--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bread plays favorites. From the earliest…" description: "\"“Bread plays favorites. From the earliest times, it acts as a social marker, sifting the poor from the wealthy, the cereal from the chaff. The exceptio..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06e/christa-parrish-30731_bread_bread-plays-favorites-from-the-earliest_1573970.jpg" --- # Bread plays favorites. From the earliest times, it acts as… ![“Bread plays favorites. From the earliest times, it acts as a social marker, sifting the poor from the wealthy, the cereal from the chaff. The exceptional from the mediocre. Wheat becomes more acceptable than rye; farmers talk of losing their 'rye teeth' as their economic status improves. Barley is…” quote by Christa Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06e/christa-parrish-30731_bread_bread-plays-favorites-from-the-earliest_1573970.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06e/christa-parrish-30731_bread_bread-plays-favorites-from-the-earliest_1573970.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06e/christa-parrish-30731_bread_bread-plays-favorites-from-the-earliest_1573970.jpg) > ““Bread plays favorites. From the earliest times, it acts as a social marker, sifting the poor from the wealthy, the cereal from the chaff. The exceptional from the mediocre. Wheat becomes more acceptable than rye; farmers talk of losing their 'rye teeth' as their economic status improves. Barley is for the most destitute, the coarse grain grinding down molars until the nerves are exposed. Breads with the added richness of eggs and milk and butter become the luxuries of princes. Only paupers eat dark bread adulterated with peas and left to sour, or purchase horse-bread instead of man-bread, often baked with the floor sweepings, because it costs a third less than the cheapest whole-meal loaves. When brown bread makes it to the tables of the prosperous, it is as trenchers- plates- stacked high with fish and meat and vegetables and soaked with gravy. The trenchers are then thrown outside, where the dogs and beggars fight over them. Crusts are chipped off the rolls of the rich, both to make it easier to chew and to aid in digestion. Peasants must work all the more to eat, even in the act of eating itself, jaws exhausted from biting through thick crusts and heavy crumb. There is no lightness for them. No whiteness at all. And it is the whiteness every man wants. Pure, white flour. Only white bread blooms when baked, opening to the heat like a rose. Only a king should be allowed such beauty, because he has been blessed by his God. So wouldn't he be surprised- no, filled with horror- to find white bread the food of all men today, and even more so the food of the common people. It is the least expensive on the shelf at the supermarket, ninety-nine cents a loaf for the storebrand. It is smeared with sweetened fruit and devoured by schoolchildren, used for tea sandwiches by the affluent, donated to soup kitchens for the needy, and shunned by the artisan. Yes, the irony of all ironies, the hearty, dark bread once considered fit only for thieves and livestock is now some of the most prized of all.”” [Christa Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-parrish/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Bread has historically signified social status, with white bread becoming a universal symbol of wealth and purity, despite its humble origins. **In simple terms:** Bread reflects class divisions and the desire for purity. Key Takeaway Recognize food as a marker of social hierarchy. Themes class food symbolism economics cultural identity Mood critical thoughtful analytical Type sociological historical critical When to use this quote - grocery shopping - school lunches - high‑end dining - charitable food distribution Key Concepts status purity inequality consumerism Questions to Reflect On - How does food choice reveal social identity? - Can we challenge status symbols in everyday meals? A Different Perspective Modern consumption can mask historical inequities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bread/) [Common people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-people/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Rich and poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-and-poor/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Many of America's historical cornbreads were staple breads for people who didn't have many other options.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-jackson/many-of-america-s-historical-cornbreads-were-staple-breads-for-people/) [Jeremy Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-jackson/) > [“I tell you that man has no more tormenting care than to find someone to whom he can hand over as quickly as possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky-the-brothers-karamazov/i-tell-you-that-man-has-no-more-tormenting-care-than-to-find-someone/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky - The Brothers Karamazov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky-the-brothers-karamazov/) > [What a strange machine man is! You fill him with bread, wine, fish, and radishes, and out comes sighs, laughter, and dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/what-a-strange-machine-man-is-you-fill-him-with-bread-wine-fish-and/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) > [“Bread has been around since it seems the dawn of man.  Well not quite but close. Historians believe bread has been around for 30,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-brown/bread-has-been-around-since-it-seems-the-dawn-of-man-well-not-quite/) Alexis Brown > [I do not have to depend on a man to give me bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neeru-bajwa/i-do-not-have-to-depend-on-a-man-to-give-me-bread/) [Neeru Bajwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neeru-bajwa/) > [A man's bread and butter is only insured when he works for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-garvey/a-man-s-bread-and-butter-is-only-insured-when-he-works-for-it/) [Marcus Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-garvey/) > [A part of the placidity of the South comes from the sense of well-being that follows the heart-and-body-warming consumption of breads fresh from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/a-part-of-the-placidity-of-the-south-comes-from-the-sense-of-well/) [Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/) > [Hope is the poor man's bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/hope-is-the-poor-man-s-bread/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [My own mother is very accomplished and makes things like bahar breads as though they are going out of fashion - they are like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-malik/my-own-mother-is-very-accomplished-and-makes-things-like-bahar-breads/) [Art Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-malik/) > [“The person eating seven breads is not stupid. The person giving it to them is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-elena-sandovici/the-person-eating-seven-breads-is-not-stupid-the-person-giving-it-to/) Maria Elena Sandovici > [“And chickens and the breads, too!