Religious-Themed Yuppie Food Products Blogging

We return from Trader Joe's bearing Ezekiel (that's a Hebrew prophet) bread, Maranatha (that's a prayer asking Jesus to come back soon: "Come, Holy Lord), but nothing named after the Islamic or Buddhist traditions--no Imam pistachios or Avelokiteshvara microwaveable rice dishes. This seems vaguely un-Californian...

Comments

[John Emerson]

There was a battle between Israeli and Yemeni honey at one point. Based on references in the Koran, honey has an exalted role in Islam, a little like wine in Mediterranean Christianity. And the highly-prized Yemeni honey, at some point, fell under al Qaeda control.

[John Emerson]

"THE CIA has identified a chain of shops selling top grade Yemeni honey as the bizarre fountainhead of funding and illicit supplies for Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'eda network, it was reported yesterday."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/10/12/walq12.xml&sSheet=/news/2001/10/12/ixhome.html

"After the Treasury Department linked three Yemeni honey companies to Osama bin Laden's terrorism-financing operation, Pak and Zdanowicz examined the U.S.-Middle East honey trade. They found that in 2000, someone shipped 182,509 kilograms of honey to Yemen for $2.63 per kilogram, a price 38 percent higher than the average honey price of $1.91 a kilogram.

At that rate, the honey exporter would have received $131,406 in excess proceeds just as the Sept. 11 hijackers took up residence in the United States. Where that money went is unknown."

http://www.gv.psu.edu/content307.htm

"Classical authors such as Erathostenes and Pliny mention the excellence of Yemeni honey."

http://venus.unive.it/qsa/14summar.htm

[dubblblind]

What, you couldn't find "Marpa's Home Made Yak Butter"?

Made from a family recipe passed down from master to disciple and filled with Tantric goodness.

[Tangurena]

If that's the bread I think it is, it is "Ezekiel 4:9." That bread is only available frozen outside of CA, but available fresh(?) or at least non frozen inside CA. Most of us outside CA have to look in the "health food" freezer section of our stores. Very tasty, very high in fiber.

Yogi Tea used to be made by the Golden Temple in LA (they are Sikhs), but I'm pretty sure it is now owned (or maybe just distributed) by Celestial Seasonings.

[Gene O'Grady]

Golden Temple has a huge fairly new plant in Eugene (Oregon); I know they make cereal and other products there, but I'm not sure about tea or honey, although honey would make sense due to the number of bees around here.

[ogmb]

Why un-Californian? Trader Joe's is owned German discount billionaire Theo Albrecht.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trader_Joe's

[Gene O'Grady]

They make the honey here too. Course my daughter buys the kind from England.

[Hob]

I don't know the answer to Brad's question, but I do know that the back of my Kashi cereal box says "I WILL MAKE FRIENDS WITH WHOLE GRAINS." This is either an animist religious message, or the journal of a holistic Frankenstein...

[mistah charley]

1) Store brand vitamins are named Trader Darwin - I guess because they allegedly promote the survival of fittest

2) The Ezekiel 4:9 bread is available non-frozen here on the East Coast too.

[Kevin Rooney]

I have certainly seen enough "Karma Cookies" and the like, but it seems to me (just from decades of personal experience buying health food) that when companies making health food and related products have a religious basis, it is usually some kind of not quite mainstream Christianity, for example Seventh Day Adventist.

[Adam]

Charley, Trader Darwin vitamins _explicitly_ read "For the Survival of the Fittest."

The label "Maranatha" lacks an object. Which spread?

[Jon Fernquest]

Korean Sanche bibbim pap is a refreshing assortment of vegetables mixed in rice with some chili sauce. I remember a monastery in the mountains behind Seoul was handing out free bowls of it to day hikers.

Korean food is a wonderful assortment of natural ingredients. They've truly preserved their culinary heritage but I doubt much of it can be passed on in ready to eat form. A lot of it is long-honoured traditions of preparation which you can see in the Kimchee jars behind every house. They're proud of these traditions and pass it onto others. They taught my wife who is Thai how to make wonderful Korean food.

[Robin]

When can we have some heretic or even false prophet inspired products? Joanna Southcott Soup, or the Bab bulboli, or Shabbetai Zvi Ziti. Or even a respectable pantheist John Toland Tea? But that seems more New York.

[quinnat]

This may not count, but back in the '70's in San Francisco you could get Nation of Islam bread in some of the more isolated mom and pops. It was made somewhere in the east bay, and cost two dollars a loaf, twice as much as any other bread on the shelf.