My Lime Jell-O Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise

October 11, 2020 by Editor-in-Chief in Arts & Culture, Identity

by Eleanor Nash ‘21

“Jell-O salad is one thing I know!” exclaimed my mom. Growing up in eastern Kansas in the 1960s and ’70s, she was on the receiving end of many Jell-O-based culinary experiments. Since their invention, Jell-O salads have evolved from show-stopping dishes at dinner parties and potlucks to quaint regional concoctions, a chronology that obscures both the marketing influence of the Jell-O Company and the creativity of everyday women.

Just Girly Things, But Kombucha

October 02, 2020 by Editor-in-Chief in Arts & Culture

by Christina Lin ‘21

The connection between kombucha and Christine de Pizan’s The Book of the City of Ladies isn’t immediately obvious: how can a jar of sour tea possibly be philosophical? The baseline of comparison is its structure—the starter tea is Lady Justice, the pellicle is Lady Reason, and the yeast is Lady Rectitude. Pizan’s descriptions of the nature of women parallels conceptions we have of kombucha, but it may allow us greater insight into the nature of the inherently variable.