Random Food Questions

[Lycan 01]

Anybody have any random food questions? I've had one thats been buggin' for awhile, myself.

How much ketchup do you have to eat for it to count as a serving of vegetables? In my Fitness for Life class it mentioned some condiments as counting as Vegetables or other food groups, but it didn't really specify how much...

Also, I keep forgetting. Is is saturated or trans fats that are the really bad type? Me and my dad were trying to figure it out earlier, which is why I decided to make this thread...


Anybody else got any random questions we can try to answer?

[Froogleyboy]

Also, I keep forgetting. Is is saturated or trans fats that are the really bad type? Me and my dad were trying to figure it out earlier, which is why I decided to make this thread...


Anybody else got any random questions we can try to answer?

trans fat is the bad one

[Kurien]

Trans-Fats are made by hydrogenizing unsaturated fats (e.g.: vegetable oils). Unsaturated fats differ from saturated fats (e.g.: butter) by having double bonds in the fatty acids that compose the triglycerides. This means they have less hydrogen atoms in the structure than saturated fats. Hydrogenization adds hydrogen atoms to the oil molecule, making them structural similar to saturated fats. As such trans-fats stay solid at room temperature like saturated fats.

I'm not clear on if or why trans fats are worse for you than saturated fats. If they are structures and properties are similar to saturated, then I would assume they are equally as bad as saturated. Ether way, they are bad for you because they can build up as plaque in the arteries along with cholesterol, constricting blood flow, increasing blood pressure and causing cardiovascular disease.

[hr]
On another note: has anyone watched any show that involves someone sampling bizarre foods from around the world? I recently watched one called, appropriately enough, Bizarre Foods (with Andrew Zimmern)

From that show: anyone ever try Balut?

[Seonor]

How much ketchup do you have to eat for it to count as a serving of vegetables?

Most industrial fabricated ketchup you can buy has too much sugar in it (and is processed so much that almost everything that was ever usefull in it is long gone) to count as anything positive.
Tomatos are botanically fruits but for most culinary purposes they are treated as vegetables. (Fun fact: the US Supreme Court once had to decide on this matter. See here)

[Amiel]

Ketchup contains lycopene, an antioxidant which may prevent some forms of cancer; this is good. But so do tomatoes.
However, ketchup also contains an extremely high sugar and salt content; this is bad.

Even if you do manage to eat an amount of ketchup equal to the recommended daily intake of tomatoes, you would've already set yourself up for irreversible diabetes; not mention hypertension (high blood pressure), oedema, cancers, ventricular hypertrophy, death and other associated risks and consequences.

[Pyrian]

I'm not clear on if or why trans fats are worse for you than saturated fats. If they are structures and properties are similar to saturated, then I would assume they are equally as bad as saturated.

Wikipedia says...

[Lycan 01]

What about salt-free and/or organic ketchup?

[Amiel]

There's low sodium ketchup; but ask yourself, do you really want to subject yourself to salt-free ketchup?

Also, organic ketchup are/is tomatoes.

[Serpentine]

How much ketchup do you have to eat for it to count as a serving of vegetables? In my Fitness for Life class it mentioned some condiments as counting as Vegetables or other food groups, but it didn't really specify how much...

As mentioned, while ketchup and tomato sauce and the like might have some nutrient value, the tomatoes are so processed and there's so much other crap in it that... well, lets just say you shouldn't drink a cup of it in lieu of a carrot.
On the other hand, homemade tomato sauce could conceivably count, not least because the tomatoes are far less processed, and you can decide and know how much sugar and salt and the like goes into it.

Also, I keep forgetting. Is is saturated or trans fats that are the really bad type? Me and my dad were trying to figure it out earlier, which is why I decided to make this thread...

Polyunsaturated fat is good, monosaturated is bad. I believe monounsaturated and polysaturated are in-between. Dunno what transfats are, but based on someone's sigquote, I think they're bad.

[Pyrian]

"Monosaturated" and "polysaturated" don't really mean anything in this context. A fatty acid can be saturated, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated, unsaturated fats can be trans or cis, and polyunsaturated fats can even be both trans and cis. Really, though, what you want to be afraid of are hydrogenated fats, which produce trans fatty acids that don't exist in nature and which your body apparently cannot clear them out of your arteries as easily.

Seriously, if you want the lowdown, just look up the Wikipedia article.

