General Chat Thread II

igCorcaigh

New Home wrote: »

It's amazing the difference in texture and flavour among the various types of rice.

There's a purple one too, never tried it. Expensive though. Can't remember the name.

igCorcaigh

You know those German garlic salami slices in LIDL, I was just watching this foodie guy video in Munich, and they make a sausage salad.

Was never sure how to use that type of sliced meat except in bread, but this looks really good.

Sliced red onions, lemon juice, sliced salami... Great idea!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrf576J4Lg8

Shenshen

igCorcaigh wrote: »

You know those German garlic salami slices in LIDL, I was just watching this foodie guy video in Munich, and they make a sausage salad.

Was never sure how to use that type of sliced meat except in bread, but this looks really good.

Sliced red onions, lemon juice, sliced salami... Great idea!

I had to watch this because I've seriously never heard of a salami salad in Germany before. I was a little relieved to find it's not salami, it's just Fleischwurst

That's actually quite a typical way of serving it in summer for dinner, though you'd want very very thick slices for this.
Where I'm from, it's called "Wurst mit Musik" (sausage with music) for some unfathomable reason. You can get cheese with music, too, but I've never seen the type of cheese used for that sold here. It might scare people off, because that cheese STINKS. Seriously stinks. But tastes amazing.

oscarBravo

That reminds me of the story about Germany planning to stockpile sausages and cheese in case of a hard Brexit.

They called it the Wurst Käse scenario...







... I'll get my coat.

Space Dog

Shenshen wrote: »

I had to watch this because I've seriously never heard of a salami salad in Germany before. I was a little relieved to find it's not salami, it's just Fleischwurst

That's actually quite a typical way of serving it in summer for dinner, though you'd want very very thick slices for this.
Where I'm from, it's called "Wurst mit Musik" (sausage with music) for some unfathomable reason. You can get cheese with music, too, but I've never seen the type of cheese used for that sold here. It might scare people off, because that cheese STINKS. Seriously stinks. But tastes amazing.

Where I'm from the music bit refers to flatulence due to the raw onions that you eat with that cheese!

RacoonQueen

igCorcaigh wrote: »

There's a purple one too, never tried it. Expensive though. Can't remember the name.

https://biona.co.uk/product/biona-organic-black-venus-rice/

I love it! I've a lovely collection of rice here as I eat rice usually at least once a day I like to mix it up a bit. White basmati is my go to when I'm in a hurry because like brown, red and black/purple rice take longer to cook.

I like the mixed one too

https://biona.co.uk/product/biona-organic-wild-rice-mix/

the beer revolu

New Home wrote: »

It's amazing the difference in texture and flavour among the various types of rice.

Love rice.
We buy Thai fragrant rice in 20 kg bags! Mrs Beer has rice for breakfast every day - we get through it.
In the cupboard, we'd also usually have:
Basmati, brown Basmati, Brown Thai, Japanese sushi rice, red cargo rice, glutinous rice and, maybe, a risotto rice.
I think there may be a pack of black glutinous rice, too, that I don't know what to do with.

They really are all very different to each other.
That's why I never understand people who say they don't like rice! There are so many!

Although back when the only rice I'd eaten was America long grain, I didn't really like rice very much, either.

Graces7

oscarBravo wrote: »

That reminds me of the story about Germany planning to stockpile sausages and cheese in case of a hard Brexit.

They called it the Wurst Käse scenario...







... I'll get my coat.

Don't you dare leave! I am unwell abed and that made me laugh! roflol! THANK YOU!

Graces7

I quite enjoy a good rice pudding but that is as far as rice goes with me. Others have tried to …. but it is like tea. I just never took to either. Or pasta - although for macaroni cheese if I remember and definitely the instant noodles I make an exception But rice?

Faith

the beer revolu wrote: »

Love rice.
We buy Thai fragrant rice in 20 kg bags! Mrs Beer has rice for breakfast every day - we get through it.

