I liked Greek yogurt before Greek yogurt was cool.
In the High and Far-off Times when I was a resident, I worked with another resident whose family was Palestinian. She was a lovely young woman, though I don’t recall much about our interactions with each other. What I remember most clearly was the yogurt.
One day, we happened to be having lunch together. At some point she brought out this ingenious little carton of yogurt, with an attached compartment that had honey in it. I’d never seen one before, and the brand “Fage” was unknown to me. However, having spent lots of time in the Levant growing up, she was raised eating it. She peeled off the foil covering, canted the honey container so the contents dispersed on top of the yogurt, and let me have a taste.
Pure, sweet and creamy deliciousness. A mouthful of heaven. It instantly ruined me for the insipid dairy products I had previously enjoyed as “yogurt.”
Did I mention that it was full-fat yogurt? It’s an important detail.
Years later, the Better Half and I took a trip to Greece. Yogurt with honey was on pretty much every menu we saw, and we ate it a lot. Because full-fat Greek yogurt topped with honey is joy in comestible form.
At some point Greek yogurt became a popular food item in the US. I think for a while the stuff I found on the shelves (which I once had to look around for) was still made in Greece, but now everything I see is made in the US. And everybody’s into the Greek yogurt biz, including some companies that I generally like but who strain credulity when trying to tie the product into their brand image.
All of that is fine by me. Except now that it’s Greek yogurt a-go-go here in these United States, all the product I can find is tailored to American tastes. Which means it’s all low- or non-fat, because fat is evil and must be expunged from all we consume. And of course, that means in order to be palatable (plain non-fat Greek yogurt having a taste and mouth feel roughly equivalent to an industrial adhesive) it comes with sweetened fruit jelly admixed or on the bottom.
Whither the full-fat option?! While I will purchase the non-fat Chobani with the blueberry concoction on the bottom for snacks and such, I would also like to buy the good-tasting stuff with the fat in it! Fat is delicious! Why has our country’s perverse inability to eat like sane, moderate healthy eaters robbed me of even the availability of the yummy stuff??!?!? I eat chopped vegetables drizzled with walnut oil for lunch pretty much every day so I can indulge in the consumption of animal fats from time to time without worrying about it!
I want the full-fat Greek yogurt with the honey on it, America! You don’t have to buy it if you don’t want to, but why can I no longer find it on the shelves of my grocery store, you dessert-ruining martinets?!? AAAAIIIIEEEEE!!!
So that’s this week’s Question — what trends in this country have ruined something you like? What was going along perfectly well before American popular culture loused it up? And where the hell can I get some decent Greek yogurt around here?
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There are problems with industrial milk that disturb me, but I’m of the opinion that it’s not just what you eat that matters, it’s what you eat ate, be it the foods supplied by the happy farmer, the fertilizers on the field, or the microbes both good and bad in the system.
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I was in college when it first came on, and it was pretty far off the mainstream radar. No one really stated up that late to watch TV. Back then Letterman couldn’t get big stars, and more often than not couldn’t get enough minor ones to pad an entire show. So it was almost a parody of a talk show, where they’d bring in guests like NY cab drivers or shoe shine men, or that guy from some crappy lounge that billed himself as The Peruvian Elvis, could barely speak English, and looked and sounded about as unlike Elvis as you could get. Most of the bands that played were indies that had yet to break through, but who a show producer had seen at a club the previous weekend and really liked.
Then after about two years, America discovered Dave and he became a ratings hit. Suddenly all the stars wanted to be on the show, and in a short time it became The Tonight Show 2 with better occasional gags and a Top 10 list.
Since then, all of the other “edgy” talk shows have tried in one way or another to be different versions of The Tonight Show just like Letterman became. I wish someone would come along and try to recreate something like the original Letterman.
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Beyond his engaging neuroticism, I have always been fond of Letterman’s innate decency. His talk shows (Late Night, and his even earlier morning talk show on NBC) were deconstructions of the increasing vapidity of popular entertainment and emerging celebrity culture. By creating a fanciful and almost surreal version of the existing talk shows, he was actually making biting–and morally incisive–commentary on the rest of media (much as the Daily Show does today).
I was in college in 1981-82, when Late Night first hit the air (and what an improvement on Tom Snyder that was!). And it was like an extended inside joke that only a few got. It was worth staying up for (a sidenote to those younger OrdinaryTimers: you used to have to watch television when it was broadast!!!).
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For most Americans, “ramen” conjures up images of low-quality instant noodles, cooked quickly in boiling water, with incredible amounts of salt and bizarrely sweet bits of dried vegetable. It’s what college students sustain their existence upon because each meal costs fifteen cents.
Not so the good stuff. Tender fresh noodles and large hunks of thin-sliced meat in a pork or fish broth are a marvelous meal.
