I've just come across "Burnt Chop Syndrome", which I had no idea existed as a phrase for something I have observed for years with my own mum. As a vegetarian it's all dutch to me of course but BCS refers to a tendency of mums to leave the worst for last (for herself) to make sure the rest of the family is alright. Well - the expression "burnt chops" is a bit dated, isn't it. For starters all chops these days look burnt anyway (given the high water content of mass produced meat). So we need a new name for the phenomenon.

Reflecting on this I thought is this something that would typically be done by mums or whoever happens to cook? So are all those stay home dads out there suffering from BCS as well? I happen to cook a lot for the rest of the family and of course there are frequent mishaps. For the major disasters I'd rather bin the "burnt chop" (whatever it happens to be) and we'd have less to go round. If the food item can still be salvaged I'd say it's a matter of sharing the culinary pain.

Is BCS all about being polite or is there a deeper reason for a tendency to want to give the worst piece to yourself? Perhaps it's to do with our upbringing - i.e. like parents telling their kids to take the smaller piece of cake when offered two? Or what if there is not enough to go round - is that covered by BCS or is there a Not-Enough-Chops-Syndrome as well?

Well given that women generally outlive men by 5-9 years and that women in the old role models used to do most of the cooking BCS can't be that bad. In fact perhaps that's a reason why women live longer - burnt chops are good for you!

-Stef

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