Parma and Genoa

Here is the thing about finding out how things you eat are made: Sometimes, you just don't have a mad desire to know. Like whenever my Grandma says something like, "is the chicken okay" and I say, "Yes, why?" and she goes into a long description of how she ran out of broth and had to use orange juice instead. Don't get me wrong, it still tastes fine and I'm a hungry kid that will eat any of the delicious meals made for me, but it can be sort of puzzling.



Anyway, for a long time, I have had an aversion to ham. It is one of three foods I refuse to eat. For all of you who are saying things like, "What's wrong with her? Ham is the best!" let's recap what we learned about ham:



1. Pigs destined to be ham were fed on whey. That is Parmesan cheese by-product. Yum.

2. Curing ham was difficult because they had to find places to keep it from rotting. The chance of rot is just not good.



So, if nothing else, I have two very plausible excuses next time my father says I'm a disgrace to my heritage for not eating ham. Thank you Mr. Kurlansky!



I was really quite depressed to hear that Venice's refusal to accept the changing of the times lead to its decline. I think that its so frustrating to see people hold on to an illusion of pride for so long that they end up hurting themselves and others. That means you, 72 year old members of Congress. Genoa was smart enough to acknowledge that the Atlantic had surpassed the Mediterranean in importance. And, crazily enough, the discovery of the new continent responsible for this change was a result of someone's quest for spices. They weren't looking for salt though, and I have to admit that I was disappointed that salt wasn't behind the discovery of America. Clearly, this book is starting to get in my head.