[Anuan]

Polyunsaturated fat is good, monosaturated is bad. I believe monounsaturated and polysaturated are in-between. Dunno what transfats are, but based on someone's sigquote, I think they're bad.

=D that's me!

[arguskos]

From that show: anyone ever try Balut?

Yes. It was perhaps the second or third most foul thing I have EVER EATEN EVER. Only things that were worse were fresh monkey brains (this one is undebatable), and perhaps this one "cheese" I had which is traditionally riddled with maggots and bugs while it forms (debatable if it was worse than balut, it's a toss-up).

Trust me, none of the above or good in any way. Avoid them like the plague. Note that this is coming from someone who's had live scorpions, every kind of meat that you acquire (sans human), had pufferfish 4 times (it's DELICIOUS, btw), and pretty much acquires anything and everything I can to try at least once.

[Mystic Muse]

Yes. It was perhaps the second or third most foul thing I have EVER EATEN EVER. Only things that were worse were fresh monkey brains (this one is undebatable), and perhaps this one "cheese" I had which is traditionally riddled with maggots and bugs while it forms (debatable if it was worse than balut, it's a toss-up).
.

I hope it isn't the cheese I'm thinking of because the cheese I'm thinking of is illegal pretty much everywhere. and for good reason. it's called Casu Marzu.

credit to cracked.com for this article. not for the faint of heart.

Spoiler

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What the heck is it? Casu Marzu is a sheep' milk cheese that has been deliberately infested by a Piophila casei, the "cheese fly." The result is a maggot-ridden, weeping stink bomb in an advanced state of decomposition.

Its translucent larvae are able to jump about 6 inches into the air, making this the only cheese that requires eye protection while eating. The taste is strong enough to burn the tongue, and the larvae themselves pass through the stomach undigested, sometimes surviving long enough to breed in the intestine, where they attempt to bore through the walls, causing vomiting and bloody diarrhea.

Wait, it gets worse ...
This cheese is a delicacy in Sardinia, where it is illegal. That' right. It is illegal in the only place where people actually want to eat it. If this does not communicate a very clear message, perhaps the larvae will, as they leap desperately toward your face in an effort to escape the putrescent horror of the only home they have ever known. Even the cheese itself is ashamed; when prodded, it weeps an odorous liquid called lagrima, Sardinian for "tears."

[Kneenibble]

Okay, here is a random food question
Desired: some first-hand advice on how to cook eggplants palatably.

I've read about how. I'm good in the kitchen and cook with a lot of different plants successfuly. I've eaten eggplant dishes that I liked.

But for some reason, handling this gorgeous purple fruit myself confounds me. What is the trick? Let's go with normal dishes, like pan-fried, baba ghanoush, or whatever else the **** one does with them.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Spoiler

Show

What the heck is it? Casu Marzu is a sheep' milk cheese that has been deliberately infested by a Piophila casei, the "cheese fly." The result is a maggot-ridden, weeping stink bomb in an advanced state of decomposition.

Its translucent larvae are able to jump about 6 inches into the air, making this the only cheese that requires eye protection while eating. The taste is strong enough to burn the tongue, and the larvae themselves pass through the stomach undigested, sometimes surviving long enough to breed in the intestine, where they attempt to bore through the walls, causing vomiting and bloody diarrhea.

Wait, it gets worse ...
This cheese is a delicacy in Sardinia, where it is illegal. That' right. It is illegal in the only place where people actually want to eat it. If this does not communicate a very clear message, perhaps the larvae will, as they leap desperately toward your face in an effort to escape the putrescent horror of the only home they have ever known. Even the cheese itself is ashamed; when prodded, it weeps an odorous liquid called lagrima, Sardinian for "tears."

That... manages to simultaneously be the most friggin' nasty yet fascinating info I've read in a long time. Wow.

Edit: Geeze... now I wanna do something with this somehow.

[Serpentine]

One of the characters I've DMed for (simultaneously the worst and most memorable) was a Wizard raised on a dairy farm. He made magical cheeses that worked like potions, with so many "doses" in a wheel. This was one of the more interesting and useful aspects of this character.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

One of the characters I've DMed for (simultaneously the worst and most memorable) was a Wizard raised on a dairy farm. He made magical cheeses that worked like potions, with so many "doses" in a wheel. This was one of the more interesting and useful aspects of this character.

