Trifle snobbery 

Last night I was out to dinner with some Italian friends who told me a very funny story about an unwanted trifle.

A progressive Italian woman who was invited to a dinner party takes with her a trifle as a gift for the hosts. The party was attended by exclusively Italian family and friends all of whom had also contributed to the dinner with traditional Italian dishes. At the end of the night the trifle remained untouched. The host invited the women to take the trifle home and so she did. I can only imagine she did so with considerable shame.

However the next night the women had another party to attend so she again took the same trifle and offered it as a gift. Yet again the trifle was untouched. Not one spoonful was consumed.

The story of the poor women and her unwanted trifle soon became legend, a comical story that would be recalled for years to come. As I was listening, I could not work out what was so bad about the trifle. How bad could it have looked , I thought to myself.

The couple recalling the story, explained that Italians are very reluctant to eat anything outside their regular Italian cuisine. Trifle is seen as an “Australian dessert” and therefore not worth tasting. As I heard this I accepted that trifle prejudice was likely common in many circles. Seen as a “Simple” maybe unsophisticated dish. But sometimes the simple things are most treasured, especially if they invoke memories from your childhood. I guess if there was no previous affiliation to trifle, a dessert make of layered of sponge and custard might seem pedestrian.

Of course while all of this is reasonable, there could have been another explanation for the unwanted trifle. After the lady last night finished recalling the story, he husband piped up and simply said ” but it had green jelly!”

So in fact, the story of the unwanted trifle could be seen as a missed opportunity. The trifle may have transitioned into the cuisine of the australian Italian community after all if it wasn’t for the green jelly. Which beggers the question…why does green jelly exist?

So the moral of the story might be, be brave and proud of your trifle. But also be aware of your audience. I recently had a trifle made with panettone and mascarpone and I imagine this might have had a better reception at an Italian party. But most of all, never use green jelly in public.

Cheers