Food! [The thread that started this section]

The original cock sriracha is about 4000-5000 scoville, which is the same as tabasco. Dunno about the knock-offs.

I thought I knew what the real cock-bottle looks like. I've just checked and i've actually bought Flying Goose sriracha.

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How they can get away with this I don't know. The reviews are pretty good though.




Cock-bottle

Sriracha_%22Rooster%22_sauce.jpg
 
:drool:

On a side note: I made bacon mayonnaise yesterday. Yum.
 
Oh wow.
I got goosebumps. For real.
 
A hospital specification shepherd's pie for two reasonably fat people after James May's recipe:

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And it was awesome.
 
:lol:

That description.

Looks good, though. :)
 
Oooh, sounds interesting!
Thanks, I'll save it for later.
 
Ooooh, I'll see if it's available here.
 
I used to work in the produce department of a chain grocery store in rural Wisconsin (almost everything had to be imported from California) for nearly 5 years, ending about 15 years ago. I feel like I have a lot of experience with fruit (all my friends ask me about how to pick good/ripe produce).

In the last 10 years, or so, I can't help but feel like fruit tastes worse than it did just those few years ago.

Strawberries: We used to have deep, rich red berries with seeds that were "indented" into the skin. Now, it seems like 99% of the berries are from Driscol's or Foxy, and they are all pale red, with seeds sticking up off the skin. They are not nearly as sweet or juicy, either. They also don't seem to "ripen". They are a direct non-stop from pale red and straight to slimy without a stop in Ripeville on the way.

Pineapple: When I worked at the grocery store, there were two types of pineapple: the regular ones, and the more expensive "golden" pineapples. Now, it seems like I can only find the "golden". The issue is, while they are generally over-all sweeter, I just don't like the flavor of them as much as "regular" pineapples. I get it, though...regular pineapples could be anywhere from a C- to an A+ with sweetness, but quite often sour. The "golden" pineapples are a consistent "B"...but I miss the actual flavor of the regular pineapples.

Clementines: Didn't they used to only come around for a month in the fall and come from Spain, or something? I remember every single one being suuuuper easy to peel, and amazing flavor. Now, they seem to be available 8 months of the year at least, and I have yet to have one that was anywhere near a "C" rating, compared to what they used to taste like.

Corn: Not a fruit, but compared to the corn I used to have, the corn available now tastes like potato...too starchy, no natural corn sweetness.

Watermelon: I supposed seedless watermelons are more convenient, but they taste different than the regularly-seeded 10-18lbs monsters we used to sell years and years ago. I don't even see non-seedless melons in the stores anymore.

Am I crazy? Is produce "worse"? Has something specific good into effect in the last decade-and-a-half?
 
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A potential reason for this could be change in variety? Variety means a lot. Even during high summer in Norway, some strawberry varieties will still taste like water.

And while it's very early for strawberries in the UK, I had some last week that smelled great at the farmers market but the taste was pretty disappointing.
 
It's very hit-and-miss in the US (slightly less so here) in my experience, which admittedly isn't expansive. I've had some very nice grapes and others that were like little balls of acid, barely edible if at all. Blackberries, which I love, range from flavourful and ripe to bitter and aroma-free. The only corn I've had was from a local farm and very nice. As for apples, the plague that is the "Red Delicious" seems to be somewhat on the wane.
 
I always thought that "globalization" meant that we'd get produce that was in-season all the time. Instead, it means that all-year, everything tastes like off-season. :(


Note: I'm fully aware that I can go to farmers' markets and buy local/seasonal...but I'm talking about the stuff that one finds in the normal grocery stores, which everyone has access to.
 
And while it's very early for strawberries in the UK, I had some last week that smelled great at the farmers market but the taste was pretty disappointing.
I think they spray them with aroma, to be honest. I once bought a small crate of them, hoping that a wooden crate would have protected them well on the way here from Spain. They looked and smelled just fine, but the few that I ate were tasteless and the rest already spoilt.

- - - Updated - - -

I always thought that "globalization" meant that we'd get produce that was in-season all the time. Instead, it means that all-year, everything tastes like off-season. :(
Sort of - cherries seem to be an exception. IIRC, we import lots of them from Turkey and those are probably air freight since they wouldn't survive a long and bumpy journey in a lorry. Later in the year, there's the regional guys who sell their cherries on that busy shopping street downtown... and now I'm looking forward to the end of summer. :drool:

BTW, how is he US for air freight mangoes from India and/or Pakistan? AFAIK, the EU has banned them until next year for some reason; could be pests or pesticides.

The ban has been lifted! WOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!! :mouse::w00t::dance::happy::thumbsup:
 
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