Red, White and Roux

I had a hankering for an egg sandwich the other night. Bacon, mayo, white bread, and a fried egg with the yolk broken, but not overly cooked. As I cracked the egg into the pan and gazed on its surprising perfection, I had a revelation. I knew this was the ultimate of eggness because I once was trained to judge eggs. It's true.

During my high school years in 4-H, I participated in competitive judging. To whit – we had a local team which trained us to be picky consumers, and then we were graded on how well we graded the entries. Through the years I recall scoring kitchen plans (we had been well-versed on the all-important work triangle of fridge, oven, and sink), carving knives (the blade running through the length of the handle and three bolts please, not two), and much, much more.

I was taught by a professional home economist, actually by several, both in 4-H and in high school. These women were at the top of their game in food and nutrition, sewing, entertaining, budgeting, and every kind of consumer awareness for any household item.

They were the librarians of everything that had anything to do with managing daily life, and they were way ahead of the curve when it came to knowledge of fine dining and cuisine in general. I just pulled out a cookbook I've hauled through numerous moves for over 40 years; “The Favorite Recipes of Home Economics teachers – Foreign Foods.” This was before we had even heard of pita bread or whole milk mozzarella. Olive oil came in a tiny bottle that stayed on the spice shelf for years at a time. Italian was what we ate on Sunday at Joe and Madeline Taranto's. Mexican was chili. Chinese was chop suey made with pork chops and canned bean sprouts. Sushi was raw oysters. This cookbook has two recipes for egg rolls, and they both contain instructions for making the wrappers. Home economists pushed the envelope when it came to thinking creatively about food.

They didn't just talk the talk, though, they walked the walk, with hands-on demonstrations of everything from folding a fitted sheet to making Danish pastry. They were respected, and it was an honorable profession. Before the days of Rachel Ray, Sara Patrenos, home demonstration agent for Florida Power, was showing audiences how to make the best of their new electric oven. Betty Zorn, Phyllis Wefing, and Retha McCaskill presided over the high school, Carolyn Tew, Bernice Shuler, and Toni Taranto worked for the University of Florida extension service which was responsible for the 4-H program. They taught and trained hundreds of us with lessons we still use every day of our lives.

Home economists have now gotten really scarce around here, or they (at least the ones in the school system) have been retrained. Rather than showing a 14-year-old how to turn a hem, they are teaching what is now called life management. Health teachers and coaches also teach life management. The course is a decent introduction to adult responsibilities in the real world.

Many children are missing something though. As a quick-write, mini-lesson I recently asked my students to draw a picture of a simple table setting – plate, knife, fork, spoon, napkin, and beverage. Later I queried as to what one does with the napkin at the beginning and end of the meal.

Do I even have to tell you the results?

I'm really starting to miss those home economists and the dignity they brought to managing a household. Maybe you think the whole idea belongs in another era. Maybe it was even a sexist thing, but we didn't really think about it. I just know modern society could use somebody to help us take charge of our lives, and remind the children not to point with their fork.

Denise Roux is a regular columnist for the Apalachicola and Carrabelle Times. To reach her, email her at rouxwhit@mchsi.com