Orwell's Aspidistra: What the hell is Gordon eating?

[Oliveloaf]

I have read "Keep the Aspidistra Flying" a dozen times at least, and as a result have actually figured out, and understand, the English pre-decimal
coinage system.

That said, there's still a bunch of stuff I need to work through, like...what is Gordon eating?

Quote:

"Gordon's supper was set out,
waiting for him, in the circle of white light that the cracked gas-
jet cast upon the table cloth. He sat down with his back to the
fireplace (there was an aspidistra in the grate instead of a fire)
and ate his plate of cold beef and his two slices of crumbly white
bread, with Canadian butter, mousetrap cheese and Pan Yan pickle,
and drank a glass of cold but musty water."

Canadian butter? There's some modern thing called this that is low-fat content butter. Is that it?

Pan Yan pickle? No ieda.

Mousetrap cheese? Is this just crappy cheese, or is there more to it than that?


and isn't "cold but musty" a great description for a glass of water?

[Oliveloaf]

And while we're on the subject, cold beef?

I picture this as thin slices of roast beef, but maybe you know better?

Later in the story Gordon enjoys a "cut off the joint and two veg." -- this seems a little more self explanatory.

[Rube E. Tewesday]

I'd always assumed that "Canadian butter" was simply butter from Canada. Orwell, who was pretty much an English chauvinist despite being a socialist, would have regarded eating a cheap import instead of British butter as degrading.

[Oliveloaf]

I'd always assumed that "Canadian butter" was simply butter from Canada. Orwell, who was pretty much an English chauvinist despite being a socialist, would have regarded eating a cheap import instead of British butter as degrading.

Orwell had a habit of calling food not of British origin "filthy".

Would Canadian butter be less expensive than, say, domestic butter in London in the Thirties?

[Rube E. Tewesday]

I'd always assumed that "Canadian butter" was simply butter from Canada. Orwell, who was pretty much an English chauvinist despite being a socialist, would have regarded eating a cheap import instead of British butter as degrading.

Orwell had a habit of calling food not of British origin "filthy".

Would Canadian butter be less expensive than, say, domestic butter in London in the Thirties?

I would have guessed "yes":

(a) Canada, as part of the Empire, would have been in good shape, tariff-wise.

(b) Canada was a very agricultural country at the time. (Still is, but more so in the Thirties)

(c) During the Depression, there was over-production of just about everything, so there would have been a lot of butter on the market.

Having said all that, I'm pretty much talking out of my butt, and it's quite possible that one of the British members will come in and tell me that "Canadian butter" was a euphemism for margarine or something.

[silenus]

"Mousetrap cheese" would be basic cheddar, a cheap variety suited only for baiting mousetraps.

"Pan Yan pickle" was a type of condiment served with cold beef, traditionally on Boxing Day. It had apples, sultanas, and dates, mixed with brown sugar, malt vinegar and curry powder.

[Oliveloaf]

"Pan Yan pickle" was a type of condiment served with cold beef, traditionally on Boxing Day. It had apples, sultanas, and dates, mixed with brown sugar, malt vinegar and curry powder.

This sounds really good. Kind of a chutney thing, no?

[silenus]

Yep. Branston pickle is made with vegetables, so chutney is the next best thing to Pan Yan.

[Oliveloaf]

Okay, then another Brit-Snack question:

Was jellied eel considered "cheap food" in pre-war London?

I get that eating margarine was pretty low brow.

[Savannah]

This is really interesting. I haven't read Keep the... for years, but I remember enjoying it. Isn't it amazing how someone will know the answer to these questions?

I have a yen to re-read Orwell (my mother's lovely old Penguins!)

[Oliveloaf]

This is really interesting. I haven't read Keep the... for years, but I remember enjoying it. Isn't it amazing how someone will know the answer to these questions?

I have a yen to re-read Orwell (my mother's lovely old Penguins!)

Heck of a good book for a reread. Ihave learned so much about England reading Orwell.

Coming Up For Air is another awesome book for little snippets into pre-war British life.

[Rube E. Tewesday]

Okay, then another Brit-Snack question:

Was jellied eel considered "cheap food" in pre-war London?

I get that eating margarine was pretty low brow.

Once again would defer to a Brit-domer, but everything I've ever read about jellied eel indicates that it was food for the masses, and the wikipedia article seems to concur:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jellied_eels