What are some of your unpopular opinions about food?
Replies
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There's a fair amount of exaggeration when it comes to 'pumpkin not being real pumpkin'
https://snopes.com/fact-check/canned-pumpkin-isnt-actually-pumpkin/3 -
Betting this is an unpopular opinion: People who feel betrayed that canned pumpkin isn't jack-o-lantern type pumpkin, and may even be something called a squash are waaaaay over connecting the names of things with the things themselves.
If a thing is edible, has a certain taste one may enjoy, makes a good pie . . . why in the heck would it matter that that food comes from something that might be called a "squash" vs. a "pumpkin" (words that have no technical/botanical meaning in the first place).
Because a person likes pumpkin, but hates squash?
C'mon. If one liked it when one thought it had a different name, but not with some other name, there's a problem, but it's not a problem with the food.
Words are important. We use them to communicate. To communicate, the parties involved need to share at least similar meanings for words. Thinking that the word somehow is or embodies the thing is a slippery slope to some really sloppy thinking, making one vulnerable to things like the high-flown names people cynically give to pretty slimy civic or political organizations, for example.
Of course product labels should be accurate. The squash/pumpkin distinction has no clear boundaries. Neither does Summer squash/Winter squash, botanically, though there the culinary uses are more distinct. They're all from various Curcubita species, Cucurbita moschata, C. maxima, and C. pepo. Most pumpkins and Winter squash are one of the first two, most Summer squash are the third, but acorn squash (just one example) are C. pepo. Gourds that we don't normally eat are also typically C. pepo (they're technically edible, just not generally enjoyable).5 -
There's a fair amount of exaggeration when it comes to 'pumpkin not being real pumpkin'
https://snopes.com/fact-check/canned-pumpkin-isnt-actually-pumpkin/
Snopes tends to often overstate things IMO.
Their argument/alleged debunking isn't actually inconsistent with the piece I cited above (which is not a viral internet rumor): https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/what-is-in-canned-pumpkin-article
"When we think of a pumpkin, we usually imagine either the rotund, bright orange specimen that we buy up at Halloween to carve into a jack-o-lantern—which, while edible, isn't good for cooking—or its smaller, tastier cousin, the sugar pumpkin. But instead of those pumpkin varieties, Libby's grows a proprietary strain of tan-skinned Dickinson squash. And although Libby's does refer to its fruit as "pumpkin," in appearance, taste, and texture (not to mention species) it more closely resembles squash. In fact, its closest high-profile relative is butternut squash.
Because the FDA finds that drawing a hard-line designation between pumpkins and "golden-fleshed" winter squash is murky, it's perfectly legal for Libby's and other canned pumpkin brands to label their products as such. In addition, companies are allowed to combine different plant varieties into one purée to achieve a desired flavor and consistency—especially beneficial if one type doesn't grow as well from one year to the next. And because many of these companies do offer a product that is denser, sweeter, and more flavorful than the more commonly available pumpkin would be, can we really begrudge them the semantics?"4 -
Betting this is an unpopular opinion: People who feel betrayed that canned pumpkin isn't jack-o-lantern type pumpkin, and may even be something called a squash are waaaaay over connecting the names of things with the things themselves.
(1) I don't think anyone has suggested that people should feel betrayed (that's certainly not the point the piece I linked originally was making!). IMO, it's a fun fact.
(2) I would assume that anyone who is familiar with pumpkin wouldn't expect it to be a jack-o-lantern style pumpkin, but a sugar pumpkin (which is what I used when experimenting with cooking pumpkin pie from scratch).
Anyway, like I said, something of a pain, no particular taste advantage, I would also experiment with making one using butternut squash for fun, and imagine that would also taste similar/good.3 -
kenziestabes wrote: »Adding another in the ring: icing is gross. The texture is weird, and it usually tastes like sugary Styrofoam. Either glaze it, butter it, or leave it plain.
