Geeks come in all sizes, shapes, religions, colors, and areas of geekdom. I have a good friend who's a financial geek -- she really gets off on things like estate planning and income averaging. Go figure. In my time I've been a computer geek and I'm a bit of a writing geek (I ordered Eats, Shoots and Leaves before it was released), but my longest running obsession is food. I'm a food geek.You, too, may be a food geek if…
You have more than three kinds of olive oil in your pantry.
You write a letter to the editor when you find an error in the food section of the paper.
Your copy of Larousse Gastronomique has dog-eared pages.
You have more than three kinds of rice in your pantry.
You don't think $150 is an unreasonable price for an All-Clad skillet, but still love your $25 Lodge.
You keep saffron in your spice drawer.
In fact you have more than one spice drawer plus at least one spice rack in the pantry for things you don’t use regularly. (The saffron may be in the spice rack.)
The clerks at William-Sonoma know you by name.
Half the liquor in your liquor cabinet was purchased for a recipe -- and the other half has been used in recipes.
You not only know what goes in sausage, but you've made sausage.
You can count the number of processed foods in your kitchen on one hand -- and you can't count the number of appliances on two hands.
You like to curl up in bed with a good cookbook.
When someone asks if you have a KA you know what they mean and answer, "Yes."
The produce manager at the local supermarket hides when he sees you coming.
Harold McGee is one of your heroes.
Kevin Weeks is a Gather food correspondent (Paisano), personal chef, cooking teacher, and writer in Knoxville, Tennessee who spends too many hours on his feet, cooking. "Paisano" is a column focused on peasant dishes from around the world. To read more of Kevin's writings or connect to him click here. His blog, Seriously Good, is read by 75,000 cooks a month.
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Comments: 25
This is great, Kevin!
Counting cheeses alone isn't always a good indicator, the question is how may are at their flavor peak. My personal rule is that if only one is past prime and only one is approaching past-prime then I'm doing my best as a cheese lover to love them all equally. I really need to learn to say, "I want 4 ounces."
Clare,
Obsession is always dangerous, remain wannabe as long as you can.
Sonia,
As if anyone thought you weren't?
Donna,
Where's the conflict?
Barb,
We also want to make you fat -- like us.
Faith,
Remember, saffron has a short shelf life.
Kathleen,
I bask in your admiration -- or do I mean baste?
All these years, I thought I was just feeding the family! Here, I find out I love it! From the actually growing of the veggies, herbs, fruits to the eating...it's all good!
Love, light, and blessings~T
Which reminds me, mine's about three months old and I should use it up.
Donna,
You're a word geek too.
Joanne,
You look guilty.
Theresa,
Having grown up on a farm, I had my fill of gardening as a child.
don't hate me, I'm just a heathen.
But, I LOVE food and would eat anything you cooked! This is a delightful write.
Wonderful writing
Thanks for the compliment.
Vicky,
I don't even want to imagine not cooking with booze. It's be like giving up herbs and spices. I feel for you.
Molly,
You have to cook to be a food geek, otherwise you're merely a gourmand.
Faith,
My apologies, I don't seem to have any control over it.
Not everyone can be compulsive about cooking -- nor should be.
I have the book you picture, and my current bedtime book is _Elinor Fettiplace's Receipt Book_ a bundle of recipes put together by Lady Fettiplace in 1604! And I'm loving it!
Thanks for helping all the guilty amongst us recognize our ways. How many times must we recite the recipe for bechamel in penance?
McGee wrote the book pictured -- so I guess you're 100% geek.