Ramen - Now and Then

This article in the LA Times discusses the booming sales of instant ramen noodles in Mexico. Traditionalists are horrified that ramen is displacing the consumption of beans and rice, the historic food of the poor in Mexico. I have always been fascinated by cultural change as shown in food consumption "tipping points" such as the one years ago when coffee consumption passed tea consumption in Great Britain or when salsa sales passed ketchup sales in this country. My guess is that it will be a while before ramen passes arroz y frijoles, but I would certainly back the effort mentioned in the piece to have Mexican food recognized as "a patrimony of humanity!"

Interesting synchronicity in this story as it appears just after archaeologists in China announce that they have found the oldest oriental noodles ever, 4000 years old, in a neolithic site in Northwestern China. It's hard to think of them being preserved after all that time, but they were trapped under an overturned bowl.
Dry caves are well-known for preserving perishable items, but it is astonishing sometimes, as in this case, what can be preserved even in open archaeological sites. In Anasazi sites in southwestern Colorado, we would commonly find pieces of turkey eggshell and feathers that were a thousand years old or more.