August 13th, 2009 by Chris Eng

The last two times Carla and I have been to the supermarket, we’ve bought a beet. We like beets–they’re tasty and provide a nice earthy accent, especially grated on top of salads. Both times, our cashier has rung our purchases through, gotten to the beet, started at it blankly and asked us, “What is this?”

“It’s a beet,” Carla responded cheerily, both times.

The girl we ended up with on the second occasion was not fazed by this response. “What do you do with it?” she asked.

“You eat it,” Carla responded, just as cheerily, proceeding to go into the various ways which it could be cooked and/or eaten raw.

Okay, so, I know that society’s eating habits are changing and things familiar a generation or so ago have become strange and dropped out of our eating habits, but has the next generation (because both cashiers were probably 21 or younger) become so out of touch with produce that it can’t identify one of the most common root vegetables? Also, is it out of line to think that supermarket employees should be able to recognize such, or at least not brandish a look of extreme bafflement after being told what it is? These are the thoughts that keep me awake at night.