The fact that in know people who love that disgusting "butter" cream frosting that comes on most average cakes is bonkers to me. It tastes exactly like sugar mixed into fluffed crisco, which is basically what it is. Soooo gross. The store bought containers of frosting are second grossest. I scrape them all off.
Cake should be topped with whipped cream, true icing, or homemade frosting made with actual butter.8 -
ChaoticMoira wrote: »kenziestabes wrote: »Adding another in the ring: icing is gross. The texture is weird, and it usually tastes like sugary Styrofoam. Either glaze it, butter it, or leave it plain.
The fact that in know people who love that disgusting "butter" cream frosting that comes on most average cakes is bonkers to me. It tastes exactly like sugar mixed into fluffed crisco, which is basically what it is. Soooo gross. The store bought containers of frosting are second grossest. I scrape them all off.
Cake should be topped with whipped cream, true icing, or homemade frosting made with actual butter.
True!2 -
I have a "cake lady"...a local baker who makes custom cakes. I prefer the taste of whipped cream, but always order buttercream frosting from her so that I don't have to immediately refrigerate the cake. She makes it fresh, though, with real butter, so it's very good. Not like grocery store cake.4
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I've never eaten pumpkin
I might attempt a pumpkin pie nearer Halloween 🎃
My unpopular opinion on food today is 'coffee' from coffee chains like Starbucks etc ..
Firstly it's usually far too big with too much milk and sugar and named something ridiculous like
'Frappacappachino'
And secondly why is it about £5 😳
Extortion!
1 -
Walkywalkerson wrote: »I've never eaten pumpkin
I might attempt a pumpkin pie nearer Halloween 🎃
My unpopular opinion on food today is 'coffee' from coffee chains like Starbucks etc ..
Firstly it's usually far too big with too much milk and sugar and named something ridiculous like
'Frappacappachino'
And secondly why is it about £5 😳
Extortion!
It's that expensive because you are paying for the brand and that's what the market will bear.
In my humble and worthless opinion, the reason that they put all the sugar and flavorings in the coffee is to hide the fact that they roasted the beans (at least in the dark coffees) to death and they are trying to hide the burnt aftertaste.
In case you haven't figured it out, I do not like Starbucks - I can get a better tasting cup of coffee at the gas station across the street and not have to mortgage my house to walk out with the cup.9 -
Most food is filled with GMO's, Antibiotics, Sugar, MSG and other stuff I cant have so I only shop at organic farmers markets. I get told off every day about how thats a bunch of crap but I trust the books I read and the changes I have seen to my body more than their opinion on the matter
4 -
Walkywalkerson wrote: »I've never eaten pumpkin
I might attempt a pumpkin pie nearer Halloween 🎃
My unpopular opinion on food today is 'coffee' from coffee chains like Starbucks etc ..
Firstly it's usually far too big with too much milk and sugar and named something ridiculous like
'Frappacappachino'
And secondly why is it about £5 😳
Extortion!
It all depends on what you order. I'm not a fan of Starbucks, but like any other coffee place you can order a large (venti, sigh) coffee black and it comes without any milk and sugar and is about $3.3 -
Walkywalkerson wrote: »I've never eaten pumpkin
I might attempt a pumpkin pie nearer Halloween 🎃
My unpopular opinion on food today is 'coffee' from coffee chains like Starbucks etc ..
Firstly it's usually far too big with too much milk and sugar and named something ridiculous like
'Frappacappachino'
And secondly why is it about £5 😳
Extortion!
It's that expensive because you are paying for the brand and that's what the market will bear.
In my humble and worthless opinion, the reason that they put all the sugar and flavorings in the coffee is to hide the fact that they roasted the beans (at least in the dark coffees) to death and they are trying to hide the burnt aftertaste.
In case you haven't figured it out, I do not like Starbucks - I can get a better tasting cup of coffee at the gas station across the street and not have to mortgage my house to walk out with the cup.
I agree!
