Adam Balic

Blue Smoke really does sound like a very interesting idea, but as BBQ is something that everybody seems to think they are an expert on, I'm guessing that some pretty amusing things have happened since the project started because of this over abundance of experts. What situations have amused you, what has left you or your punters outraged?

But, Dude, they're pink Ahem S 'Xactly. People that know and love me, obviously saw the Hot Pink and thought 'Hot Pink = Adam'. Better then three copies of a Rushdie book I guess.

Received two copies of "Thai Food" by David Thompson, so that makes three copies I have in total.

Great article Dave. Interesting that the carmelisation process was almost identical for both sugar types, as I would have thought that the smaller grains would melt more rapidly then the larger grains. Could depend on the heat source I guess. Radiant V Direct heat? Blowtorch V Hot Grill V Iron Salamander? I wonder how different brown sugars of the two plants tastes, given the different sugar composition of the molasses and granule size. Could be tested by doing, now standardised "Brownies fed to work mates" test.

Made Curried Parsnip, Apple and Mussel soup last night at a friends home. Was very good, so I will commit the full recipe to egullet before I forget what I did Gently saute a large shallot finely chopped (1/2 cup ) until golden, but not browning in butter/oil. Add teaspoon of mild Indian curry powder (any mild curry you like really, I used a commercial brand, but added a little cumin and cinnamon). Should not be too stongly flavoured as curry taste should be in the background. Add 1/4 teaspoon of tumeric, continue cooking for a minute to release curry flavours. Add two cups of very finely grated parsnip and two cups of very finely grated apple. I used Bramley apples, but any high acid apple would be fine (eg. Granny Smiths). Acid content of apples is important to balance out sweetness of the parsnip and coconut cream. Cook until apple breaks down to pulp, add water if starting to stick. Add three cups of coconut cream. Cook on highish heat until coconut cream cracks. Examine colour at this point should be a light golden yellow from tumeric. Add more if not so, but be careful as tumeric can taste bitter and in this case only the colour is wanted not the flavour. Soup could be blended and strained at this point, but shouldn't need it. Add one cup of finely chopped coriander leaves to soup. While this is occuring steam some very small potatos. I used new potatos, which where too watery for my taste. Better to use one of the small bananna varieties such as Pink Fir Apples, as these have a good nutty flavour and the skin (oh yes, leave skins on) pops nicely under the pressure of you teeth. Add potatos to soup. In last five minutes of cooking steam open mussels in a little water. Pick out mussels from shells. Reserve a few in shells per person. Add mussels to soup, add small volumes of mussel liquor to soup until soup is the thickness of pouring cream. However, check for salt content of mussel liquor, if very salty add only small amount and thin soup with water. Eat with good bread. n.b. Soup should be light golden yellow, flecked with green from coriander and droplets of coconut oil that have taken up chlorophil from coriander, Mussels should add golded orange colour of the flesh (if you are lucky) and blue and pearl of the shells. Very pretty. Coriander should be added only in the last five mintues or it looses the bright green colour and turns drab. If coriander is a problem flavour then tarrogan or chervil could be used (rather less of the former).

Very interesting. I don't remember eating that many spuds in the '70s though.

Don't know about that Simon, I tend to cook whatever is interesting to me, sometimes multi-ingredients, sometimes not. Having read some of you Indian recipes I am surprised that you consider that your tastes have become more Simple. Or are you angling for that "refinement in age" badge?

Unless it's a goose or merganser.

Why not keep Peking Duck and change the name of the Pekin breed to Upper Volta Duck? Same problem, people would just confuse it with the Muscovy duck (which isn't really a duck, so it already is confused enough).

Would be funny if it wasn't so sad. On weekend in Islay we spent two hours looking for a pub that sold seafood, gave up in the end and went to a pub next to the docks. Watched two refrigerated lorries come of the ferry, drive 100 metres to the dock, load up with all the seafood, then get back onto the ferry, ready to haul it all away to Spain. Did go to a pub in Inverary (sp?) with very good food though (The George). Part of my reason for starting the Elitism thread, was because I felt I may be missing somthing in peoples attitudes to food in the UK, given how lowly food is prioritised in Scotland.

On the east coast we have Glasgow envy. One place I do like is the Crammon Inn, as it has quite good food, good beer and an interesting setting.

