Crimes Against Food

[Bond Girl]

That butter thing is a true crime against food. What about take out places that crushes your containers and half your food is at the bottom of the bag.

[TJHarris]

A warm plate under an otherwise delightfully chilled salad.

This one always gets my undies in a bunch.

[chappie]

Hey Freud, some of us buy it cause we actually like the way it tastes!  Bocca makes a tasty burger.

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I agree. While I've never tasted a fake wiener worth a second bite, I eat Boca burgers all the time, and I'm as omnivorous as they come. It's quick, I can cook it vertically in my toaster, and smear it with whatever I've got on hand: hummus, mustard, pickles, cheese, you name it.

For me, it's not a replacement for a good beef burger; it's something else entirely. Morningstar's spicy meatless chicken nuggets, I have to admit, are also delicious, and they're probably made with better ingredients than other frozen reconstituted chicken products.

[chappie]

I ran into this one a few days ago at a restaurant that should know better.

The butter was cold

and wrapped in gold foil

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We used to eat at this short-lived hole-in-the-wall nearby, a little breakfast/lunch nook, and what kept us coming back was probably the fact they placed a dish of soft, whipped butter on the table. It's amazing how many restaurants overlook such a simple, cheap way to please each and every customer.

The same goes for crappy, room-temperature bread.

[RSincere]

We used to eat at this short-lived hole-in-the-wall nearby, a little breakfast/lunch nook, and what kept us coming back was probably the fact they placed a dish of soft, whipped butter on the table. It's amazing how many restaurants overlook such a simple, cheap way to please each and every customer.

That's funny--in the restaurant where I used to be a waitress, we used an ice cream scoop to scoop a lovely portion of softened butter into a small dish; it went on every table with the bread basket. I was amazed at how many times I had to stop people (adults even) from just dipping their spoon into it and eating it; I don't know what they thought it was, but they didn't know it was butter!

[alexw]

forget the butter for a minute and make way for the little thimble full of piss, the UHT milk carton, with the lid that's superglued on so that just as the seal goes and it starts to open the momentum of the struggle throws the 2 mls of white stuff all over the 16 stone trucker on the next table.

[Chloe]

I don't particularly like soft butter, and I certainly don't liked being served soft butter in a restaurant. I prefer it to be cold and, if necessary, for it to "warm up" in my presence so that I know it hasn't been hanging around at room temperature for god knows how long.

And I prefer butter on my bread to be cold and hard

I was also wondering what is wrong with room-temperature bread? Unless you mean that if it's crappy, it should be toasted/warmed. If it's good bread, surely room-temperature is perfectly satisfactory or even ideal??

Chloe

North Portugal

[Chris Amirault]

Garnishes.

Lettuce under your fries.

Mint stabbed into a slice of cake.

Parsley tossed next to your eggs.

When the first thing you do to your plate is remove inedible ugly food, you know there's a problem.

[nice_guy1812]

Mint on desserts. Why do people do it? I've never encountered a desser with mint IN it, so why ON it? When I become a pastry chef I will never, ever put mint on anything. You can all hold me to it.

[jglazer75]

I don't particularly like soft butter, and I certainly don't liked being served soft butter in a restaurant. I prefer it to be cold and, if necessary, for it to "warm up" in my presence so that I know it hasn't been hanging around at room temperature for god knows how long.

And I prefer butter on my bread to be cold and hard 

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Odd, this is one of my pet peeves. I HATE it when restaurants bring butter that is hard as a rock and you shred your bread just trying to spread it on. I can understand not wanting the butter sitting around at room temp, but it seems that there are SO MANY other things to worry about at a restaurant than getting diseases from butter.

[JPW]

Seen for the first time the other day --

Low

Carb

Pizza

That's just so wrong on so many levels.

[pingarina]

Will someone please explaiin to me the appeal of eating contests? Sick on every level. They even have their own "international federation." Ugh.

[Jinmyo]

Will someone please explaiin to me the appeal of eating contests?  Sick on every level.  They even have their own "international federation."  Ugh.

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I've made a long-standing submission to the UN that these replace wars. No answer as yet.

[pingarina]

I've made a long-standing submission to the UN that these replace wars. No answer as yet.