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The Better Half and I once had a “food movie” double feature, and watched it and then “Babette’s Feast.” One of these days, we’re planning another one featuring “Eat Drink Man Woman” and “Big Night.”
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Movies about food makes as much sense as food about movies.
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All the same, I’d pay the higher price especially in a big city; it’s a fine meal.
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http://www.ramenbarpittsburgh.com/menu.html
I went to San Francisco. Nearly every meal was Ramen.
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If you like ramen, have you had pho?
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Side story: When I visited Houston for work two years ago, I was disappointed to learn that the city was not a barbecue city like many other Texas areas. I was craving heaps of smoked meat. Thankfully, it has a booming Vietnamese population and I was able to enjoy one of the best meals of said cuisine ever. Top notch pho, spring rolls, and a blindly-ordered appetizer almost made the whole trip worth it.
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Here in Austin we have at least 3 (soon to be 4) specialty ramen shops run by Japanese head chefs. The price is pretty nice, too, on the whole.
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A Chinese (I think) restaurant near where I used to live when I went to law school wanted to sell the simple lunch bowls — bed of rice, vegetable and meat on top — as their niche. And of course the word “King” is just all kinds of marketing good in pretty much any language. But tragic misspellings in the complexity of English came in to play and soon enough there was a big sign advertising “King Bowel.”
I learned of the restaurant when it was published as having failed its health inspection.
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If you are wondering why I have the bottoms set for arms length, think computer screens and reading tape measures. When I read books I take my glasses off and if I am work and need to see something up close I look over the top of my glasses.
I have never tried Greek yogurt, but I have been eating plain yogurt with honey for years and love, love, love it.
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Then companies screw around with the formula of their product, and previously safe products for me become oh-yes-anaphylaxis-is-fun experiences. I have since learned to read ingredients *every* time I buy something, since formula can change without the front labelling changing (i.e. “now with aloe!” or whatever on the front).
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(yes, it truly is annoying)
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Generally speaking, I’m oblivious to trends. Not above trends or beyond trends or ahead of the trend… just oblivious. I am not immune from the impact of trends — I just tend not to consciously make decisions with regards to them, either in favor or in opposition.
For instance, I got into hummus about 8 years ago. This came about from working with a crunchy vegan who regularly brought it into the classroom. I greatly enjoyed it and would pick it up for myself from time to time. Living in Manhattan, it was readily available. However, it was also becoming more and more popular. This means when I moved to the suburbs of DC, it was still readily available. The trend had hit and I consumed more hummus than I might have had it not. Not because I was riding the trend; but because the trend allowed me to follow in it’s wake. So that is an instance of a trend benefitting me.
I can’t really think of a trend that killed something I loved. I remember PBR being our cheap beer of choice in college for a while. It was tastier than the more ubiquitous Busch Light and didn’t make you hate yourself like Beast Ice. Once it became the hipster beer du jour, it ceased to be cheap. But I never really loved PBR. It just filled a need.
I do have some real issues with the trend toward increasingly skinny leg pants for men — a real issue for someone with a narrow waist/hip area but meaty thighs — but I wouldn’t call pants something I love; I merely tolerate them.
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No one owes me pants that fit better and I can certainly find them elsewhere. It’s just harder at the stores I tend to shop at nowadays because they’re catering to a different body type than I possess.
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I have a different problem – I don’t think of my self as all that skinny, but most clothing stores don’t have pants slim enough for me. Generally the racks go from a 30 to a 40-something waist. In most brands, I fit a 28. In shirts, for whatever reason, I’m not even at the far end of the rack – there’s a whole section of shirts that would be much too small.
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Lately, in my parents group, a lot of our pediatricians are recommending that the kids start switching to 2% milk instead of whole milk. None of the kids are overweight or even in significant danger of becoming so, yet doctors are pushing for this. I don’t get it. Dairy fat contributes to feeling satisfied. The less fat you have in a dairy product, the more you have to consume to feel satisfied. Bug is still on whole milk and he only goes on milk drinking binges when he’s having a growth spurt. Otherwise it’s maybe a glass a day. Plus whole fat yogurt (Stoneyfield Vanilla is his favorite).
Fat is good, or at least, it isn’t bad.
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For kids who have normal weight, if they’re still drinking whole milk I tell the parents there’s no need to change. And I focus much more on sugar and the degree to which their foods are processed than I do on fat.
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What do you make of the recent research indicating that high fat dairy products lead to less weight gain/more weight loss? From what I’ve seen, they haven’t quite figured out the what and how of the relationship, but the correlation seems to be real.
Generally speaking, I don’t consume a ton of dairy. So when I do — particularly in the form of cheese or desserts — I make no bones about getting the real deal. A pizza made with part-skim mozzarella just doesn’t work the same way. Likewise any ice cream that isn’t full fat. Just have one scoop, people, and you’ll be fine.