I have only had Starbucks a couple of times and didn't enjoy it at all.
I take my coffee black without sugar so all I can taste is the terrible flavour of their beans 🤢
Even Mc Donalds has better coffee at a bargain price of 99p 😁1 -
Walkywalkerson wrote: »I've never eaten pumpkin
I might attempt a pumpkin pie nearer Halloween 🎃
My unpopular opinion on food today is 'coffee' from coffee chains like Starbucks etc ..
Firstly it's usually far too big with too much milk and sugar and named something ridiculous like
'Frappacappachino'
And secondly why is it about £5 😳
Extortion!
It all depends on what you order. I'm not a fan of Starbucks, but like any other coffee place you can order a large (venti, sigh) coffee black and it comes without any milk and sugar and is about $3.
What is a 'venti' does that mean black coffee?
🤣
In the UK a large black coffee from a chain is around £3.50 ( $4.83 )
For coffee and water!
0 -
Walkywalkerson wrote: »Walkywalkerson wrote: »I've never eaten pumpkin
I might attempt a pumpkin pie nearer Halloween 🎃
My unpopular opinion on food today is 'coffee' from coffee chains like Starbucks etc ..
Firstly it's usually far too big with too much milk and sugar and named something ridiculous like
'Frappacappachino'
And secondly why is it about £5 😳
Extortion!
It all depends on what you order. I'm not a fan of Starbucks, but like any other coffee place you can order a large (venti, sigh) coffee black and it comes without any milk and sugar and is about $3.
What is a 'venti' does that mean black coffee?
🤣
In the UK a large black coffee from a chain is around £3.50 ( $4.83 )
For coffee and water!
It’s just the size. Starbucks uses some Italian words for their sizes. Venti means twenty in Italian, so that’s their 20 oz size cup.0 -
I'll take a Kureig over Starbucks2
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Starting to think this is an unpopular opinion...
Prices for everything are set based on demand and what people are willing to pay.
As long as it's not an essential resource, I have no problem with whatever anyone wants to charge for their product.
If you don't like the price, don't buy it. But, also, don't look down your nose at people who choose to.
And, no, you're not just paying "for coffee and water". You are paying for the employees who served it to you, the rent on the facility, and other overhead costs. No one sells ANY product at cost. That's not how business works.13 -
soldiergrl_101 wrote: »Most food is filled with GMO's, Antibiotics, Sugar, MSG and other stuff I cant have so I only shop at organic farmers markets. I get told off every day about how thats a bunch of crap but I trust the books I read and the changes I have seen to my body more than their opinion on the matter
DOGS are genetically modified organisms please let go of the idea that GMO = bad
Monsanto, the company is bad, yes, boycott them as much as you're able. But the concept of genetically modifying organisms to better serve our needs is literally ten thousand years old.8 -
goal06082021 wrote: »soldiergrl_101 wrote: »Most food is filled with GMO's, Antibiotics, Sugar, MSG and other stuff I cant have so I only shop at organic farmers markets. I get told off every day about how thats a bunch of crap but I trust the books I read and the changes I have seen to my body more than their opinion on the matter
DOGS are genetically modified organisms please let go of the idea that GMO = bad
Monsanto, the company is bad, yes, boycott them as much as you're able. But the concept of genetically modifying organisms to better serve our needs is literally ten thousand years old.
But we don't eat dogs...
1 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »Starting to think this is an unpopular opinion...
Prices for everything are set based on demand and what people are willing to pay.
As long as it's not an essential resource, I have no problem with whatever anyone wants to charge for their product.
If you don't like the price, don't buy it. But, also, don't look down your nose at people who choose to.
And, no, you're not just paying "for coffee and water". You are paying for the employees who served it to you, the rent on the facility, and other overhead costs. No one sells ANY product at cost. That's not how business works.
