The General Chat Thread

Neyite · 11-07-2014 02:28PM

Tbh Striped Boxers, if the staff have such bad food safety practices in front of customers on the shop floor, god knows what their stock rotation and stockrooms are like behind the scenes.

So if staff are openly putting meat that other shoppers have abandoned back in a fridge instead of correctly disposing of it (which is a fundamental rule in well run shops with trained staff), I'd not give them the business for anything. Take your custom elsewhere if you can.

And I'd certainly take the smelly chops back to waft under the General Managers nose and demand a refund.

BaZmO* · 11-07-2014 02:45PM

Alun wrote: »

I now make sure to only put meat on the bottom shelf, and only beer/wine on the top one.

You should always put raw meat on the bottom shelf to stop the risk of cross contamination (eliminate the risk of blood, etc. dripping onto cooked food below), aswell as the fact that warm air rises so therefore the bottom of the fridge will always be colder.

wonski · 11-07-2014 02:58PM

StripedBoxers wrote: »

I wonder if it is worth saying anything to the manager of the meat section in case it is the supplier at fault or the fridge temperatures need to be changed?

Sure it is worth. He might not know there is an issue with the fridges, and - as i said before - lot of the fridges are not up to the job.

There is a local convenience shop where I showed them a pizza - half frozen / half melted:mad:

Not surprised half of their meet looks like it has gone off, especially the 8 euro Striploin I would never touch.

Alun · 11-07-2014 03:54PM

BaZmO* wrote: »

You should always put raw meat on the bottom shelf to stop the risk of cross contamination (eliminate the risk of blood, etc. dripping onto cooked food below), aswell as the fact that warm air rises so therefore the bottom of the fridge will always be colder.

I know that but I was surprised at how big the difference was, plus how quickly the temp increases after having the door open for even a short time.

ComputerKing · 11-07-2014 04:56PM

You also need to minimise the amount of time the meat spends out of the fridge so the time it takes to get the meat in the shop and get it home needs to be as short as possible. That means getting your meat as the last thing before you checkout and also keeping your meat in a cooler on your way home to keep it cold.

wonski · 11-07-2014 05:07PM

ComputerKing wrote: »

You also need to minimise the amount of time the meat spends out of the fridge so the time it takes to get the meat in the shop and get it home needs to be as short as possible. That means getting your meat as the last thing before you checkout and also keeping your meat in a cooler on your way home to keep it cold.

Not that you are wrong, but it is not very "practical";)

As long as you don't spend hours shopping around, the meat you purchased should be fine.

As I said before it is all down to the temperature - if the shops fridges keep the temperature low enough ( 2°-3°C) then the customer should not have a problem. The issue arises when the products are stored at 6°-7°C, and being kept in the car for an hour or more.

The few minutes you save by putting it in the shopping basket at the end won't help much, checking your fridge would help too - in many cases they are not cold enough, especially when overfilled.

ChewChew · 11-07-2014 05:55PM

Smelly meat like that turns me vegetarian for 2 or 3 days (max) :pac: I just can't handle the smell at all!!

Can anyone tell me where I can buy Ras El Hanout? I keep looking in the likes of tesco and super valu and no joy!

pampootie · 12-07-2014 06:52PM

I've seen ras el hanout the odd time in tesco in Wilton (Cork).

Lads is there any hope of rescuing pastry that I made a balls of? I added way too much water, then flour to try to fix it, but now it's all overworked and tears really easily. It'll be sitting in the fridge overnight because I've already gone to dunnes in a huff for a bottle of wine and a sheet of jus rol :pac:

Animord · 12-07-2014 07:03PM

ChewChew wrote: »

Smelly meat like that turns me vegetarian for 2 or 3 days (max) :pac: I just can't handle the smell at all!!

Can anyone tell me where I can buy Ras El Hanout? I keep looking in the likes of tesco and super valu and no joy!

Where are you? I saw it in Tesco in Coonagh (Limerick) today.

Gloomtastic! · 12-07-2014 07:32PM

Tesco's usually have it in the special foods section.

