Is Cooking Classist? New video from Hoots

May 8, 2024 8:16 AM

A solution that is only a solution for the people who can afford to be a part of the solution is not a solution A hour long video about cooking, food, race, gender, class and capitalism.
posted by Gorgik (33 comments total)

(I believe this is a response to a Twitter thread, and the tl;dr is "No, the system is")
posted by Gorgik at 8:24 AM on May 8 [10 favorites]

Hour long videos are classist.
posted by grumpybear69 at 8:30 AM on May 8 [81 favorites]

This sounds somewhat similar to the discussion here about cloth diapers, cost, and class.

The "money saving" advice from people with more money tends to be inapplicable to many people with less money.
posted by sotonohito at 8:58 AM on May 8 [6 favorites]

Is she supposed to be funny?
posted by Ideefixe at 9:02 AM on May 8 [1 favorite]

The lighting in this video is like a constant fuck-you to the viewer.
posted by not just everyday big moggies at 9:14 AM on May 8 [6 favorites]

The lighting in this video is like a constant fuck-you to the viewer.

I was sure it was just me. I feel better now, thanks.
posted by The Bellman at 9:19 AM on May 8 [3 favorites]

I thought the rich don't eat anymore?
posted by Ashwagandha at 9:34 AM on May 8 [2 favorites]

I spent a lot of time between 2020 and 2022 volunteering in food banks. While both of them were generally able to offer people coming their choices of food and worked to accommodate allergies, over that time both got much busier.

One was run by a church (it happened to be close to my house, which is why I was volunteering there) and they seemed to think that the increase in attendance was a sign of God's love for people (being a le to provide for people in need or some such) and I wanted to yell "This is not about love. This is a out the system grinding people into dust"

I was grateful to be able to be of service, but that twisted attitude always frustrated me. And it's just getting bleaker.
posted by Gorgik at 9:43 AM on May 8 [10 favorites]

Hour long videos are classist.

The lighting in this video is like a constant fuck-you to the viewer.

I like how the same people who complain about substantive ideological critiques of their posts are in others posts with out-of-pocket nitpicking. hour-long videos/audio are great if, say, you are cooking or doing dishes or chores. you can play videos like these in the background as just audio and I often would when I worked a 9/hour delivery job

the lighting being dark is also fine? it's a person talking into a mic with some images overlaid. you don't need to watch it, it's very easy to just listen to. from the 10+ mins I did listen to, she does a really great deep-dive into historical accounts and cultural critiques of staple crops such as the Western hatred towards rice and castigation of it as an 'effeminate' meal (and, I'm going to presume here, will later transition into the current Western hatred towards soy products and castigation of it as an emasculating meal)

I appreciate the post and the content and am happily going to give this a like and sub
posted by paimapi at 10:01 AM on May 8 [14 favorites]

I stopped when the credits rolled. I mean, she answered the question. I felt like any further discussion was unnecessary..


(Technically, I watched a little bit more, but decided I was good with the answer.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 10:22 AM on May 8

"The lighting in this video is like a constant fuck-you to the viewer."

I thought that it was perhaps some un-dismissable overlay remnant from an ad but … nope, just really bad video levels.
posted by bz at 10:26 AM on May 8 [2 favorites]

Hoots is great. My joke about this video when I sent it to a friend was, "There's no way basically everything I was ever taught or heard about food and eating is racist. Is there?"

As for the lighting, I trust Hoots as a producer to have an artistic reason for choosing to shoot with natural or non-theatrical lighting. I didn't let it distract me from the interesting and informative video.
posted by ob1quixote at 10:48 AM on May 8 [2 favorites]

I've been meaning to post an AskMe about cooking shortcuts-- not so much about timesavers but more about the ways food media has brainwashed me to discount certain tricks in the search of doing things the "best" way. For instance, I should never use pre-shredded parmesan; I compulsively look at rankings like the best brands of store bought ice cream. I really should be able to cook without considering the "right" way to strain pasta.

