What Type of Cook Are You?
You can tell a lot about a woman, of a specific demographic, by her spice cabinet.
The Tony Zachery types value things other than food, namely wine, which she buys weekly at the grocery store. She is unapologetic about spending her evenings watching her favorite TV show while enjoying a glass of wine, while the premade dinner dethaws in the oven. Chemical additives don’t scare her. She reasons that if stress is the primary cause of all health issues, it’s far easier to address the root of the problem.
The health nuts frequent the farmer’s market and fret over artificial ingredients. Her pantry is full of hand ground powders in modest glass bottles — with the messy handwriting of artisan vendors. She takes pride in living a mindful, health conscious life. She never skips her morning hike, and never shuts up about the cancerous nature of microwaves. Her high strung nature annoys the shit out of the Tony Zachery types who pop a Frozen Stoffer’s Meal in the oven and call it dinner.
Then there are the sentimental types who enjoy comfort food. Her cabinets are crowded with little tupperware containers labeled “Uncle Sal's chile” with the dry mixings premeasured out. She values tradition and rarely strays from the family cookbook. She reasons that there’s no reason to worry about the nutritional contents of food. The generations who came before her thrived on this same menu. Mom knows best — no one else knows what the hell they’re talking about.
Women who primarily own William Sanoma spice mixes definitely had a wedding registry. She fretted over which cutlery matched her grandmother’s china, and what thread count the cloth napkins should be. She values name brands and is much more concerned about portion sizes than artificial ingredients. The William Sanoma types appreciate the fact that her spice mix was created by Michelin star chefs with distinguished palettes. Her home is impeccably organized and is ready for a dinner party at a moment’s notice.
The beautiful thing about it is that spice cabinets can be curated to reflect tastes and values and none are inherently better than the other.
