I went to the supermarket today. Sainsbury's, about 2pm. I like it there, even though its often more expensive, because I don't know anyone else who shops there. I dread the event when I meet someone I know by the soups. I'm always poorly dressed, and often imagine I'm a bit smelly. We talk for a couple of minutes, edgily examining the other's trolley, feeling guilty bout the lack of fresh veg in our own. Then, we part. Its not goodbye though, which-ever route we take, we will meet three times more. I forget all of the things I need, but find myself back in my kitchen with three packets of dried pulses and a gourd.
Today though, about half way round, I was waiting to get access to the shelves of oil. The way was blocked by a smartly dressed woman in her middle years. She was reading the backs of the various bottles of oil and had reached the own brand So Organic sunflower. This wasn't remarkable, Sainsbury's attracts the kind of person who reads the labels I find. Glancing up, she asked "What is the best oil for frying?". I was a bit taken aback, cooking oil is just cooking oil oil its not an uncommon ingredient. I explained it depended on what she was frying. "Oh anything really" she went on to say that she had been using extra virgin olive oil but someone had told her that its not so good for frying. I explained that a simple vegetable or sunflower oil is better because these oils degrade less when heated to high temperatures. Thrilled, she gripped my arm, her mission achieved.
That got me thinking about the things I know about. I know a bit about food and cooking because I once did a degree in hotel management. There was a science element of the course where among other things, cooking temperatures were explored. This was long before Heston Blumenthal became famous for mixing science with cheffing. I never went in to hotel management, but some of the things I learned stuck, most of them useless (fluid flow as applied to ketchup, queuing theory, myopia in marketing strategies of the 1980's), this one thing useful. Surely though, I knew this before I was taught it. How did the intelligent, successful forty something woman in the supermarket miss it?
There are things I don't know about oil. While I was in Cornwall, the oil light came on in the car. I stopped at the garage, but they didn't have the brand of oil I usually buy. I knew this because the oil for my car comes in a white bottle with Castrol written on it. In the absence of my brand, I called my brother in law. I was so unable to describe the range of oils that my brother in law went to another garage, bought the oil on my behalf and I drove ten miles for him to put it into the car for me. I was glad he offered because I have never put oil into the car. I have been driving for fifteen years.
More energy today. As well as the shopping, I walked Darcy in the sunshine, read today's paper which was mostly about the immanent death of Big Brother star Jade Goody. She fears to go to sleep in case she doesn't wake up, apparently, poor woman. Made a good lasagna for tea and watched the film version of Alan Bennett's The History Boys. I can't think how I missed this until now. It is brilliant and I ordered the audio CD in the hope that it may arrive before the Cornwall run at the weekend. I had another Facebook conversation. I now feel I know how to do this, but it would be better if I didn't, given the inevitability of making a tit of myself getting down with da kids.
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