I've recently bought some Thai jasmine rice and started cooking with it. How do you cook yours?

I too have hopped on the rice train in a big way in the last year or so. We buy massive bags of Japanese sushi rice that we use whenever we want a stickier rice, and basmati for when we want 'standard' rice. I've now started serving a lot of meats that I'd historically have had potatoes with, with rice instead.

I had been lurking around, and saw mention of the Biona wild rice, it is absolutely delicious!

I would love to try sushi rice, is it easy or difficult to cook?

Alun

Space Dog wrote: »

Where I'm from the music bit refers to flatulence due to the raw onions that you eat with that cheese!

I lived in Darmstadt in Hessen for a good few years and remember Handkäse mit Musik very well. The accompanying glass of Ebbelwoi (Apfelwein) just adds to the overall effect

the beer revolu

Faith wrote: »

I've recently bought some Thai jasmine rice and started cooking with it. How do you cook yours?

I too have hopped on the rice train in a big way in the last year or so. We buy massive bags of Japanese sushi rice that we use whenever we want a stickier rice, and basmati for when we want 'standard' rice. I've now started serving a lot of meats that I'd historically have had potatoes with, with rice instead.

I do by absorption.

I rinse the rice a couple of times. Into a pot with 1.5 times water to rice by volume. Bring to boil. Carefully stir once to make sure it's not stuck to bottom of pot. Turn heat right down and cook covered for about 12 minutes. Lat stand for 5 or 10 minutes.

the beer revolu

Deleted User wrote: »

I would love to try sushi rice, is it easy or difficult to cook?

I cook it exactly the same way as I described cooking THai rice above.
Very easy if you follow instructions.

Faith

Deleted User wrote: »

I had been lurking around, and saw mention of the Biona wild rice, it is absolutely delicious!

I would love to try sushi rice, is it easy or difficult to cook?

Once you get the technique down, it's really easy. I used to do it exactly as the post below describes, but now I use an Instant Pot as a rice cooker.

the beer revolu wrote: »

I do by absorption.

I rinse the rice a couple of times. Into a pot with 1.5 times water to rice by volume. Bring to boil. Carefully stir once to make sure it's not stuck to bottom of pot. Turn heat right down and cook covered for about 12 minutes. Lat stand for 5 or 10 minutes.

Thanks! I've found the brand I'm using needs fractionally less water than sushi rice does - I've been going for 1:1.25, but that's in a rice cooker/instant pot scenario so there's no evaporation.

the beer revolu

Faith wrote: »

Thanks! I've found the brand I'm using needs fractionally less water than sushi rice does - I've been going for 1:1.25, but that's in a rice cooker/instant pot scenario so there's no evaporation.

The 1.5 ratio is really a rule of thumb. This will change with the variety of rice and will change as you increase the amount of rice you are cooking, and different cookers and pots will behave differently.

I find 1.5 a good starting point, though.

the beer revolu

Nduja.
12 months ago, I'd never heard of it.
Now, I'm reading about it daily and seeing it everywhere.

How do products that have been around for years suddenly become the latest thing?

New Home

Globalisation, TBR.

the beer revolu

New Home wrote: »

Globalisation, TBR.

Yeah but it's strange, why now?
Nduja could just as easily become a thing 20 years ago .
Not really looking for an answer. I'm don't think there is a single one. Just funny how foods have their moments.

igCorcaigh

the beer revolu wrote: »

Yeah but it's strange, why now?
Nduja could just as easily become a thing 20 years ago .
Not really looking for an answer. I'm don't think there is a single one. Just funny how foods have their moments.

I don't know, but I remember coming across chorizo first in 1999, and suddenly it was everywhere.

igCorcaigh

New Home wrote: »

Globalisation, TBR.

Well, there has always been elements of that.
Can you imagine the scenes when potatoes first arrived in Ireland?

People eating bacon and cabbage all along, and just *knew* something was missing.

