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.
You know, speaking of beers and brewing, has anyone brewed their own beer or some other alcohol? I thought about making mead myself but I've never really gotten around to it.
Oh, bother.
You could make it at home, but the fermentation takes a while. Like a month or so.
If you want to enjoy mead asap, just look for a store that sells it.
Disgusted, but not surprised
MINE!
I brewed beer in the 9th grade as part of a natural science project.
My fondest memory was the smell of the malt after you cooked it up and rested it to form sugar, thinking back to that alone makes me want to do it again one day.
The beer turned out okay-ish... according to my teacher.
I wasn't 16 yet so I had to let my mother sign that I wouldn't drink it until I got home (you can legally drink at home with 14 in Germany).
However I hadn't really acquired the taste of beer back then so I never really drank any of it.
I made some alcoholic ginger beer for a school project once. I can't remember much about it other than it was drinkable. I had been thinking of doing something similar again but I think my dad gave his old still stuff to my sister.
Oh, bother.
So I brought up jam in the British Politics thread because UK politics just seems to bring to mind food metaphors. I still remember when cheese was used as a metaphor for Hard and Soft Brexit. In this case, jam was brought up because Theresa May supposedly claimed that she would cut off mould from expired jam to make it last longer as an example of how to deal with food shortages due to a no-deal Brexit.
So now I'm wondering...what jams do the British posters here recommend?
Disgusted, but not surprised
Figure of Hourai
Lime or lemon and lime marmalades are lovely.
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My neighbour makes some lovely Crab Apple
Jelly/Jam. While I do like Strawberry Jam I think Blackcurrent, Cherry or Raspberry are better. I have had some Ginger and Orange Marmalade that was really nice as well.
Bramble and apple, raspberry, any marmalade, quince and plum. Although not technically a jam, lemon or lime curd is also yum — but, I don't indulge as often as I would like to for heart reasons.
I've had some lovely tasting, but just too horribly set, gooseberry jams/ sauces. They just need so much pectin, it's unreal.
And for cakes... apricot or peach.
For cheese: cranberry.
Edited by Euodiachloris on Feb 19th 2019 at 10:40:44 AM
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
And now I know why people use metal skewers. The bamboo ones have a nasty habit of splintering. I made beef skewers with pineapple, beef, bacon, onions, and a side of peas. Only the damned skewers kept splintering and leaving shards in my food bits and having to pluck them out. So now buying metal skewers is on my to do list.
Who watches the watchmen?
Oh, bother.
Stainless steel skewers are probably more sanitary too. Take good care of them and they will last you a long while too.
Edited by M84 on Feb 20th 2019 at 2:17:01 AM
Disgusted, but not surprised
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Did you soak the skewers and keep the sosaties/ kebabs moist during the griil/ roast? Because those vastly reduce splinters.
Heck, always prepare skewers well ahead of time by doing the "marinate for a few hours" thing, even with veggie skewers. Overnight is best. It gives the wood some protection, not just giving the food flavour.
If doing naked, sauce-free sosaties, always soak the skewers in salt water, then dry and oil them before use. Oiling during cooking may not be avoidable, so don't use wood if you want low-fat.
Edited by Euodiachloris on Feb 19th 2019 at 6:54:15 PM
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
These were soaked but they still splintered like crazy. These were possible some of the worst made skewers I have bought. They had all sorts of chips and nicks in the sticks. I should have just bought steel ones.
Edited by TuefelHundenIV on Feb 21st 2019 at 12:56:52 PM
Who watches the watchmen?
Sounds like you have bought some early kindling for summer, then, mate. <hugs>
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
It turned out ok in the end. I was able to pluck the splinters out of the meat. Though it did mess up the pineapple a bit. The skewers were great.
At some point I will make them again but I will use metal skewers next time though.
Who watches the watchmen?
Pineapple jam.
Many years ago, I was working in the Caribbean and I got the chance to try some of the local guava jam.
Best. Jam. Ever.
Forget Britain. The Caribbean is the place to go for jam.
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
Figure of Hourai
I made pineapple jam a few years ago. Couldn't get it to set fully. Nice, though.
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Oh, bother.
Ah yes, guava. Hands down my favorite fruit. There's nothing like eating fresh Taiwanese guava. Actually, Taiwan's fruit in general is pretty great.
Some people like to sprinkle dried plum powder on the guava, but I personally enjoy them without it.
Edited by M84 on Mar 2nd 2019 at 7:25:12 PM
Disgusted, but not surprised
I used to hate guava. Couldn't drink the juice when offered it, turned away from fruit salads with it in it... Just a total yuck response. Pretty much the same thing I had with melon, just more so.
I blame the neighbour across the way (two streets down) who had a guava "hedge" (a really overgrown bush they basically neglected). They just let the fruit rot on it.
The. Smell.
Leaving South Africa and aging a little... *bang* I like guava and melon.
I bet I'd still hate that bush, though. If it's still there. I doubt it though: that property must have changed hands. And, the first thing any estate agent would do would be "burn that bush".
Oh, bother.
Guava can be hit or miss. The good and fresh guava is sweet perfection. The textures are great too, with a harder outside and a nice mushy center (the part with the seeds).
Guava that is not fresh is bland garbage that you'd only eat to stave off scurvy.
Disgusted, but not surprised
a
Fresh guava is heavenly. Now durian, that's a fruit I could never bring myself to enjoy.
Hitokiri in the streets, daishouri in the sheets.
Well, it is Shrove Tuesday today a.k.a. Pancake Day for many Commonwealth countries and while I am not personally a fan of pancakes (I don't think I have eaten one in over 5 years), I was wondering how people prefer them? American style, British style, what fillings etc.
Oh, bother.
I like American-style buttermilk pancakes served with either
a) maple syrup
b) blueberry sauce
c) coconut sauce
Sometimes I'm in a chocolatey mood and go with chocolate chip pancakes.
Edited by M84 on Mar 5th 2019 at 7:06:49 PM
Disgusted, but not surprised
The most common types of pancakes on the Post-Soviet territories are Russian blini, which are thinner, and, as a result, are wrapped around some filling.
My favourite fillings are:
- Raspberry confiture
- Boiled condensed milk
- Mincemeat
Some interesting news about the history of drink in my local area:
'Evidence of first UK beer' discovered in Cambridgeshire A14 roadworks
Experts found "tell-tale signs of the Iron Age brew" during work on improvements to the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon.
It is believed the find could date back as far as 400BC.
Archaeobotanist Lara Gonzalez said it was "incredibly exciting to identify remains of this significance".
Highways England said the find was uncovered in fragments of charred residue from the beer-making process.
Ms Gonzalez added: "I knew when I looked at these tiny fragments under the microscope that I had something special.
"The microstructure of these remains had clearly changed through the fermentation process and air bubbles typical of those formed in the boiling and mashing process of brewing."
She said the fragments were similar to bread, but showed "evidence of fermentation and contains larger pieces of cracked grains and bran, but no fine flour".
Dr Steve Sherlock, archaeology lead, said: "It's a well-known fact that ancient populations used the beer-making process to purify water and create a safe source of hydration, but this is potentially the earliest physical evidence of that process taking place in the UK."
A Highways England spokesman said further finds showed "the locals also had a taste for porridge and bread".
The £1.5bn roadworks have already uncovered the Ice Age remains of a woolly mammoth which could be at least 150,000 years old.