Recipe

As Franck Cochoy remarkably showed, the invention of packaging took a crucial part in the shaping of modern markets. Before it appeared, customers could only made choices between two different goods: rice and pasta for instance. But rice was present in the store just as generic rice. Packaging brought a new actor in the game, displaying information about where the rice came from and above all who grew and harvest it. Transforming generic rice into several distinct rices. Of course this is not the only way writings equip markets and their protagonists. Just think about prices labels or barcodes. Looking at this butternut squash, one can see a great example of how the taste for some hip old vegetable can be encouraged. In case you only buy it because you’ve heard it’s cool, there’s a recipe stuck right onto it. In case you would, you know, actually eat it. Maybe even buy another one next time.