Just Saying -- the soapbox thread

[EBK]

Americans have tortured themselves with food and dysfunctional eating since around the time the "TV Dinner" was invented.  Through warped senses of entitlement to convenience and recognition of junk food as a sign of status, we messed up our eating to the point where our brains only recognized three flavors: sweet, salty, and fatty.  At some point, guilt became a new marketing tool to introduce new convenience foods into the American diet, and food that tastes terrible began to become popular because it is "healthier".  No one really tried to shift the American palate away from sweet/salty/fatty because it wasn't profitable.  Today, most average American food is either something brown and unhealthy, or it is a salad or some other penance food like plain steamed cauliflower (likely with something brown on top).  It is basically the opposite of, say, Thai food, which is exciting and favorful.

[jimilee]

Americans have tortured themselves with food and dysfunctional eating since around the time the "TV Dinner" was invented.  Through warped senses of entitlement to convenience and recognition of junk food as a sign of status, we messed up our eating to the point where our brains only recognized three flavors: sweet, salty, and fatty.  At some point, guilt became a new marketing tool to introduce new convenience foods into the American diet, and food that tastes terrible began to become popular because it is "healthier".  No one really tried to shift the American palate away from sweet/salty/fatty because it wasn't profitable.  Today, most average American food is either something brown and unhealthy, or it is a salad or some other penance food like plain steamed cauliflower (likely with something brown on top).  It is basically the opposite of, say, Thai food, which is exciting and favorful.

I blame the parents.


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[davent]

Americans have tortured themselves with food and dysfunctional eating since around the time the "TV Dinner" was invented.  Through warped senses of entitlement to convenience and recognition of junk food as a sign of status, we messed up our eating to the point where our brains only recognized three flavors: sweet, salty, and fatty.  At some point, guilt became a new marketing tool to introduce new convenience foods into the American diet, and food that tastes terrible began to become popular because it is "healthier".  No one really tried to shift the American palate away from sweet/salty/fatty because it wasn't profitable.  Today, most average American food is either something brown and unhealthy, or it is a salad or some other penance food like plain steamed cauliflower (likely with something brown on top).  It is basically the opposite of, say, Thai food, which is exciting and favorful.

I blame the parents.


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No legacy recipes from either side in our repertoire, i always knew there had to be more to it then what i was eating growing up, the search is endless.

Hellman's always on hand,  sometimes a tube of Kewpie, homemade mayo as an easy make with pantry items, if all you can taste is mayo when you use it, like anything else that overwhelms, you're using too much.

dave

[jimilee]

Americans have tortured themselves with food and dysfunctional eating since around the time the "TV Dinner" was invented.  Through warped senses of entitlement to convenience and recognition of junk food as a sign of status, we messed up our eating to the point where our brains only recognized three flavors: sweet, salty, and fatty.  At some point, guilt became a new marketing tool to introduce new convenience foods into the American diet, and food that tastes terrible began to become popular because it is "healthier".  No one really tried to shift the American palate away from sweet/salty/fatty because it wasn't profitable.  Today, most average American food is either something brown and unhealthy, or it is a salad or some other penance food like plain steamed cauliflower (likely with something brown on top).  It is basically the opposite of, say, Thai food, which is exciting and favorful.

I blame the parents.


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No legacy recipes from either side in our repertoire, i always knew there had to be more to it then what i was eating growing up, the search is endless.

Hellman's always on hand,  sometimes a tube of Kewpie, homemade mayo as an easy make with pantry items, if all you can taste is mayo when you use it, like anything else that overwhelms, you're using too much.

dave

I can't describe to you the level at which I hate mayo.


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[davent]

I can't describe to you the level at which I hate mayo.


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I grew up with Miracle Whip and margarine, Miracle Whip is no closer to mayonnaise than margarine is to butter, only time i'd experience butter was if dining out. All mayonnaise is egg yolks, oil, an acid and flavourings/seasonings. At least make sure you've tried the real thing.

Unilever contacted me a few years ago for permission to use a picture i'd posted of a meal i'd made and used Hellman's, no idea if it was ever used but was still pretty cool that they asked.
dave

[jimilee]

I can't describe to you the level at which I hate mayo.


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I grew up with Miracle Whip and margarine, Miracle Whip is no closer to mayonnaise than margarine is to butter, only time i'd experience butter was if dining out. All mayonnaise is egg yolks, oil, an acid and flavourings/seasonings. At least make sure you've tried the real thing.

Unilever contacted me a few years ago for permission to use a picture i'd posted of a meal i'd made and used Hellman's, no idea if it was ever used but was still pretty cool that they asked.
dave

I have, don't care for it at all.

