Making X from scratch is a meme that uses a screenshot from a TikTok video from influencer Nara Smith to reference trending topics. Twitter users began using this image in June 2024 to joke about creating things like mango Juul pods, erectile dysfunction medication, and a replacement for the scrapped likes tab on the platform.
The meme uses the breakout popularity of Smith, whose videos began to go super viral on TikTok in late 2023.
Who is Nara Smith, the TikToker who makes everything from scratch?
Nara Smith is a 22-year-old model and TikTok star with German and South African roots. In many of her videos, she makes dishes and condiments from scratch, which she started doing following diagnoses of Lupus and eczema.
@naraazizasmith quick little restock 🫶🏽 #easyrecipes #homecooking #fypツ #sauce #restock ♬ Nice and Easy – Louis Adrien
Smith makes her videos in stylish clothing that often includes long dresses that have evoked the term “trad wife” from her viewers, as well as in cashmere loungewear and sweaters that show off her pregnant belly.
This style combined with her tendency to make food and beauty products from scratch had led some viewers to label her a “tradwife,” or an influencer who believes in and promotes old-world values about gender roles and marriage.
The TikToker has not embraced the label of tradwife and does not overtly promote any political philosophy, but there are rumors she converted to Mormonism after marrying fellow model Lucky Blue Smith in 2020. As with the trad wife label, Smith has been cagey on her religious faith, but has occasionally referenced studying the Book of Mormon in her videos and has reportedly suggested that she belongs to the LDS church in TikTok comments.
Regardless of labels, Smith joins a long list of influencers who make TikTok videos displaying a kind of idyllic, old-world life centered around the kitchen, often alongside her kids, and making dinner for her family—from scratch.
She has gone so far as to make items like ketchup and gum this way, which sets her apart from the everyday tradwife making the same pies and stews again and again.
Making X from scratch meme origins
On June 10, 2024, Twitter user @chaoticbubbless posted a screenshot from one of Smith’s videos in which she was making the from-scratch ketchup with the added caption that reads “making a mango juul pod from scratch.”
This may have been a reference to the recent decision by the FDA to rescind their ban on the marketing of Juul pods and other products, which was issued in 2023 due to concerns about health impacts on users.
The initial ban was stayed and appealed by Juul and their products remained on store shelves, but their popular products remain under review by the FDA and their future hangs in the balance. Fans of the vaping devices have expressed concern over this uncertainty over the months since the ban was announced.
Making X from scratch spread
The meme featuring Nara Smith quickly caught on across Twitter as users began replacing the words “mango juul pod” with certain items they would like to sprinkle into existence. On June 12, user @sorkincel posted a version wishing for Rhino FX brand “boner pills” from scratch.
Later that same day, user @veryharryhill uploaded the meme with Smith making a “likes tab,” referencing the move to make likes private for all users on the platform. The tab disappeared from most users’ profiles on that particular Wednesday.
Other Twitter users have created versions of the meme using alternate screenshots from different Nara Smith videos.
Meme examples
Related memes:
- Hands up for the ‘silence X, a Y is talking’ King Baldwin IV meme
- How Wojak became the internet’s all-encompassing reaction meme
- Jennifer Lawrence’s panicked ‘What do you mean?’ from ‘Hot Ones’ becomes a TikTok meme
- Who is the ‘spit on that thing’ (hawk tuah) girl?
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