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Disappointing Discoveries

liuzhou

By liuzhou
in Food Traditions & Culture

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Shelby

Shelby

Posted
Posted
19 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

In high school my daughter developed a fixation with boba tea. She was at Berkeley High and downtown Berkeley was lousy with brand new shops to get the stuff. Not that I had high expectations, but one time she convinced me to try it and it was worse than I ever imagined. I had a similar experience with McDonald's fries. Believe it or not, until about four years ago I had never been inside a McDonalds. We were driving down from the Bay Area to my niece's graduation in southern CA. It was rainy and cold and I got this idea in my head that I wanted some nice hot fries. Despite my spotless record of avoiding McD's for seventy or so years their fries do have reputation. They were terrible.

LOL!

 

I've never had boba tea.....but I do not like despise tapioca pudding so the things that float around in that tea remind me of that.

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First eG Blog-Winter 2011

 

Second eG Blog-Summer 2015

 

Third eG Blog-Hunting season Birds and Deer 2016, 2017,2018,2019, 2021, 2022

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Porthos

Porthos

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, Darienne said:

Nutella.  We had read so much about it and then one time while in our home away from home (Moab, UT) we bought a jar and tried it.  Thought it was sickeningly sweet and not much else.  Gave it to the motel cleaning ladies. 

My Sweetie decided to buy some several years ago. It was much sweeter than she thought it would be, which means she didn't care for it. I can't remember if I tried. The jar sat around for a while. Not sure if we gave it away or tossed it.

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Porthos Potwatcher
The Once and Future Cook

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Porthos

Porthos

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

In high school my daughter developed a fixation with boba tea. She was at Berkeley High and downtown Berkeley was lousy with brand new shops to get the stuff. Not that I had high expectations, but one time she convinced me to try it and it was worse than I ever imagined. I had a similar experience with McDonald's fries. Believe it or not, until about four years ago I had never been inside a McDonalds. We were driving down from the Bay Area to my niece's graduation in southern CA. It was rainy and cold and I got this idea in my head that I wanted some nice hot fries. Despite my spotless record of avoiding McD's for seventy or so years their fries do have reputation. They were terrible.

One person's trash is another person's treasure. By far my favorite fries. The rest of the menu - meh.

Porthos Potwatcher
The Once and Future Cook

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Porthos

Porthos

Posted
Posted

Oysters. Tried they as a teenager in San Francisco, didn't care for them. Tried them once more as an adult while in Houston at a restaurant known for seafood, still didn't care for them. Some day in the future my best friend is going to make his fried oysters and I give them another try then.

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Porthos Potwatcher
The Once and Future Cook

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Porthos

Porthos

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, Anna N said:

Biggest disappointment would be avocado. Can’t see the point.

I intensely disliked avocados as a kid, and had to eat them anyway. Sometime in my early adulthood they got a bit better. Then I discovered guacamole, and that I do LOVE.

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Porthos Potwatcher
The Once and Future Cook

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heidih

heidih

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, Duvel said:


I had a lot of uni. In Japan. Was not thrilled at all.

 

Then, on our last visit to Tokyo I invited my then girlfriend (now wife) to a very special dinner. One if the dishes was uni, freshly flewn in and opened in front of us, still filled withnsea water and half digested kelp. The flavor was so unbelievably good - I have never ever had uni again like that. So - yes, uni can be divine, but … in real life in mist probably won’t 🤗

When next you visit California you must try some of our Santa Barbara uni. https://calurchin.org/buy-uni/

 

The truffle thing - I was cooking through Julia and bought some canned for Tournedos Rossini - bit of a let down. In their defense it was late 70s and fresh not around. Still a virgin on those.

 

 

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, lemniscate said:

Maraschino cherries.  Pretty to look at but ruins a drink instantly IMHO.  Even a Shirley Temple, which was my first intro to the cursed things.

 

I love Maraschino and Maraschino cherries!  Are you sure you were using the real thing?

 

And one has to ask:  When did they ever take the cocaine out of Turkish Delight?

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
7 minutes ago, heidih said:

When next you visit California you must try some of our Santa Barbara uni. https://calurchin.org/buy-uni/

 

The truffle thing - I was cooking through Julia and bought some canned for Tournedos Rossini - bit of a let down. In their defense it was late 70s and fresh not around. Still a virgin on those.

 

 

 

Welcome back.  Truffle or no truffle.

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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heidih

heidih

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, liuzhou said:

It was nearly as traumatic as my introduction to Coca Cola. I had heard of this heavenly concoction that came from America and epitomised a mysterious but fascinating dream world of rock 'n'roll and the big screen. It wasn't widely available in the 1950s UK. We were on holiday in Scotland and, as usual, it was pouring so my parents to us to a show of some kind. There they had Coca Cola and to make up for us missing the beach, my father bought my brother and I a bottle each. The extravagance!

 

My brother loved it  and I hated it. Sugary water! Heavenly it wasn't. Still can't stand the stuff.

