TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Food and Food Culture

Go To

So I was browsing through OTC and noticed we don't have any threads dedicated to food. I figured this was a shame since food is an important aspect of life and culture that helps people connect with each other. Plus, we kind of need it to live. So I figured, why not start a thread to let people here talk about food related topics?

I'll start things off by asking this: what is the most "disgusting" food you ever ate and enjoyed despite its reputation?

Personally, I've eaten things like organs including chicken testicles, stinky fermented tofu, and most recently durians. And I've enjoyed all of them. Especially the durian. Maybe I'm just one of the people who isn't bothered too much by the smell, but it really is just as good as its fans claim. The taste really is remniscient of almonds too. Now I want to try eating it in a cake or icecream.

RAlexa21th Zettai Ryouiki Enjoyer from California (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I <3 love!
Zettai Ryouiki Enjoyer
#5001: May 25th 2025 at 9:54:30 PM

Yeah, wasabi and to a lesser extent mustard feel more like exploding your nose than burning your tongue.

Continue writing our story of peace.
ITNW1989 a from Big Meat, USA Since: Nov, 2012 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
a
#5002: May 25th 2025 at 10:08:42 PM

Spicy stuff on ice cream is always really good. Chinese spicy chili oil also works really well with vanilla ice cream.

Hitokiri in the streets, daishouri in the sheets.
Kiefen MINE! from Germany Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!
MINE!
#5003: May 25th 2025 at 10:32:56 PM

Lindt has had chili chocolate bars for quite a while.

I still recall finding Tabasco spicy as a kid but these days it just tastes like vinegar.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#5004: May 25th 2025 at 11:24:21 PM

Chocolate and chili is more a mix of bitter and spicy — at least when it's the super dark chocolate that's almost pure cacao.

Disgusted, but not surprised
HeyMikey Since: Jul, 2015
#5005: May 25th 2025 at 11:24:43 PM

There are 3 forms of spice sensation. Spice gets their feelings because the chemicals involved bind themselves and activates receptors associated with certain sensations.

The most commonly referenced is capsaicin found in most hot peppers. It binds to your heat receptors and is able to cause a heating sensation while at room temperature. You can usually treat it by drinking a cold beverage that contains fats or alcohol and some sugar. Capsaicin is fat and alcohol soluble, so consuming something with high alcohol or fat content can absorb the chemical off the receptor. Sugar and cold provides a pain relieving effect, while you're being treated.

The other more commonly considered spice is what is considered pungent spices. These are your gingers, horseradish, wasabi, and mustard and it's from a chemical abbreviated as AITC. This chemical reacts to your nasal passages with receptors that are meant to detect volatile, noxious chemicals like smoke or tear gas. AITC is a very volatile chemical, so it goes away much faster than capsaicin. But if you really want to get rid of the sensation very fast, it's water soluble, so a quick sip of water will work.

The last one that's not normally referenced is what is considered a numbing spice and it's caused by the chemical sanshool found is Sichuan peppercorns and reacts to receptors that detects touch and vibration. A bit of the stuff causes a touching, tingling and numbing sensation, like if you touch a very quick vibrating object for a long time, it numbs your sense of touch. There isn't a common way to treat the sensation, you kind of just have to wait it out.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#5006: May 25th 2025 at 11:26:05 PM

I grew up eating a lot of Sichuan pepper dishes, probably because my mother's side of the family is from Sichuan. Mapo tofu is a particular favorite of mine.

Edited by M84 on May 26th 2025 at 2:27:26 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
HeyMikey Since: Jul, 2015
#5007: May 25th 2025 at 11:36:35 PM

I've always wanted to try actual wasabi. All standard domestic US bought wasabi is not real wasabi, but a mixture of Chinese mustard and horseradish.

I'm also a bit of a spice junky, as a I love the sensations of heavy spices. I've popped Carolina Reapers for fun and got some of those novelty eye dropper hot sauces where you're only supposed to use 1 drop for every quart of food. The standard amount of wasabi used in standard sushi is never enough for me, I usually like to take 4-5 times amount for the thrill of it. Something of a weird adrenaline rush that goes with the sensation and pain.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#5008: May 25th 2025 at 11:39:46 PM

I like the wasabi but I don't like to use too much. I don't want to overpower the flavor of the sushi itself.

Disgusted, but not surprised
MagmaTeaMerry My Head Is On Fire from A forest somewhere Since: Sep, 2020
My Head Is On Fire
#5009: May 26th 2025 at 2:15:13 AM

I love spicy food - There are very few dishes that aren't enhanced by adding some good hot sauce or chili flakes.

I discovered Sichuan Chicken not too long ago. It's amazing, but I'm keeping it light on the Thai chillies for now because I'm not used to that level of heat. It tastes so good, but hurts so bad.

My AO3 profile. Let sleeping cats lie and be cute and calming.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#5010: May 26th 2025 at 2:27:04 AM

It's tough sometimes not going overboard with spice. You want enough to add kick and flavor to the dish, but not enough to overpower the dish itself. If you put too much on it...well, then you might as well just eat the peppers by themselves instead.

I've actually done that a few times, eating jalapeno peppers straight out of the jar.

Now if you're talking about chicken...go nuts. Chicken's more about the texture and juices than the flavor of the meat itself. It's a flavor sponge. That's why fried chicken works so well. So there's nothing wrong about slathering fried chicken wings with the absolute hottest seasoning.

Edited by M84 on May 26th 2025 at 5:30:26 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
KnightofLsama Since: Sep, 2010
#5011: May 26th 2025 at 2:39:28 AM

Spicy stuff on ice cream is always really good.

