A television commercial for the new “XXL” size Hungry Man frozen dinners once again shows he-men being outraged by the idea of eating quiche.
Ever since that 1982 book Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche by Bruce Feirstein, and maybe before then, there has been this odd idea in America that quiche is somehow unmanly.
Why? In France, where it originated, it’s something that a farmer’s wife would prepare for her husband, not some frou-frou chef’s creation. The ingredients are simple (eggs, cheese, bacon, pie crust, etc.), and with the high amount of protein and fat in a typical quiche, it’s a dish that leaves you filled.
Can anyone explain the reputation quiche has gotten in America?
I think that it had to do with American society in the post-war US. The standard fare for dinner was still “meat and potatoes” at least in the average middle class or lower middle class family. John Wayne ruled the movies.
When something like quiche came along, it was not considered real food because it wasn’t “meat and potatoes.” So you had to be strange(read “queer”) to like something that was different, healthy. I imagine that a vegetarian male in the 1950’s-60’s was also suspect of being “unmanly.”
Actually the cafeteria at work, and when I was in college, served an American version of quiche. They called it “breakfast casserole” and it was eggs, bacon, cheese, sometimes diced hash browns/red bell peppers. No crust though. McDonalds and other fast-food resturants have great success with “breakfast burritos/taquitos” which are typically eggs, bacon or sausage, cheese, diced tomatos/peppers wrapped in a tortilla. This is even closer to quiche. I think Ringo may be right and it’s just a name that’s giving it the bad rap. Adding to the fire would be the “specialty” quiches available in the US. Spinach quiche is pretty common, and guys don’t like to touch those with a ten foot pole.
Don’t give up hope though, not all Americans are like that. My wife and I went to an art exhibit at a local museum and had lunch in their atrium cafe. They had a wonderful tomato basil quiche and I got it, while my wife wimped out and had a club sandwich. I let her try it and she said it was fantastic. Quiche isn’t a bad word in my home, so that’s at least six more Americans who think it’s a perfectly acceptable food for “real men”.
Until two weeks ago, I had never encountered this supposed aversion to eating quiche. Then this appeared in “Briefs”, which a publication for graduating students at my law school. It’s a quote from a retiring professor:
IIRC, one of Steve Dallas’ girlfriends in the late lamented Bloom County strip was…
wait for it…
QUICHE LORRAINE
And I always thought it was Berke Breathed’s little joke about Dallas’ outlook on life, 'cause a “Buicks, broads and Buckley” kinda guy wouldn’t be um, you know.
You tell 'em, Mort. A proper quiche is a delight – I make 'em for special occasions, usually (Christmas morning, my sister’s wedding, etc.) because they’re so heavy. But so so good. And if you take an extra thirty seconds to sprinkle gren herbs or poppyseeds into the crust when you’re making it, everyone thinks you’re some kind of chef star :).
