Gourmet For All

Years ago certain foods were not available to the masses.It was hard to get French cheeses unless you went to France. Certain pastas were only made at homes. Exotic veggies and fruits were only found in travel Baedekers , not in your local market. Times have changed. It's amazing what's in the local supermarket these days. Sea salt, once considered a luxury item is now all over supermarkets. Just a few scant years ago only elite cookware stores like Williams and Sonoma sold it . Go to your local grocery and it's right there next to Morton's and the generic stuff. Looking for exotic quinoa and plantains? They're right next to the plum tomatoes and broccoli . Ugli fruit , a rarity a few years ago , sits next to oranges and apples in the fruit section. Will all this gourmet stuff make us jaded? No. It does mean a more sophisticated palate for us and for our children. Everyone from oldster to toddler has opinions about what peppercorns to put into one's soup or topping goes well with dulce de leche ice cream. It means that no one is afraid of foreign foods anymore and they can break away from the ordinary. The meat and potato days are well over with. Gourmet food is a big part of our everyday lives. It exists right next to our boxes of instant mashed potatoes and ketchup. Soon it won't be considered sophisticated or exotic. It'll just be considered food.