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Ice milk is actually a decent product — I like it.
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And I think the weight effect is largely related to satiety.
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How so?
IceMilk Recipe:
http://www.food.com/recipe/simple-vanilla-ice-milk-373964
IceCream Recipe:
http://www.culinate.com/books/collections/all_books/The+Perfect+Scoop/Vanilla+Ice+Cream
Only difference is the fat content of the milk.
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My general approach is based on moderation and eating real food. I don’t get caught up in organic or GMO but do try to eat as “naturally” as possible. I think grilled chicken breasts with the skin on and veggies sauteed in olive oil and garlic are a healthier meal than a Lean Pocket fortified with nutrients! Even if the nutrition label might indicate otherwise if you simply line up the fat and the calories.
* I say natural-ish because I do read here and there about food and diet related things, so it is not pure intuition.
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What I mean is that if someone says, “Hey, would you like some ice milk?” I know what I’m getting into.
If someone says, “Hey, would you like some ice cream?” and hands me something that is closer to ice milk than ice cream, I’m going to punch them in their evil rotten face.
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Mainly killed brain cells.
And as I said elsewhere, my food philosophy aligns a lot with Michael Pollan’s. I think his writing doesn’t always acknowledge the privilege that undergirds it (not everyone has access to lovingly-baked artisan bread made with the ineffable charms of the local yeast), and when he waxes polemical about the evils of infant formula it makes me roll my eyes, but generally I see eye to eye with him on what and how people should eat.
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Thank you! My kid is all lean muscle & piss & vinegar. He can have all the full fat dairy he wants (& since my wife & I grew up in WI, we always have a supply).
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And great point on the privilege issue. Yes, it would be lovely if we all grew everything we ate in our backyard from heirloom seeds untouched by human hands. But alas…
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I’m told that bottlecaps are perfectly appropriate for wines that are intended to be drunk within a few days or weeks of the time of purchase and they’re really only inappropriate for wines that are purchased with the intention of aging them for more than 10 years.
I still feel like a hobo.
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This is because most of the wine that I buy is somewhere between $8 and $18.
I imagine that the wines that cost “Really? That much?” are the ones who would be best kept in a warm, dry place and turned a quarter turn every six months.
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Regardless of whether and how long it’s worth aging, though, if it’s properly corked and properly stored, it shouldn’t ever turn to vinegar.
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A lot of europeans drink it — because they’re used to alcohol being a beverage that’s “everyday”.
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But it’s less than ideal if your plan is to drink it.
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not really. The boxed wine reduces oxidation, which changes the flavor of wine.
There’s really not much difference between boxed wine and bottled, other than packaging price.
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http://www.bottlerocket.com/chateau-moulin-de-la-roquille-bordeaux-cuvee-lesperance.html
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Screwcaps have a failure rate of practically zero.
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The fact that it tastes great and is low in calories is frickin awesome. I should have bought stock in Yoplait (and for an occasional treat I eat Liberte brand, especially the coconut flavored, which is almost as good as the stuff sold in France.)
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Inner Jimmy comes roaring out big time: “All of them have ruined everything!”
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http://www.nuts.com/chocolatessweets/bubble-gum/bigleaguechew.html
It’s not the easiest gum to find, but I do know my local BJs sells it.
Now, if only I can find some candy cigarettes.
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With the recent CAFE increases, 6 cylinder engines and greater are rarely available, and if so, are usualy put in very expensive cars.
After driving a 4 cylinder car and a 6, I’ll opt for the better torque and accelleration any time. In my six, it still have legs cruising at highway speed should I punch it. With my old 4, I’d have to drop it down two gears to get any torque.
And back up cameras.
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*When half the cylinders stop fueling & firing during cruise
**When the engine shuts off when the car comes to a stop for more than a few seconds, then restarts when you hit the gas.
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Variable Displacement engines have been around since the early 80s, & Start-Stop systems since the early 70’s. It has only been since the early 2000’s, when consumer demand (thanks to rising fuel prices) combined with the decline in the cost of the associated technology to make such features marketable to the consumer automotive market.
I think technology that is 30-40 years old can be considered almost mature.
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Well the electric car has been around for one hundred years but still isn’t economically feasible for most activities, so I’m not convinced. Has this technology been INSTALLED on vehicles for all this time? Has it been working on long haul trucks?
Here’s what I mean. BMW has replaced a lot of their 6 cylinder engines with 4 cylinder twin turbo engines. Turbos and 4 cylinders have been around for a long time. This doesn’t mean that this particular combo or installation is going to be less expensive to maintain that the conventional inline 6. The reason for the twin turbo/4 cylinder, which includes auto shutoff as well, is the CAFE standards. Since the design is to meet that goal, it doesn’t follow automatically that the car engine will be less expensive to maintain.
