Looking back Fruit & veg fashions
PRIZED FOR THEIR HEALTH BENEFITS OR AS A SIGN OF WEALTH, MUST- HAVE FRUIT AND VEG ARE NOT A RECENT CRAZE
Along with the ink drying on new gym memberships, it’s as likely January will see avocado and kale being stockpiled in supermarkets, as befits today’s superfoods. But it’s always worth taking such claims with a pinch of salt (if that’s what the sodium experts are telling us today). Throughout history, our food choices have been swayed by marketing campaigns. These four fruit and vegetables were once the avocado of their day, whether for ‘health’ reasons or simple exoticism.
PINEAPPLE
Subject to not one, but two food crazes since 1493 when Columbus brought the pineapple to Europe from Guadeloupe. After the first example was successfully grown at home, the pineapple’s cultivation became an obsession among the wealthy. It required expertise, and a lot of luck. The pineapple became an indicator of luxury, decorating items as varied as teapots, plates and gateposts. Growing on a commercial scale began in the
20th century, proving popular with soldiers in both World Wars. But the second wave of popularity belonged to the tinned version. From the 1950s, pineapples started being bred to better fit tins and became a recipe book regular from the 1950s to the 1970s, appearing in dishes such as pickle and pineapple salad, moulded chicken and pineapple salad and fish sticks with pineapple. And the ham and pineapple of childhood menus? Its popularity is thanks an industry campaign to increase consumption.
CELERY
Although a useful way of shovelling in hummus, celery doesn’t generally cause the heart to beat faster. Not so for the Victorians, where celery was the fashionable dinner table’s showpiece. For about 60 years from 1830, it was served “in the rough”, that is with leaves still attached, in specially made glass “celery vases” ( you can see several examples in the V& A). It was popular for its novelty and initially its rarity. But it was also said that celery had qualities including purifying blood, quieting the nerves and strengthening a person’s “exhausted nature”. Meanwhile, the original Waldorf Salad – consisting of only apples, celery and mayonnaise – appeared on menus at the New York hotel in 1896. It was downhill from there, becoming known as a ‘diet’ food with the likes of Rivita – a sad fate for the food that once ruled the dinner table.
BANANA
The banana trade is still going strong – more than 95% of British homes buy them every week. It arrived on British soil surprisingly early – 16th-century remains were found during London excavations – although it wasn’t widely eaten until the 20th century, with the first commercial refrigerated shipment. The 1930s pushed health benefits – the opening of M&S’s food department in 1931 featured displays encouraging people to eat more fruit. Bananas were, buyers were told, “44 times more nutritious than a potato!”. While that decade brought the banana cake – helped by the ready availability of baking powder – it also saw recipes including bananas broiled in bacon strips, shrimp and banana salad, and banana toasts ( banana, anchovy paste and butter on bread). Somehow bananas remained in favour until Wartime shortages. Its reappearance post-war was proclaimed as the end to austerity, with the Government even declaring a National Banana Day in 1946. During the fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germans were similarly eager to be reunited: “Hold our hand and take us to banana land,” they chanted. Today it’s the world’s most popular fruit.
KIWI FRUIT
Originating in China but first grown in New Zealand in 1905. The fruit was previously known as the “Chinese Gooseberry” in the West but New Zealand growers wanted a more marketable name and referenced their national brown, furry bird for their brown, furry fruit: “kiwi” was commercially adopted in 1974. However, its era was truly the 1980s. The kiwi was promoted for its versatility – offered up in fruit tarts, salads, an accompaniment to meat and on toast – as well as its vitamin C punch. In 1992, it ranked among the top ten nutritious foods but has since fallen from grace. Instead you’ll find, yes, kale and, yes again, avocados along with currently less fashionable fruit and veg such as broccoli and apples.
FRUIT OF THE FUTURE
We’re now accustomed to eating the world’s bounty, yet unfamiliar foodstuffs are still landing on our plates. From jackfruits to baobabs, new fruits and vegetables continue to be marketed for both their exotic appeal and health-giving potential. However, given all the choice, there’s still plenty of goodness to be discovered closer to home. Food trend predictions for 2018 include a revival in interest in both peas and mushrooms. Tuck in!
“It was said that celery had qualities including purifiying blood and quieting the nerves”