FWIW, she mentions in the comments that her ring light is dying and she knows that her videos are dark; she has a wishlist of lights and is open to suggestions as well. So if you have complaints about her lighting, you can help!
posted by Pitachu at 10:48 AM on May 8 [6 favorites]

I guess the "best" way is always - whatever gets something semi-nutritious in your face without blowing your budget or your wallet. I have noticed some recent pushback (over the last decade or so) against the "always use the fresh produce" - in favor of frozen stuff for all the obvious reasons. Canned tomatoes have long been accepted because store bough fresh tomatoes are styrofoam balls masquerading as produce.

Everything has it's applications, but sometimes there's a problem inherently in the form - shredded cheese for instance is convenient, but the starches added to keep the strands separate interfere with its melting properties.

But like with most other things I think it helps to know that: Good enough is good and better than nothing.
posted by drewbage1847 at 11:00 AM on May 8 [4 favorites]

For instance, I should never use pre-shredded parmesan; I compulsively look at rankings like the best brands of store bought ice cream. I really should be able to cook without considering the "right" way to strain pasta.

Eat whatever you want, made whatever way you want. Pre-shredded cheese is great! I didn't know, nor am I curious to learn, about the "right" way to strain pasta.

Cooking can be many things. Mostly it is a way to feed yourself and loved ones. It is often a chore that must be undertaken when you are tired and the day is done. Sometimes it is a joy and a treat. Occasionally it can be a way to showboat in front of your friends. And sometimes you are just in a terrible mood and want to order a pizza.

Frozen food items like stuffed chicken breasts and potstickers are great when you need food on the go. Instant rice is quick and easy. And frozen vegetables can be microwaved, boiled or air fried.

If you have time, making bulk chili / mac 'n' cheese / turkey meatballs / whatever on a lazy Sunday and freezing it in portion-sized freezer bags pays huge dividends when all you have to do is put it in a frying pan or pop it in the oven.

But, basically, unlearning everything you learned from food media is the most important first step.
posted by grumpybear69 at 11:01 AM on May 8 [6 favorites]

Mod note: A few comments deleted. Let's keep the conversation on topic and avoid attacks between members.
posted by loup (staff) at 11:19 AM on May 8 [1 favorite]

The lighting was bad - she does put a lot of cites on screen, and they are kinda hard to read.
Also I got 10 commerical breaks in the 1 hr video. Man, youtube is becoming worse than standard tv.


But the content is cool if a bit wildly scattershot, and now I feel bad about not liking Auntie Anne's pretzels.
posted by The_Vegetables at 11:34 AM on May 8 [1 favorite]

I'm about halfway through listening to this, and so far it seems to be elaborating on the thesis of season 3 of The Good Place. (This is not shade; it is a compliment.)
posted by uncleozzy at 11:50 AM on May 8 [1 favorite]

But like with most other things I think it helps to know that: Good enough is good and better than nothing.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - when it comes to food, it helps to keep in mind that we're talking about something that's going to be poo within 24 hours anyway so it's silly to get overly fussed about it. Hell, the chef Frédéric Morin said something like this in Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown episode on Quebec - "Food is feces in waiting."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:57 PM on May 8 [5 favorites]

I eat parmesan from the green jar! Fight me!
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 3:47 PM on May 8 [4 favorites]

shredded cheese for instance is convenient, but the starches added to keep the strands separate interfere with its melting properties.