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-darhower/and-chickens-and-the-breads-too/) [J.M. Darhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-darhower/) > [You shall find out how salt is the taste of another man's bread, and how hard is the way up and down another man's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/you-shall-find-out-how-salt-is-the-taste-of-another-man-s-bread-and/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [From my table inside I watch the glamorous women outside who are lunching on Spa Cobb salads without blue cheese or dressing. The man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/from-my-table-inside-i-watch-the-glamorous-women-outside-who-are/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [If breads are expensive,can u please try cakes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princealanz/if-breads-are-expensive-can-u-please-try-cakes/) Princealanz > [“For rulers, religion is a great tool to rule the common people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/for-rulers-religion-is-a-great-tool-to-rule-the-common-people/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) ## More by Christa Parrish > [“Jude smiles and explains things much more personably than I, slicing and toasting thick pillows of cinnamon-coated raisin and offering that to people, topped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-parrish/jude-smiles-and-explains-things-much-more-personably-than-i-slicing/) [Christa Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-parrish/) > [“I ask him to pull the buttermilk sourdough; I'd taken several of my wet starters, fed them vigorously yesterday, and created three different dough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-parrish/i-ask-him-to-pull-the-buttermilk-sourdough-i-d-taken-several-of-my/) [Christa Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-parrish/) > [“I am not Seamus, who tacks emotions to the outside of his skin and whose words charge from his mouth on horseback. No one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-parrish/i-am-not-seamus-who-tacks-emotions-to-the-outside-of-his-skin-and/) [Christa Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-parrish/) > [“But then Oma tells me of bread, of the six hundred kinds made throughout her homeland, white and gray and black in color. Loaves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-parrish/but-then-oma-tells-me-of-bread-of-the-six-hundred-kinds-made/) [Christa Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-parrish/) > [“Yeast. The word comes to us through Old English, from the Indo-European root 'yes'- meaning boil, foam, bubble. It does all those things, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-parrish/yeast-the-word-comes-to-us-through-old-english-from-the-indo-european/) [Christa Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-parrish/) > [“Cecelia and Seamus both have a day off, Columbus Day, and I invite them to the bakehouse for... well, for no reason in particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-parrish/cecelia-and-seamus-both-have-a-day-off-columbus-day-and-i-invite-them/) [Christa Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-parrish/) > [“Christstollen. I can shake away thoughts of favorite gifts and trips to Oma's house and building snowmen with Santa hats every Christmas Eve, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-parrish/christstollen-i-can-shake-away-thoughts-of-favorite-gifts-and-trips/) [Christa Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-parrish/) > [“I shape the dough, all of these boules. The plain Wild Rise sourdough, though nothing about it can be considered plain- it's simply unadorned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-parrish/i-shape-the-dough-all-of-these-boules-the-plain-wild-rise-sourdough/) [Christa Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-parrish/) > [“What's on the menu for tomorrow?" I ask. "Celery root soup with bacon and green apple. And bean and Swiss chard." "Why don't you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-parrish/what-s-on-the-menu-for-tomorrow-i-ask-celery-root-soup-with-bacon-and/) [Christa Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-parrish/) > [“Sourdough isn't only for bread. Any grain-based baked good- from crackers to waffles, from muffins to pasta, can be made with a wild yeast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-parrish/sourdough-isn-t-only-for-bread-any-grain-based-baked-good-from/) [Christa Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-parrish/) > [“The twelve stay. They eat a final meal with Jesus, and with his hands he tears the unleavened bread and holds it up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-parrish/the-twelve-stay-they-eat-a-final-meal-with-jesus-and-with-his-hands/) [Christa Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-parrish/) > [“I keep notations, like my mother. She had notebook after notebook of trials and errors, all written in her perfect penmanship on quad-ruled pages,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-parrish/i-keep-notations-like-my-mother-she-had-notebook-after-notebook-of/) [Christa Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-parrish/) > [“The Hebrews come into the bread eaters' land with no bread of their own. It's famine, and Jacob's sons travel to Egypt in hopes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-parrish/the-hebrews-come-into-the-bread-eaters-land-with-no-bread-of-their/) [Christa Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-parrish/) > [“He halves fresh Brussels sprouts and tosses them in a pan of butter and garlic, squeezes the juice of a lemon over them. