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Thou shall not covet

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Thou shall not covet

Postby Pepper Pig » Fri Jan 29, 2021 7:29 pm

Can you think of foodie things you coveted for years which turned out to be an immense disappointment?

One of my grandpas remarried (3rd wife) in his seventies and one of their wedding presents was one of those wooden spice wheels, maybe 12 jars, which hung on their kitchen wall. I thought it was wonderful.

My mother inherited it about 10 years later and it looked exactly the same, still cool. The herbs and spices were of course completely tasteless and probably always were.

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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby Busybee » Fri Jan 29, 2021 7:48 pm

I always thought I would like Glacé Marrons, absolutely yuk. So sweet it made my teeth itch.

BB

When I left school I worked in banking, our manager was retiring and he got the local very posh restaurant to do a tasting menu for his leaving dinner. He was so excited to be introducing us to all these upmarket ingredients which we hadn’t tried before. I remember being very underwhelmed with caviar, but his excitement was sort of infectious.
Last edited by Busybee on Fri Jan 29, 2021 7:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby Wic » Fri Jan 29, 2021 7:50 pm

Banana Bread. I knew I’d love it, then I tasted it. I hated it!

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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby Stokey Sue » Fri Jan 29, 2021 8:51 pm

Truffles - I don hate them, I have a bottle of (real) truffle oil which I sometimes use, but I really don’t get the excitement, give me cêpes/ porcini any day

I can’t actually remember when I first tasted real truffles, I was so underwhelmed

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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby jeral » Fri Jan 29, 2021 9:19 pm

Caviar, not that I coveted it. Oysters from curiosity as my dad raved over the fresh ones on seaside visits - never eaten until I bought a tin of smoked oysters. They're something where maybe the proper (not tinned) version is streets ahead but unobtainable so can't say.

I wanted a garlic crusher for years but I knew it would be kitchen fodder. I bought a decent hefty one and found it hopeless as it merely squashed the clove.

Not quite the same but I bought "fresh ginger" via a supermarket last week, which came as dried-up, mouldy, woody chunks which would have been fine, or at least better, if left uncut. Whoever thinks exposing the juicy ends by chopping it up can't know what ginger is :lol:

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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby Amyw » Fri Jan 29, 2021 10:06 pm

Soufflés, I thought I’d love them as chefs rave so much about them , but I thought they were a bit meh ... I’d rather have a good cheese omelette .

Similar with chocolate fondants , I wonder if the techniques involved give them a bit more prestige than they deserve .

Scallops too , they’re OK but I’d rather have some good prawns or a big bowl of steaming mussels

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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby Stokey Sue » Fri Jan 29, 2021 10:13 pm

Oysters are odd - my dad and I first had them together, I think he ate 3, one with each dressing, and that was his lifetime total for raw (oysters Rockefeller being a different kettle of hot bivalve). He described them as “gristly seawater” and while I can entirely see his POV, I love them, not sure they love me

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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby Earthmaiden » Fri Jan 29, 2021 10:40 pm

Although I haven't had the really, really expensive ones, things like raw oysters, caviar, champagne and truffles don't excite me as much as they apparently should.

In the kitchen, I coveted an electric steamer for a long time. Both my children had them and produced wonderful meals from them. I hated mine, it was a well-known make (can't remember what), boiled dry a lot so it had to be watched and I never got the knack of cooking each layer for the right amount of time.

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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby Pepper Pig » Fri Jan 29, 2021 10:43 pm

I’ve been there twice EM. Bought one and couldn’t get on with it. Gave to eldest. A few years later seduced by another. Same result. Can’t remember who has it now but they all think they’re wonderful.

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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby Gruney2 » Fri Jan 29, 2021 10:52 pm

When I was a little lad, I always wanted to grow tall enough to see what went on behind the chip shop counter.

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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby Stokey Sue » Fri Jan 29, 2021 11:09 pm

Gruney2 wrote:When I was a little lad, I always wanted to grow tall enough to see what went on behind the chip shop counter.

And...

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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby Gruney2 » Fri Jan 29, 2021 11:14 pm

There was no fire breathing dragon - all very ordinary.

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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby PatsyMFagan » Sat Jan 30, 2021 1:07 pm

Earthmaiden wrote:In the kitchen, I coveted an electric steamer for a long time. Both my children had them and produced wonderful meals from them. I hated mine, it was a well-known make (can't remember what), boiled dry a lot so it had to be watched and I never got the knack of cooking each layer for the right amount of time.


Pepper Pig wrote:I’ve been there twice EM. Bought one and couldn’t get on with it. Gave to eldest. A few years later seduced by another. Same result. Can’t remember who has it now but they all think they’re wonderful.


Yup, me too .. daughter and an old friend of mine love theirs ... I bought one, could never get on with it. However, my old friend can't see the appeal of my Instant Pot that I wouldn't be without, using it most days.

Also I have a clutch of stuff that I have bought over the last few years that I have never used, or just didn't work... the OXO Good Grips spiraliser (bought I thing at one of the foodie meets in London), a collapasable Waitrose sieve and a double ended thingy (for Ice-cream ?)
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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby Seatallan » Sat Jan 30, 2021 1:35 pm

I coveted a microplane grater for yonks. Received one as a Christmas present and promptly managed to grate the tip of my thumb off the first time I used the damn thing. Had to go to A&E. Since then, despite having invested in a guard, I'm so wary of it that I hardly ever use it.
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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby KeenCook2 » Sat Jan 30, 2021 2:51 pm

Seatallan wrote:I coveted a microplane grater for yonks. Received one as a Christmas present and promptly managed to grate the tip of my thumb off the first time I used the damn thing. Had to go to A&E. Since then, despite having invested in a guard, I'm so wary of it that I hardly ever use it.


I periodically covet one of those, too, Sea, but have so far resisted the temptation for fear of doing what you did!

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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby Badger's Mate » Sat Jan 30, 2021 3:02 pm

Michael Barry, the silver-tongued devil, convinced me on Food and Drink that we should all be using microplane graters. I have got one, did buy the guard, but still prefer to use the box grater. The microplane does get used when the other one is in the dishwasher but I never use the guard any more. In fact I often retrieve the BG from the DW rather than use the MP. :D

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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby mistakened » Sat Jan 30, 2021 3:15 pm

PatsyMFagan wrote:the OXO Good Grips spiraliser )
I bought one, much harder to use than I thought it would be. However we use our microplane graters

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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby Earthmaiden » Sat Jan 30, 2021 3:20 pm

My microplane grater is something I coveted, bought and really love. I wouldn't be without it and have never grated my fingers. A box grater has different uses completely (mainly carrots and cheese in this house!).

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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby Stokey Sue » Sat Jan 30, 2021 3:36 pm

I have a flat grater that's basically the coarse side of a box grater and I use it, as demonstrated by Rachel Ray, laid over a bowl or pan, easy to grate carrots directly into the sald bowl for example
Like this
Image

Rachel also pointed out that problem with cheap gadgets is that they never, ever, come with adequate instructions, often none, and they often work really well if someone shows you the trick, which seems to be relevant to many of these :D

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Re: Thou shall not covet

Postby ChinchillaLady » Sat Jan 30, 2021 4:16 pm

I wanted a ridged griddle plate to produce those succulent striped steaks and courgettes so beloved of chefs. Saved up, bought one, the kitchen filled with smoke, the extractor couldnt cope, the smoke alarms went off, never again, sold it at a car boot for a very stupid amount of money.

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