Foods and liquids

Foods can be symbols. Items of food that are used symbolically include, in the first instance, bread in all its forms. Sometimes it is as an ear or sheaf of grain, usually wheat, rye or maize (corn). Sometimes it is flour, ground meal or rolled dough, and sometimes baked goods. The latter include breads of all types and forms, such as loaves, rolls, bread slices, crusts, crumbs, crackers, breadsticks, pretzels; and also cookies, patisserie, and cakes, simple or elaborate. Among man-made beverages, wine is most employed symbolically, and, to some extent also, fruit juices, syrups, and particular kinds of alcoholic drinks such as champagne, beer, moonshine, fire-water, cognac, highballs and cocktails. To this may be added particular trade-mark beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, such as the cola drinks. A number of food preparations, ways of cooking and particular recipes are used symbolically. Frying, baking, roasting, cooking and boiling are common metaphors. Soup, stew, ragout, hash and omelette are words used figuratively. Related are mince-meat, hamburger and sausage.

Some, human types are described by meats such as ham, lamb chops, mutton, beef and chicken. Cream-puff, fruit cake and tart are among many baked goods' metaphors in English. A piece of cake may symbolize luxury and ease, also easiness. A multi-tiered cake is associated with marriage. In itself it represents wealth in the form of the archetypal city. The newly married by removing a slice, take their lot or part, symbolically. A number of chemical products and preparations have figurative and symbolic employment in the imagery of language, visual arts, and the unconscious. They include glue; ink, poison, bleach, starch, soap, dye, wax, paint, varnish, white-wash, solvent, machine oil, petrol (gasoline), fuel oil, polish, hair creme, nail lacquer, mouth wash, deodorant, insecticide, perfume, formaldehyde, DDT, TNT, hair dye and plastic.