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-parrish/he-halves-fresh-brussels-sprouts-and-tosses-them-in-a-pan-of-butter/) [Christa Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-parrish/) > [“Now it's time to reveal the secret ingredient to be included in our second type of bread. This can be made of any type…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-parrish/now-it-s-time-to-reveal-the-secret-ingredient-to-be-included-in-our/) [Christa Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-parrish/) [Explore all 17 Christa Parrish quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-parrish/) ## More Bread quotes > [French women don't eat Wonder Bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mireille-guiliano/french-women-don-t-eat-wonder-bread/) [Mireille Guiliano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mireille-guiliano/) > [In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/in-the-olden-days-in-england-you-could-be-hung-for-stealing-a-sheep/) [Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/) > [I don't eat meat - chicken, fish, none of that. I eat a lot of vegetable sandwiches, like lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, cucumbers, whatever I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gza/i-don-t-eat-meat-chicken-fish-none-of-that-i-eat-a-lot-of-vegetable/) Gza > [“We should remark the grace and fascination that there is even in the incidentals of Nature's processes.. When a loaf of bread,. for instance,.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-should-remark-the-grace-and-fascination-that-there-is-even-in-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [When I met you you were oh so sweet, now you give me the bread and you take all the meat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-jett/when-i-met-you-you-were-oh-so-sweet-now-you-give-me-the-bread-and-you/) [Joan Jett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-jett/) > [When you fight to give your family bread, that's not passion anymore: that's conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoel-romero/when-you-fight-to-give-your-family-bread-that-s-not-passion-anymore/) [Yoel Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoel-romero/) > [I think the best Thanksgiving we ever had was one where we didn't even have a turkey. Mom and Dad sat us kids down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/i-think-the-best-thanksgiving-we-ever-had-was-one-where-we-didn-t/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [Bread is a second cause; the LORD Himself is the first source of our sustenance. He can work without the second cause as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/bread-is-a-second-cause-the-lord-himself-is-the-first-source-of-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Even if we have to go without bread, we Albanians do not violate principles. We do not betray Marxism - Leninism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enver-hoxha/even-if-we-have-to-go-without-bread-we-albanians-do-not-violate/) [Enver Hoxha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enver-hoxha/) > [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [“Nine times out of ten, people pick the wrong food. No, it’s not the sugar (GI = 68), it’s not the candy bar (GI…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/nine-times-out-of-ten-people-pick-the-wrong-food-no-it-s-not-the/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [Waffles аrе јust awesome bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/waffles-r-ust-awesome-bread/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [At my age, I don't buy but a half a loaf of bread, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-haggard/at-my-age-i-don-t-buy-but-a-half-a-loaf-of-bread-you-know/) [Merle Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-haggard/) > [Jesus Christ would have been considered just another long-haired hippie freak if he hadn't been crucified. The folks weren't impressed with healing the sick,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/jesus-christ-would-have-been-considered-just-another-long-haired/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [“To consume the Eucharist is an act of anticonsumption, for here to consume is to be consumed, to be taken up into participation in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-cavanaugh/to-consume-the-eucharist-is-an-act-of-anticonsumption-for-here-to/) [William T. Cavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-cavanaugh/) [Browse all 2,164 Bread quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bread/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Bread plays favorites. From the earliest times, it acts as a social marker, sifting the poor from the wealthy, the cereal from the chaff. The exceptional from the mediocre. Wheat becomes more acceptable than rye; farmers talk of losing their 'rye teeth' as their economic status improves. Barley is for the most destitute, the coarse grain grinding down molars until the nerves are exposed. Breads with the added richness of eggs and milk and butter become the luxuries of princes. Only paupers eat dark bread adulterated with peas and left to sour, or purchase horse-bread instead of man-bread, often baked with the floor sweepings, because it costs a third less than the cheapest whole-meal loaves. When brown bread makes it to the tables of the prosperous, it is as trenchers- plates- stacked high with fish and meat and vegetables and soaked with gravy. The trenchers are then thrown outside, where the dogs and beggars fight over them. Crusts are chipped off the rolls of the rich, both to make it easier to chew and to aid in digestion. Peasants must work all the more to eat, even in the act of eating itself, jaws exhausted from biting through thick crusts and heavy crumb. There is no lightness for them. No whiteness at all. And it is the whiteness every man wants. Pure, white flour. Only white bread blooms when baked, opening to the heat like a rose. Only a king should be allowed such beauty, because he has been blessed by his God. So wouldn't he be surprised- no, filled with horror- to find white bread the food of all men today, and even more so the food of the common people. It is the least expensive on the shelf at the supermarket, ninety-nine cents a loaf for the storebrand. It is smeared with sweetened fruit and devoured by schoolchildren, used for tea sandwiches by the affluent, donated to soup kitchens for the needy, and shunned by the artisan. 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