Culinary Quandary: Or, the Chicken with the Egg

One thing I like to ask people in public--preferably when people have had one/more beers--is "What is the difference between cheese and butter, exactly?" Everyone knows, but no one can give me an articulate answer. If they say, "Oh, well, cheese is just aged longer," I like to reply, "So I've had butter in my fridge for seven months now--that's cheese?" And then they reconsider. Which isn't totally sound--my logic, I mean--but still.

= ?


I posed this query to an acquaintance the other day. This acquaintance's immediate response was, "What's the difference between falafel and hummus?"

MY MIND WAS IMMEDIATELY AND IRREVOCABLY BLOWN.

In part because, you know, what is the difference between falafel and hummus?, but also because how often do you top a food with itself in a form that is different in both taste and texture? All I could think of were omelets with chicken folded inside, though I know there must be more.