“Do not tumble the pot.”
When my siblings at I were at the age where we were allowed to dish out our own food, directly from the pot or pan, that was the instruction (in retrospect it was more like an admonishment) given by our mother. That instruction has stayed with me ever since and it is a practice I hold true to.
To “tumble the pot” is to do any or a combination of the following – taking food from all sides of the pot including the middle; turning up or tossing the food looking for particular or additional pieces of meat or fish, other than what came up when you spooned the food on to your plate. Here in Barbados, when rice and peas is cooked, there is often talk about looking for the “prize in the rice”. The prize being one of the 2 or 3 pieces of cut salted pig tails that were cooked in the pot to season the rice and peas. In other words, you are looking for something extra, something in particular or perhaps trying to get to the part of the pot that you like best (say the food at the bottom of the pot/pan). While I reference meat here, this tumbling and turning up of the pot/pan also has to do with when vegetables and certain things are cooked. For example, when there is fried potatoes (aloo), I prefer the bits stuck at the bottom of the pan that have been caramelized. Any vegetable fried (as in our Guyanese-style), the part closer to the bottom of the pan is extremely tasty.
The other side to this “rule” about not tumbling the pot, had to do with leaving the food and pot in such a state that someone coming after you to take their food would not be turned off or disgusted. I extend this rule to not only the contents of the pot/pan but also to the manner in which the lid is placed on the pot/pan. And, if someone is not immediately following you to dish out food, then put the pot spoon to be washed. Do not leave it to air dry on the countertop, on top of the covered pot/pan to be reused later. These are practices I refer to as ‘clean eating.’
A couple of weeks ago, over the long holiday weekend, I went to the home of friends to spend the day. We consider ourselves “home” people so there was no standing on ceremony for anyone. Nevertheless, when it was time for the main meal, I was genuinely surprised when the missus of the house, Michelle, called me into the kitchen and told me that I had first go at the pot. In other words, I was to take my food directly from the pot and be the first to do so. Being the first I know had to do with me being the guest but for me it was also a privilege and I felt honoured. I lifted the lid and welcomed the surprise because she had made one of my favourite dishes – Cook-up rice. With pot spoon I dished out my food as I always do, starting from the part directly in front of me.
We sat down to eat, and I expressed my appreciation of being made to feel truly at home by dishing out my food directly from the pot. I laughed and asked Michelle if she was not afraid that I would dig up or tumble up the pot when taking out my food. Now let me tell you this, Michelle is fun, but she is very strict, and her tone of voice gives the impression that she is scolding you (at times she is). LOL. She looked at me, shook her head and said kindly, “I could tell that you are not the kind of person that would take out food like that.”
I responded, “Really? There is a ‘kind of person’ that would tumble the pot?”
She said, “Not really, I just know that you were brought up properly and have standards.”
This talk of tumbling up the pot opened the floodgates on the issue of dishing out food. And using a word, I have not heard in ages, and one that my late mom and Aunt Betty would use often, my friend said, “Is me kinah to see people dish out food and tumble up the pot!” Seems that all of us at the table shared this kinah as we exchanged bits about tumbling up the pot that we did not like. For example, I hate it when people start by taking food from the middle of the pot/pan especially if it is a rice dish, leaving an unattractive crater. One person talked about the potatoes being “picked” out of a curry, another expressed frustration about soup being turned up and most of the dumplings being taken. We had stories, yuh hear? The most vexing practice for each of us though was people going into the pot and picking at the food! I have witnessed people going into pots and pans with a fork or spoon eating directly from the pot, and double dipping! Or, using these same utensils to tumble up the food to finds bits of meat to pick out, even in stews, curries, or soups. Get a plate and take out some food and eat! It is one thing to do whatever you want and feel like doing when you are living and eating alone, but it is a very different story when other people have to access and eat the same food. Even if you live and eat alone you should always practice proper food hygiene, if not you can make yourself sick. Besides, it might be a bad practice that you take outdoors too.
Where do you stand on dishing out food? Do you have preferences, practices, or quirks? What’s your kinah when it comes to dishing out food?
Cynthia
cynthia@tasteslikehome.org
