Book contents
- Soviet Adventures in the Land of the Capitalists
- Soviet Adventures in the Land of the Capitalists
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Note on Transliteration and Translation
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Promised Lands
- Part II New York and the Eastern States
- Part III To the Pacific Ocean
- 13 The Road
- 14 Frozen Meat, Salty Butter, and Other American Delicacies
- 15 The Nationalities Question
- 16 A Laboratory of Anthropology
- 17 New Mexico Moderns
- 18 Can You Kid a Kidder?
- 19 The Man in the Red Shirt
- 20 Natural Wonders and Technical Marvels
- 21 The American Dneprostroi
- Part IV The Golden State
- Part V Journey’s End
- Select Bibliography
- Index
14 - Frozen Meat, Salty Butter, and Other American Delicacies
from Part III - To the Pacific Ocean
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 January 2024
- Soviet Adventures in the Land of the Capitalists
- Soviet Adventures in the Land of the Capitalists
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Note on Transliteration and Translation
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Promised Lands
- Part II New York and the Eastern States
- Part III To the Pacific Ocean
- 13 The Road
- 14 Frozen Meat, Salty Butter, and Other American Delicacies
- 15 The Nationalities Question
- 16 A Laboratory of Anthropology
- 17 New Mexico Moderns
- 18 Can You Kid a Kidder?
- 19 The Man in the Red Shirt
- 20 Natural Wonders and Technical Marvels
- 21 The American Dneprostroi
- Part IV The Golden State
- Part V Journey’s End
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Chapter 14 explores Ilf and Petrov’s complicated relationship with American food. By 1935, Soviet promises of plenty were everywhere, but even staple goods remained in short supply. In the United States, the authors found that food was plentiful, efficiently produced and distributed, often attractive to the eye. But they did not rave about American food as they did about American highways, claiming (not always convincingly) that it was tasteless and monotonous. The writers explained this situation as a product not only of capitalism, which put profits ahead of flavor or variety, but of (white) Americans’ inability to appreciate good food.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Soviet Adventures in the Land of the CapitalistsIlf and Petrov's American Road Trip, pp. 147 - 155Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024