That's cool man, always makes you feel good inside. I was a freelance photographer for about 18 years. Spent my spare time taking pictures of things I liked.


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[EBK]

I'm an anti-mayo too.  I have a condition which makes it hard to eat when my food wears mayo.  And, I know my Constitutional rights. 

Lost myself for a minute there!   

Seriously though, I don't like mayo.  I think a small part of it stems from a childhood witnessing grown-ups put mayo in and on desserts (in chocolate cakes; on pretzel salad), which clearly defied all the logic I possessed at the time.    These same people put salt on their watermelon.

Edit:  my brother has informed me that it was Miracle Whip (technically not mayo) that illogically went on the pretzel salad. 

[somnif]

Mayonnaise is not a condiment, it's a mask. It was originally designed to hide the flavor of rotten meat,

erm... cite your sources? (and I love mayo on stuff, for the record. Miracle Whip, though, I wouldn't use to start a fire)

[skyled]

I'm pretty sure mayo was invented by the Romans.
When I was growing up I didn't like it at all, now I think it's necessary for a sandwich. You put some on, but don't slather it on like peanut butter. It's supposed to be used as a tool: it's like putting a layer of water repelling oil on the bread of a sandwich to keep any wet ingredients from making the bread soggy, but since it's an emulsion it doesn't make the bread soggy either. At the same time it salvages dry bread, again without making it soggy.

As for the American palette, there are certainly regional cuisines that are packed with flavor: southwest, Tex-Mex, BBQ, Cajun, etc. It seems like the more North and inland you go, the blander the food gets. My dad said he was driving through Montana and stopped at a Mexican food restaurant and the salsa was basically ketchup...

Thai food is amazing. It's like a flavor explosion of every flavor category all at once. I'm white but I love it so much I even bought a kaffir lime tree so I can make it at home 

[davent]

I'm pretty sure mayo was invented by the Romans.
When I was growing up I didn't like it at all, now I think it's necessary for a sandwich. You put some on, but don't slather it on like peanut butter. It's supposed to be used as a tool: it's like putting a layer of water repelling oil on the bread of a sandwich to keep any wet ingredients from making the bread soggy, but since it's an emulsion it doesn't make the bread soggy either. At the same time it salvages dry bread, again without making it soggy.

As for the American palette, there are certainly regional cuisines that are packed with flavor: southwest, Tex-Mex, BBQ, Creole, etc. It seems like the more North and inland you go, the blander the food gets. My dad said he was driving through Montana and stopped at a Mexican food restaurant and the salsa was basically ketchup...

Thai food is amazing. It's like a flavor explosion of every flavor category all at once. I'm white but I love it so much I even bought a kaffir lime tree so I can make it at home 

One account of mayo history...

https://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/cheese/eggs/mayonnaise-history.asp

30 second mayo  recipe - from Cooking in Color

1 large egg
1/4t salt
1/2t mustard powder or 1/4t Dijon mustard
1 tbsp lemon juice

Put it all in a tall thin container and whip with an immersion blender for 20 - 30 seconds, done orrrrr you can add other flavourings. Will keep for a week in the fridge.
dave
dave

[alanp]

Growing up, mayonnaise was like Thousand Island, it was something that mothers put on their salads, like how us kids put lots of tomato sauce on our sausage rolls. I never really liked mayo until I tried it on pizza (and even then, that's about the only time I bother. I still think of it as salad dressing.)

There's an interesting disconnect between my stir-fry and my sister's. I start with several ingredients with distinct taste of their own (onion, mushroom, good beef strips, veges, etc) and see where I go, adding some salt and pepper to taste, maybe some tabasco to bring things out. My sister starts with a definite destination in mind, and adds a jar of sauce to bully everything into line to where she wants things to end up.

[thesmokingman]

I married into the deep south where mayo is a requirement in the household ... before, not so much. I developed preferences (blue plate or duke's) and I prefer McCormick's lime flavored mayo for elote which was about the only time I had mayo (as a condiment) before

[thesmokingman]

I finally tracked back to the claims about bland American food ... I don't find that to be the case. Chain restaurants and prepackaged processed foods tend to be bland because their premise is based on mass appeal but American cuisine is actually pretty regional and usually anything but bland.

That said, we have absolutely ruined Chinese food in America and we're really working towards doing the same to Mexican food 

[mjg]

I saw a brand of sauce here in Australia the other day, which was advertised as being "all the flavour of fast food, but in your own home".

Why would you want that in a sauce?  Sounds terrible to me.

[jimilee]

I saw a brand of sauce here in Australia the other day, which was advertised as being "all the flavour of fast food, but in your own home".

Why would you want that in a sauce?  Sounds terrible to me.

That's horrible!!!!


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