chromedome

I would venture to guess that people who (like me) dislike MW also dislike, and don't make, those recipes.

Yeah, that. Harking back to a question posed by the OP, I know some vegetarians/vegans who were raised that way by like-minded parents, but most switched from omnivory for whatever combination of reasons at some point from adolescence through (sometimes late) adulthood. Avoidance of anything meat-like would be simple enough, I suppose, for anyone who grew up without it. For someone who has formerly enjoyed the same comfort foods as the rest of us, I can see the appeal of a "good enough" simulation to scratch that itch when it strikes.

Yup. Made from salt pork though, rather than ham.

Seems to be a recurring theme on eG, doesn't it?

Well, there are many without (shudder) ballpark mustard... (disclosure: ketchup and ballpark mustard stay in my pantry for the sake of visiting grandkids, so my kitchen is not entirely innocent of them)

From what I've seen in interviews with the respective companies' founders, the Beyond and Impossible products aren't aimed squarely at vegetarians/vegans in the same way as soy hot dogs, "tofurkey" and their ilk (I've never had it, but my favorite example of that style is Canadian brand Yves' "Lack of Ram"). Instead, while certainly meeting the needs of vegans and such, these are marketed squarely at the mainstream omnivore in much the same fashion as the "Meatless Monday" campaign. I suppose you could say it's the culinary equivalent of replacing one's light bulbs with high-efficiency LEDs...something that feels virtuous, yet requires little/no commitment or lifestyle change. Meat production in general and beef production specifically have a large carbon footprint, so any reduction is a positive. The startups attempting to "grow beef apart from a beast" are something else again. They're not plant-based, as Beyond and Impossible are. They're growing actual beef (or chicken, or whatever) through a laboratory process. Some - most notably the beef industry - argue that it is not beef, by definition, if it was not once a legit, walking/mooing cow. That's a semantic/economic argument, not a scientific one, since the cells are indistinguishable under the microscope and the original source material comes from an actual cow. Whether those products eventually prove to be economically viable is a whole other story, of course, and will require greatly improved production methods and (crucially) consumer acceptance. I'm interested to see how that plays out, if the product comes to market. There are many who avoid meat entirely for ethical/environmental reasons, or who limit their consumption to ethically raised animals from farmers they trust. Cultured meat will be innately cruelty-free, so if it also proves to be more environmentally friendly than commercial beef production there certainly could be a market for it. In fact, IIRC, I posed that very question to vegetarians/meat avoiders here on eG a couple of years ago. I don't know how many of you have read Thomas Watson Jr.'s memoir of his years at IBM, called "Father and Son and Company." One of the turning points in the book, and indeed in IBM's history, came in the immediate postwar years when the first electronic computers came along. His father, Watson Sr, was ready to launch a scorched-earth campaign against them in order to protect IBM's dominance in the punch-card technology of the day. Tom Jr. had another idea...IBM should build its own computers, and leverage their deep knowledge of the business community's wants and needs (and of course, its own well-entrenched distribution channel) to out-do the offerings from other vendors. We all know how that played out. For those who haven't been keeping score at home, wanna know some of the recent big investors in those cultured meat startups? Perdue...Cargill...ADM. You may recognize a pattern here (for the record, it's also a subsidiary of Shell Oil - not Elon Musk's Tesla - that currently provides most of the battery storage capacity for solar/wind generation plants...another example of the "Watson principle" at work). It's by no means inevitable, but there is certainly a prospect that cultured meats may one day be as unremarkable as cultured pearls, or the tank-grown rennet used in much of North America's mainstream cheese.

It's a Canadian thing, and not entirely coast to coast at that. Cuts down on plastic waste, or so they say. You get 4 litres (ie, slightly over a US gallon) divided between 3 bags, except in Newfoundland where it's 1 litre/bag. The frugal (ie, many of my family) use them a second time as freezer bags before parting with them. As I can attest, a bag of milk is a chancy thing to hang from the handlebars of your bicycle when heading home. One one occasion the bag got caught between my tire and the front forks as I was heading downhill at a good clip, so my bicycle and I got to trade places for the lower half of the hill. My bicycle may have enjoyed the change of pace, but I did not.

