Food crimes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why, oh why, does everything devolve into poverty bashing? It’s supposed to be an amusing thread. Some people are poor and can’t afford premium cuts of meat. Some people can’t afford sashimi qualify fish. Some people live in food deserts and can only access easily convenience store items. Why treat them with derision on a food post?

Sometimes when I’m in antique stores, I look at recipes from cookbooks in the 1950s and 60s. Lots of casseroles and jello based “salads.” It’s pretty crazy how bland the food seemed in those days.

It’s also interesting how much of the processed food industry is based in Chicago. Con-Agra and Kraft come to mind. Is it a Midwest thing? Makes me think of the stereotype of Midwesterners putting ranch dressing on everything?

Years ago I read an interesting history of processed food — basically we developed all this capacity to feed troops in ww2 and then had to repurpose it for civilian needs. The Midwest has always been the heartland for food production since that’s where they grew the wheat, corn and raised most meat. And it had significant rail coverage which used to be the main way food moved across the country.
Those of us over 50 that did not live in NYC or California likely remember also how hard it was to get fresh fruit and vegetables most of the year. Even OJ was wicked expensive and mostly came condensed in frozen pulp. Bananas you could get (thanks to United Fruit taking over Central America) but most things were highly seasonal and even then you often couldn’t get things like peaches and strawberries that don’t transfer well. We all ate canned corn and peas and iceberg lettuce and they were disgusting. Hence all the crazy salads to try to make any of that palatable. Also food in the 70s was wicked expensive (fewer underpaid immigrants subsidizing ag production) — stuff like boneless chicken breasts was definitely for rich people. Everything now is so cheap and so readily available. Even food imports due to all the free trade after the 1990s and nafta and so forth. You’d have to go to a big city to get specialty items now available in any supermarket.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Raw onions. And especially when they are in a dish but not mentioned in the menu description.

[phone]

They make me sick. I wonder if I'm allergic.

A lot of people in my family seem to have a genetic variant that we can’t digest raw onions. The results range from stomach ache or volcanic-level sulfur burps all the way to vomiting so severe that they have to be hospitalized. It’s weird because when you Google it, the only thing that comes up is an inability to digest onions or garlic — but we are all totally fine with garlic and usually double it in any recipe. Cooked onions are also a problem depending on how much and the person. Dried onion powder is fine so whatever it is is destroyed in the drying process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Biggest food crime is Thanksgiving Turkey. Such a terrible tasting bird!

Why not eat a horse instead??

Biggest food crime is whatever is served in US in the name of veggies.
Mushy cauliflower, boiled cabbage...sweated onions...yuck.

Totally agree on the turkey.

But boiled cabbage is quintessentially Irish (though I can't stand it) and sweating onions is a staple of French and Italian cooking. Unless you mean something different than the culinary definition of sweating onions (and garlic) . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Paywall, but a well-done steak or burger is definitely a food crime

DH once made this absolutely delicious and perfectly cooked roast. My mom asked him if she could cook her piece so there was barely any pink.

My BIL made a prime rib roast for xmas. They had a thermometer in it. They pulled it out when it hit temp. "It's perfectly cooked (med rare)! Let's put it back in" says my FIL. Why? Whyyyy??? He always says he wants med rare and then complains when its med rare and actually wants it med well. Luckily we stopped them and said to eat the ends where it's more cooked!

I like my roast medium (little bit of pink) but usually take it out at medium rare. My dad likes his well done. I always slice off the end and put it back in the oven. It’s really not a big deal to me if that’s how he enjoys it.

The ends are usually already well done. No need to char a nice piece of meat to death.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Paywall, but a well-done steak or burger is definitely a food crime

DH once made this absolutely delicious and perfectly cooked roast. My mom asked him if she could cook her piece so there was barely any pink.

My BIL made a prime rib roast for xmas. They had a thermometer in it. They pulled it out when it hit temp. "It's perfectly cooked (med rare)! Let's put it back in" says my FIL. Why? Whyyyy??? He always says he wants med rare and then complains when its med rare and actually wants it med well. Luckily we stopped them and said to eat the ends where it's more cooked!

I like my roast medium (little bit of pink) but usually take it out at medium rare. My dad likes his well done. I always slice off the end and put it back in the oven. It’s really not a big deal to me if that’s how he enjoys it.

The ends are usually already well done. No need to char a nice piece of meat to death.

"A little bit of pink" is already a misdemeanor. Putting it back in the oven to make it well done is a felony.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Paywall, but a well-done steak or burger is definitely a food crime

DH once made this absolutely delicious and perfectly cooked roast. My mom asked him if she could cook her piece so there was barely any pink.

My BIL made a prime rib roast for xmas. They had a thermometer in it. They pulled it out when it hit temp. "It's perfectly cooked (med rare)! Let's put it back in" says my FIL. Why? Whyyyy??? He always says he wants med rare and then complains when its med rare and actually wants it med well. Luckily we stopped them and said to eat the ends where it's more cooked!

I like my roast medium (little bit of pink) but usually take it out at medium rare. My dad likes his well done. I always slice off the end and put it back in the oven. It’s really not a big deal to me if that’s how he enjoys it.

The ends are usually already well done. No need to char a nice piece of meat to death.

"A little bit of pink" is already a misdemeanor. Putting it back in the oven to make it well done is a felony.

Yeah, I'd wager "a little bit of pink" isn't medium, but medium well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fishy smelling fish.

Fishy smelling fish is beyond it's "eat by date" and should be tossed. Fresh fish had no fish smell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 to Fishy Fish and Nuts in Chocolate

Fishy fish is an indication of a spoiled ingredient. Using spoiled ingredients is a food crime.

