Morning Ed: Food {2018.08.20.M}
[Fo1] If you’re looking for an oven, you can apparently use a vacated termite mound.
[Fo2] Oliver Bateman writes of The McRib, a sandwich that keeps getting by on the fear that it may not come back.
[Fo3] This is nightmare-fuel.
[Fo4] I’m in!
[Fo5] We continue to approach the future where we suddenly discover that eating meat is wrong.
[Fo6] It’s a good thing that food science updates its knowledge with more information, but the regularity with which this happens seems like maybe a good reason not to jump on the latest science with both legislative feat, like when the Obama administration came down on its salt recommendations right after this.
[Fo7] The rise (and fall?) of the Red Delicious Apple.
[Fo8] Spam: The All-American food.
[Fo9] Yes. Twix, too. They’re both just amazing.
That graphic for the piece is killing me…great pic for a food topic.Report
Growing up, a friend of the family owned a local orchard. He was not a fan of the Red Delicious, either. I ate a lot more Macintosh in my youth, because of that orchard. The grower made a lot of money in the fall from cider and caramel apples, and Red Delicious weren’t ideal for either.Report
Our family has transparent apple trees, and a couple of spliced hybrid apple trees that 60 odd years on from their generation produce marvelous apples. More for cooking and canning applications, but Reds always seemed odd to me in comparison and I never developed a taste for them.Report
Fo2: I always think of the Simpsons-world version of the McRib (The Krusty Ribwich) and Krusty’s comment about “think smaller….more legs” when someone asks if it’s made out of pork. (I also remember when my brother, as a teen, ate a couple McRibs and the….gastrointestinal consequences of same. Do not travel in a car for long distances with someone who has eaten those).
Fo3: I didn’t need to read that today 🙁 I tend to be paranoid about “superbugs” anyway. (I was really hoping it was going to be a joke story about the persistence of bread yeast in our culture, but no)
Fo7: I’ve never cared for those apples. Big, tasteless. It’s something made pretty at the expense of any substance, which seems to often be a trend in our culture. (I prefer McIntosh, but they’re devilishly hard to find here, even in season)Report
Fo7: Apple varieties are a topic near and dear to me. Yes, the Red Delicious is a terrible apple. It can be good if you eat it directly off the tree, but even that is hit or miss. My eight year old eats them, I think because they look like her image of an ideal apple, but she has started to complain that they get mushy. Good for her! I will be switching her to Gala or Fuji.
Honeycrisp: A vastly overrated apple. It is indeed crisp and sweet, but very bland. Also overpriced. You pay a substantial premium in the supermarket.
Evercrisp: This is a new variety, and excellent. It too is crisp and sweet, but has more flavor than a honeycrisp. It also maintains its texture remarkably well.
Black twig: The absolute best apple there is. You can’t get it. It is an heirloom variety, not commercially grown. (Fun fact: it was Andrew Jackson’s favorite apple. I wouldn’t rely on Andrew Jackson for much, but I find him as a good judge of apples to be entirely plausible.) It isn’t grown commercially because trees only bear fruit every other year, and very late in the season–so late that an early frost can wipe out that two year’s production. Some apple farmers keep a few trees on the side. I used to be a regular at a farmer’s market where one grower had black twigs. He kept a secret stash for his regulars. He also was my source for bootleg unpasteurized cider.Report
Is a black twig the same as an Arkansas Black? I see the later on sale in SF.
My favorite is the MacIntoshReport
I don’t know the Arkansas Black, but based on this link I think it is something different. The history is inconsistent with the black twig, as is the bit about its not being ready to eat until you let it sit a while.
My experience with MacIntoshes is that they go mushy quickly: an apple that is good if very fresh, but eat it quick.Report
The family favorite as of late is Pink Lady. Sweet, a bit tart, firm, and doesn’t brown readily (so you can cut it up for a fruit salad or tray and it won’t turn ugly for a good while). Gala, Fuji, and the occasional Envy also show up in the house from time to time.
Unless it’s Apple Pie season, then it’s Granny Smith.
I don’t think Bug has ever eaten a Red Delicious, at least not at home (he may have gotten one from school, I don’t know). He certainly doesn’t ask for them when we are grocery shopping.Report
Pink Lady is a decent apple. It also holds up well in the sense of sitting in storage for a couple of months. It’s not my go-to, but as Plan B’s go, you can do worse.Report
Free Recommendation: if your grocery store has them, try Koru. They just showed up in ours, for about two weeks, before disappearing again. They are an EXCELLENT apple.Report
If I ever see them, I’ll keep that in mind (seriously, first I’ve ever heard of them).
Normally my shopping is done at Trader Joe’s and Safeway, because I can get it done quick. Occasionally I’ll wander off to a Whole Foods, or a Sprouts, or a Co-Op or Farmer’s Market – and that is when you find the gems.Report
@sam-wilkinson @oscar-gordon Yessssssssssssss. Korus are so good. I’ve gotten them at Trader Joe’s, King Soopers (aka Kroger) and once or twice even at Safeway.
Seriously we’re at the point where Jay buys a couple dozen when he sees them.Report
Fo2 – I haven’t seen the McRib in a while. I had heard that McD’s keeps it only for a limited time, otherwise the demand affects the cost curve of pork.Report
Fo4: I’m always amazed by how many guys never learn to like eating vegetables. I love meat but vegetables, delicious, and good for you too. They provide essential nutrients but this is one area where a lot of guys adamantly refuse to give in. The science behind the keto diet is sound. Your body wants to burn fat or sugar. It prefers burning sugar because it is easier than burning fat. The keto diet requires a kind of iron-clad discipline that most people (myself included) lack. I love carbs way too much. Carbs are the pleasures of life. Plus they are easy to eat when grabbing and going in the morning.Report
I suspect the eventual findings will be that people need different diets, and no one diet is “best” or “works for everyone” and in that case a lot of keto-bros heads will explode (as will a lot of Paleo People’s, vegan enthusiasts, etc., etc.)
I find even as much as I dislike mass quantities of vegetables (and in fact, I have learned there is a limit beyond which my GI tract cannot cope), I feel physically better when I am eating more vegetables and….less of everything else (aka everything that is fun to eat…)
I also wonder about the carnivorous diet, without being too indelicate but…don’t things kinda get….stopped up?….without any fiber being taken in? And how do they get Vitamin C to avoid scurvy? (Supplements, I suppose. I’d rather have some cabbage or berries)Report
My problem with the Keto diet is the same problem I have with things like Crossfit. It’s the people, not the program (granted, the program probably encourages the people to be insane).Report
In most endeavors, yes, people are what turn out to be the problem…. 😛Report