This Serious Eats older article on the origin of those sodas in the US popped up today. Bunch of "snake oil salesmen" pharmacists. People are suckers.  Yes the whole cocaine in the coke etc. I remember my Pepsi addicted ex upset that he could only get Coke in Atlanta, Georgia when at a convention  https://www.seriouseats.com/southern-soda-history-coke-dr-pepper-atlanta-prohibition

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liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted (edited)
26 minutes ago, mgaretz said:

 

Yes but they still use a non-narcotic extract from the coca leaf as part of the flavor profile.

 

Yes, I know. That is why I was careful to say "active cocaIne".

Edited by liuzhou (log)

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

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Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I love Maraschino and Maraschino cherries!  Are you sure you were using the real thing?

 

And one has to ask:  When did they ever take the cocaine out of Turkish Delight?

 

There was cocaine in Turkish delight?

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

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TdeV

TdeV

Posted
Posted (edited)

Last year, I had some pricey Turkish delight with pistachios which was delicious. The pieces were about the size of a thumnail, 3/8" thick. I rationed myself to two per day.

 

Afterwards I taste tested the Turkish delight options in my local Middle Eastern store, which, unfortunately, were not even close.

 

Likely, I shall treat us with a batch this year too.

 

 

 

Edited by TdeV
Clarity (log)
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FauxPas

FauxPas

Posted
Posted

My husband had an elderly relative who loved Turkish Delight. When we lived in Victoria, we used to go to the English Sweet Shop or similar stores to pick some up for her. It seemed fairly easy to find in Victoria. I hadn't had the stuff in years and I was only mildly impressed with the taste at best. I did look into making some for her, but never got around to it. 

 

One of my childhood disappointments, and probably a common one, was sneaking a taste of baking chocolate. 🙂 

 

And eggplants, we grew them in our garden when I was young. The flowers were so pretty, the fruit was gorgeous and I don't know what I thought they should taste like, but I was SO disappointed. Can't remember how they were cooked, but I avoided them after that. I'm still trying to get over that aversion. 

 

 

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JeanneCake

JeanneCake

Posted
Posted

mascarpone

 

until  you had some powdered sugar.  then I'll eat it.  We  make a wonderful limoncello mascarpone cake and honestly the only way I can tolerate mascarpone is if we use Vermont Creamery brand (it's much "softer" than the BelGioioso brand) and it has the sugar or lemon curd added to it.  Or coffee and brandy for tiramisu!

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liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
10 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

The flowers were so pretty, the fruit was gorgeous and I don't know what I thought they should taste like, but I was SO disappointed.

 

Same with me and passion fruit. I remember exactly where I saw the flowers first and thought (still think) they were so beautiful. Although I like the fruit, it pales beside the flowers.

 

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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

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FauxPas

FauxPas

Posted
Posted (edited)
12 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

Same with me and passion fruit. I remember exactly where I saw the flowers first and thought (still think) they were so beautiful. Although I like the fruit, it pales beside the flowers.

 

Oh yes, the flowers are so beautifully complex and the fruit seems like so much work. I learned to love lilikoi products in Hawaii, but it sure seemed like a labour of love to make those lovely edible products. Pricey, too, but I understand that it takes a lot of passion fruit to make a pie or whatever. 

Edited by FauxPas
to clarify (log)
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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

Oh yes, the flowers are so beautifully complex and the fruit seems like so much work. I learned to love lilikoi products in Hawaii, but it sure seemed like a labour of love to make those lovely edible products. Pricey, too, but I understand that it takes a lot of passion fruit to make a pie or whatever. 

I don't understand - passion fruit are a lot of work? Cut in half and inhale! I love a really ripe and well grown passion fruit. I'll eat them 5 at a time (if I am in a place I can afford them!)

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FauxPas

FauxPas

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I don't understand - passion fruit are a lot of work? Cut in half and inhale! I love a really ripe and well grown passion fruit. I'll eat them 5 at a time (if I am in a place I can afford them!)

 

We used to grow them in Arizona, but I don't think we ever had any real fruit on them. I guess even there the weather could get too chilly for the fruit to form? 

 

We used to buy them in Hawaii now and again, but I was always keen to make SOMETHING BIG with them, maybe? I was probably an idiot and should have just done as you suggest - enjoy them as a snack directly!  🙂

 

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cdh

cdh

Posted
Posted (edited)

Agree that uni has not done it for me in my experiences with it.  Iodine and salt, but not in the nice way scotch pulls that combo off in, say, Talisker.  Love oysters.  Turkish delight has always been meh in my experience.  I've had my socks blown off by fresh white truffles.  Black truffles never compared.  Sheng Puehr tea is never as ethereal as its proponents seem to believe.  

Edited by cdh (log)
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Christopher D. Holst aka "cdh"

Learn to brew beer with my eGCI course

Chris Holst, Attorney-at-Lunch

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