The Cooking Irritations thread

Staph

Absolutely, there is a higher risk of exposure to pesticides/herbicides/antibiotics with conventional farming practices compared to organic farming. But there is really no difference between them nutritionally, here's a review article collating various studies on this topic http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1355685 .
Anyway, the point is that the comment by the show presenters is misleading. They can have the belief that the produce is better for them, but they should not make unfounded claims.

LaChatteGitane

Staph wrote: »

Absolutely, there is a higher risk of exposure to pesticides/herbicides/antibiotics with conventional farming practices compared to organic farming. But there is really no difference between them nutritionally, here's a review article collating various studies on this topic http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1355685 .
Anyway, the point is that the comment by the show presenters is misleading. They can have the belief that the produce is better for them, but they should not make unfounded claims.

They often talk out of their backside. :pac:

Your last point there. Of course organic is better, as it doesn't contain all the crap poisons which actually doesn't belong in any food.

Since when has organically grown become alternative, I wonder ? Organic was the conventional method of farming a long, long time ago.:(

Staph

LaChatteGitane wrote: »

Organic was the conventional method of farming a long, long time ago.:(

That's so true! You sort of forget that, as most modern commercial farming depend on all of these aids/treatments/chemicals for production.

kylith

TBH, I'm a little on the fence when it comes to organic meat. AIUI, at least in the US (I hope it's different here), it means that if an animal becomes ill they can't treat it with antibiotics without that cow, for example, becoming 'not organic', even long after the treatment has taken place. Obviously I don't want my meat swimming in unnecessary chemicals and medication, but I'm also not happy with animals being denied treatment in the hope that they'll get better on their own, or culled because the farmer can't give them a course of cow-penicillin.

LaChatteGitane

kylith wrote: »

TBH, I'm a little on the fence when it comes to organic meat. AIUI, at least in the US (I hope it's different here), it means that if an animal becomes ill they can't treat it with antibiotics without that cow, for example, becoming 'not organic', even long after the treatment has taken place. Obviously I don't want my meat swimming in unnecessary chemicals and medication, but I'm also not happy with animals being denied treatment in the hope that they'll get better on their own, or culled because the farmer can't give them a course of cow-penicillin.

http://www.teagasc.ie/faol/NR/rdonlyres/E680DD92-CED8-4FEC-9199-66F0B60E9477/80/OrganicLeaflet.pdf page 14

Animals are not being denied treatment. Neither are they being culled unless absolutely necessary (just like in conventional farming)

Nekarsulm

Staph wrote: »

That's so true! You sort of forget that, as most modern commercial farming depend on all of these aids/treatments/chemicals for production.

I would have to disagree. Hormone based growth promoters are banned on Western Europe since the late 1980's, and no farmer doses his animals for any purpose - other than good husbandry reasons.
Modern anti-parasitic treatments are focused and effective. They target the worms etc and have certified withdrawal times.

The same cannot be said of some of the treatments meted out times gone by.
For example, my grand father told me that in the 1930's and 40's, there were no effective compounds to treat house (lungworms). The practice was to cut a small opening in the treachea and squirt in a solution of bluestone to the animals lungs.
This, and other "treatments" were closer allied to witchcraft and pishogery than science.
I am completely convinced animals in the good chain today are much healtier then in the past,when "organic" methods were the norm.

Staph

Yes, there is a lot to be said for modern farming practices too. We would have huge losses of crops and inefficient use of land without limiting plant diseases for example.

Nekarsulm

I should also point out two other things, 1. I am a full time farmer, predominantly sheep with some beef, and 2. Quote . "Of course organic is better, as it doesn't contain all the crap poisons which actually doesn't belong in any food."
The crap poisons, if present, are introduced by the processors to add flavour, etc. and to extend shelf life.

heldel00

The surge of irritation when you come home expecting the timer on your slow cooker to have kicked in only to find that you had plugged in the toaster that morning instead of slow cooker!

Tree

I put the timer plug on the slow cooker, set the time, flicked the little switches for 8h worth, plugged it all in and wandered off. Realised 16h later that i had left the switch on the side to perma-on instead of timed

Faith

Not so much a cooking irritation as a restaurant one, but we had brunch in a restaurant earlier that's very trendy and hipster. Great food (but their dishes are never properly balanced). Anyway, I ordered a dish with several components, each of which needed cutting. It arrived in a deep bowl. It looked lovely, but it meant I had my elbows 90 degrees from my body to angle my cutlery in there :mad:. I seriously felt like asking to speak to the chef to complain about what a ridiculous way it was to present food.