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Well, if you put it that way, I'm all for them!

[Chloe]

Odd, this is one of my pet peeves. I HATE it when restaurants bring butter that is hard as a rock and you shred your bread just trying to spread it on. I can understand not wanting the butter sitting around at room temp, but it seems that there are SO MANY other things to worry about at a restaurant than getting diseases from butter.

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It hadn't occurred to me to worry about diseases - I was actually thinking more of flavour/oiliness!

Chloe

North Portugal

[LittleWing]

Odd, this is one of my pet peeves. I HATE it when restaurants bring butter that is hard as a rock and you shred your bread just trying to spread it on. I can understand not wanting the butter sitting around at room temp, but it seems that there are SO MANY other things to worry about at a restaurant than getting diseases from butter.

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hear, hear !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fifi]

I am confused with the concern for room temperature butter. I will have to admit that my go-to butter is the salted variety. It is what I grew up with and I don't care for the unsalted variety for spreading on toast and such. I keep a half stick in a porcelain crock at room temperature for weeks without any sign of decay or problem. Once or twice I have seen a sign of mold and thrown it out. I have never seen any signs of rancidity or any other pollution. Even unsalted, the composition of butter does not really lend itself to proliferation of food poisoning bacteria in most situations.

So... What is the concern?

[tommy]

why do i freeze butter when i have too much if I could even leave it out on the counter for weeks?

time for an experiment. although regardless if the results, i'll likely continue to refrigerate butter, and take it out an hour early to soften it up, which is the result that most people seem to want.

also, rancid butter is no fun. horrible horrible taste.

edit: everything i've read tells me it's a shelf-life issue. as well as a quality issue, as it might be less likely to pick up off-flavors wrapped nicely in the fridge. some thoughts here.

Edited September 24, 2004 by tommy (log)

[fifi]

If I run into a sale, I stock up and freeze. Mostly, I keep butter in the fridge. I also keep a bit out at room temp for spreading on toast or bread. I intend for the room temp stuff to be used up in a week or two. I wouldn't advocate storing it at room temp long term. It would certainly go rancid. ICK!

[Squeat Mungry]

why do i freeze butter when i have too much if I could even leave it out on the counter for weeks?

time for an experiment.  although regardless if the results, i'll likely continue to refrigerate butter, and take it out an hour early to soften it up, which is the result that most people seem to want.

also, rancid butter is no fun.  horrible horrible taste.

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I do all three. I always have butter in the freezer, in the fridge and on the counter (yes, for at least one week, easily). When the countertop butter is used up or has gone rancid (easy to tell with the tip of a finger and ones tongue, but this hardly ever happens because I go through it so fast), it is replaced with butter from the fridge, which is replaced with butter from the freezer. This way I always have cold butter for making biscuits, and room-temp butter for spreading on them. Easy-peasy!

I always buy unsalted for better salt control in cooking, but when I spread it (on bagels, toast, muffins, whatever) I just sprinkle some salt on top.

Cheers,

Squeat

[judiu]

Cooked celery in anything, but most especially my Chinese food! There is a reason for bok choy! It is not replaceable by celery! YECH

[Lexica]

There is a reason for bok choy! It is not replaceable by celery! YECH

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Celery instead of bok choy, no. (If nothing else, the flavor is so much stronger that it'd throw the rest of the dish out of balance.) But bok choy instead of celery works nicely if you're married to a celery-phobe like I am. Without bok choy and water chestnuts, I'm not sure what I'd use to add the "crunch" that celery's frequently used for.

[Yajna Patni]

The nice mesculin salad that is swimming in dressing really makes me crazy too.

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mee tooo..

esp when the dressing is over vinagery and even more if it is over balsamic vinegary

[Yajna Patni]

The nice mesculin salad that is swimming in dressing really makes me crazy too.

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ME too! esp if it is drowned in balsamic vinegar.

[Yajna Patni]

Mint on desserts.  Why do people do it?  I've never encountered a desser with mint IN it, so why ON it?  When I become a pastry chef I will never, ever put mint on anything.  You can all hold me to it.

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Worse than mint IMHO is covering everything in powdered sugar. gross. it looks stupid, blurs the colour contrasts and tastes vile.