Yeah but a lot dairy, especially cream and the like, the milk fats work together to neutralise the "burn" factor of spicy foods.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#5012: May 26th 2025 at 2:48:09 AM

I should probably mention that the mango habanero thing I mentioned earlier wasn't really ice cream but rather a sorbet. It wasn't dairy.

Edited by M84 on May 26th 2025 at 5:48:34 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
terumokou Pitiable and Illegally Dumped Object from In a bamboo forest full of bunnies, California Since: Sep, 2013 Relationship Status: Mu
Pitiable and Illegally Dumped Object
#5013: May 26th 2025 at 2:49:23 AM

Habanero and tropical fruits do go well together.

Burning love!
Ookamikun This is going to be so much fun. (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
This is going to be so much fun.
#5014: May 26th 2025 at 2:58:42 AM

Something about mild spiciness makes it distinct so much that I consider it separate. You can find it in Japanese dishes like in ramen for instance. The spiciness often becomes sweet. I think it's an umami effect?

Mrph1 he/him from Mercia (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: This is not my beautiful wife!
he/him
#5015: May 26th 2025 at 3:56:35 AM

Sichuan pepper's lovely, and I also like horseradish and wasabi a lot. Although, as mentioned, finding real wasabi is tricky.

At least in the UK, upmarket sushi places make a point of keeping the root on display so you know it is wasabi and not just dyed horseradish.

(Horseradish and wasabi leaves are both edible as well, apparently, but something of an acquired taste)

Mountain pepper (aka Tasmanian Mountain Pepper) is the other hot flavour that caught me by surprise - the leaves can be seriously hot, it lingers, and dairy doesn't seem to mellow the heat much. Great when used well, though, and seems to be getting more popular in Australia (where it's always been used by Aboriginal Australians).

Edited by Mrph1 on May 26th 2025 at 11:57:11 AM

RedHunter543 Crimson Paladin Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Crimson Paladin
#5016: May 26th 2025 at 11:22:22 AM

Yeah the pepper is really helping me lose weight, and goes well with chicken breast and beef short ribs.

"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"
Lymantria Tyrannoraptoran Reptiliomorph from Toronto Since: Apr, 2015 Relationship Status: Historians will say we were good friends.
Tyrannoraptoran Reptiliomorph
#5017: May 27th 2025 at 3:31:59 AM

On another note, I didn’t expect the McDonald's spinoff CosMc's to come to an end less then two years after it started. Maybe they should’ve executed the concept differently in some way…

Join the Five-Man Band cleanup project!
MagmaTeaMerry My Head Is On Fire from A forest somewhere Since: Sep, 2020
My Head Is On Fire
#5018: May 27th 2025 at 7:43:43 AM

[up]

Mc Donald's spinoff

The what-now?

My AO3 profile. Let sleeping cats lie and be cute and calming.
ITNW1989 a from Big Meat, USA Since: Nov, 2012 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
a
#5019: May 27th 2025 at 7:53:23 AM

[up] Wiki link for CosMc's. It was basically a spin-off brand that was focused on specialty drinks, though they still sold some regular McDonald's menu items.

Hitokiri in the streets, daishouri in the sheets.
NesClassic Meh-meh!? from Flyover Country Since: Dec, 2012 Relationship Status: In another castle
Meh-meh!?
#5020: May 27th 2025 at 8:28:17 AM

It's a concept that works, mind; out where I live in Bumfuck Nowhere, US there's a number of drive thru-only drink places that are constantly backed out to the entrance of their parking lots.
"Surely, that's a problem with the parking lot?" Yes, but that's a topic for the Road Infrastructure thread.

I'm not sure why CosMc's would've been a swing and a miss then- maybe location, maybe a lacking branding or the fact they're competing against their main restaurants- but at the very least it sounds like they got some data out of it for what menu items to push over to the regular chain.

Edited by NesClassic on May 27th 2025 at 11:28:37 AM

🏳️‍⚧️she/her | Vio Rhyse Alberia
Mullon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
#5021: May 27th 2025 at 9:45:05 AM

I learned that Schweppes and Canada Dry are owned by the same parent company and now I don't know what to believe in anymore.

Never trust anyone who uses "degenerate" as an insult.
terumokou Pitiable and Illegally Dumped Object from In a bamboo forest full of bunnies, California Since: Sep, 2013 Relationship Status: Mu
Pitiable and Illegally Dumped Object
#5022: May 27th 2025 at 1:49:25 PM

[up]It depends on which country. In the US for example, Schweppes and Canada Dry is distributed by Dr Pepper Snapple.

Burning love!
Lyendith Since: Mar, 2011
#5023: May 27th 2025 at 2:05:07 PM

Imagine what I felt when I learned that the Perrier bubble water is owned by freaking Nestlé. =[

terumokou Pitiable and Illegally Dumped Object from In a bamboo forest full of bunnies, California Since: Sep, 2013 Relationship Status: Mu
Pitiable and Illegally Dumped Object
#5024: May 27th 2025 at 2:12:22 PM

[up]Sadly, so is San Pellegrino. At least Topo Chico is owned by Coke. Not that I drink mineral/sparkling/soda. I'm a soda junkie but I can't stand plain mineral/sparkling/soda water.

Burning love!
ITNW1989 a from Big Meat, USA Since: Nov, 2012 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
a
#5025: May 27th 2025 at 2:14:23 PM

[up] Ugh, same here. For some reason I just can't stand sparkling water. I don't know if it's because I've basically been conditioned to expect a sweet flavor to come with the fizz, even though I haven't drank soda in over a decade, but drinking sparkling water still gives me the ick.

Hitokiri in the streets, daishouri in the sheets.

Total posts: 5,378
Top