5 Foods We Can All Stop Talking About Now

I don't mean to be a negative Nancy, and I love the foodie culture... but in 2012, wouldn't it be lovely if you could open a food magazine, browse a food web site, or watch a cooking show without someone waxing poetic about the following five food topics:

 

1. Cupcakes: Cupcake Battles. Cupcake Shops. Tattoos, aprons, and shoes. OK, enough already. They're cute. They're sweet. They taste good. But do they really need to be integrated into every part of life now? Do they have to make an appearance at every party, shower, wedding, and corner bakery? Let cupcakes return to being the treats that are reserved for children's birthday parties and come up with something else for dessert this year.

 

2. Pork Belly: Otherwise know as bacon for the culinary elite. People who are guilty of mooning over pork belly know that talking about bacon is so 2011, but they still can't stop talking about bacon. Which brings us to...

 

3. Duck: Yes, it's super tasty. Yes, it tastes like flying bacon. But unless we're all about to get out our shotguns and hunker down in lakes at 5 a.m. (and if you are, call me because I'd love to come), there should be no more talk about duck, or duck fat. People have been eating it for centuries, just let it be what it is: a greasy alternative to chicken.

 

4. Southern Food: Unless you actually grew up in the South (no it wasn't romantic, just ask my father who is from a dirt-poor town in Kentucky, whose father died in a sawmill accident, and who used to play in a gully in trash for fun), then you are not allowed to speak in a condescending manner about how Southern food is undergoing a "Renaissance." Also, you're not allowed to tart-up biscuits and gravy with arugula.

 

5. Evil, Evil, Butter: Oh, Paula Dean is irresponsible? Watch any cooking show ever broadcast and you will see chefs dump olive oil, duck fat, shortening and, yes, butter, all over everything. Add to that heavy cream, crème fraîche, cheese, and more cheese. Why is Paula Dean so evil? Until everyone can admit that fat equals flavor and are willing to explore how to cook low-fat alternatives without sacrificing taste within their own recipes, folks need to stop pointing fingers at people and products.