“Is Crisco populah in the U.S.?” asked one of my Aussie friends the other day, as we lazed about after work. It seemed like a strange question, since we weren’t even talking about cooking, but who am I to judge? I thought about it for a moment.
“I guess so,” I replied. “My mom used it when I was growing up, but I prefer real butter.”
She gave me the strangest look. “What ah you talking about?”
I clarified, “It’s a brand of shortening. You know – you cook or bake with it.” It seemed pretty obvious to me, but then I remembered brand names were rarely the same out here. I wracked my brain, trying to remember if I had seen similar products in the local grocery stores. Then it dawned on me she might not be referring to a food product at all. How embarrassing. “Wait. What are you talking about?”
Almost simultaneously, we realized we were talking about vastly different things and burst out laughing.
“I’m talking about a Christmas lay-by company, ChristCo.” she explained.
Ahh! That would explain odd look she gave me upon hearing my first answer. Turns out, ChristCo. is a lay-away company that allows people to make small, monthly payments throughout the year. Then, at Christmas, they receive a themed holiday basket of their choice; it could contain toys, or food, or even booze. There’s a basket for everyone, making it pretty popular out here. It’s really quite a brilliant idea, and is certainly much more exciting than shortening. I really do learn something new every day.
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