People say that, but I have never had an issue with preshredded melting on my pizzas, burritos and tacos.
posted by tavella at 4:16 PM on May 8 [3 favorites]

I love doing ridiculously complicated dishes from scratch when I want to. This mostly coincides with nasty winter weekend days here in New Jersey. The rest of the time, give me shortcuts, leftovers, and microwaved side-dishes from Trader Joe's or any other source any day of the week. And the green jar parm ain't so bad after all for most applications.
posted by mollweide at 4:20 PM on May 8

Yeah. I mean, tonight I made a mushroom pizza. Par-baked crust, organic sauce from a jar, shredded mozzarella, sliced mushrooms. I'm sure that devotees would go 'but it's so easy to make pizza dough with a dough hook/cook the sauce yourself, etc', but the difference is about 2 minutes to assemble vs 2 hours. And I had hot fresh pizza after 10 minutes in the oven, and the taste was not much different from the times I have done it the long way.
posted by tavella at 5:28 PM on May 8 [5 favorites]

I eat parmesan from the green jar! Fight me!

Only if you’re not sharing!
posted by eekernohan at 6:37 PM on May 8 [3 favorites]

> so it's silly to get overly fussed about it

Ehn. Cooking and eating with my partner is one of my greatest joys. It's something we do every day together, one of our deepest points of conversation.

We're all going to be dirt soon enough, and food is one of the greatest constants in our life.
posted by constraint at 10:47 PM on May 8 [2 favorites]

> > so it's silly to get overly fussed about it

Ehn. Cooking and eating with my partner is one of my greatest joys. It's something we do every day together, one of our deepest points of conversation.

And that is fine! But that is a choice you made for yourselves. My point is that if one day your partner looked at you and said "I realized that the bell pepper isn't diced as perfectly as I hoped," that that would also be fine.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:03 AM on May 9 [1 favorite]

I had a great time with this video essay, especially the sections on "rice people" vs. "bread people," the colonialist effeminacy of plant based proteins ("soy boys"), and the influence of Sally Hemings's brother, James Hemings, on popular American cuisine as translated from his experience apprenticing in France at the behest of his master.
posted by MagnificentVacuum at 6:23 AM on May 9 [1 favorite]

Wow, what thread, such heat, so spicy

I did not look at TFV. The question that OP's title asks was addressed almost 100 years ago now by Orwell, in one of those books that nobody reads anymore. Which is why TFV thinks it is saying something new.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 6:30 AM on May 9 [1 favorite]

I did not look at TFV [...] Which is why TFV thinks it is saying something new.

I'm not gonna argue one way or the other but this is top-tier asshattery. Good show.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:39 AM on May 9 [12 favorites]

This video:

1) has enough interesting and informative content to justify its hour length.

2) has a description that leads you to think you'll know its content without watching (you don't) or consider it clickbait (it's not). At most, you might already know that the moral panic about MSG was mostly racism.

3) can be watched on 2x speed if you're in a rush.

Also I got 10 commerical breaks in the 1 hr video.

I am absolutely serious about this: installing uBlock Origin to block ads is not only not immoral, it is a completely moral way to navigate the modern internet.
posted by AlSweigart at 7:01 AM on May 9 [4 favorites]

Pitachu: “FWIW, she mentions in the comments that her ring light is dying and she knows that her videos are dark; she has a wishlist of lights and is open to suggestions as well. ”

I knew there would be an artistic reason. What could be more artistic than poverty? As a fellow artist — i.e. also broke — I joined her Patreon.
posted by ob1quixote at 8:43 AM on May 9 [1 favorite]

I generally like Hoots’ content, and this was no exception. No, the concepts aren’t new, but the video is a solid primer for those who haven’t given much thought to how class seeps into our relationship with food.
posted by eekernohan at 3:49 PM on May 9

> I'm not gonna argue one way or the other but this is top-tier asshattery. Good show.

I could say the same about the topic question, which, recall, asks "Is Cooking Classist?" Orwell was spot-on about why poor (i.e. working class, back then) people don't buy fresh ingredients and cook them into tasty healthy meals, long anticipating the phrase "food desert" with his observations on working people's diets in various places.

It is a question that answers itself after even the briefest thought, if one has somehow not had occasion to think about it.

Probably I should try to dial back the grumpy old man attitude.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 1:08 PM on May 10