Of cours,e on a color wheel, red plus blue makes purple. And when diluted that makes lavendar. And . . . but it is a presidential election year in the U.S. and so red plus blue makes -- just that, an election year. ANd, I do know that red means different things in different cultures, and ditto for blue. I have even read some related anthropological work years ago. But, that was then and this is now, and this is. . . . Cooking with Ideas. So, red plus blue . . . and food? Yes.
In my ongoing sharing of food-related tidbits found elsewhere, I have found a delightful tale of how we should really know that the presidential election is going -- or will go -- and here it is. From Allison Aubrey on NPR's food blog, the piece is a wonderful discussion of various businesses (etc.) using color coded food to see which way voters might be leaning. (Of course, each is a ploy to sell more, probably, but still. And, as she notes, in some cases, the choice may indicate more about taste preferences than political leanings. This is particularly the case when it comes to the red cheese, blue cheese test she discusses. I'd be torn myself. In fact, I would want both sorts. All sorts. And, by the way, she starts her story indicating that cheese does not have a long history of political symbolism. Maybe not the case, right? Between government distributed cheese (and its links to poverty) and Thomas Jefferson's cheese, she may be wrong. Cheese matters.
As for the history of color's relation to here is the tale, as told by wikipedia. Here is another version, perhaps with more accuracy, who knows. And, in case you are a guy who wears ties, here's a fun piece on why your tie's color matters. Every day politics? The psychology of color? Food? Hmmm.
