food problems

” The 6 Most Terrifying Foods in the World “ # 2

” The 6 Most Terrifying Foods in the World “

# 2. Pacha

From: Iraq.

What the hell is it?

Of all the dishes, this is the one most likely to be mistaken for a threatening message from the mob. It’ a sheep’ head. Boiled.

Wait, it gets worse …

Pacha only reveals its terror gradually. Sure, maybe you can get around the fact that you’re eating face. But, the more you eat it, the more bone is revealed, until you give a final burp and set your cutlery down beside a grinning ivory skull. Its hollow eye sockets stare back at you with a look of grim damnation. “Burp while ye may,” the sockets say, “for the same fate will happen to you–and all too soon.”
We wonder why the Iraqis keep blowing themselves up? Wouldn’t you, if every evening meal was a festival of death?

Danger of this turning up in America:

Not looking like that, it won’t. But, you tell people that sheep head contains some kind of enzyme that boosts your metabolism and …

Excerpts from an article by
Tim Cameron on www.Cracked.com

” The 6 Most Terrifying Foods in the World “ # 4

#4. Lutefisk

From: Norway.

What the hell is it?

Ahhh, Lutefisk. After the larvae-ridden cheese, it’s a blessed relief to sample a clean, down-to-earth Scandinavian recipe.
A little too clean.
Lutefisk is a traditional Norwegian dish featuring cod that has been steeped for many days in a solution of lye, until its flesh is caustic enough to dissolve silver cutlery.
Wait, it gets worse …
For those of you who don’t know, lye (potassium hydroxide/sodium hydroxide) is a powerful industrial chemical used for cleaning drains, killing plants, de-budding cow horns, powering batteries and manufacturing biodiesel. Contact with lye can cause chemical burns, permanent scarring, blindness or total deliciousness, depending on whether you pour it onto a herring or your own face. Or, so the lutefisk industry would have us believe.

Danger of this turning up in America:
IT’S ALREADY HERE!

It’ true, lutefisk is more popular in the United States than in Norway. What the hell are they doing with it? They’re not eating it are they? Is it because it’ a cheap alternative to colonic irrigation? Seriously, how do you advertise this stuff?

Excerpts from an article by
Tim Cameron on www.Cracked.com

” The 6 Most Terrifying Foods in the World ” # 5

Today: #5 Casu Marzu

From: Sardinia, Italy.

What the hell is it?

This, dear reader, is a medium-sized lump of Sweet f…… Christ. 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’s 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.”

Danger of this turning up in America:

There is significant danger here, as we’re thinking the cheese companies have a lot of maggot stock in the back of their warehouse they’d like to get rid of. And, there may actually be a market for it. Self-loathing is a powerful force in this economy (see the diet section of your local supermarket) and there’ times you get low enough that, damn it, you feel like you deserve nothing better than infested cheese.

Excerpts from an article by
Tim Cameron on http://www.Cracked.com

” The 6 Most Terrifying Foods in the World ” #6

Today: #6. Escamoles

From : Mexico.

What the hell is it?

Escamoles are the eggs of the giant black Liometopum ant, which makes its home in the root systems of maguey and agave plants. Collecting the eggs is a uniquely unpleasant job, since the ants are highly venomous and have some kind of blood grudge against human orifices.
The eggs have the consistency of cottage cheese. The most popular way to eat them is in a taco with guacamole, while being f……. insane.

Wait, it gets worse …

Escamoles have a surprisingly pleasant taste: buttery and slightly nutty. This hugely increases the chances that, while in Mexico, you could eat them without realizing you are eating a taco full of f….. ant eggs.

Danger of this turning up in America:

We’re not sure Taco Bell hasn’t snuck this sh.. into their food already. Just make sure you know what’ in that burrito. Ask at the counter if you have to. Also, watch those ads close because they’ll try to dress it up in some kind of friendly-sounding, pseudo-Mexican name.

Excerpts from an article by
Tim Cameron on www.Cracked.com

” Why are chefs so poorly compensated? “

Hans Susser commented :

Dear Gavin, although I agree with a lot you are saying, I must also say that there is a large number of culinary students (and teachers) who are passionate, talented and have what it takes to become a great cook. On the other hand, what you said about the education system is also mostly correct. When education is a business, quality is the least important factor required by the for profit institutions.

M. Gavin Shipman commented:

Been cooking since I was 19 or 20…Can’t remember anymore, but it has been more than 20 years as a professional cook, then a chef. The title is bestowed, in my opinion, not given by a piece of paper.
On to the reason why we are paid so poorly in the states. To me it goes back to the way the culinary education system is organized here. The “education” is run by for profit college systems, therefore even the idiots will graduate. The students that cannot make pate a choux, but make shoe paste will still get the degree because the university wants their dollars.
On the other side, the system is run by guilds that depend more on their reputation of creating qualified cooks to put out in the industry than they do money. If their reputation fails, so does their system and the tradition fails, which they would never allow.
So, the result is, my guess, 40% of American “chefs” who have graduated from culinary schools-even after several years in the industry-are mediocre at best. Add in the dishonest, alcohol & drug-addicted, “I’m just here for a check” or just plain not intuitive cooks and you are looking at a career that keeps a bad reputation. So, they are the ones that keep the compensation so low for those of us capable of more. Until we change the system, it will stay this way.

Give me a “learned on my own”, battle-tested, open-minded cook any day over a know-it-all culinary school grad. And I am prety good judge of character, too.

” For Them, a Great Meal Tops Good Intentions ! “

Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

For Them, a Great Meal Tops Good Intentions !
THEY are two of the world’s most acclaimed chefs, each with a raft of awards,
a constellationof stars and schools of kitchen alumni spreading their gospel.
So when the American chef Thomas Keller and Andoni Luis Aduriz of Spain
sat down last week for a joint interview,they were in a position to back each
other up while slicing through some of the profession’s favorite platitudes.
– Supporting local agriculture and food traditions?
Far too narrow a goal, they said.
– Chefs’ obligation to help save the planet?
A lofty idea, they agreed, but the priority is creating great, brilliant food.
“With the relatively small number of people I feed, is it really my responsibility to
worry about carbon footprint?” Mr. Keller asked.
“The world’s governments should be worrying about carbon footprint.”

Excerpt from the New York Times. To read the whole article, click here.

” Foie gras laws causing a flap with California chefs “

Foie gras laws causing a flap with California chefs

Unfortunately,
Idiot’s rule much of the world 😦

” Cheese, Chorizo & Mouton Cadet “

Just because I don’t cook tonight does not mean I don’t have a good dinner 🙂
Pecorino Romano; Swiss; Bellavitano Raspberry; Aged Asiago; Gorgonzola;
Chorizo, Garlic/Onion Rolls, Mouton Cadet.
Life is Good !