Our local Co-op is selling ambient sausage rolls. The words ambient and sausage roll don't usually pop into your mind together, so I mused for some time on how a sausage roll might demonstrate ambience. I suppose if you cooked it there would a sausage rollish ambience but in this case the sausage roll is said to have the property of ambience rather than creating an ambience. According to my dictionary ambience relates to the immediate surroundings.
Of course I am being a little facetious as I used to do cuttings from The Grocer when I worked in advertising in pre-internet days and know very well that ambient food is food that can be stored at room temperature i.e: the ambient temperature of the food. Basically it's fresh food that doesn't need refrigerating but the use of the word 'ambient' makes it feel far more important and mysterious. So next time you buy an ambient sausage roll, take it home and if it fails to create an atmosphere march straight back to the Co-Op with your lacklustre processed meat filled pastry product and complain.
Of course I am being a little facetious as I used to do cuttings from The Grocer when I worked in advertising in pre-internet days and know very well that ambient food is food that can be stored at room temperature i.e: the ambient temperature of the food. Basically it's fresh food that doesn't need refrigerating but the use of the word 'ambient' makes it feel far more important and mysterious. So next time you buy an ambient sausage roll, take it home and if it fails to create an atmosphere march straight back to the Co-Op with your lacklustre processed meat filled pastry product and complain.
5 comments:
Strange that you should make this post the same day I was discussing with my son what an ambient sausage roll could be!
Hello Moongazing. It is an odd concept isn't it?
Yes my sister spotted the Ambient Sausage Rolls and we were very amused by this addition to what seemed to be Business Speak rather like Logistical Distribution Solutions that we keep seeing on heavy goods vehicles.
I'm very pleased to get an explanation from you about what this Ambience meant. We wondered if it was a mis spelling of Ambulant meaning Sausages that do Roll? Ole Man Sausage he just keeps rolling along.
It is faintly ridiculous labelling though isn't it.
I wouldn't trust it to have more than 1% meat in it. They must be all cereal surely?
Whilst too like to think of a really relaxed sausage roll listening to Ambient Grooves - food companies refer to: Frozen, Chilled or Ambient, fo the tempretures they sell food at: Ambient simply means Room Temp... ;) Play that Trip hop and Dub LOUD!
I suppose some people who've looked for 'ambient sausage rolls' on the net might also listen to Radcliffe and Maconie ? Ever since they mentioned them I've been trying to imagine what the Co-op could have meant, and as nearly always, my imaginings were far more interesting than reality.
Lizzo
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