gourmet items

Julia Altshuler said:

... pate. None of us can stand it. We don't even like the
smell.[snip].... not cavier which I think is slimy, salty and fishy.
I wouldn't go near fois gras.[snip].... Yuck. Those of you
who enjoy pate and cavier and fois gras, what is it about the foods

that

Quoted message said:

you like? Can you describe them in a way that will make the rest of

us

Quoted message said:

understand?

(shrugging) If you don't like 'em now, you might try them again some
day and change your mind. Tastes change. Until then, there's more for
those who do like them. In particular, I like the texture of caviar,
which I would never call "slimy," and I love its saltiness and
fishiness. Seems unlikely that anyone could change your tastes with a
description. But rfc-ers are ingenious, maybe someone can.

-aem

Julia Altshuler said:

I enjoy many
types of seafood but not cavier which I think is slimy, salty and

fishy.

Quoted message said:

I wouldn't go near fois gras. Personally, I don't like olives, but

Quoted message said:

others do. I do like saffron which is expensive, and I'm learning

about

Quoted message said:

wines and slowly starting to think I can tell the difference between

the

Quoted message said:

good stuff and the cheap stuff. Most of us like the blue cheeses

though

Quoted message said:

there's a preference for the milder ones as opposed to the strong,

wet

Quoted message said:

authentic ones from Roquefort.

To appreciate caviar you need vodka. Chill it in the freezer, make some
blini, put the caviar on top, bite a blin sip a gulp. After enough
vodka move on to the pete and have it with a good bottle of wine -
depending on the pete. After some vodka and wine you can then proceed
to the fois gras, stinky cheeses or the nearest plant in a pot for that
matter.

In article <[email hidden]>, Julia Altshuler

Quoted message said:

So what's the deal with fancy French gourmet items? The people who like
them love them and come into our store just for them and rave about how
wonderful it is to find a store that carries them. Yuck. Those of you
who enjoy pate and cavier and fois gras, what is it about the foods that
you like? Can you describe them in a way that will make the rest of us
understand?

I'm with you on the pate and the fois gras, but I love olives and I
like caviar, even the cheap stuff. I like olives because they are
salty, oily and sour all at the same time. I like the caviar because
they are briny and pop on your tongue.

Regards,
Ranee

--
Remove Do Not and Spam to email

"She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands." Prov 31:13

See my Blog at: http://arabianknits.blogspot.com/

Julia Altshuler said:

A customer comes into the wine and cheese shop and asks for pate. We
have "tres cornichons" pates. I ask her how much she wants, slice it
for her, weigh it, etc. Of all the items in the store, I like most of
them, or, if I don't care for it, one of the other sales clerks does.
The exception is pate. None of us can stand it. We don't even like the
smell. We serve it, try not to make nasty faces and wrap it up again
quick. We wonder how it can be considered a gourmet item when it smells
like spam.

This got us thinking about other fancy gourmet items. I enjoy many
types of seafood but not cavier which I think is slimy, salty and fishy.
I wouldn't go near fois gras. Personally, I don't like olives, but
others do. I do like saffron which is expensive, and I'm learning about
wines and slowly starting to think I can tell the difference between the
good stuff and the cheap stuff. Most of us like the blue cheeses though
there's a preference for the milder ones as opposed to the strong, wet
authentic ones from Roquefort.

So what's the deal with fancy French gourmet items? The people who like
them love them and come into our store just for them and rave about how
wonderful it is to find a store that carries them. Yuck. Those of you
who enjoy pate and cavier and fois gras, what is it about the foods that
you like? Can you describe them in a way that will make the rest of us
understand?

--Lia

Tastes are so personal don't think it's possible to make someone
understand why a food is liked or disliked.

If the caviare you've eaten was slimy it wasn't good caviare. Shouldn't
be particularly 'fishy' either even though it is sturgeon eggs. Cheaper
caviare is quite salty; the better grades are not so salty.

There are so many pates around, you might want to try a different one.
Naturally if you don't like liver you won't like a lot of classic pates.
Neither will you like foie gras of course :p But there are other pates
not made with liver you might just like if you like meatloaf.

Probably depends somewhat on what one has grown up with. Personally I
find 'peanut butter and jelly' sandwiches and 'oatmeal cookies' as
revolting as you find 'fancy French gourmet items'.

In article <[email hidden]>, Arri London <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Probably depends somewhat on what one has grown up with. Personally I
find 'peanut butter and jelly' sandwiches and 'oatmeal cookies' as
revolting as you find 'fancy French gourmet items'.

