Breaking the Rules

by Mark R. Vogel

The other day I was having lunch with a friend of mine. A fellow epicurean, he frequents upscale eateries and possesses an above average knowledge of the gourmet world. Lamenting the end of summer, he eased his melancholy by stating he was at least looking forward to the foods and dishes characteristic of the fall and winter, i.e., braised dishes, hearty stews, and other cold weather fare.

This ignited the rebellious Vulcan in me, (meaning my proclivity for challenging the logic in conventional thinking), so I asked: "Why can't you eat those things in summer?" He immediately cringed, broke eye contact, and murmured something about not eating that kind of food in summer. I still say why not?

Many would agree that heavier foods and warm temperatures clash. A lighter meal on a hot summer day eases the thermal burden, while heartier dishes would aggravate it. This is true, if you're a nomadic scavenger living in the wilderness. Ancient man did not reside in temperature-controlled environments.

More exposed to the elements, his diet reflected the extremes of nature. "Lighter" foods, namely plant matter, were more abundant in the spring and summer. Fall and winter, not only brought a drop in temperatures, but the end of the growing season.

Man was forced to rely on richer sustenance, namely meat and fat, to survive. Because most root vegetables peak in the fall and winter, even the plant based nourishment took a turn for the heavier. Pardon the pun, but here lies the "root" of our traditional winter fare.

But in your kitchen or your favorite restaurant's dining room, the environment is 70 degrees be it the result of air conditioning or heating. Granted, many meals are consumed outdoors in the summer.

I probably wouldn't relish a bowl of beef stew in 90-degree heat during a July barbeque either. But with the exception of outdoor dining, your Saturday night dinners in July and December are probably not differentiated by any notable temperature fluctuation.

Many individuals scale down their meals during the warmer months to lose weight and look better in that new bathing suit. Fine. I'll give you that one. And any gourmet worth his salt looks forward to the fresh vegetables and fruits that only spring and summer can provide.

OK, I'll give you that one too. But my point is, that beneath the sweltering heat of outdoor cookouts, the new bathing suit, and the seasonality of fresh produce, lurks an arbitrary association between the time of year and food.