Muahahaha

caviardreams wrote: »

Anyone recommend a really good strong vinegar for fish and chips? Been using the Chef "Chip shop" one and tried sarsons (v nice) and Aldi own brand (very weak) but would love something even stronger if it exists!

Polish shops sell a vineger that is 10%. Im not sure what its like on chips as I bought it to descale a coffee machine and ended up using the full bottle. But a Polish friend told me it is double the strenght of vinegars you get in Irish supermarkets.

Just on rice, for any other lazy cooks like myself I bought this device last year and use it a lot. You just put it in the microwave with equal parts rice to water, set it for 10 minutes and thats all the work it takes to produce perfect rice every time with no need for paying a pot attention with stirring and temperature changes.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sistema-Microwave-Rice-Cooker-2-6/dp/B00BTIVNT4/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=rice+cooker+microwave&qid=1599085295&sr=8-2

igCorcaigh

Muahahaha wrote: »

Polish shops sell a vineger that is 10%. Im not sure what its like on chips as I bought it to descale a coffee machine and ended up using the full bottle. But a Polish friend told me it is double the strenght of vinegars you get in Irish supermarkets.

Just on rice, for any other lazy cooks like myself I bought this device last year and use it a lot. You just put it in the microwave with equal parts rice to water, set it for 10 minutes and thats all the work it takes to produce perfect rice every time with no need for paying a pot attention with stirring and temperature changes.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sistema-Microwave-Rice-Cooker-2-6/dp/B00BTIVNT4/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=rice+cooker+microwave&qid=1599085295&sr=8-2

Oh that looks great.
I have a tiny kitchen so don't want to buy a rice cooker, but this looks good.

I can buy it now on Amazon for £15, should I? Is it very big?

New Home

the beer revolu wrote: »

Yeah but it's strange, why now?
Nduja could just as easily become a thing 20 years ago .
Not really looking for an answer. I'm don't think there is a single one. Just funny how foods have their moments.

I remember going into a large Dunnes almost 30 years ago looking for pine nuts... the guy I spoke to looked at me like I was nuts, paused for a moment, then pointed me to the pet shop around the corner.

Dizzyblonde

Usually it's a case of one famous chef or food blogger using something new, then another, and before you know it it's everywhere. Right now labneh seem to be mentioned more and more so it won't be long before that's in the supermarket. I never heard of it until a couple of weeks ago.

The Nal

the beer revolu wrote: »

Nduja.
12 months ago, I'd never heard of it.
Now, I'm reading about it daily and seeing it everywhere.

How do products that have been around for years suddenly become the latest thing?

From an Nduja point of view, we've finally got a couple of nice pizza places in Ireland that use it instead of just cheap mozzarella and salami.

Muahahaha

igCorcaigh wrote: »

Oh that looks great.
I have a tiny kitchen so don't want to buy a rice cooker, but this looks good.

I can buy it now on Amazon for £15, should I? Is it very big?

It is showing as £8.99 just for the rice steamer alone, maybe the £15 is with the postage included? I normally rack a couple of items up on Amazon to get free postage.

But yeah I find it great for cooking rice. Not that rice is any difficulty but I like that you just put it in the microwave, set it and forget it and the rice comes out great every time. It lets me go off and chop the garlic, ginger, chilli, etc for a stir fry without having to think about the rice. When its done you just fluff the rice up with the included paddle, put the lid back on and let the residual steam finish the rice off for a few minutes. All the water gets absorbed so it delivers fluffy rice with no sticking.

There are also electric rice cookers available for about £20-30, most households in Asia have these permanently on the countertop the same way we would with a toaster or kettle. But if you're lacking space in the kitchen then the steamer suits the bill as its easily put away in the presses. Its not that big, it fits all standard microwaves. I make 2 portions of rice in it but it could do up to 4.

If you get it make sure to keep the instructions as there is slightly different timings for cooking brown rice and cous cous over something like jasmine or basmati.

