-based, though I assure you you won't taste it. And chocolate, anise, and sea-salt toffee."

"The chocolate," Rilla said promptly, "because even bad chocolate is still chocolate."

"I sincerely hope that my chocolate is not bad." Hannibal gave her a very bland look. "Setting that aside, what is it that makes chocolate a good thing, even if the taste is bad?"

Rilla looked aghast. "People make bad chocolate?!"

"Not intentionally, I'm sure," Hannibal answered drolly. "What would constitute bad chocolate? Would it be something you put in it? Something it would be lacking in?"

"Perhaps lacking in sugar?" Rilla offered. "Or if someone had scorched it."

"And that would still be chocolate, worthy of eating?" He raised an innocent eyebrow at her.

"Probably not," Rilla admitted, "but if someone offered it to me, I might have to try it, right?"

"So, now we know how to get you to try new things. There are chocolate-covered bugs available, if you like."

Never let it be said that Hannibal didn't have a sense of humor.

Rilla looked a little dubious. "Maybe if you don't mention the 'bug' part?"

"We can call it something else, like with the pork and beef. Do you have a suggestion?"

Rilla chewed her lip as she thought about it. "Maybe something in a different language? Pate doesn't sound so bad because it's in French."

"And French is where both 'beef' and 'pork' come from. Unfortunately, 'insect' in French is 'insecte'. And much the same in Italian, German, and Latin."

He pursed his lips for a moment. "We could use the Lithuanian 'vabzdys', or the Russian 'nasekomoye', or the Japanese 'konchū'. Or perhaps someone else has a suggestion?"

[OOC: Yes, Hannibal speaks way too many languages. I speak neither Lithuanian, nor Japanese, nor Italian, and my Russian is way rusty. Apologies for Google Translate if they're wrong.]

"I think I prefer the Japanese," Rilla said. "It sounds exotic that way, not weird."

"Very good; 'konchū' it is, then. I'll find a good recipe."

Yick. Anise.

"The cotton candy is lighter," she said, after deciding that 'yick, anise' was probably not a good idea to say. "Much better for a hot day. And I don't have to worry about it melting on my fingers."

"True. Although there are napkins, should you have need of them." Cloth, of course. Hannibal was nothing if not ~~pretentious~~ ecologically conscious.

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The Philosophy of Food | Wednesday, 3rd Period

Last pairing!

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