..lies, damned lies, and..... C'mon, nobody and I mean NOBODY is gonna argue health issues with what the average egulleteer can cram down their throat at a fine meal... Don't even go there. We all know that fine cuisine is despicably bad for the body; if we ate it on a daily basis, 35 would represent inordinate longevity! Actually, if you ever bothered to read a selection of the post, rather then just dropping in for you six monthy, button pushing, disruptive wanker fix, then you might see that this isn't that case. Oh looky, somebody reacted, now your days pleasure is as full as it is ever going to get.

And your posts indicate that you have no class S Your words pass through and around me, they are the do not hurt me, they do not make me a lesser person. I am a whole human, not an organ pretending to be a whole human. I am beautiful. I am not defined by the cruel words of the unlovely, nor am I reduced in the eyes of the world by their sneers and jibes.

Oh goody, my diet indicates that I am upper-class, but my weight indicates that I am working class.

Macrosan - I thik that you are correct, I was never trying to indicate that poor people are un-able to have an interest in food (that would be elitist), only if it was possible to maintain an interest in the face of high cost of the products in the UK and the difficulty in obtaining good quality raw produce. The data set was to illustrate that health and diet are strongly correlated with class in the UK. It mybe difficult to maintain an interest in food, if you have difficulty maintaining even a moderately healthy diet in general, due to the restraints of you class. I think that it would be a very terrible thing indeed if a low income bracket family/individual was unable to create meals that are interesting and healthy in the UK. Maybe this could be a new thread? Let us see if we can create meals for a family of five from low, middle and high income brackets and see what obvious diffrences stand out.

These are the official statistics for diet (male age 6-64) in Scotland (1998 data set, most up to date). It would seem that diet in this part of the UK is very strongly influenced by your "class". Poor people on the right, Toffs on the left. Pity I couldn't find data on meat consumption, as I would be interested to see how much a working class person was able to afford to eat per week in this country. Working class end of the diet still looks very Victorian in overall aspect. Cheese is class-less, which is nice. Social class of chief income earner I II IIINM IIIM IV V Total Food type and frequency of consumption Percentage Adds sugar to tea 33 37 41 49 55 52 45 Adds sugar to coffee 33 40 41 47 52 55 44 Eats chocolates, biscuits, crisps etc once a day or more 54 53 52 57 55 47 54 Uses butter or margarine 40 44 42 46 48 48 44 Eats fried food two or more times/ week 35 44 43 50 59 58 48 Uses skimmed or semi-skimmed milk 72 69 68 60 52 51 63 Eats cheese two or more times a week 68 68 63 69 72 65 68 Eats oil rich fish less than once a month 17 27 35 37 42 47 34 Eats wholemeal bread 22 13 10 8 6 6 10 Eats fresh fruit once a day or more 61 53 46 43 34 34 46 Eats cooked green vegetables five or more times a week 53 45 39 36 31 30 39 Eats raw vegetables or salad two or more times a week 59 54 44 39 33 39 45

Cooked a meal for friends that we are staying with: Persian lamb stew: Lamb shoulder cooked with prunes, apricots and cinnamon, spinach and fenageek greens added at last ten twenty minutes of cooking. Persian moulded rice. Basmati rice layered with chicken mairnated in yoghurt, dill, tarrogan and a touch of saffron. Steamed for fourty minutes so the rice is fluffy and there is a crispy rice base (which becomes the top when the whole lot is inverted). Roasted cauliflower: Middle Eaastern bastardised version of Jim Dixon's recipe. Carrots roasted with cummin, butter and honey. Steamed brusselsprouts with lemon juice and pinenuts.

Interesting as it is to read about Peter interacting with his family, I don't think that the observations on eating habits of somebody that takes part in food website is going to be particularly representative of the population on the whole. Having seen the amount of prepared food verses raw ingredients in the Scotland, I suspect that Gary is more corrct then any of us would like to admit. I have been reading some accounds of the modern British dietry habits in Colin Spencers "British Food" and I think that his conclusions are largely the same. I'm positive it is not because don't care about the food they are eating, it is just that often it is a question of finace or they simply are not confident with cooking. I am often surprised at how little people cook, in what they cook and what is their level of expetise. I was a a good friends house for dinner a few weeks ago and I help him cook peasant with cream, calvados and apples form a recipe. He did very well, but had difficulty with the recipe because of the detail (or lack of). For instance the recipe said "core and fry apples in butter". No problem for me, but a major problem for my friend. How to core the apples (no apple corer in the house), how thick to slice the apples, what temperature, how much butter, when are they "done" etc etc. This again is only one example (I will try to find real data soon), but I suspect that it may more representative of may peoples interaction with food then Peter's 1950's model, Dad in the big chair, Happy Familys - type take away meals.

