Pantry Item #3: If I Only I Could Share...

Pantry Item: Feeling (chocolate candy bar)



Produced by: Fel Fort


Location: Argentina




This one jumped out at me while I was making my way around Buenos Aires, Argentina a few years ago. What a great name for a candy bar! Feeling. In English it is ripe for a spoof. Picture a young man who is nervous to tell a girl how much he likes her. He can give her something that shows that he has feelings for her in a literal way. He could ask if she would like to share his Feeling. But enough with the spoof. Let's get serious.

This multi layered chocolate bar comes with multiple meanings. The outer chocolate covers a crispy cereal biscuit with a thick viscous chocolaty center. Each layer is a separate snacking sensation. Now let's read this chocolate casserole from a cultural perspective.

At one level it is moderately existential. I mean to say that "Feeling" connotes a generic experience and maybe Felfort doesn't want to impose any meaning to your eating experience. Just that you feel while you eat. Imagine it to mean that this would be your "In the Moment" bar in which the masticator senses each texture as it is. There is no judgement just feeling what it is. It's so zen.

The next layer is the oddly romantic or sexualized nature of this product. As stated before it is a great English gag in which one can share their Feeling with someone else . Add to this the fact that Felfort said quickly sounds like you are "falling for it" coupled with a little red heart. You can see now that the feeling you are going for might be love. Taken to the extreme the feeling of love oftentimes translates into sex. It is the physical expression of love (well at least sometimes) and I can see lots of great ad campaigns in which the candy bar Feelings is tasted, bit, sucked and swallowed. It's so bad it's good.

But the next layer taps into Argentinian psyche. Per capita Buenos Aires boasts two impressive titles. The most psychiatrists and the most plastic surgeons than any other country in the world. Some would claim that these two might be linked (imagine the high pressure of physical beauty may lead to neurosis and feelings of inadequacies) so in a society in which half of the population might have trouble tapping into their true feelings Felfort fills such a void in over the counter form. Likewise genuine feelings can be masked in a culture where a high percentage of nips, tucks, Botox and liposuction mask true beauty. I can hear confessions on a fine Argentinian leather couch (a wonderful byproduct of the incredible beef industry) of a business man saying "I am not sure if I love her. She's beautiful but is that who she really is?" (OK the chances of this happening are slim to none but roll with me). There emerges confusion over true feelings due to misperceptions of true beauty. In a late night, high octane lifestyle fueled by Malbec, beef and cigarettes, one is left wondering- "What do I really feel after all?" Only thing left to do is to just "Reconnect to Feeling" by picking up a candy bar that can ground one in the moment. It's prescription free and so needed.

How does it taste: Crunchy, sweet, chocolaty therapy.

Pantry Item #2: Straddling Two Worlds in Peru

Pantry Item: Boogie Ice Chewing Gum

Produced By: Confiteca

Location: Peru

While hiking the Incan trail in Peru I came across this line of chewing gum in several towns along the way. I was intrigued by the combination of English advertising and also the connection to longstanding traditions in Peru.

Ice is a pretty common advertising mechanism for gum like this since it has a menthol quality that clears the senses but the Globefodder will break down why this seemingly innocuous chewing gum is a harbinger of change.

Confiteca has mastered the art of straddling two worlds in this confection not simply because this is gum with a liquid center, but also because this English language branded candy highlights the intersection of traditional Andean theology with the encroaching Catholicism of Colonial Peru. This deep cultural heritage is also advertised in a feel-good "get your groove on" meme at a time when ecological collapse is at the threshold of the party.

Qoyllur Rit'i is a sacred ritual that has been recorded to be taking place in the Andes mountains near Cusco since about 1780. The tale behind this festival is one of a young Andean boy named Mariano herding llamas near Sinakara who meets an infant Christ, named Manuel, moonlighting as a shepherd himself at about 4700 meters. This chance encounter inspires Mariano to go on a shopping trip in order to dress like Manuel. The cool thing is that Manuel offers up a swatch of his clothing and when Mariano can't find a match of this in town he takes it to the town priest, Pedro de Landa, who recognizes this as a holy garment. They make a mad dash back up the mountain to greet their savior but unfortunately the only thing left of Christ, Manuel, is a rock that would forever be known as "Lord of Star Snow" because Mariano dies on the spot and an effigy of Christ forms on the stone before their eyes. This narrative lays the groundwork for a Christian understanding of an Andean festival which was probably going on for years prior this chance encounter.

In Peru, the Andes dominate the vistas and the lifestyles of different groups of people so that it comes as no surprise that each peak would become its own god known as an Apu. So the festival of Qoyllur Rit'i is a ritual to honor the god of Mount Colqepunku (Ice God). Pilgrims come from all surrounding towns and valleys to offer wishes and ask for guidance and forgiveness as they make their way up to the glaciers to the highest point. Only a select few pilgrims known as pabluchas can travel to the heart of the glacier to leave offerings and also to carve out a block of ice to be brought down to the crowds below. As the ice descends on the backs of some dancing pabluchas their is elation as the cleansing glacier waters of this summer solstice ritual can be seen as part baptism, part communion, part irrigation and yes even dance partners for some pilgrims. Thus Boogie Ice is born!

