Before I start, I just want to ask two questions:
1) Is onion dip a just Kiwi thing? Like the All Blacks, fush'n'chups, Hokey Pokey ice cream, the Edmonds cookbook and jandals?
2) Are there foods specific to your culture that are full of gluten, and therefore out of your reach? How do you deal with that?
I love watching travel cooking shows. A few months ago, Rick Stein's Far Eastern Odyssey was on TV. As I watched him devour the diverse foods of East Asia, I realised that New Zealand doesn't have any national cuisine. I think that's why we unknowingly invented fusion cooking.
I think the lack of national, or traditional, cuisine makes little things like a simple onion dip become very special.
Maggi's onion dip has long been promoted as the Kiwi dip. It's like, if you don't like this dip you're not totally Kiwi. It's as shocking as if you didn't support the All Blacks in a World Cup year.
I already knew the Maggi's onion soup mix contained gluten. But when I first went gluten-free, Pam's was safe to eat! It was great!
But then, the other day I was about to buy some more dip *cue ominous sounding music*. I read the ingredients again, just in case.. *dun-duh!* they changed the recipe. Guess what: it now contains gluten.
Imagine my anger - and my sadness. It was as if a cultural icon (don't laugh, dip is important!) had been snatched away from me. Forever.
The other day Mum cleaned our pantry and discovered two packets of the old onion soup mix! Yay! So last night we made some up and snacked on celery, carrots and heaps of onion dip while watching Harry Potter #6.
See the old ingredients?* Why did they have to change the recipe to contain modified wheat starch and actual soy sauce? Don't they realise that they've destroyed a tiny bit of every gluten-free Kiwi's heart?
I don't like Pam's anymore.
So last night was the (possibly) second to last time I'll ever eat onion dip again. We've still got one packet stashed in the pantry. I don't know if I'll ever have the guts to eat it though.
I know that all you gluten-freesias out there will understand exactly what I mean. Saying goodbye to little things is hard, mainly because it seems to bring back the sadness you felt when you first turned your back on gluten.
Have you ever had moments like this?
* I know, the Modified Starch (1422, 1442) look dodgy as. We're super lucky in NZ, if a product says 'Modified starch' and does not specify that it is wheat, it is made from corn or tapioca.
3 comments:
Awh you poor poor thing, I am actually a dip addict, I actually have to try stop myself from eating the whole bowl if at a party with chips and dip.
Maybe you should get in contact with Pams, you never know, it might help? If not see if peeps in Aussie have a GF onion dip that they could send over, also a speciality food store might have some?
Don't give up on Onion Dip!!
How about Aussies and meat pies with tomato sauce? Gluten in all of it!!! You can get gfree ones frozen, but you can imagine how they taste:( And of course I can't use any old tomato sauce either when eating at friends :(
Of course we all know how you feel, and you hace our sincere condolences. So sad to have an icon ripped away from your taste buds :(
Aw thanks guys!
Yeah, I'm planning on contacting Pam's and Maggie - pleading one of them to bring the dip back!
Yes, meat pies! Oh how I miss them! :( The gluten-free ones are really expensive (and kind of gross) here too, it's one of my missions in life to create a delicious gluten-free mince and cheese pie. But isn't your tomato sauce gluten-free? The Watties stuff here in NZ is... as far as I know, if it comes out of squeezy bottles.
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