Thursday, July 12, 2007

What's an avocado, Daddy?



I was in Tesco today and I bought three ruby grapefruits. I like 'em, though it seemed to give the baby hiccups (which is neither here nor there). But the girleen on the checkout had to ask me with a familiar abashed grin, what they were. I said they were grapefruits and asked had she never had one, and she hadn't.

I've also been asked what an avocado was by an embarrassed check out girl in Rathmines' Dunnes. A friend was trying to have a dinner party and was looking for courgettes in Tesco - the response she got from the minion there was 'What's dem?'

Now I admit to a middle class upbringing (Tesco is a thorn in my side when it comes to buying ingredients for dinner parties, or my maraschino cherry birthday cake - No, they are not the same as Glacé!), my mother introduced the idea of avocados to Morton's in Rathmines in the 70's when apples and oranges and bananas were still the only fresh veg available. But come on - grapefruit? I don't do so well on getting my five a day into myself or my daughter (the husband is a carb munching lost cause) but at least I can identify them!

4 comments:

  1. Home Ecc in school...From junior infants, we have managed to brain wash them into telling mummy and daddy that smoking is bad so why not convince the little ones to tell mum and dad to provide fruit and veg!

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  2. Silly Jo. Grapefruit's not a fruit. It's a juice. Comes in a carton.

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  3. Ah, you're missing out - I peel 'em and eat 'em like oranges, but after taking them out of the membrane bit, which spoils the texture. mmm.

    And they supposedly burn fat for you too.

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  4. I'm always shocked when people working in the produce department of stores can't identify common food items. It's really hard to comprehend how someone could reach working age and not know what grapefruit is! I was shocked recently when a young guy working in the produce section of SuperTarget didn't know what a fig was, when I asked if they had any fresh figs. I said it was a fruit. He shrugged and looked around as if one might fall out of the ceiling. I then said "You know, like the fig leaves Adam and Eve wore?" He said he had never heard of that. "But I've heard of Fig Newtons!" he exclaimed with pride.

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