On Facebook a friend just posted a picture of "brownies." His caption suggested that we come up with a new name for them, perhaps "A pretension chew." Why? Because these brownies had a sign advertising the following: "Gluten Free * Vegan * Cholesterol Free" then in smaller print "Wheat Free * Egg Free * Dairy Free * Nut Free" And this was called a "Chocolate Chunk Brownie." Not sure how, since most ingredients I know of in chocolate chunk brownies are eliminated there.
That advertising is clearly redundant. Gluten free means there will be no wheat, and Vegan means there will be no eggs, or diary. And I don't want to call it a pretension chew, because I know that as trendy as this may be there also could be good reasons for it. Some people do have serious allergies or reactions to the common ingredients in brownies, and it would be nice for them to have a tasty dessert. But do we have to call it a brownie?
I wonder about this when I see "alternative food" products. Veggie burgers; tofurkey; vegan bacon; vegan cheese; soy milk. Some of those, I can handle. Milk, while normally dairy, is a term used for many things that are not dairy; take coconut milk, for instance. But vegan bacon? This is a violation of nature: bacon is pork, which is not vegan! How can it be vegan bacon?? And while we eat some bean burgers that I absolutely love, they represent burgers only in the manner of how I eat them, namely with a bun and certain combinations of condiments. But they do little to solve my hankering for a burger, since there is no beef in them.
Some "food alternatives" I love. But since I still will eat the the things they are trying to replace, I do not see the point in trying to trick my mind into thinking they are something which they are not. Can we come up with new names for them? Can brownies which have none of the traditional ingredients please be called something else?
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