[Great British Menu 2011]

Just by the by, the above list has it as "Ireland". Is that accurate and it's now the island of Ireland and not just Norn Iron?

This side of a name change for the programme, I doubt it!

[When The Grocery Mischarges You]

Given that the thread title is "mischarges" rather than "overcharges", has anyone ever been charged too little by the scanner? Did you speak up?

[Living To 125 - Just Eat Right]

I don't want to be in either tail of the distribution.

[Food Epiphanies]

Must say, the only time I had beef tongue was at WD50 and while it wasn't unpleasant, it certainly wasn't an epiphany.

Still, one thing that certainly was an epiphany in the wider sense was the realisation that so many things I assumed would be horrible really weren't, and that it really doesn't require any special skills to be adventurous and enjoy more unusual foods. Sadly, I was well into adulthood when I realised that.

[TV Shows That Take (Took) Place In Bars and/or Restaurants]

There are a few more sitcoms I can think of that aired/continue to ari on UK TV, namely "Chef" (starring Lenny Henry), "Whites" (starring Alan Davies) and "Time Gentlemen Please" (starring Al Murray). I'm sure there are more.

It virtually goes without saying that the local pub features prominently in all the British and Irish soaps as well.

[Food Epiphanies]

Blue cheese.

I grew up in a house of conservative tastes in food, and cheese with mold running through it was definitely something for other people.

The first time I had Bleu d'Auvergne washed down by a glass of Port I was completely blown away, and it opened the door to a glorious world of strong and stinky cheese.

[Brands of commercially produced yogurt we love]

Default yoghurt is probably Glenisk, occasionally Yeo Valley.

[Amount of cheese per person at a "wine tasting"]

I've seen 100g per person recommended for cheeseboards.

[5-second rule put to rest]

I don't think anyone actually believes in it per se, but it's a useful enough rule in the sense that it's unlikely anyone will have walked on the item in question within 5 seconds.

I follow it religiously!

[The miracle of American supermarket eggs]

Maybe the way to approach this, FG, is to bring a supply of NY eggs with you wherever you go, and taste them in situ!

[The idiocy of serving sizes]

But I agree the serving sizes are ridiculously small, like 20g of potato crisps !!!

Is that so ridiculous? The average bag of crisps here seems to be 25g, and assuming your wife steals a few, a 20g serving seems about right. To be fair, in nutritional information on crisp packets here, the serving is assumed to be the bag. The larger bags are, of course, designed for sharing...

Like speed limits, I consider the suggested serving sizes to be a reasonable target for healthy living rather than an absolute rule!

[Your Last Drink]

Gut reaction: Chateau d'Yquem.

[Tea – a trend or a way of life?]

This is pretty funny stuff. People drink tea the world over and it's just not a big deal. It starts to catch on in NY, and now it's newspaper-worthy.

Next week's report: "Bread: are you cool enough?"

[Egg storage the world over]

We leave our eggs on the counter, but we may no longer be representative. Most fridges have egg-holders as sold, and I imagine most people here refrigerate eggs without even thinking about it.

Of course, I've seen people refrigerating more and more stuff that I don't (fruit, bread) and I think paranoia is rife. Real scientific evidence doesn't seem to come into this any more.

[Michelin Stars 2011]

Typical damp squib. What a snoozefest.

[Do You Eat Shrimp Heads, Body Shells & Tails?]

I really prefer not to be served prawns with tails still on, but sheer laziness has recently persuaded me to eat them when they're there.

[Do you need to grow up around good food to 'get it'?]

My initial response was that this is typically short-sighted elitist rubbish, and I probably would stick by that view.

However, the more I think about it the more I wonder. If you look at the world's best concert pianists, for example, 99% of them started when they were very young. Indeed, there's a commonly-held belief that unless you start very early, you're highly unlikely to develop the necessary physical attributes required (muscles etc.) I don't know if this is true or not, but it certainly seems to be the case that, without that early exposure, you're pretty much never going to make it to the *very* top flight. You can practise as hard as you want in adulthood, but it's a monumental task.

Are there physical attributes (e.g more sensitive tastebuds?) that you develop if you're exposed to a greater variety of good food from a young age? Is it possible that the process of refining your palate in adulthood is a similar uphill task to taking up piano at a later stage?

[Michelin Stars 2011]

Gregan's is serving cracking food, the most exciting I've eaten since Dylan McGrath closed Mint, but I still think it's unlikely to get a star (knowing Michelin's history here). I hope I'm wrong.

[SodaStream – at home soda maker]

Funny to see this mentioned here, it would have decidedly naff connotations in Ireland. Can you still get "Dracula's Blood" concentrate? Probably not, I imagine most of the ingredients have since become illegal.

[Game Cookery]

Did you eat the brain? Last (and only) time I had woodcock, the head was served split in two, all the way down the beak. The brain had an excellent flavour.

[Michelin Stars]

If such an effect exists I don't know if it's fair to blame Michelin exactly, but to be honest, I don't even agree with the basic premise.

I've been to plenty of one stars in various countries, and they're a pretty diverse bunch. I know there's a certain fashion at the moment for smears, dabs and nibbles, but so what? That's fashion, and fashion changes. It may not be to your taste, but the idea that this is somehow "ruining good food" seems misplaced. It seems clear to me that "good food" is available in lots of locations, and if your taste is to 3 courses of substance rather than 10 courses of fripperies, well there are plenty of places that cater to that requirement. Their recognition or otherwise by Michelin is hardly the point, plenty of chefs aren't interested in Michelin stars and are happy to just get on with it.

For the most part, I feel that 1 stars are nearly always good, sometimes fantastic, very occasionally disappointing. However, when I'm disappointed, it's often a question of expectation or taste rather than quality. If anything, I've been more disappointed with 3 stars rather than singles, although admittedly I haven't been to many. Certainly, I prefer to be wowed by something I could never conceive nor achieve myself, rather than perfectly roasted lamb, but I'll cheerfully accept that people are different and have different tastes.

Of course, the scientist in me simply won't accept a thesis like this based on such limited evidence. You're just going to have to eat in far more 3-stars to prove your point. :-)

[eG Foodblog: Prawncrackers (2010) - Cooking with Panda!]

Prawncrackers, that was a "cracking" week's blogging. Like everyone else, I loved all the photos, and you've kept me salivating for the week. Bravo!

[Gordon Ramsay in deep financial trouble]

Of course, Ramsay may indeed be struggling, but I wouldn't believe everything you read in the Daily Mail!

[Deep-fried eggs? Just a Spanish thing?]

When I lived in Spain, another egg cooking technique that seemed unique was flicking hot oil over the fried egg. In other words, they would fry the egg sunny side up in a decent amount of oil and use a spatula to toss hot oil onto the top of the egg to cook that side a little. Several home cooks I met did this.

Yes, I always fry eggs this way as well, for the simple reason that that's how my mother used to do it. In fact, I was quite shocked when I learned that people sometimes turn them over!

["Come Dine With Me" on BBC America]

I love this show, but from what I know about US TV versions of UK programmes, I just don't see it working as well.