Nuts in Chocolate is just something you don't like. A food crime would be someone knowing this and serving you nuts in chocolate.

It's cultural. Ever been to Scandinavia or Japan? They love their fishy fishes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 to Fishy Fish and Nuts in Chocolate

Fishy fish is an indication of a spoiled ingredient. Using spoiled ingredients is a food crime.

Nuts in Chocolate is just something you don't like. A food crime would be someone knowing this and serving you nuts in chocolate.

It's cultural. Ever been to Scandinavia or Japan? They love their fishy fishes.

Spain, too! So many overwhelmingly fishy flavors in coastal spanish cuisine. I'm not a fan, but I'm well-traveled enough to know that it's a me thing, not necessarily an ingredient thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why, oh why, does everything devolve into poverty bashing? It’s supposed to be an amusing thread. Some people are poor and can’t afford premium cuts of meat. Some people can’t afford sashimi qualify fish. Some people live in food deserts and can only access easily convenience store items. Why treat them with derision on a food post?

Sometimes when I’m in antique stores, I look at recipes from cookbooks in the 1950s and 60s. Lots of casseroles and jello based “salads.” It’s pretty crazy how bland the food seemed in those days.

It’s also interesting how much of the processed food industry is based in Chicago. Con-Agra and Kraft come to mind. Is it a Midwest thing? Makes me think of the stereotype of Midwesterners putting ranch dressing on everything?

Years ago I read an interesting history of processed food — basically we developed all this capacity to feed troops in ww2 and then had to repurpose it for civilian needs. The Midwest has always been the heartland for food production since that’s where they grew the wheat, corn and raised most meat. And it had significant rail coverage which used to be the main way food moved across the country.
Those of us over 50 that did not live in NYC or California likely remember also how hard it was to get fresh fruit and vegetables most of the year. Even OJ was wicked expensive and mostly came condensed in frozen pulp. Bananas you could get (thanks to United Fruit taking over Central America) but most things were highly seasonal and even then you often couldn’t get things like peaches and strawberries that don’t transfer well. We all ate canned corn and peas and iceberg lettuce and they were disgusting. Hence all the crazy salads to try to make any of that palatable. Also food in the 70s was wicked expensive (fewer underpaid immigrants subsidizing ag production) — stuff like boneless chicken breasts was definitely for rich people. Everything now is so cheap and so readily available. Even food imports due to all the free trade after the 1990s and nafta and so forth. You’d have to go to a big city to get specialty items now available in any supermarket.

Yes, and... I remember traveling to other parts of the US and feeling very superior. They just didn't have anything like the strawberries we enjoyed (in April) or the corn we ate at every meal (in August).
So yeah, we only had in-season produce, but it miles better than what more cosmopolitan areas had year-round. Even now I don't buy certain things out of season. Just not worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 to Fishy Fish and Nuts in Chocolate

Fishy fish is an indication of a spoiled ingredient. Using spoiled ingredients is a food crime.

Nuts in Chocolate is just something you don't like. A food crime would be someone knowing this and serving you nuts in chocolate.

It's cultural. Ever been to Scandinavia or Japan? They love their fishy fishes.

Yes, I have. I was making the assumption that PP was referring to DMV fish.

[Anonymous]

Biggest food crime is Thanksgiving Turkey. Such a terrible tasting bird!

DCUM pre-Thanksgiving has many turkey defenders.

DCUM post-Thanksgiving: The "what's your favorite thing you ate during the holidays" questions, I don't recall 1 response for Turkey, or thanksgiving food for that matter. I don't get why people eat stuff they would not normally eat because the food brand marketing department told them its "traditional". Eat the prime rib twice. You'd rather eat that anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 to Fishy Fish and Nuts in Chocolate

Fishy fish is an indication of a spoiled ingredient. Using spoiled ingredients is a food crime.

Nuts in Chocolate is just something you don't like. A food crime would be someone knowing this and serving you nuts in chocolate.

It's cultural. Ever been to Scandinavia or Japan? They love their fishy fishes.

Yes, I have. I was making the assumption that PP was referring to DMV fish.

Nice try. No Japanese cuisine in the DMV of course! All fishy fish is spoiled, got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Biggest food crime is Thanksgiving Turkey. Such a terrible tasting bird!

DCUM pre-Thanksgiving has many turkey defenders.

DCUM post-Thanksgiving: The "what's your favorite thing you ate during the holidays" questions, I don't recall 1 response for Turkey, or thanksgiving food for that matter. I don't get why people eat stuff they would not normally eat because the food brand marketing department told them its "traditional". Eat the prime rib twice. You'd rather eat that anyway.

I like roasted turkey. I always buy one on sale after the holiday. But then, there are a LOT of people who don't know what they're doing, and make them tough/ gamey/ dry. Then they try to blame it on the bird, not on their own lack of skill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 to Fishy Fish and Nuts in Chocolate

Fishy fish is an indication of a spoiled ingredient. Using spoiled ingredients is a food crime.

Nuts in Chocolate is just something you don't like. A food crime would be someone knowing this and serving you nuts in chocolate.

It's cultural. Ever been to Scandinavia or Japan? They love their fishy fishes.

Yes, I have. I was making the assumption that PP was referring to DMV fish.

Nice try. No Japanese cuisine in the DMV of course! All fishy fish is spoiled, got it.

I just qualified that not all "Fishy fish" qualifies as a spoiled ingredient. I made an assumption about the intent of what PP meant by "Fishy fish".

Are you PP?