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Philosophy of Food, Friday period 3

Hannibal arranged everything on the desk, then waited for everyone to arrive, smiling as they came in.

Once they were there, he began. "Last week, we discussed what makes us see something as food, why some things are or aren't. This week, the question is: Why do we eat?"

He waved at the food and drink behind him. "There are the obvious answers; most people will start with, 'we eat because we're hungry'. But it's 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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Ready to eat and question!

Nathan Byrn

Evan Sabahnur

Rapunzel

Soren Bearstar

Cosette Fauchelevent

Emma Swan

Raven Darkholme

Alex Mack

Kira Yukimura

"This one is simple." He taps each of two carafes; they have glasses and ceramic cups nearby. "Both simple tastes, and little difference between them. Hot water; iced water."

Nathan chose the iced water because it was a hot summer day and he'd slept outside so it would cool him down.

"It's hot outside," Nathan explained. "I want something that's going to cool me down so I went with the iced water."

Hannibal nodded. "So, temperature and the weather are factors in why we eat. Or drink."

Evan made a little shrug of his shoulders as he took the iced water.

"Like Nathan said," he noted, "it's July. The iced water is far more appealing right now, even if the heat doesn't bother me all that much."

"So, what you choose to eat - or drink - may change from time to time."

Evan nodded his agreement.

"From situation to situation, it makes sense to adapt, right? I'll drink water hot, with maybe honey and lemon in it even, in the winter when it's cold. But right now, in the summertime? I want something that'll help me cool down."

"Hot water tastes weird," Rapunzel explained helpfully, as she poured herself a cup of iced water.

What? It did.

Hannibal smiled. "You are the first not to make the argument based on temperature alone. But yes, we are generally unused to the taste of hot water alone, and may find it odd. So, taste is a factor."

"It seems silly to drink hot water by itself," opined Cosette, filling a cup with iced water, "especially during the summer. Perhaps if it were colder or if I were ill I might think differently, but I still think I'd much rather use it to make tea instead."

"As would I," Hannibal acknowledged. "And you bring up another factor - illness. Our own feelings at the time may help to dictate what we eat."

"Paté. With fresh-baked, lightly toasted bread and garnish, or as a lump." He grimaced slightly at the latter; after the time spent preparing it, it nearly physically hurt to present it like this. "These are the same basic food, although the first does have some accompaniments."

Nathan chose the first choice because...well, the second one just looked unappetizing.

"I went with the first set with the bread," Nathan said after he'd finished eating. "The other choice looks...it looks like a lump of tuna."

"Cheap tuna salad," Hannibal agreed. "Presentation is important - often how something looks is as important as the taste."

"Points for presentation for the first," Evan offered, smiling faintly. "You obviously spent more time and put more care into making it look more appetizing. There's more art to it."

"Thank you." Hannibal gave him a little bow. "I enjoy the artistry of food. And yes - in addition to simply looking better, presentation can also add to the feel of care and effort put into a meal, and make it more appetizing."

"I like the first one because the texture is more interesting," Rapunzel offered as she picked up one of the little bread rounds. "The second one is just like...a creamy lump. This has bread and this little green thingie, too. It's more interesting to look at and in texture."

"Interest is another kind of appeal," Hannibal noted. "Some people enjoy trying things that they haven't seen before, or that promise to be different."

"I'd rather the former," said Cosette. Clearly, so far, everyone was on the same page. "It's much prettier, and the bread makes it so it isn't just a paste in one's mouth. The latter . . . I don't doubt it tastes the same, but it doesn't look awfully tempting."

"Texture - another consideration," Hannibal answered with a nod. "The paté on its own may be delicious, but with nothing else to accompany it, the texture can be overwhelming."

"Pan-fried salmon, or barbequed salmon head. Please keep in mind," he added as he squared the plates up, "that the head of the fish has much more nutrition, particularly prepared like this."

Edited 2014-07-11 05:57 (UTC)

Nathan again chose the first option. "It just looks better," he said by way of explanation. "It looks like it'd be easier to eat and would have more flavor."

"It's looking at me," Evan noted, staring down at the fish head. "I wouldn't normally pick this, except you said it was more nutritious..."

He'd been raised well. Ma would've scolded him for picking the pan-fried over the barbequed.

Rapunzel immediately gravitated towards the first option, looking apologetic. "I can't...eat someone's face," she explained. "What if he'd had a family? Or little salmon friends? That's all I would think about the whole time."

Life was tough when you could hold conversations contentedly with animals.

"I'm sure it's better for me, but . . ." Cosette looked extremely apologetic as she helped herself to some of the pan-fried salmon, all the while eyeing the salmon head. "It is looking at me, and I almost think I'd feel badly about it."

She talked to the teal deer, and never had gotten out of the habit of having long one-sided conversations with birds and such. It just felt wrong.

"Last year I chose beer and wine over coffee and tea because of the heat," Hannibal explained. "This year, I was uncertain precisely what the weather would do, but it seems a shame to break with tradition. Besides, I'm told my beer is quite good."

Edited 2014-07-11 06:00 (UTC)

For this choice, Nathan went with the beer. "A friend introduced me to beer so I'm going to try it because it's more familiar."

Evan gave his toe an awkward scuff against the floor.

"I'm too young to drink," he explained, looking kind of uncomfortable. "But when I am old enough, I'd probably pick the wine. I'm used to the taste already, because of communion."

Which was completely different from just sitting and drinking wine, okay.

Rapunzel looked from one option to the other, before carefully offering, "I heard beer can be bad for your figure." Thanks, Gothel. "But I've never had either. I think I'd pick wine anyway. It looks more like juice!"

Plus it smelled better.

Cosette went for the beer, actually.

"I've had wine at communion," she said, with a nod to Evan, "but I've never tried beer before!"

Drinking ages, pssht. Like she knew.

"Cotton candy," Hannibal explained, pointing at the pale purple threads. "It's not so fluffy 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."

This time, Nathan chose nothing. He didn't find either pulling his attention.

"I don't eat a lot of sweets," he explained. "My stomach's not used to them."

"This one is a difficult choice," Evan admitted. "The cotton candy reminds me of going to the fair with my Pa when I was little, but the toffee looks amazing. I think I'll pick the toffee, even if it's only for the experience, but... nostalgia."

He went for the toffee all the same. He knew what cotton candy tasted like already.

Rapunzel all but made actual grabby-hands at the cotton candy. "It's like a cloud!" she said, awed.

Cosette was thinking along the same lines as Rapunzel here, and the only reason she managed to keep herself to staring at the cotton candy in wide-eyed awe instead of outright making a grab at it was that she'd been taught not to do that.

It was still extremely tempting, though.

"It's so pretty! It seems almost as if it would be like nibbling on sugared air, it's so delicate. The toffee does look delicious, but how am I to resist something that looks like that?"

He'll listen!

G'night!

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Philosophy of Food, Friday period 3

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