Saturday, April 9, 2011

Where Ketchup will travel

This morning I found myself putting ketchup on my omelette. Something apparently to be frowned upon, here in the Negev desert, or anywhere else in Israel, for that matter. The last time people looked at me like that was when I put my salt on my watermelon. "Enhances the taste!" I said, to their shocked and disapproving stares. It doesn't take much to reaffirm that you haven't yet quite landed, despite spending the last 35 years of your life in this adopted country (who actually was doing the adoption?)

At times like this I always blame my Canadian side, or use it as an excuse, at least. Unlike our American cousins to the south (or across the seas, in my case), our under belly hasn't been exposed in countless sitcoms detailing all of the trivial and gruesome details of American life. (I do ask all South and Central American residents to excuse me for borrowing a part of your identity to identify the United States of America population, but it is just easier this way - call me lazy.) A few Canadian sitcoms do make it all the way here, and some are well received on Israeli soil, but at the most they are considered "quaint". Actually, Canadians on the whole are considered "quaint" here. So I can basically blame almost anything on my Canadian heritage and get away with it.

Perhaps the biggest advantage, or disadvantage (depends on the day of the week, snow storms and whether the Leafs will make the playoffs) of being a mishmash of Israeli experience and Canadian roots, is that nobody will take responsibility for you. "You're not really Israeli, are you?" "How can you still call yourself Canadian?" Actually, this sits quite well with me, unless I am taking it standing up. Being naturally a social misfit (apparently this goes back to my young elementary school days, possibly even kindergarten, but there were no podcasts back then to document any of this) I will use anything offered to explain the unexplainable.

And don't even get me going as to whether a Canadian pronounces it ketchup or catsup. The last time I was in Canada there was a discussion about this (I'd use argument, but Canadians are not often wont to argue, unlike Israelis, who just wait for an excuse to argue). Even Canadians couldn't agree on one pronunciation. It possibly is connected to different generations. Do I still get a generation being away this long?

And corn on the cob. When I first saw corn on the cob in Israel, it wasn't even fit for Mavis the cow. They claim it has gotten better over the years, but Israelis still don't realize that you should only eat corn on the cob when it is hand-picked the same day on a farm and sold at a roadside booth, somewhere like Finch and McCowan. Although the last time I was at Finch and McCowan all I saw was building development. Is nothing sacred?

So, for all of you Canadians still out there in the mother country, and you Israelis who are still wondering how all of these immigrants made it in here, I offer you a slightly different look at identity mislaid, sometimes lost, and occasionally gained - here, and in further entries to come. How about it, eh?

10 comments:

  1. Not being even an ex-Canadian, I can verify the idea that canadians are quaint. And being an ex-Britisher, I can unabashedly state that they are quaint because they have the same queen (or Queen) but don't sing "God Save the Queen".

    Keep the ideas coming; they strike a cord with this Israel ex-Britisher. Here I am "anglo-Saxon", over there I'm Israeli, while within myself I am an Englsh Israeli, now more at home here than there.

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  2. We just call it Tomato Sauce, and put it on all sorts of things too. You are probably still Canadian because it would be impolite to ask for it to be changed!

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  3. david - for really good sweet ohio corn, put the water on to boil and only then go out to your yard and pick some ears of corn !!

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  4. I've eaten corn raw. sweet then too.

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  5. What a great post - especially for someone who was present at the ketchup vs catsup conversation!!! And how could anybody eat eggs of any description without ketchup??!!!

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  6. David that was great. my old friend. Great time of the year, hockey playoffs starting, and fresh corn season starting.

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  7. Okay, eggs with catsup I can swallow...but KETCHUP on eggs? REALLY?!!

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  8. Peter darling one do u know the difference between ketchup and catsup?

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  9. The word ketchup is derived from the Chinese ke-tsiap, a pickled fish sauce. It made its way to Malaysia where it became kechap and ketjap in Indonesia. Catsup and catchup are acceptable spellings used interchangably with ketchup, however, ketchup is the way it is popularly used. "Catsup", which dates to the same time, may well be a different Romanization of the same word, trying to come closer to a sound that doesn't really exist in English.

    In the 1800s, "ketchup" was most common in Britain and "catsup" was most common in the US for reasons unknown. The two words never really canceled each other out because in their formative years, there weren't spelling dictionaries choosing a "correct" version of words. (Many Americans pronounced "catsup" the same as "ketchup" in any case.) Today, "ketchup" is the dominant term in both countries, though "catsup" still has its strongholds, especially in the southern US."

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  10. To answer Gayle's query (and thank you for the in-depth, Gitte), aside from the spelling I figured it was pretty much the same thing...though, as condiments go, I'm more of a Mustard Man anyway.

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