Oooh, he'd have gotten along well with my 'Blue Heifer' that you could make magic cheese from its milk.

[Mystic Muse]

That... manages to simultaneously be the most friggin' nasty yet fascinating info I've read in a long time. Wow.

Edit: Geeze... now I wanna do something with this somehow.

want four more horrifying foods?

[Fri]

Okay, here is a random food question
Desired: some first-hand advice on how to cook eggplants palatably.

I've read about how. I'm good in the kitchen and cook with a lot of different plants successfuly. I've eaten eggplant dishes that I liked.

But for some reason, handling this gorgeous purple fruit myself confounds me. What is the trick? Let's go with normal dishes, like pan-fried, baba ghanoush, or whatever else the **** one does with them.

What's your problem? If the eggplants felt too hard/not cooked enough, the trick is to bake them in the oven FIRST before cooking them as intended in the recipe, like stir frying them. I heard that steam could work too.

[Serpentine]

Oooh, he'd have gotten along well with my 'Blue Heifer' that you could make magic cheese from its milk.

That character wouldn't get along with anyone. He would probably get suspicious of it, try to bench-press it, and then attempt to disguise himself with it.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

want four more horrifying foods?

Now that you've got my curiosity piqued... do tell?

That character wouldn't get along with anyone. He would probably get suspicious of it, try to bench-press it, and then attempt to disguise himself with it.

o_O`

Sounds like he'd been partaking of magic mushrooms with his cheese.

[Serpentine]

Now that you've got my curiosity piqued... do tell?

Think you'll like this site if you don't already know it.

o_O`

Sounds like he'd been partaking of magic mushrooms with his cheese.

Quick summary of the easiest-explained bits:
- He was an Elf Wizard. With 18 Strength. Of the Arnold variety (as opposed to the Bruce Lee variety we suggested).
- He, as an Elf, once attempted to "disguise" himself, without a single rank in Disguise, to get into an Orc bar called "Gruumsh's Eye".
- He once fled out a window after a party member quizzed him upon his peculiar wearing of chainmail he didn't previously own, at the end of a bizzare adventure that began with...
- the player declaring that he "found a filing cabinet" in the academy dean's office.
- When the party was helping him to complete his test, he made a check to know what the enemy was and how to beat it (a living spell), but refused to tell anyone else what he knew.

Etc, etc, so on and so forth.

[Crimmy]

I have two questions:

-Where does Taco Bell get his ideas for "taquitos" and "chalupas"?

-Has anyone really tried Tamales and Tacos? I mean, the mexican variety?

[Lycan 01]

Real Tamales and Tacos? My family makes Tacos all the time... Not the Taco Bell brand, but the real deal with ground beef, taco spice, various salsas and toppings, et cetera.


Btw, I've heard people say that when making Ramen noodles, they sometimes crack an egg and pour it into the boiling water. What does this do? Does it cook the egg, or dissolve it and add flavor to the Ramen?

[Serpentine]

Cook the egg. Mostly.

"Real" tacos? Never made by a "real" Mexican, but... shell, mince, beans (sometimes refried), sauce, salad, cheese... Don't really know what you mean by "real".

[Crimmy]

Real Tamales and Tacos? My family makes Tacos all the time... Not the Taco Bell brand, but the real deal with ground beef, taco spice, various salsas and toppings, et cetera.

Tacos do not use ground beef.
Tacos do not have "taco spice".
Tacos do not use toppings.

This is what tacos should look (kinda):

Spoiler

Show

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Think you'll like this site if you don't already know it.

Truly there is nothing on earth that compares with the utter twistedness that is mankind.

[Lycan 01]

Is it good?

Speaking of eggs, anybody else ever add milk to them? It makes them fluffier and adds flavor.

*cackles at the memory of his brother adding milk to instant eggs, and the resulting fiasco when he tried to cook it*

[Serpentine]

Tacos do not use ground beef.
Tacos do not have "taco spice".
Tacos do not use toppings.

This is what tacos should look (kinda):

Oooo. They look tasty. Recipe?
Incidentally, does this mean that the so-called "soft tacos" are closer to "real tacos" than "hard tacos" "?"

edit: I add a bit of milk to scrambled eggs and omlets, yes.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Oooo. They look tasty. Recipe?

Dang, does it. It's 2 in the morning and I'm dying for some mexican now.