LOL I'd love to see you sit down with my mom some time. Recently, mid-meal, she put down her fork, looked at me in some embarrassment, and said "I'm the only person I know who can work up an appetite by eating supper." Yeah, she really does take that long. My dad used to serve her first, then get his plate, then get up and have seconds, then have coffee and watch the news, then go and weed the garden for a while, then come back in and reheat her plate for her in the microwave to save her getting up AGAIN to do it herself (2-4 times is typical, depending on the size of the meal, and still almost everything she eats is cold).

I'll confess to a lively curiosity about these products, despite being a cheerful omnivore. The Beyond Burger is available at every Canadian A&W (very different from the American chain of the same name), and their breakfast sausage is available in sandwiches from both A&W and Tim Horton's. I've eaten the burger, and found it to be unexceptional. I think for most people, if it was placed in a generic burger wrapper (ie, clearly "not a chain you know") and served to a crowd as a burger from the local place, it would pass unremarked as just another fast food burger. The texture and flavor are a little "off," but no more so than in many actual burgers I've eaten. The sausage I tried at Tim's on my recent road trip, and found it to be a bit heavy on the pepper. Otherwise, my impression was much the same...texture is not quite right, but if served to someone without explanation it would pass unremarked as a breakfast sandwich like any other. Both chains sell the Beyond product at a modest premium over its conventional equivalents, a buck or so for the sausage (IIRC) and something like $1.50 for the burger. The Sobey's supermarket chain sells a package of two Beyond patties for $7.99, which is a bit steep. The rival chain, Loblaw's, sells its own house-branded beefless burger at 4/$8.99 right now. They're a bit squishier than the Beyond, but otherwise fairly comparable. Another brand, True Life, sells at 4/$7.99 and I will try those at some point as well and report back. I haven't seen the Impossible product anywhere, but will try it whenever an opportunity should present itself.

You'll need to go a leeeeetle further north than that... https://goo.gl/maps/QZ4R9YRP4ti4EaHt6

Nope, no floral/spice, which is why my impression was so poor. I hadn't considered the freshness aspect, which may well be the issue. That particular bottle was purchased at a country store, where I was pleasantly surprised to find a number of local microbrews. It may well be that this was an experiment, and that it had been sitting for some time before I bought it. Currently my favorite local brew is Rype, by Fredericton's Trailways brewery. It's an IPA of sorts, but made from rye rather than barley (ie a "rye PA," hence the name). Lots of florals and citrus from the hops, and plenty of underlying spiciness from the rye, and every sip makes my tastebuds happy.

I grew up on Miracle Whip, which was what I knew as "mayo," but - like a few other high-sugar childhood favorites - can't stomach it now. Ketchup only for fries, and not always then (if there's a more interesting alternative). So yeah, put me in the yes to mayonnaise , no to MW/ketchup category.

The last time I was through I was pleased to note that the slag heaps have been converted into rolling hills covered with green grass. That being said, I certainly would not plant root vegetables on any of those pretty slopes. I never see the city's name without mentally hearing the voice of Stompin' Tom Connors.

We recently celebrated the 91st birthday of one of the ladies who's a regular at my cooking classes. Your mom definitely looks younger and fitter. I hope the rest of your visit is equally enjoyable. I live much, much closer to my extended family/childhood home, and visit far less often than I should.

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20190702-the-truth-about-the-us-most-iconic-food?utm_source=pocket-newtab

For some reason I had in my head that he lived in the Yarmouth area. Go figure. In Halifax he should be able to find balls of marinated yogurt cheese (labneh) easily enough at Middle Eastern stores/restaurants. There are any number of them to choose from.