Why? Is it mouth feel, taste? I'm curious what can be so bad about
oatmeal cookies, especially.

Regards,
Ranee (who hasn't met a cookie she couldn't eat)

--
Remove Do Not and Spam to email

"She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands." Prov 31:13

See my Blog at: http://arabianknits.blogspot.com/

Arri London said:

Tastes are so personal don't think it's possible to make someone
understand why a food is liked or disliked.

This is so true. Food and wine snobs, for the most part, deny this
basic biological/psychological fact. I'm continually amazed that
individual journalists (like R. Parker) can sway so many readers to the
point where it affects price and availability to such a great degree.
The phrase 'sheep like behavior' comes to mind. I'm convinced that
caviar and champagne are bought and consumed by large numbers of people
who actually have never liked the stuff. (Of course, some of you
really do like it- I just wonder how many.) OK, now that I've had my
little rant I will say if you're having fun with it (and can afford it)
go ahead and have a ball. Just don't try to lay your rap on the rest
of us. It Is soooo boring!
I wish you all good eats!

D.M.

I like the caviar because
they are briny and pop on your tongue.

Regards,
Ranee

I bet you're wearing your FM shoes! hehe

Regards,
Ranee (who hasn't met a cookie she couldn't eat)

Um, I've been called "cookie". hehe

Julia Altshuler said:

A customer comes into the wine and cheese shop and asks for pate. We
have "tres cornichons" pates. I ask her how much she wants, slice it
for her, weigh it, etc. Of all the items in the store, I like most of
them, or, if I don't care for it, one of the other sales clerks does.
The exception is pate. None of us can stand it. We don't even like the
smell. We serve it, try not to make nasty faces and wrap it up again
quick. We wonder how it can be considered a gourmet item when it smells
like spam.

This got us thinking about other fancy gourmet items. I enjoy many
types of seafood but not cavier which I think is slimy, salty and fishy.
I wouldn't go near fois gras. Personally, I don't like olives, but
others do. I do like saffron which is expensive, and I'm learning about
wines and slowly starting to think I can tell the difference between the
good stuff and the cheap stuff. Most of us like the blue cheeses though
there's a preference for the milder ones as opposed to the strong, wet
authentic ones from Roquefort.

So what's the deal with fancy French gourmet items? The people who like
them love them and come into our store just for them and rave about how
wonderful it is to find a store that carries them. Yuck. Those of you
who enjoy pate and cavier and fois gras, what is it about the foods that
you like? Can you describe them in a way that will make the rest of us
understand?

--Lia

I really enjoy caviar and other fish roes so long as it isn't salmon
roe. The flavor of salmon roe isn't bad it's a texture thing, too
"juicey." The flavor is delicate yet molmentarily intense and the
popping on the tongue sensation is blissful.

I don't like liver based pates or foie gras, but I've never met any bird
or mammal liver that I like. Olives I love, preferably served with
cheeses, crusty bread, garlic shrimp and good wine.

Roquefort isn't my favorite on it's own but is a fine complement of
tastes when matched with ripe off the tree pears in season or crumbled
upon a sandwich of good rare roast beast & arugula.

essica

Olives I don't care for. Something about the combination of taste and
texture that just does not appeal to me. Bleu Cheese... that's a "no"
on my palate. But I love Brie and Camembert. I am one of those people
who wishes the "goat cheese in food" craze would hurry up and pass,
already. I can't STAND the stuff!

I can't afford really GOOD caviar--that will have to wait until I meet
a rich person who's willing to split some with me. But I occasionally
indulge in some lumpfish caviar at the grocery store. I like the
texture, and I like the fishiness of caviar, especially in combination
with some lemon juice and sour cream on a little slice of whole wheat
or rye. (Go figure, usually I don't like rye bread. But I do like it
if it's got a nice dollop of caviar and sour cream on top. Blinis are
even better, but I'm usually too lazy to make them.) Of course, I'm
also a person who loves anchovies, because they too, are salty and
fishy. Many people I know absolutely HATE anchovies. For me though, a
Caesar Salad just is not complete without them.

I LOVE pate, but not all pates are created equal. Maybe the pate
you've been buying is the problem. Or maybe it simply does not appeal
to you, which is valid. I've never had Foie gras, and I have some
ethical problems with the way it's produced, so it's unlikely I'll
partake. However, I don't let this stop me from enjoying OTHER kinds
of pate, consistency being the hobgoblin of small minds. What I like in
a pate is a smooth, soft texture, a rich taste of liver balanced with
whatever seasonings have been used.