Cedrus · 12-07-2014 07:41PM

pampootie wrote: »

I've seen ras el hanout the odd time in tesco in Wilton (Cork).

Lads is there any hope of rescuing pastry that I made a balls of? I added way too much water, then flour to try to fix it, but now it's all overworked and tears really easily. It'll be sitting in the fridge overnight because I've already gone to dunnes in a huff for a bottle of wine and a sheet of jus rol :pac:

In my experience No, but it depends what you wanted it for, a pie crust or beef wellington not a chance, pie base for a pie with loads of gravy or wet fruit maybe but it will keep tearing.

My best advice is, mix in a load of grated cheese, roll out and cut into ribbons, then bake carefully and serve as cheese straws. (and skip weightwatchers this week).

pampootie · 12-07-2014 08:09PM

Thanks cedrus, cheese sticks sound good! There's loads of it there so I might try a fruit pie with a wet filling and see how I go. I wish I had the knack for pastry, something always seems to go wrong for me!

Cedrus · 12-07-2014 08:36PM

BTW the wet filling won't improve the pastry, just means that as you'll be using a plate and fork anyway it won't be so messy when it cracks.

Tarzana · 13-07-2014 04:59AM

Alun wrote: »

Now, f I have it set to around 4 degrees at the bottom it can be 9 degrees or more at the top which is way too warm for meat

You should set it for lower than 4 degrees because Listeria can grow at 4c. 2-3 degrees is what I go for.

BaZmO* · 13-07-2014 08:46AM

Tarzana wrote: »

You should set it for lower than 4 degrees because Legionella can grow at 4c. 2-3 degrees is what I go for.

Not sure why you're bringing Legionella into the discussion, either way I think we'll all leave the food safety advice alone for now.

GalwayGuy2 · 13-07-2014 07:24PM

Hmmm, I used milk as the 'fat' in my baking today. Just flour and milk tbh.

I was actually quite impressed with it, for what it was. It came together much, much quicker, and was easier to manage. But, the, while the outside did brown, the inside wasn't very pretty.

I wonder how yeast and baking soda would react to the milk?

oscarBravo · 13-07-2014 07:27PM

GalwayGuy2 wrote: »

Hmmm, I used milk as the 'fat' in my baking today. Just flour and milk tbh.

I was actually quite impressed with it, for what it was. It came together much, much quicker, and was easier to manage. But, the, while the outside did brown, the inside wasn't very pretty.

Sounds like a flatbread recipe, tbh. Did you try to make a loaf without any raising agents?

I wonder how yeast and baking soda would react to the milk?

I make basic white rolls all the time that are essentially flour, milk and yeast (plus a knob of butter and some sugar and salt). Baking soda and yeast seems like a strange combo.

GalwayGuy2 · 13-07-2014 08:15PM

Nope.

Flattened it after kneading, put apple, raisins and sugar into the centre and baked it. That's going to be my new cooking thing tbh

Pasta sauce in the centre, and dried basil in the bread itself.

Do you think I could cook bread on the oven tray itself? As in the grill thing in the centre of the oven?

pampootie · 13-07-2014 08:22PM

Cheese twists worked out perfectly, thanks again cedrus! Made them slightly differently as the pastry seemed more resilient after coming out of the fridge- divided it into halves and rolled them out thinly, spread one half with wholegrain mustard and the other with mango chutney. Heaps of cheese and black pepper on both, folded over, rolled out again then cut into 1cm ribbons and twisted then baked. Nyom

Cedrus · 13-07-2014 08:40PM

pampootie wrote: »

Cheese twists worked out perfectly, thanks again cedrus! Made them slightly differently as the pastry seemed more resilient after coming out of the fridge- divided it into halves and rolled them out thinly, spread one half with wholegrain mustard and the other with mango chutney. Heaps of cheese and black pepper on both, folded over, rolled out again then cut into 1cm ribbons and twisted then baked. Nyom

Nom Nom! I can taste a pastry session coming on.

awec · 14-07-2014 03:16PM

Is it just me, or has coriander become "trendy" ?

