Adam Balic

Sam, what do you mean by tradition? I don't know anyone other than you that would consider "eating squirrel's brains" a "tradition in the U.S., unless of course you use a widely different definition of tradition than me. 1. The passing down of elements of a culture from generation to generation, especially by oral communication. 2a. A mode of thought or behavior followed by a people continuously from generation to generation; a custom or usage. b. A set of such customs and usages viewed as a coherent body of precedents influencing the present: followed family tradition in dress and manners. See synonyms at heritage. 3. A body of unwritten religious precepts. 4. A time-honored practice or set of such practices. 5. Law Transfer of property to another. The eating of squirrel brains in certain areas of the US is definitely a "time-honored practice." If you are basing your point on the material you quoted above, I don't quite get it. Here we have cultures in which there is a longstanding, strong and well documented tradition of eating absolutely every little bit of food animals -- intestines, organs, brains, sometimes even whole small birds bones and all. It follows then, in my opinion, that one should presuppose this is the case with all food animals in these cultures unless shown otherwise. I am not demanding others to prove me wrong in this case, I am simply stating what I think is the most reasonable logical argument. It seems counterintuitive to me that Spanish, French and Italian traditions a. which are very strong in eating the whole animal, b. which do include dishes prepared with the brains of larger animals, and c. which do eat a lot of rabbit (including most of the other organs)would somehow mysteriously not eat rabbit brains. As I said it is not impossible, infact it is likely, that at some point a Spaniard has eaten a rabbit brain. This doesn't make it a tradition. Some documentation may be nice. Infact, I have a Spanish recipe for cat cooked in tomato sauce. I suspect that I will have a easier time demonstrating (using Buxkinsey logic) that cat eating in Spain is a tradition. Getting back to el Bulli, why the obssive need to demonstrate that he is drawing from a traditional source. He is an original thinker, why try to put limits on his creativity?

Goodness, I forgot that this was the well know egullet Spanish abuse and rudeness board.. I think that you are to eager to push discussions into arguements. This is a food discussion board, get a grip for goodness sake and try to be a little more pleasant. I'm not interested in having some sad little internet flame war. What Bux said was illogical. Nothing more then that. I was simply pointing out that there was not a well know tradition of eating rabbit brains in Spain, France or Italy. I'm not sure why you have your knickers in such a twist over this. People in the USA eat catfish, people in the USA eat testicles. If a restuarant in the USA served catfish testicles, it would be drawing upon a rich American tradition? The Celtic v Keltic discussion was very educational. I still haven't come up with many English words that have a hard 'K' sound before an 'e'. But, you still are wrong about emulsion sauces.

John - Nice report. Next time you are around the Monteriggioni try"Bar Dell'Orso" Loc. La Colonna 23, which is a taven on the main road at the base of the hill. Excellent food and an interesting assortment of people.

Nope, that is still silly. And impling my ignorance of some thing that may or may not exist, doesn't change that. I would have though that I had corrected enough of your mis-conceptions in the past, so that you would be a little less hasty. Never mind. So what you are saying is that any country that has rabbits has at some point has most likely in your opinion eaten there brains, just not very often? Fair enough, can't argue with that, but that is a long way from "Drawing on blah, blah, Spanish traditions blah, blah". Maybe he is getting inspiration from 12th.C Norman cuisine, they had rabbits too.

Well if it your 'guess' that they 'definately' did (and I haven't suggested that somewhere, somewhen in thes countries, somebody didn't eat rabbit brains on a regular basis) then that means, eh, "definately a guess about something"? No... my guess is that there is a tradition now (and given relatively unknown traditions such as the aforementioned squirrel brain eating tradition in the US, I'd say it is a very strong guess -- and I note that you won't find dishes composed mostly of squirrel brains on any American restaurant menus either). I don't think there is any doubt that there has been a tradition of eating rabbit brains in the past, as all three of the countries in question have strong traditions of eating the whole animal from nose to tail. Countries that eat rabbit kidneys, rabbit livers, rabbit hearts, etc. are not going to turn up their noses at the brains. The example of traditions such as the American squirrel brain eating tradition suggests that the "common person's" -- or your -- awareness of such is not a litmus test when it comes to the authenticity of those traditions. I don't get that he is saying that at all. What I get is exactly what he said: People eat brains in these countries. People eat rabbit in these countries. Therefore using rabbit brains in a dish is not a break with tradition in the sense that it is related to these two traditions (certainly not any more of a break than anything else Adria does). This logical argument is not dependant on the supposition of "wider tradition of rabbit brain eating in Spain." My feeling is that, given the foregoing, it is absolutely the case that there has been such a wider tradition in France, Italy and Spain. Regardless, that supposition is not necessary for Bux's contention that eating brains (a traditional practice) of rabbits (a traditional food) is not a break with Adria's Spanish traditions. As to whether there is a tradition of eating dishes made mostly or only out of rabbit brains... probably not. One would have to kill an awful lot of rabbits to make a single dish out of nothing but the brains. No doubt there is very little eating of things like rabbit brains in France, Italy and Spain these days because most people buy their rabbit rather than hunting it. I good you agree, I knew all the rest was just silly talk. Just because you can imagine something, it doesn't make it real. I can't stress that enough.

Just click your heels together and say "There's no tradition like eating rabbit kidneys" and POOF! there will be you tradition.

