under or overrated ingredients

[ludja]

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totally unpleasant and over-rated: snail porridge

...

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What is snail porridge?

I'm hoping it's not snails and farina or oatmeal...

edited to add: I found this article on snail porridge in the Guardian here and found out it is a signature dish at Blumenthal's Fat Duck restaraunt.

So I guess my question is ammended to whether this is a classic older dish he resurrected or updated or is it something he created? Thanks.

Edited November 16, 2005 by ludja (log)

[Christopher Haatuft]

about as exclusive and refined as crabsticks

If something tastes good and, used correctly, has a beneficial effect on other ingredients, why should one care if it's exclusive? the expectations of the word "truffle"?? Truffle oil is often over-applied, and sometimes to inadequate underlying ingredients, but a judicious drop or two needn't be unrefined, and the fact it's inexpensive at this dosage shouldn't matter. (so long as the menu is not listing it in some pretence at exclusivity..)

overrated - oysters, lobster, wagyu beef, undercooked eggs and bloody swordfish.

underrated - cardamom, beetroot, mackerel, cooked lettuce, roasted almonds, cabbage (deep-fried with muscovado sugar).

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well I guess its often used to be able to use the word "truffle" in a menuitem, while its merly just chemically flavored olive oil. So I think its kinda redicolous...unless its truffle-infused oil

[Christopher Haatuft]

underrated; swede

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Under-rated:  black pudding - never seen it at a dinner party (in any shape or form)

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Then do it yourself! In the south of France, our favorite hostess not infrequently serves a tart of boudin noir and apples with champagne aperitif. Heaven!

underrated; swede

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One of the best restaurant soups I ever had was a veloute of 'swede' with cubes of foie gras and croutons of pain d'epice. Lovely.

[Matthew Grant]

Decent Chicken - much underrated

[adt]

well I guess its often used to be able to use the word "truffle" in a menuitem, while its merly just chemically flavored olive oil.

Yes, they should have to put "truffle flavoured oil" on menus, to ring the same alarm bells as "chocolate flavoured topping". I think, unbilled and subtly used, it can provide an interested dimension to dishes that can remain affordable for diners not accustomed to paying for £100 for a pizza, etc. (Am dying to try that pizza... )

[Corinna Dunne]

well I guess its often used to be able to use the word "truffle" in a menuitem, while its merly just chemically flavored olive oil.

Yes, they should have to put "truffle flavoured oil" on menus, to ring the same alarm bells as "chocolate flavoured topping". I think, unbilled and subtly used, it can provide an interested dimension to dishes that can remain affordable for diners not accustomed to paying for £100 for a pizza, etc. (Am dying to try that pizza... )

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There seem to be two types of truffle oil, one that is purely synthetic (and close to poison) and one that is truffle infused, and yes, when used humbly and subtly, it has a place.

Much underated: Lancashire hotpot

[Sackville]

Decent Chicken - much underrated

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Isn't that the truth! Too bad so many people think cheap = better.

[nuppe]

underrated; swede

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I was about to report that one

(And some day I'll understand)

[KaffirLime]

Then do it yourself! In the south of France, our favorite hostess not infrequently serves a tart of boudin noir and apples with champagne aperitif. Heaven!

"not infrequently" - does that mean often? - jeez! can we do away with the doublespeak

[rjs1]

[quote

In the south of France, our favorite hostess not infrequently serves a tart of boudin noir and apples

[muichoi]

well I guess its often used to be able to use the word "truffle" in a menuitem, while its merly just chemically flavored olive oil.

Yes, they should have to put "truffle flavoured oil" on menus, to ring the same alarm bells as "chocolate flavoured topping". I think, unbilled and subtly used, it can provide an interested dimension to dishes that can remain affordable for diners not accustomed to paying for £100 for a pizza, etc. (Am dying to try that pizza... )

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There seem to be two types of truffle oil, one that is purely synthetic (and close to poison) and one that is truffle infused, and yes, when used humbly and subtly, it has a place.