I have a guilty secret in that I like to eat them from the packet while cooking other things, often while drinking a beer. As yet I am not dead, but this is just random chance maybe.

Sounds like a loquat, which are popular in Eastern-Asia and the Med. Taste very refreshing if nice and ripe, but often have a high pip to flesh ratio. Loquat (Japanese apple)

Feel free to suggest anything you like about our disUnited Kingdom. I still do not think your assertion is true. Not at all. As an example, I have never met anyone who proclaims they have no interest in good food. Also - you are "very tired of having to listen to some twits banging on about the 'cruel and disgusting fox hunting' " and yet you are concerned about "chickens raised for six weeks in hellish conditions and fed on Christ knows what" ? Hmmm...odd. Still, to answer your original question, I don't think your level of interest in food is elitest. Not at all Indeed, I am glad we have people like you who care passionately about food. Every little helps. I don't believe people have what you call a 'shallow' interest in food for any greater reason than prioritisation. That may include budgetary concerns (and for many thats an absolute truth) and it may include expectation and time limitations, but none of these would suggest to me that a desire for good food is absent or unimportant to most. The is nothing in my statements to indicate if I was anti- or pro- hunting, as this was not the intent of the statement. The point of the statement was to indicate that, while people may have an opinion on are particular subject, in this case animal welfare, their actions indicate that these opinions are based on emotive issues, rather then well informed opinion. In much the same light, obviously if you ask people if they have an interest in good food they are going to indicate that yes they do. However, the actions of these same people indicate what this level is. Since, I live in Edinburgh prehaps we could use my experiences here as a discussion base. Scotland - producer of some of the finest produce in the world (still the largest producer of raspberries in the UE I think). Edinburgh its First city. No fresh food markets. While historically famous for it's seafood, the vast majority of fishmongers are very dire indeed (one excellent on in Marchmount another in Stockbridge). Ditto butchers and Greengrocers. Several excellent ethnic food stores to service some of non-anglo-celtic community. A large number of excellent Deli, cheesemongers etc. A number of good restuarants, many less good. Large numbers of take-away joints, various types, some very good. Large amounts of microwaveble meals in the Supermarkets, where it would seem most people shop. The sad thing being in all this is that while Scotland produces amazing produce, the abilty of consumer to gain access to this produce is extremely limited. The sevices that are good tend to supply ready to use goods, rather then raw produce. Trotting into Harvey Nicks and buying a nicely packaged duck breast for one, is all very well and shows an interest in food, but it demonstrates more of an interest in lifestyle, rather food specifically. This is why I suspect is the reason for limitations on the avaliblity of raw produce, people want it, but they want it as part of a greater lifestyle package, rather then as an intrinsically good thing in itself. Hope this will state some interesting debate, as you say, every little bit helps.

Boekenhoutskloof's "Seven Chairs" Semillion is rather good. Made in small quanties from 70 year old vines it is to date the only South African wine that I have enjoyed.

Gulp. Where do you get that idea? What an astonishing conclusion. Well as I said "in general', as I live in Edinburgh so I can really only base my conclusions based on my experiences in Scotland. But, before we get all 'curse that oily ticks hide for suggesting such a thing about the UK', the statement is also true of Australian and I suspect the USA as well. As an example, I am surprised at the number of people that I have met who cannot cook with any real confidence. They are scared of cooking and are disapointed that the roast beef they bought from the supermarket is tough and dried our, even though the followed Delia. Pointing out that if you are going to invest a significant amount of money in a joint of beef then you really should know something about it, in terms of what breed, how long it has been hung, has the meat supplier had good produce in the past etc. Rather then going to a butcher and establishing a relationship with a real live human, most people I work with, would rather buy originless lumps of pink protein from a supermarket - because it is 'less effort' and 'Rachael and are practically veggie anyway'. For a nation that has got amazingly worked up about some foxes being hunted bu toffs in frocks, they is a stupendous lack in interest in the origin of foodstuffs, the processing or animal welfare. I am very tired of having to listen to some twits banging on about the 'cruel and disgusting fox hunting' while stuffing down a shitty pre-packaged, micro-waveable, un-inspired "Indian" chicken curry, made out of chickens raised for six weeks in hellish conditions and fed on Christ knows what - without any though at all about what they are doing. Shallow.

Rambutan are for tourists.