Totally agree.1 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »goal06082021 wrote: »soldiergrl_101 wrote: »Most food is filled with GMO's, Antibiotics, Sugar, MSG and other stuff I cant have so I only shop at organic farmers markets. I get told off every day about how thats a bunch of crap but I trust the books I read and the changes I have seen to my body more than their opinion on the matter
DOGS are genetically modified organisms please let go of the idea that GMO = bad
Monsanto, the company is bad, yes, boycott them as much as you're able. But the concept of genetically modifying organisms to better serve our needs is literally ten thousand years old.
But we don't eat dogs...
I mean, there are places in the world where people do raise dogs for meat. Not looking to start Discourse about that, just pointing it out.
GMOs just aren't evil scientists cackling madly while they inject innocent strawberries with Mysterious Green Goo, that's simply not how it works and genetically modified foods are not inherently bad - in fact, most of the time the goal is to make them better in some way. More resistance to pests and disease = higher crop yields = greater availability of food; or in the case of something like Golden Rice, fortifying a staple crop (rice) with an essential micronutrient (vitamin A) has a real positive health impact (fewer kids in impoverished areas going blind due to vitamin deficiencies).
The problem is capitalism - Monsanto making it illegal for farmers who grow "their" GMO wheat to collect their own seeds from their own plants on their own land and propagate plants that way, you know, like how farming has worked since we invented it??, and instead forcing farmers to buy seeds from them; grocery stores and restaurants destroying unsold food rather than give it away or allow people to access it without paying for it; government subsidies for certain crops leading to monoculture which is bad for the environment, etc.5 -
Walkywalkerson wrote: »I've never eaten pumpkin
I might attempt a pumpkin pie nearer Halloween 🎃
My unpopular opinion on food today is 'coffee' from coffee chains like Starbucks etc ..
Firstly it's usually far too big with too much milk and sugar and named something ridiculous like
'Frappacappachino'
And secondly why is it about £5 😳
Extortion!
There are 3 Starbucks near me. Two are awful. At one I ordered decaf and got instant! At the other I got a muffin that would break concrete.
The third one is how Starbucks should be. Their $10 breakfast sandwiches are worth every penny!
Sometimes it depends on the cook. Or the manager. Or ?
We have a local coffeehouse that makes THE BEST COFFEE! I don’t even know how much it costs, I’ll pay it. Coffee is coffee. But their latte is HEAVEN!3 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »Starting to think this is an unpopular opinion...
Prices for everything are set based on demand and what people are willing to pay.
As long as it's not an essential resource, I have no problem with whatever anyone wants to charge for their product.
If you don't like the price, don't buy it. But, also, don't look down your nose at people who choose to.
And, no, you're not just paying "for coffee and water". You are paying for the employees who served it to you, the rent on the facility, and other overhead costs. No one sells ANY product at cost. That's not how business works.
Isn't this a thread where everyone is 'looking down their noses'
Are you a Starbucks rep?
😁2 -
goal06082021 wrote: »SuzySunshine99 wrote: »goal06082021 wrote: »soldiergrl_101 wrote: »Most food is filled with GMO's, Antibiotics, Sugar, MSG and other stuff I cant have so I only shop at organic farmers markets. I get told off every day about how thats a bunch of crap but I trust the books I read and the changes I have seen to my body more than their opinion on the matter
DOGS are genetically modified organisms please let go of the idea that GMO = bad
Monsanto, the company is bad, yes, boycott them as much as you're able. But the concept of genetically modifying organisms to better serve our needs is literally ten thousand years old.
But we don't eat dogs...
I mean, there are places in the world where people do raise dogs for meat. Not looking to start Discourse about that, just pointing it out.
GMOs just aren't evil scientists cackling madly while they inject innocent strawberries with Mysterious Green Goo, that's simply not how it works and genetically modified foods are not inherently bad - in fact, most of the time the goal is to make them better in some way. More resistance to pests and disease = higher crop yields = greater availability of food; or in the case of something like Golden Rice, fortifying a staple crop (rice) with an essential micronutrient (vitamin A) has a real positive health impact (fewer kids in impoverished areas going blind due to vitamin deficiencies).