Alun

I got one of those Sistema yokes in Woodies a while back, might be worth looking there. Can't say I'm too impressed with it to be honest, the rice is far from "fluffy", more like a sticky mess, but maybe that's just me.

Muahahaha

the beer revolu wrote: »

Yeah but it's strange, why now?
Nduja could just as easily become a thing 20 years ago .
Not really looking for an answer. I'm don't think there is a single one. Just funny how foods have their moments.

As dizzy said it seems to be blogger/influencer led. Wouldnt surprise me if the Global Association of Nduja Producers (GANOP :pac:) paid some influencers to promote it and then it spreads to other influencers who always want to be creating new content with shiny new things.

Theres definitely an element of different foods having their moments. I remember backpacking around Morocco in 2002 where I first came across Argan oil. Its the one where the goats climb Argan trees, eat the fruit then sh1t it out from where people collect the seeds from its faeces and they are ground into oil for cooking. I had it in Marrakesh as a dressing on a salad and while not bad it was no substitute for a good olive oil. Imagine my surprise then when several years later it started popping up being promoted by influencers as the next big thing. I believe its now pretty big in cosmetics too, have seen Argan Oil shampoo and the like in the last few years.

I remember around 2004 or so suddenly overnight every Irish menu seemed to have a side salad made of rocket leaves on it. Not sure where that one came from but a chef told to me its not even the best salad their suppliers can supply but because the name rocket sounds cool on a menu it quickly became ubiquitous.

In the opposite vein to rocket becoming popular because of a cool sounding name I saw a Channel 4 doc on how little fish British people consume. In it a food marketing manager for their equivalent of Bord Bia was talking about how British fishermen catch tons and tons of a species very similar to cod which is called pollock. But because of its name they cannot sell it for love or money to British consumers and much of it gets exported to France where they eat loads of it.And then instead they import tons of cod from Icelandic waters. Its silly really because pollock is almost identical to the over-fished cod but when people see the name pollock on a menu it puts them off. Sainsburys later tried to re-brand pollock but for some stupid reason they called it 'Colin', I kid you not

Unpopular' pollack gets new name


The stores will call pollack "Colin" - the French word for hake

A supermarket has renamed a white fish caught in UK waters with a French name, Colin, because shoppers are not buying it under its British identity.
Sainsbury's is trying to push sales of pollack as a more sustainable alternative to cod, but says shoppers are not buying it.
Some stores will now stock it in new packaging designed by Wayne Hemingway, and inspired by artist Jackson Pollock.
And it will be called "Colin" - the French word for hake.
Pollack is far more popular in France, which is one of the biggest customers for UK fish, than it is here.
Sainbury's says sales of cod increase by nearly a third during Easter weekend.
In March, cod outstripped sales of pollack by 52,904 to 3,947. But haddock was even more popular than cod, with 98,722 units sold.
Alison Austin, environment manager at Sainsbury's, says if British consumers bought more pollack it could make a big difference to cod stocks.
"There are other species to eat other than cod and haddock, which are just as tasty, and often cheaper. Many people have said they even can't tell the difference in taste between cod or pollack."

Seafish market analyst Lorna Jack is also unsure whether the name change will work.
"Less attractive names may deter consumers from purchasing fish, however, we will be interested to see if this change of name increases sales of pollack since 'Colin' is perhaps not the easiest replacement name," she said.

Sainsbury's will launch the Jackson Pollock inspired packaging in 10 stores

Despite Sainsbury's suggestion that consumers should enjoy 'Colin and chips' at home this Friday, it seems unlikely to become a chip shop staple.
The National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF) expects cod to remain the most popular choice for its members and the public.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7984854.stm

That article is from 2009 so I think its pretty clear that 'Colin and Chips' never took off

Dial Hard

Fucking rocket, to give it its correct name, is still utterly ubiquitous and I will never understand why. I loathe the stuff. Going straight in the gulag when I stage my benevolent coup.