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As far as I understand it, all commercial truffle oil is made with flavouring essence, from the petrochemical industry, not the real thing. I would love to hear of any exceptions, but I've looked hard. Plenty of misleading labelling!

[nuppe]

underrated; swede

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I was about to report that one

(And some day I'll understand)

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Now I understand.

[Corinna Dunne]

well I guess its often used to be able to use the word "truffle" in a menuitem, while its merly just chemically flavored olive oil.

Yes, they should have to put "truffle flavoured oil" on menus, to ring the same alarm bells as "chocolate flavoured topping". I think, unbilled and subtly used, it can provide an interested dimension to dishes that can remain affordable for diners not accustomed to paying for £100 for a pizza, etc. (Am dying to try that pizza... )

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There seem to be two types of truffle oil, one that is purely synthetic (and close to poison) and one that is truffle infused, and yes, when used humbly and subtly, it has a place.

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As far as I understand it, all commercial truffle oil is made with flavouring essence, from the petrochemical industry, not the real thing. I would love to hear of any exceptions, but I've looked hard. Plenty of misleading labelling!

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I got a good truffle oil from Valette, a foie gras/truffle supplier in Gourdon, a hilltop village in the Dordogne... but it was about 5 years ago.

[PoppySeedBagel]

I neither rate nor rate them, as they are rather tasteless, but what are the sprout things that chic chefs use as salad garnish these days - they look like enormous mustard sprouts, with round leaves about 1- .5 cm across?

I've had them at the Champignon Sauvage, Antony's and now at Arbutus, in the last year. They are also rather difficult to eat as they stick together, so maybe you're not meant to eat them...

[Tim Hayward]

I neither rate nor rate them, as they are rather tasteless, but what are the sprout things that chic chefs use as salad garnish these days - they look like enormous mustard sprouts, with round leaves about 1- .5 cm across?

I've had them at the Champignon Sauvage, Antony's and now at Arbutus, in the last year. They are also rather difficult to eat as they stick together, so maybe you're not meant to eat them...

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They're always on the menu as 'Microgreens' and are truly Satan's Salad.

My most overrated ingredients would be fresh porcini and dried chanterelles (at least the ones we get here).

Most underrated would be Aji-no-moto - that's pure MSG to you - a harmless flavour enhancer and source of umami that even the most outre molecular cowboys seem too gutless to embrace.

Edited December 2, 2006 by Tim Hayward (log)

[naebody]

Memory jogged by this thread: foie gras. So it's meat that tastes a bit like butter. I get it. Is it really worth all that fuss?

If force-fed goose liver came out tasting like sardines, I would perhaps understand.

Edited December 5, 2006 by naebody (log)

[PoppySeedBagel]

It's not meat that tastes a bit like butter - it's foie gras, and yes, in my opinion, for the good fresh stuff it really is worth all the fuss.

Edited to ask where, in the opinion of the forum, is the bets place to buy foie gras in central London?

Edited December 6, 2006 by PoppySeedBagel (log)

[Soapy Joe]

Under-rated:

Fish roe, especially smoked cod's roe. Everybody I introduce it to asks where they can get it and why it costs so little.

Soured cream

Crab (why would anyone eat lobster when you can have four times as much crab for the price?)

Over-rated:

Pretty much any salad in a bag from a supermarket (does it ever taste of anything?)

Anything grown hydroponically (Dutch peppers, tomatoes etc). They don't taste of anything.

Those herb plants sold in supermarkets, especially the coriander. Designed to add colour but no flavour to a dish (just occassionally a basil plant is okay but I woud say only about 10% of the time)

[Matthew Grant]

Agree about crab, unfortunately picking a fresh crab is a relatively laborious process otherwise it would surely be far more popular.

[tony h]

Edited to ask where, in the opinion of the forum, is the bets place to buy foie gras in central London?

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Ginger Pig off marylebone high street - phone ahead to see if they have any or to ask them to get you some