And that's not even starting on the chilling sound of cutlery scraping off slate from the table next to us :mad:

Dial Hard

Faith wrote:

Anyway, I ordered a dish with several components, each of which needed cutting. It arrived in a deep bowl.

Oooh, I *hate* that. The potential for food and/or bowl tiddlywinks is off the chart.

Speedwell

My husband has unilaterally decided that we need more kitchen appliances for our birthdays this year. And our anniversary present. And just damn well because. He's decided to get a decent low-end barbecue grill in June, either an electric food grinder or meat slicer for his birthday in July, whichever one he did not get in July for August, a well-rated household grade stand mixer for me for my birthday in September, and a high-powered liquidiser ("it makes hot soup!") for our anniversary later in September. I asked him whether he planned an extension to the house for Christmas so we could find places to store everything.

To add insult to injury, we both need to lose some significant weight.

Elliott S

squonk wrote: »

Watching american cookery programs where the presenter morphs from their own accent into some weird foreign accent to to say words like Ricotta, Cinatro, Crema etc. Guy Fieri I'm especially looking at you!

TeletextPear wrote: »

Oh my god. I was watching some cooking competition show that had these girls competing who were from New Jersey with 'Italian heritage'. Every second word was in a stupid accent, with my particular bugbear being 'Mot-sarellllll'. It's fcuking mozarella, it has an A at the end! :mad:

Faith wrote: »

And where did "parma-jhaan" come from? It's "parma-zan".

(Or if you're my mother, "par-mee-zan" :pac:)

Isn't all this down to the cultural background of the American in question? If you're only a first- or second-generation Italian-American, it isn't surprising that you might have slangy or shortened versions of Italian pronunciations and names. They might have grown up hearing their parents or grandparents speak like that and it's passed down. They're not for no reason. Parma-jhaan is obviously short for Parmigiano-Reggiano, another name for Parmesan. Watch the Sopranos and it is full of these kinds of pronunciations. OK, it's a TV show but one created by a first- or second-generation Italian-American so it seems very authentic of the Italian-American experience. I love all these pronunciations as they display the cultural background of the speaker. Some Irish-Americans probably pronounce certain things in ways considered strange to others.

Keane2baMused wrote: »

Hate getting wooden boards also.

They're for chopping bread on, not eating a steak dinner off!

Especially when you're served something that comes with a sauce on a feckin' chopping board. The plate is a design classic. It is totally designed for purpose. Why mess with that?

IvyTheTerrible

Elliott S wrote: »

Especially when you're served something that comes with a sauce on a feckin' chopping board. The plate is a design classic. It is totally designed for purpose. Why mess with that?

I'm convinced that in a lot of cases, it has to do with reducing serving sizes.

Dizzyblonde

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

I'm convinced that in a lot of cases, it has to do with reducing serving sizes.

You could be right. A medium sized piece of fish sitting on a tablespoon of mushy peas with a tiny amount of chips doesn't look as mean on a skinny wooden board as it would on a plate.

rubadub

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

I'm convinced that in a lot of cases, it has to do with reducing serving sizes.

This is why I was pleased when I heard of plans to make restaurants quote calories per portion -gave you a good idea of what to expect and grounds to complain. Everyone only seemed to think of dieters when the news came out.

Was watching "my kitchen rules" tonight and they served up this portion of "thrice fried chips", everyone just got 3 miserable chips, not even a half decent size ones

tringle

When someone makes and "Irish Stew" with beef. "Sure I always use beef in my Irish stew". Then its STEW or BEEF STEW not Irish stew which should be mutton...but I will let you away with lamb.

Shepherd's Pie made with beef mince, then its Cottage Pie, Shepherd pie has lamb....the clue is in the name SHEPHERD

Ceasar salad with chicken, that's a chicken salad.

Eating out and side salads are put onto warm plates with the meat, who likes wilted lettuce

the beer revolu

tringle wrote: »

When someone makes and "Irish Stew" with beef. "Sure I always use beef in my Irish stew". Then its STEW or BEEF STEW not Irish stew which should be mutton...but I will let you away with lamb.

Shepherd's Pie made with beef mince, then its Cottage Pie, Shepherd pie has lamb....the clue is in the name SHEPHERD

Ceasar salad with chicken, that's a chicken salad.

Eating out and side salads are put onto warm plates with the meat, who likes wilted lettuce

To people who know me for a while on here:
I have not opened another account.
This is not me.

