As appears in the French Culinary Institute's faculty newsletter,
The Nilsletter
Catherine Davis
Editorial Intern
Published: July 23, 2010
The term “economic bubble” refers to the phenomenon where a product is sold at a price much higher than its actual worth, often because of a trend, and usually to disastrous financial ends. The most common examples are the stock market bubble of the 1920’s, which led to the Great Depression, the United States housing bubble of 2007, which had a great deal to do with our current financial troubles, and the Dutch Tulip Mania of 1637, which resulted in the arrest and eventual banishment, by threat of death, of one hungry man who confused a priceless bulb for an onion.
NPR’s Jacob Goldstein believes that, while it’s impossible to know for certain when something is being consumed for more than it’s worth, several indicators are pointing in the direction of the cupcake industry. He predicts, “‘Did they really think cupcakes were different than cake?’ the world will ask after the cupcake market implodes. ‘Why did they wait in those ridiculous lines just to buy cake?’” The aspect of the food industry that’s growing most rapidly is the cupcake café, which the Wall Street Journal’s Metropolis blog tells us either may, or may not, be a fad.
Financial concerns aside, Goldstein worries for the wellbeing of his favorite, but culturally overlooked, dessert: the brownie. Why, he wonders, has the mini-cake business taken off in such a boom while this truly original treat sits idly in the cupcake's over-frosted shadow? “Delicious little chocolatey squares,” he laments, “so much denser than cake!” It is unclear, at this point, if Goldstein’s Cupcake Bubble Theory is founded, or if it is simply the ranting of a disillusioned brownie fan. Only time will tell.
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