Like you I also like saffron--it has a very unique taste, and it turns
any dish a very pretty golden color. BUt on my budget it's a rarity.
On the other hand, I can't stand cilantro, which is an entirely
subjective dislike of mine.

Wine...I'll drink it now and then, but I'm not crazy about it, and
never have been. Two glasses in one evening, and I end up feeling very
loopy.

Melissa

Is "tres cornichons" the brand name? Pickles in pate is a
totally gross thought.

`````````````````````

Julia Altshuler said:

A customer comes into the wine and cheese shop and asks for pate. We
have "tres cornichons" pates. I ask her how much she wants, slice it
for her, weigh it, etc. Of all the items in the store, I like most of
them, or, if I don't care for it, one of the other sales clerks does.
The exception is pate. None of us can stand it. We don't even like the
smell. We serve it, try not to make nasty faces and wrap it up again
quick. We wonder how it can be considered a gourmet item when it smells
like spam.

This got us thinking about other fancy gourmet items. I enjoy many
types of seafood but not cavier which I think is slimy, salty and fishy.
I wouldn't go near fois gras. Personally, I don't like olives, but
others do. I do like saffron which is expensive, and I'm learning about
wines and slowly starting to think I can tell the difference between the
good stuff and the cheap stuff. Most of us like the blue cheeses though
there's a preference for the milder ones as opposed to the strong, wet
authentic ones from Roquefort.

So what's the deal with fancy French gourmet items? The people who like
them love them and come into our store just for them and rave about how
wonderful it is to find a store that carries them. Yuck. Those of you
who enjoy pate and cavier and fois gras, what is it about the foods that
you like? Can you describe them in a way that will make the rest of us
understand?

--Lia

sf

On Thu 17 Feb 2005 10:44:21p, sf wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

s "tres cornichons" the brand name? Pickles in pate is a
totally gross thought.

But not unheard of, nor are olives.

Fifo said:

To appreciate caviar you need vodka.

Oh, yeah? I can eat it and love it w/o the aid of booze,
but if I'm accompanying it with alcohol - I prefer
champagne.

nanner nanner nanner LOL

sf

Ranee Mueller said:

I love olives

The love of olives runs in my family too. My son ate so
many olives the first time he tried them (as a toddler) that
he threw up, but it didn't deter him from liking them.

I am still trying to find spanish olives... remember the
olives that were, a light brownish/olive green with darker
brown spots? My mouth waters as I think of them.

sf

Arri London said:

There are so many pates around, you might want to try a different one.
Naturally if you don't like liver you won't like a lot of classic pates.
Neither will you like foie gras of course :p But there are other pates
not made with liver you might just like if you like meatloaf.

My favorite is duck pate with truffle. What's yours?

sf

On Thu 17 Feb 2005 10:52:43p, sf wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

Ranee Mueller said:

I love olives

The love of olives runs in my family too. My son ate so
many olives the first time he tried them (as a toddler) that
he threw up, but it didn't deter him from liking them.

I am still trying to find spanish olives... remember the
olives that were, a light brownish/olive green with darker
brown spots? My mouth waters as I think of them.

Please wear a bib, or cover your keyboard.

Wayne

PS - I like those, too.

On Thu 17 Feb 2005 10:54:09p, sf wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

Arri London said:

There are so many pates around, you might want to try a different one.
Naturally if you don't like liver you won't like a lot of classic pates.
Neither will you like foie gras of course :p But there are other pates
not made with liver you might just like if you like meatloaf.

My favorite is duck pate with truffle. What's yours?

sf

Not sure I have a favorite; I like too many! I like those both with liver
and without. I have a slight preference over "country style" pates that have
a coarser texture. Also like those that are studded with pistachios.

Wayne

"Julia Altshuler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

We have "tres cornichons" pates.

Is this a brand name? I'm curious about what's in them, as pates and
terrines can be made from just about anything.

Quoted message said:

Of all the items in the store, I like most of them,
or, if I don't care for it, one of the other sales clerks
does. The exception is pate. None of us can stand
it. We don't even like the smell.

It simply may not be very good pate. I'd say that, without trying
some others, don't give up on the idea of pate altogether.

Quoted message said:

This got us thinking about other fancy gourmet items.
I enjoy many types of seafood but not cavier which
I think is slimy, salty and fishy.

In my experience, *good* caviar (and by "good" I mean good quality,
which doesn't have to be the best sturgeon) is not slimy, overly salty