Confiteca has combined these two cultures through the creation of Boogie Ice. The small balls of chicle are white and pure like the snows of Colqepunke or like the communion wafers at your regular mass. The gum is filled with the gush of snow melt of a benevolent mountain god or a reminder of Holy Water found in your neighborhood church. There is reason to dance for in this little cultural artifact religion and nature are inextricably linked much like pabluchas who dance down the mountainside pleased that god has provided for yet another year. Yet as we dance today celebrating the cultural heritage found in this rugged terrain and the amazing minty taste of liquid and solid gum we are faced with the sinking feeling that this might all be for naught.

The pabluchas are no longer allowed to bring down blocks of ice because the prayers of all the pilgrims are no longer working. The Peruvian government has banned the taking of ice because global climate change has thinned glaciers to precarious levels. So now that offerings cannot be made at the heart of the Ice God at 6362 meters high and a key ingredient in keeping the gods pleased has been disrupted the only thing left to do is to dance! By spreading out the work of dancing with pieces of glaciers to the masses of Peru with Boogie Ice in non-biodegradable packaging the impending cataclysm can be avoided.

How does it taste? Mint gum filled with refreshing glacial melt!

Lets Dance!

Pantry Item #1: Class Conscious Mexico

Pantry Item:
Kranky: corn flakes with chocolate coating

Produced by: Ricolino

Location: Mexico

I came across Kranky while living in Mexico in 1999. This is the first item that I am sharing from my pantry because Kranky opened my eyes to the importance of paying attention to the details of a culture while traveling. Junk food and candy are excellent pulse points of a nation and Kranky is a primary colored banner from the people of Mexico reading: Ya Basta! (enough!)

It should be no surprise that Mexico would offer the world Kranky. Corn and chocolate have been ancient elements of the Mesoamerican diet for centuries. Corn in the form of tortillas and atole was the mainstay of peasant life. The Aztec commoner would escape this corn-laden diet during special occasions by eating tamales, which comprised of steamed cornmeal wrapped in corn husks. Chocolate was at the other end of the spectrum. The Maya called it “Food of the Gods” and the cacao seeds were used as money. So noblemen wishing to impress others with their wealth would essentially drink their money in the form of hot coco. Montezuma continued this tradition as emperor of the Aztecs. He was known to drink 50 cups of coco a day in disposable golden shot glasses. He even ordered the first chocolate Slurpee by forcing runners up to snow-capped mountains and back in a single day. So Ricolino’s combination of corn flakes and chocolate in Kranky is inherently Mexican but also revolutionary since it is now easily accessible to all.

The English use of Kranky means "not satisfied" but why would you want to name your snack food as being anything but satisfying? Perhaps it is an attempt to make you know that when you are feeling cranky that this snack will be the answer. Or through the lens of the the Globefodder we will learn that it means so much more!

Kranky is a showcase of socialist symbolism in a country with 40% poverty level and phenomenally wealthy drug cartels. Inside the bag there are no class distinctions. The corn and the chocolate are one. Or perhaps this is a cleverly crafted social salve. You see, the repression of the lower classes is represented because the chocolate (i.e. bourgeoisie) is smothering the corn (i.e. proletariat). This upholds the current status of widespread division among the classes. But in good form, even though the corn cannot be seen it will be heard with each crunch while both are being broken down into one. Thus the very act of working through a bag of Kranky allows a Mexican in poverty to "stick it to the man" by wiping out such class distinctions in one satisfying crunch. While the makers of Kranky are no doubt making a handsome profit they are also offering a symbolic outlet for social discontent which is still lingering since the ideals of the leftist Mexican intelligentsia were widely touted during the rise of communism in the early 20th century.

The graphic artists at Ricolino knew that they needed to design a bag that would sell a snack and not follow the political tradition of Mexican leftist muralists. While Diego Rivera's work is highly regarded in Mexico, his political views were not throughout the world. When Nelson Rockefeller invited Rivera to paint a mural inside Rockefeller Center it was brought to a halt once Lenin’s face was painted in the background. Rivera would not compromise his communist ideals and was forced to leave while workers took his mural down. Mexico is still a hotbed of leftist activity even to this day. That is why we still see the emergence of freedom fighters in Southern Mexico like the Zapatistas crying “Ya Basta” and also chocolate covered corn flakes like Kranky. But Kranky is now poised to be sold throughout the world since its message of economic equality is not overt (like Rivera's) and this will lead to huge profits!

How do they taste? Not too different than you would expect. Kranky is basicaly chocolate covered Corn Flakes. The nice thing is that they are very crunchy so you don't have to suffer through the soggy flakes at the bottom of the bowl. Thumbs up on this one!