Preppers: Good Food Forms a Group
Kevin Felts 12.20.17
While watching a video about 18th century cooking, the host said something that rang a bell: “Good cooking brings people into the group.”
Let’s take the the opening scenes from the 1981 movie “Quest for Fire” as an example. The people are sitting around a fire cooking meat, eating, and socializing. We are social animals. For tens of thousands of years our ancestors sat around a fire, cooked meat, told stories, and enjoyed each other’s company.
Very little has changed in the past 50,000 years. When someone has a cookout, chances are they will invite friends and family members. In essence, we continue to use cooking to socialize. However, rather than eating slabs of woolly mammoth, today we have to settle for small steaks and pork chops.
During Hurricane Ike (2008) and Hurricane Rita (2005), my house was used as an evacuation point for friends and family. After the storms passed through, one of the first things I did was fire up the pit and start cooking. Before the hurricanes made landfall, the meat had been picked out and thawed.
Imagine if you would, a smoker on a trailer. The main smoker has a diameter of 36 inches and has a six-foot-long cooking grill; the front section is three feet tall and 24 inches in diameter. While the storm damage was being surveyed, ribs, sausage, beans, and boudin was put on the grill. Smoke from oak firewood was bellowing from the smoker. The smell of cooking food blanketed the area.
Our group had not eaten in probably 12+ hours. The smell and sight of cooking food provided a sense of comfort. An hour or two before dark, everyone feasted on the savory pieces of meat and side dishes. We ate our fill and went to bed with full stomachs.
During a stressful situation such as a hurricane, food has a way of bringing people together and providing comfort.
Here is the video referenced in the opening paragraph.