The problem is capitalism - Monsanto making it illegal for farmers who grow "their" GMO wheat to collect their own seeds from their own plants on their own land and propagate plants that way, you know, like how farming has worked since we invented it??, and instead forcing farmers to buy seeds from them; grocery stores and restaurants destroying unsold food rather than give it away or allow people to access it without paying for it; government subsidies for certain crops leading to monoculture which is bad for the environment, etc.
Oh, I agree, I was just playing about the dogs...
Humans have been genetically modifying their food for hundreds of years (possibly longer?) through cross-breeding and selective breeding. The vast majority of the fruits and vegetables we eat have been significantly modified, and some are entirely man-made hybrid creations (like grapefruit, for example).
Today's methods just speed up the process and make it more precise.2 -
Carrots are awful. They taste so bad to me. It blew my mind when I read in a seed catalog about the sweet taste of carrots as they have never tasted sweet to me. I thought it was something you just forced yourself to eat to conform to society's idea of healthy food.
I don't think the visual appeal of food trumps the taste of it. I'd rather eat visually unappealing food that tastes good instead of visually appealing food that tastes terrible/bland.
Food is primarily fuel for me especially these days. If there were a food substitute that provided everything a body needs to be healthy and I do mean everything (antioxidants, vitamins, calories, the stuff yet to be discovered that contributes to our health), I'd mainly consume that for my meals.
I don't enjoy cooking. I also have IBS so food isn't fun for me a lot of the time.3 -
I like organic carrots. But carrots from the grocery store (especially baby carrots) have a musty smell I can't get past.1
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In the US, most common brands of commercial jam don't really have enough fruit in them to clearly distinguish them from jelly. It's kind of pathetic. Yes, I know there's supposed to be a distinction between jam and preserves.
Having made jelly, jam and preserves myself, the common grocery store preserves are more like what a jam should be like.
There are brands that are exceptions. I'm talking most mainstream grocery-store-type brands in the low/mid price zone.
Interpretive cultural note for those not in the US, who use different terminology: Here, "jelly" is a bread-spread type of thing, without fruit pieces in it, commonly made from fruit juices and sweetening, possible a thickener (such as pectin). "Jam" generally is made from the whole edible part of the fruit, other ingredients similar. "Preserves" is more like chunks of fruit that use sweeteners to preserve them, so it's supposed to be much chunkier than jam, maybe too chunky to spread on bread, but you can spoon it on if you like eating it on bread. Preserves may or may not require a thickener.2 -
Everyone should know how kitchen equipment operates and be able to cook a few basic things.
You don't have to like to cook, and if you want to order out for every meal, then fine. I also realize some people are not physically capable of cooking on their own.
But, you should know how.
I swear, some people I know must have gone right from their Mommies cooking everything for them to having a SO who does the same.
It's a life skill, people! Who can't learn how to boil pasta or cook eggs?
Sorry for the rant, but I still can't believe that my 50-year-old brother-in-law doesn't know how to turn on the oven in his own house.8 -
Butter, mayo, salad dressing, fat on meat ick might as well eat a blob of crisco! Don't get me wrong, haha, I get plenty of more hidden fat, potato chips, donuts, and on and on....0
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Takeaway Chinese food in the UK is gross 🤢
It tastes good for 10 minutes- but it's impossible to not over eat it because of the high sugar and MSG content.
It leaves me hungry after a couple of hours with a headache and a sleepless night.
Awful!1 -
ChaoticMoira wrote: »
This could be unpopular .. but I’ve spent time all over China .. and the food tasted exactly like what I get in NYC. 🤷🏼♀️ (Didn’t go to touristy joints either … )
I was expecting more of a difference based on many saying how different the Chinese food was in China. (Or we could have some great places here in Chinatown.)2
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