Foodies In The News

[KeenCook]

I was once given some "fresh" dates ... hmm ...

[Badger's Mate]

That’s the word - revelation. Or at least the right one for this forum

My revelatory experience was in Spain, too. Can’t now remember if Extremadura or somewhere near the Doñana.

[Rainbow]

Olives eaten fresh off the tree are very bitter. You can’t get rid of the taste for ages.

hahahaha - you've tried it, too. very bitter/astringent - very unpleasant.
it was a revelation - partaken in a lay-by on the way to grenada.

We had lots of olive trees around where we used to live in the Barossa Valley. Tried one and - never again!! Unpleasant was an understatement.
Whoever thought they could be processed and made edible?? I've often thought the same about rhubarb

[Stokey Sue]

Olive oil wastewater. The new Superfood? https://www.theguardian.com/food/articl ... -superfood

Repeat after me
THERE ARE NO SUPERFOIDS ONCE YOU ARE WEANED
There may be “super” diets, notice they didn’t risk BiL comments

I was once given some "fresh" dates ... hmm ...

Fresh dates can be glorious - but there are nearly as many varieties as there are of apples
If what you were given were unripe/green, , dates though then I agree, not nice though popular where they are grown. Those available in London are usually yellow rather than green in colour, with a smooth tough skin.

[scullion]

i've had fresh mejool dates but i think that may have been from a market in turkey, though i'm sure i've bought them here, too. they are glorious.
the smaller yellow ones aren't bad, either.

[Pepper Pig]

Fermenting at home. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... t-you-need

[Stokey Sue]

I keep meaning to try more fermenting, my last attempt failed, quite fancy one of Olia Hercules' classes (quite handy for me)

But, much as I generally admire Mark Diacono this is rubbish, but I've seen t elsewhere, Sandor Katz maybe to blame

Salt
“The salt should be high quality, and preservative free,” says Mark Diacono, author of Ferment From Scratch. “Otherwise those preservatives are acting against the bacteria you want to proliferate.” Try Maldon salt (£2.70, tesco.com) or Himalayan Pink Salt (£1.99, aldi.co.uk), but any high quality, preservative-free rock or sea salt will suffice.

Nobody puts "preservatives" into salt that kill bacteria, the additive (usually a phosphate) it intended to stop the salt from clumping and is very unlikely to affect fermentation in the amounts used, after all - NaCl is a pretty good anti-bacterial preservative in its own right. For heaven's sake don't waste money on Himalayan Pink Salt (almost certainly doctored with iron oxides), you can get pure sea salt for as little as £2/kg from refill shops or in big packs from may places. The infamous kosher salt also works.

[scullion]

i use the cheapest salt going - from lidl.
NaCl is NaCl (in whatever size of crystal, fancy name etc) - i've never had any problems. if it's got a bit of extra iodine etc it's all to the good if you ask me (i bung a pinch of kelp into kimchi to make up for the shrimp paste that i don't add so i'm sure that has loads of minerals that one is told isn't good for it!)

[Stokey Sue]

Yes. exactly scullion, it's just the obsession with evil ChEmIcAls - like people who don't put them into their laundry (but do of course use some kind of soap or detergent)

[Amber]

I’m fairly sure this will have been posted earlier, but it just came up in my news today.

https://www.nationalworld.com/culture/c ... _content=1

[scullion]

yes, you posted it on the 'what are you eating today' thread!

[Amber]

Ooops, sorry. Incorrect link earlier.

[Pepper Pig]

Recipes from Woodbridge in Suffolk look fab. Crab risotto and fig tarte tatin.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/articl ... pub-treats

[Pepper Pig]

Felicity’s perfect Blueberry Pie.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/articl ... pie-recipe

[Earthmaiden]

I thought she went on a bit about the juices and wondered why she didn't use arrowroot or cornflour ... and then she did .

[Amber]

AI recipes - Dubai pizza.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cl7y71krnjvo

[Pepper Pig]

Chocolate Norange.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/ar ... te-norange



And canned Carbonara!

https://www.theguardian.com/business/ar ... ara-canned

[Earthmaiden]

I hate chocolate oranges so welcome any alternative. The mint ones were said to be very nice.

They've featured the carbonara on ITV news tonight. I secretly like all the Heinz pasta dishes apart from macaroni cheese - it will depend if it has that sterilised milk taste or not.

[Stokey Sue]

I’ve seen pasta carbonara in chiller cabinets, I don’t mind spaghetti hoops etc because canned tomato sauce makes sense but not a dish the main ingredients of which are cured pork, pasta, eggs and cheese with a bit of additional seasoning and a sprinkle of parsley.
The Heinz version doesn’t contain any egg at all, it seems to have been replaced with a cornflour and milk sauce
Don’t think I’ll invest £1.75

Ingredients
Pasta (45%, Durum Wheat Semolina), Water, Pancetta (1%, Pork (95%), Salt, Spices, Maltodextrin, Dextrose, Acidity Refulators - Sodium Citrate and Sodium Carbonate, Antioxidant - Sodium Ascorbate, Preservative - Sodium Nutrite, Smoked Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavouring), Cornflour, Skimmed Milk Powder, Cheese Powder Blend (1%, Contains Milk), Milk Powder, Sugar, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Modified Cornflour, Stabilisers - Polyphospates and Sodium Phosphates, Natural Garlic Flacouring, Black Pepper, Onion Extract, Dried Parsley.

[Earthmaiden]

They've certainly had enough publicity to sell a few tins!

Cookery books - do these grace your shelves or Kindles?

https://www.standard.co.uk/shopping/esb ... 78523.html