Cream tea
Introduction
Have you ever had cream tea? Contrary to the name, you don't put cream in the tea. Cream tea consists of tea, clotted cream,1 scones, and jam; you actually eat the named cream with the scones.
Variation
Traditional servings of cream tea vary between counties of England.
In Cornwall, you:
1. Split the scone into halves.
2. Spread jam onto the halves.
3. Spread clotted cream onto the halves.
In Devon, you:
1. Split the scone into halves.
3. Spread jam onto the halves.
2. Spread clotted cream onto the halves.
Did you catch the difference? In Devon, you spread the clotted cream first. I deliberately put the Devon steps out of order to highlight the similarity between these county variations. The end result tastes the same, so why fight about it?
Convention
I woke up today clouded by a vague sadness, clinging like the gamey taste of the lamb my mom cooked a while ago. When I feel this way, and restless, I often turn to light reading, to do something, productive-ish.
I recently finished Code Complete by Steve McConnell. On page 8442 McConnell writes:
Most of the questions like these have several correct answers. The specific way in which such a question is answered is less important than that it be answered consistently each time.
McConnell explains that conventions save programmer effort. However, we of course see arbitrary conventions outside programming, such as Devonian and Cornish cream tea. Why do those conventions exist?
Conclusion
Let's return to the gamey taste of my mom's lamb. The first time she cooked it, the gaminess lingered; I complained, because I could not wash it down. The next time she cooked it, the gaminess persisted; I had expected it, and I still ate it. The next-next time she cooked it, the gaminess still persisted; I had expected it yet again, and I did not complain.
Within some foods, we find the comfort, or memory, of other people. These foods mean something beyond the taste or the nutrition. I find3 the appetite to sustain these foods, to defend them, to preserve them, no matter how arbitrary they may seem, because they mean something, of people, to me.