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First, both options I mentioned are just that, options. Neither has been mandated specifically. They are, as you said, a way to meet CAFE standards while not having to fit each car with a 3-Cylinder Atkinson cycle engine. To be honest, such things would happen anyway as the cost of fuel goes up (TWSBDA). Remember that a good chunk of the world does not keep fuel prices artificially low like the US does.
Second, both options have been in the fleets in some capacity for ten years now.
Finally, a good measure of a systems reliability is warranty coverage. Both Chysler & GM cover the complete powertrain for 5 years / 100K Miles, and I didn’t see anything excluding Variable Displacement or Start-Stop, so they are at least confident that such systems will not significantly add to the maintenance costs of the vehicle in the first 5 years of ownership.
I mean, if we just look at raw numbers from one year to the next, the cost of ownership of cars is always on the rise, but I haven’t seen anything to suggest that either system is significantly increasing that cost, & even if they do cost more to maintain, that cost has to be weighed against fuel savings.
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I’d rather taste the protein than the fat.
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I just order the self-aware irony burger without the awareness, and hold the irony.
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This might be a uniquely NY thing, but this argument comes up with pizza all the time. I love many varieties of gourmet pizza. Top notch brick oven pizza can be amazing. An artisan margarita pie can be a thing of beauty. But so too can a $2.25 piece of slice pizza. They each have their niche. And when you’re craving that slice, crisped up from a second go-around in the oven to reheat it, neither of the other two will suffice. Yet it is so often overlooked when people make their “Top Pizzas” list because, well, it’s $2.25 a pop.
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Just not my taste.
Aioli I can take or leave, but at least that’s generally flavored.
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But at some point it got too popular and quality had to suffer a little. It’s still better than most burger joints, but it’s not quite the same experience. The first thing to go was Stewart’s Root Beer. Washing a greasy burger and fries down with a Stewart’s is one of the great pleasures in life, and almost no one has Stewart’s from the fountain – Five Guys was the exception, but no longer.
Also, nowadays, when you order a small fry, they don’t overload the cup nearly as much as they used to, so if you’re expecting that someone’s going to ask you to share, there’s actually a reason to order the large fry. And the burgers themselves, while still never worse than perfectly acceptable, are far less consistent from visit to visit and store to store.
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I’m lamenting that Ben’s Chili Bowl seems to be going to same route, now expanding into (the super trendy yuppie part of) NoVa.
(there’s still the Weenie Beanie, though)
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This makes me incredibly sad. I used to hit up the latter location about once a week.
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2) Greek Gods Athena, while STILL NOT FATTY ENOUGH, is both fattier than most everything else (2 percent i think) and easy enough to doctor with your own stuff… plus not too sweet to start with, so it works better with the honey or whatever else you want to throw in there. i used to eat it every day. (then i found noosa, which is australian culture yogurt made in colorado. five percent fat or so. YES I SAID FIVE PERCENT. willing to give up the greek cultures for that.)
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When visiting a friend’s place in Montreal, I wandered into a Persian grocery store, and got an absolutely heavenly yogourt there. It wasn’t pre-packaged, just in a big tray in the chilled display case. It was almost as thick as a cream cheese. If I lived there, I would eat an awful lot of the stuff…
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I do use rich yogourt in place of sour cream because I prefer the taste.
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Also the bacteria are different (mostly streptococcus strains for sour cream vs. mostly lactobacillus for yogourt) so I would imagine even proper good quality sour cream would be taste quite different.
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They’re about the only folks that actually set out to make sour cream… the rest are “manufacturing” it as an industrial byproduct.
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I think you must be overlooking something with the Greek yogurt, because I know I’ve seen the full-fat kind. Plain, full-fat yogurt is rarely sold in individual packs, but rather in pint or quart packages. I forget the brand name, but it has a pseudo-Greek font.
Have you tried regular full-fat yogurt? I prefer it to Greek yogurt, which I find too thick due to the straining.
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They even have 6 oz. packages of full-fat yogurt. I don’t know exactly where you live, but their store locator returns several stores for a large city in your state.
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What’s the deal with that, anyway? Why are so many Japanese restaurants run by Koreans?
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anyone bitching about someone’s food, simply because of their ethnicity, is being racist.
If you’re getting the food wrong because you aren’t black/Korean/Jewish, that’s a different story.
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So, saying things like “I don’t like Chinese vegetarian food because a lot of the time, it is just rice with 3 different varieties of boiled cabbage” is racist even if it is factually true? That is to say if most of the affordable Chinese veg food is unpalatable to me, actually saying so is racist?
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