Pofak Namaki

When a "basteh" comes from Iran, it usually consists of my favorite edibles including zereshk, pesteh, lavashak and these days, mom and dad also put in what was formerly called "Pofak Namaki". However, these days, the manufacturer has changed the name to Cheetoooz.

This bugs me. Why would they want to change "Pofak Namaki" to Cheetooz? As I munch on some while standing in the kitchen I decide to read the label more carefully: it also says "Esnak-e-Paneer". Esnak???? Are you kidding me? What is this BS with the English? Pofak was perfect.

I am pissed off now. But I still munch on them because they still taste the same as they used to when they were called Pofak written in Farsi and cost only 5 Toman and I bought them from the baghalli on the way home from school.

I keep munching only because there is a nostalgia left in the taste despite the change of form and the apparent Westernization of an entire culture.