Tringle, some people get quite upset when you tell them that their stew isn't Irish stew, I find.

TBR, aka the shepherd's pie nazi

kylith

I tried to get mutton a while back and was practically laughed out of the shop, after being told I must have grown up on a sheep farm, or read too many cookery books. Uh, no, it's just better for stewing.

Nekarsulm

kylith wrote: »

I tried to get mutton a while back and was practically laughed out of the shop, after being told I must have grown up on a sheep farm, or read too many cookery books. Uh, no, it's just better for stewing.

Who are they kidding? half time thats all they are selling.....

tringle

the beer revolu wrote: »

To people who know me for a while on here:
I have not opened another account.
This is not me.

Tringle, some people get quite upset when you tell them that their stew isn't Irish stew, I find.

TBR, aka the shepherd's pie nazi

Are you the same???
If we were French there would be no issue, what it is is what it is, no exceptions.
Irish stew with beef is like Boeuf Bourguignon made with lamb, it cant happen

I recently found out that Camembert and Coulummiers cheeses are the same, but different sizes from different areas.

Other irritations, low fat or low sugar versions of real foods. Low fat cheese, low fat butter. Butter and cheese are fat, that's what they are made of. Low fat versions aren't real, they are processed chemical messes. Just eat less instead of low fat. And has anyone tried low fat mayonnaise.

Whispered

tringle wrote: »

Other irritations, low fat or low sugar versions of real foods. Low fat cheese, low fat butter. Butter and cheese are fat, that's what they are made of. Low fat versions aren't real, they are processed chemical messes. Just eat less instead of low fat. And has anyone tried low fat mayonnaise.

Yes!! How did it become "healthy" to replace real food with the highly processed versions.

While on the subject, highly processed stuff marketed to parents. Petit filous, sugar free cordial etc. Parents being told that they are good for their kids. Oh and a real bugbear of mine - "baby rice" and jars of food. Kids eat real food! No need for mushing everything beyond all recognition.

Speedwell

Being given a small appliance as a gift... and it's several steps down the line from the model you would have bought for yourself and lacks certain important and exciting functionalities you were looking forward to... but because they are so proud and happy that they were able to get you "what you wanted", you can't take it back and buy the model you really wanted.

Less of an irritation and more of a disappointment really. And ungrateful, too.

The Hill Billy

Whispered wrote: »

...Oh and a real bugbear of mine - "baby rice" and jars of food. Kids eat real food! No need for mushing everything beyond all recognition.

Some folk were shocked when told that HB Jr I was fed chicken & black bean sauce, fish pie, chilli, etc. before he hit his first birthday. Basically, he ate what we did from the start. He's a fine strapping teenager now who has a very healthy appetite & eats practically everything (apart from raw tomato for some reason. ).

kylith

Whispered wrote: »

While on the subject, highly processed stuff marketed to parents. Petit filous, sugar free cordial etc. Parents being told that they are good for their kids. Oh and a real bugbear of mine - "baby rice" and jars of food. Kids eat real food! No need for mushing everything beyond all recognition.

I honestly believe that baby food is the reason that so many kids are picky eaters. They're fed bland mush for so long that the taste and texture of real foods are completely alien to them. My parents always just mashed or shredded whatever they were eating with a fork and fed it to us that way.

Whispered

I knew some of you would feel similarly. It's a shame how baby food is marketed. One of the bigges joys I've had with my baby is watching him explore food. His first meal besides milk was a skinned and flaked salmon darn and broccoli florets with lemon butter. Spaghetti Bolognese was one of his favourites from 6 months. Mainly because of the fact he could slurp the spaghetti strings . I think introducing textures early on is as important as tastes tbh

At 18 months the only thing he won't eat is olives. They get the "flung across the floor" treatment, very violently! He loves garlicky sauces and will have yoghurt on the side of spicy curries. Plenty of time to turn into a fussy eater yet though so I should hold my tongue!

Cooking irritation: I'm toasting baguettes slices under the grill for lunch. Why oh why are they browning on the left of the oven but not on the right?!

the beer revolu

Why are sausages sold still linked?
It really bugs me having to cut them apart.
No knives in the sausage factory?

Faith

Whispered wrote: »

While on the subject, highly processed stuff marketed to parents. Petit filous, sugar free cordial etc.

I like to think that I avoid processed food as much as possible, but damn if I don't love Petit Filous and Ribena Toothkind

Bateman

Food sticking to the end of pans (even "non-stick" ones) is by far the most irritating thing for me. Oh, and cutting myself when trying to open oysters