Doesn't that seem like reinforcing the problem? In jail you have a lot less work to do as far as food and resources are concerned. Making spread is a highly customizable process, but it usually involves a base of instant noodles, topped with crushed chips, Cheetos, or whatever else an inmate has on hand. cups of hot water, then tie off the bag and warp it up in a towel and set it to the side for up to 30 minutes to let it fully cook through.". A range of recipe from the new TV series, Orange is The New Black, from prison pad Thai to correctional cheesecake. "I had some of it and it was completely… different," he told me. ", "In a situation where you have basically zero control of your life, [making spread] gives you an opportunity to have some control of your situation." (Bring your own commissary item dip). It's simply bland. She calls it "prison gourmet.". According to his research, inmates make this kind of food for a variety of reasons: Food in the jail cafeteria is bland; mealtimes are awkwardly early (dinner in the San Francisco County jails is delivered by 4 PM) and inmates get hungry at night; eating spread reminds them of the food they ate on the outside. Usually having the consistency of a dry muffin, the dish contains elements of the basic food groups - most notably grains and beans. Photo courtesy Karla Diaz/Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), 2010, The inmates interviewed for Cate's anthropology paper said spread was what helped them get through their time behind bars. But it's also about having control, in an environment where everything else is decided for you. The recipe was a stomach-churning combination of pork rinds (a substitute for chicken) and strawberry jelly mixed with Kool Aid, which best replicated the color and consistency of orange sauce. Most of them are extraordinarily precise, and get inventive in their cooking techniques: "I use a six-by-six paper box, a 12.5 oz cereal bag (with no holes), a plastic bowl as lid, and a stinger (a utensil for boiling water with electricity)," wrote a man in Corcoran State Prison, detailing his method for cooking beans and rice to make burritos. "If you make it [from better ingredients] it loses something. By signing up to the VICE newsletter you agree to receive electronic communications from VICE that may sometimes include advertisements or sponsored content. The DIY recipes are special, Diaz said, because of what they represent to the inmates—a chance to feel like a human being again. So nasty, inmates at one prison sued (unsuccessfully) to get it off the menu. "You decide what you buy at the commissary and what you're going to make out of it and how it's going to taste," Gumpert said. Chris - who asked that his last name not be used - now works at the prison. 1. "I sat there and stared at it for half an hour," he said. ", Back when jails were more permissive about microwave use, Gumpert said, he met an inmate who made Chinese-inspired spread by frying noodles in mayonnaise in the microwave. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The most common recipe Diaz receives is for something called "spread." At the end of the performance, she offered free samples.