It's readily available at Superstore, Sobey's, Costco, etc. It's processed cheese, so probably higher in sodium than one would ideally like, but of course if one uses it in lieu of some of the salt in a dish it can be balanced out.

Had this last weekend, while one of our channels was marathoning the Star Wars movies. Regrettably, the name and label were the most interesting things about it. It was...okay, but underwhelming. Basically a generic mainstream beer with a side of bitterness. The hops weren't overwhelming, but neither did they add anything else.

Fresh yogurt cheese should be low in fat (and definitely sodium) compared to conventional cheeses, and can be made as flavorful as one wishes by varying the seasonings. Pastrygirl's suggestion of using a stronger cheese more or less as a concentrated "cheese flavoring" is a good one.

I hear you, on all counts. That was actually the clinching reason I finally yielded to IP fever, back in the autumn, but I haven't tried it yet (have not used my IP at all for months, as far as that goes).

I forgot to post this at the time (I was getting ready to move) but newly-eligible Moosehead, via its small-batch brewery, brought home some hardware in the craft beer categories at the Canadian Brewing Awards this year. https://huddle.today/these-four-n-b-breweries-won-awards-at-canadian-craft-beer-awards/

It's a factor, certainly, though there are many others. As for that, the dairy industry has pushed back against sodas and other sweetened beverages with its earnest boosting of chocolate milk, and against the various sports beverages with protein-enhanced "recovery drinks" of its own. It's still an uphill battle, though. I only keep fluid milk in the house because I use a splash (1/4 cup or so) in my morning oatmeal, and it goes into my daily-use sandwich bread. Otherwise it would only get used on the now-infrequent occasions when I bake desserts, typically at the holidays. Cream and dairy products *other* than fluid milk, now...those we go through a lot of. My GF does the keto thing for extended periods, which means a lot of heavy cream, sour cream, cheeses, etc, and I generally keep yogurt on hand as well for various purposes. Milk as a beverage doesn't do it for me, though. ETA: Wait, that's not quite right. We have grandkids who visit regularly, and they're keen on a glass of milk or a bowl of cereal occasionally, so I'd probably still keep at least a litre in the fridge for them. The 8 yo in particular is a fan of cold cereal, typically drenched in 2 cups or so of milk (of which about 1 1/2 cups go down the drain afterward, which grates on my frugal sensibilities immoderately, but so be it...).

Over in the Manitoulin thread, there was a brief digression - prompted by talk of the duties on some rather nice blue cheeses that crossed the border with the Ladies Who Lunch - of dairy products, and the dairy industry in general. One point I'd mentioned in passing was how the dairy industry had successfully cranked up cheese consumption as a way to compensate for the decline in milk-drinking. This morning I came across a related article on one of the tech sites I visit regularly, and thought I'd post it here rather than revive an off-topic side discussion on the Manitoulin thread. https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/07/got-lattes-dairy-groups-back-coffee-bars-in-schools-to-boost-milk-sales/ It's worth pointing out that the decline of milk as a beverage is not the only issue involved, and a lot of other societal factors play into it (to pick just one example, cold cereal for breakfast is also something younger consumers have shown little interest in, which has a knock-on effect on milk sales). I hadn't really thought of it before, but now I wonder just how much the rise of Starbucks and other latte-driven chains impacted the dairy industry? I have to believe the picture would be much bleaker without the vendors of "coffee-flavored milk."

Listeria in Donge brand raw-milk cheese, at present the Coulommiers only. So far the recall's limited to Quebec. https://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/newsroom/food-recall-warnings/complete-listing/2019-07-02/eng/1562123202740/1562123205334

They're not uncommon, at least not in my neck of the woods. You'll see those as well as whole and half shoulders (whole are relatively rare, and tend to crop up as occasional specials). I have one in my freezer at the moment, in fact, which will probably go for chili verde some day soon.