Seems to be in so many dishes these days - people must just throw it in to use a herb. Sometimes you don't even see it, and then that disgusting soapy taste just sneaks up on you.

Merkin · 14-07-2014 03:39PM

awec wrote: »

Is it just me, or has coriander become "trendy" ?

Seems to be in so many dishes these days - people must just throw it in to use a herb. Sometimes you don't even see it, and then that disgusting soapy taste just sneaks up on you.

In what kind of dishes Awec? I always have a plant on the go because I love Thai and Mexican and can't imagine either without coriander, it's essential! If it's out of place I could see how it could confuse a dish though.

MissFlitworth · 14-07-2014 04:04PM

I think it might have gotten a spot of the Parsleys/Pestos/Balsamic Crema's, sprinkled decoratively on top of & around food where once our peppery/oily/tangy buddies used to live. It's great for me because I'd marry coriander and live in a coriander house but can imagine it's very annoying for people who can't stand the taste.

Makood · 14-07-2014 04:34PM

MissFlitworth wrote: »

I think it might have gotten a spot of the Parsleys/Pestos/Balsamic Crema's, sprinkled decoratively on top of & around food where once our peppery/oily/tangy buddies used to live. It's great for me because I'd marry coriander and live in a coriander house but can imagine it's very annoying for people who can't stand the taste.

Took some getting used to for me but love it now.
But when Mrs. Makood informed me today that she made herself a BLT with coriander added I was WTF- Defiitely not in a BLT! Must be a Russian thing.

awec · 14-07-2014 04:45PM

MissFlitworth wrote: »

I think it might have gotten a spot of the Parsleys/Pestos/Balsamic Crema's, sprinkled decoratively on top of & around food where once our peppery/oily/tangy buddies used to live. It's great for me because I'd marry coriander and live in a coriander house but can imagine it's very annoying for people who can't stand the taste.

This exactly. Used as decoration. It is to be expected in most curries etc (but usually not so bad as the curry taste can really kill it off).

I just can't stand the taste. I understand it's one of those things that some people get a very strong taste of and others don't - cucumber apparently is another.

Cucumber tastes like water to me, and coriander tastes like eating fairy liquid. I know some people who get the taste of it so strongly that even if they go to an indian they have to ask the chef to leave out coriander.

Animord · 14-07-2014 05:55PM

I hated coriander for years, couldn't bear that soapy taste, but I pretty much woke up one morning and couldn't get enough of the stuff (no, I wasn't :pac:).

Have loved it ever since, I always hide a few leaves in my salad for extra yumminess.

Maybe you will have a road to Damascus type conversion one day too?

Faith · 14-07-2014 06:03PM

I'm selling my slow cooker and my super-cool purple microwave over on Adverts at the moment, in case any Cork folk are in the market for new kitchen appliances

.

There'll be a pile of other stuff going up over the next few days too, because we're emigrating next month

sillymoo · 14-07-2014 08:09PM

I never thought it would happen but I seem to have gained an appreciation for beer! Currently having a German blonde wheat beer and it is delicious. There seems to have been a huge surge in craft beer in Ireland and I have hopped on that bandwagon with gusto. I find the flavours more identifiable versus flavours in wine.

Gloomtastic! · 14-07-2014 08:38PM

sillymoo wrote: »

I never thought it would happen but I seem to have gained an appreciation for beer! Currently having a German blonde wheat beer and it is delicious. There seems to have been a huge surge in craft beer in Ireland and I have hopped on that bandwagon with gusto. I find the flavours more identifiable versus flavours in wine.

As an alternative to my cheap plonk, I do like to spoil myself occasionally with a good bottle of strong craft beer - 3 Monts is my current favourite. Talking to the boss of the local offie about craft beers and why one bottle was costing €23. He said that was nothing and pointed to a bottle behind the counter for €200! :eek:

MissFlitworth · 14-07-2014 08:56PM

Got myself a punnet of strawberries as a treat and failed to notice that they were a bit bashed and manky. Woe, woe is me. Any idea what I could do with them? Would only have enough for a sylvanian family sized jar of jam

The General Chat Thread

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