This is not logical. I think that you would have to look long and hard to find a tradition of regularly eating rabbit brains in any of the countries you have mentioned. Perhaps so... but it does seem to me that those countries (a) do have traditions of eating animal brains and, (b) do have traditions of eating rabbit. As to whether or not they have traditions of eating rabbit brains specifically... that's harder to say. My strong suspicion is that suchg traditions do exist, regardless of one's awareness of them. One might very well look at the United States and say that it is "hard to find a tradition of regularly eating squirrel brains" in the US. This would be a remark made in ignorance, however, because the fact is that eating squirrel brains is a very traditional practice in certain parts of the US -- so much so that the government issued a warning against it when it began to look like the consumption of squirrel brains was a vector for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. My guess is that there is now, and definitely has been, a tradition of eating of rabbit brains in France, Italy and Spain. Well if it your 'guess' that they 'definately' did (and I haven't suggested that somewhere, somewhen in thes countries, somebody didn't eat rabbit brains on a regular basis) then that means, eh, "definately a guess about something"? The point would be is Adria drawing on a wider tradition of rabbit brain eating in Spain, as Bux seemed to suggest?

As in all complex issues, there seems to be hugh variation in the industry here. Scottish Farmed Salmon

Mine too, you would think that world famous chefs could spell. This is not logical. I think that you would have to look long and hard to find a tradition of regularly eating rabbit brains in any of the countries you have mentioned.

1. It takes about three kilos of wild fish to get a kilo of farmed salmon. 2. Issues with pollution and use of pesticides. 3. Issues with protecting wild stocks from contamination with farmed salmon. etc. There is no reason why these issues can't be sorted out, but as the direction of salmon farming is going to the 'cheap' production side of things, it is un-likely. Some additional information. Costs of Salmon

The Swedes didn't invade the right people. Try the Dutch, they like a good South-East Asian curry.

"Let the sky rain potatoes; let it thunder to the tune of Green-sleeves, hail kissing-comfits and snow eringoes." Old Will thought that potatoes were sexy. Although he proberly just sat on them...

Yep. Ever eaten a "potato" or a "tomato". They are from foreign parts, but I do hear tell that the "potato" is rather toothsome.

Scott's definition of 'fusion' was very good. So why continue with the lazy usage of the word? The history of food is on of continuum of 'fusion'. Look at Britain, (which I consider well 'North') most popular food for the masses is a bastardised form of Indian cooking. Five hundred years before that it was a bastardised form of Near-Eastern cooking. Most countries that have extensive trade routes have outside influences on their food. I suspect that the only reason why there isn't any Whale Blubber Mole is becasue, it would be utterly revolting and that there are not great historic trade connections between Mexico and the whaling nations.

Ah, sorry that's what happens when you scan a topic! This may help though. British Pork cuts

"Collared" refers to the way the meat is rolled. ie it looks like and old fashioned high collar. In older cookbooks you can see collared beef and even fish recipes.

Where your family from the West coast or the islands? Many families in these parts had a porrage/porridge draw for storing the cooked and cooled item. I work with somebody who is 30 and he use to tale cold cubes to porrage to school as lunch.

Herring coated in pinmeal oats and fried (trad, in bacon fat) are excellent.

Try the "Bow Bar" in Bow Street (about 1 minute from the Royal Mile). Small Bar, but exellent selection of Malts, including some closed distilleries. n.b. Don't call whisky "Scotch" in Scotland. Makes you look like a tourist. The last two whiskies that you mention a boring is all.

The Edinburgh location is much better then the London, in terms of location and decor (Edinburgh location is a grand Georgian room, London is decor bu IKEA). You have to be a member, but that is only thirty quid and if you are serious about Single Malts then this is the place to go.

I have recently been given some "Mosta" which is an acquavite d'uva. Craig is right it is much more delicate then the grappa I have, even though the alcohol % is similar (except for some of the homemade grappa I have).

Actually Carole Meredith et al. has demostrated that Chardonnay is a cross between a Pinot variety and Gouais blanc. In Australia when the first wave of Chardonnay was introduced it was sometimes called "Pinot Chardonnay" (as it was called in France not that long ago) as it was thought to be a type of Pinot Blanc. However, that is ancient history (or the 1970's at least). I can't recall ever seen a bottle in Australia labeled as "Pinot Blanc". Unless it was inported from Alsace.

i think they're called ortolan, i remember reading stuff about it on here but i'm so technically challenged i can't do the "click on here and here's the thread" thing. did they really show that on tv? i thought it was illegal as the birds are endangered? Illegal to sell, not to eat. A restuarant can make a 'gift' of it to you (and charge you more for the wine I assume).

I'm not sure about ripping off Henrietta Green's work, although you would be an idiot not to use all of her invaluble research if you were producing the show. Stein annoys me slightly due to his style and mis-information, but what I have found slightly disturbing about this show is that I know of at least one artisan producer that was recommended by the series that has never heard from Stein or anybody connected with the show. This suggests that the show is a little cobbled together, which is a real shame as it could have been a really good show. But they went with Whiny-Steiny instead.

Tilt. Butternut squash are "winter" squash, thus, long keepers. But don't store them in plastic, as others have pointed out. If they HAVE gone funky on you, it's a perfect opportunity to try butterCUP squash instead. Like candy. Only better. Quite right, Butternuts are winter squash, they jumped into the summer squash cmp in my head because they don't store very well in comparison to other pumpkins. In the UK supermarket butternuts store for about three weeks.