or overly fishy, but rather fresh, bright and slightly briny. We not
infrequently have ... err, I think it's cod roe -- I can't remember
the right Danish word, which in turn would give me the right English
word -- for dinner. Small -- much smaller than salmon roe (which is
nice too) -- bright orange eggs, spooned onto warm toast with a
sprinkling of chopped red onion and a dollop of creme fraiche. With a
glass of good, crisp white wine, and that's a very nice meal indeed.

Quoted message said:

I wouldn't go near fois gras.

Is it the liver thing or an ethical/political statement? Further
reading is encouraged:
http://www.worldtable.com/foiegras.html -- especially the sidebar
http://www.ariege.com/gastronomie/foiegras/eng.html -- especially the
last paragraph

I have no ethical issues with eating foie gras when the duck or goose
has been allowed free movement during the rather short force-feeding
period. And the fact that the birds will freely come to the feeders
speaks volumes to me.

As a foodstuff, foie gras is really something special. To me, at
least, it doesn't have an overtly "liver" flavor, and when properly
prepared has a gorgeous texture. Paired with a good glass of
Sauternes or other sweet wine (not to be confused with a dessert
wine), it's simply glorious.

Quoted message said:

Personally, I don't like olives, but others do.

I love olives which are crisp to the bite, but can't stand mushy ones,
regardless of how good the flavor.

Quoted message said:

I do like saffron which is expensive,

It is, rather. I'm not as fond of saffron as I had hoped to be. I
recently made a potato dish in which the potatoes were cooked in
chicken stock highly flavored with saffron. The taste was okay, but
the nose was ... just wrong. *shrug* I'll give it another go when I
finally get 'round to making paella, and that will probably sort it
out, one way or the other, for me. Put me firmly in the "maybe"
column with paella.

Quoted message said:

and I'm learning about wines and slowly starting to think
I can tell the difference between the good stuff and the
cheap stuff.

I think it's useful to make a distinction between good wine and bad
versus expensive wine and cheap wine. Some inexpensive wine is quite
drinkable -- which is good, if you want to drink wine on a daily
basis. And some expensive wine is [censored].

And how ridiculous to spend a lot of money on a special vintage wine
if you're not going to serve food worthy of it. Food and wine pairing
is an art, one that I have only just begun to play around with. I
usually defer to my husband, who's a fair bit more knowledgeable about
wine than I am; when we're out with certain of his friends/colleagues,
he'll defer to them or not, depending on their wine knowledge (a few
of our friends are proven oenophiles -- it's always a treat to share
meals with them).

Quoted message said:

Most of us like the blue cheeses though there's
a preference for the milder ones as opposed to
the strong, wet authentic ones from Roquefort.

A strong cheese, carefully paired with fruit, nuts, wine, etc., can be
a joy. Sometimes they're just too overwhelming on their own. Cheese
is a beautiful way to end a meal, though.

Quoted message said:

So what's the deal with fancy French gourmet
items?

*shrug* Dunno. I don't buy things because they're "fancy," "French,"
"gourmet" or any combination thereof. I buy various foods because
they please me (and those I cook for, if I'm cooking).

Quoted message said:

The people who like them love them and come
into our store just for them and rave about how
wonderful it is to find a store that carries them.
Yuck.

??? "Yuck" because people are happy they've found a shop which sells
things they like? Or "yuck" because they come across as trendy
poseurs who don't know any better?

Quoted message said:

Those of you who enjoy pate and cavier and fois gras,
what is it about the foods that you like? Can you describe
them in a way that will make the rest of us understand?

No, I probably can't, although I've written rather a lot above (which
is what happens when you get me pre-coffee -- I'm just hoping I'm
comprehensible this morning).

But the best thing is that no law says you have to like everything.
Eat the things you do like, be bold when trying new things and don't
be afraid to say you don't like something (of course, tact is
sometimes called for, but that's an easy enough skill to acquire).
Life's too short to eat things you don't like.
-j

Jessica said:

I really enjoy caviar and other fish roes so long as it isn't salmon roe.
The flavor of salmon roe isn't bad it's a texture thing, too "juicey."
The flavor is delicate yet molmentarily intense and the popping on the
tongue sensation is blissful.

Funny, I was just about to write that salmon roe is my favorite! Flying fish
roe and herring roe are also right up there, but I don't care for caviar.
I've *had* the "good" caviar, and I really tried to like it, but it just
left me wondering what the big deal was. But salmon roe...my first
experience with it was at a restaurant in Manhattan which served a salmon
napoleon covered with a cream sauce and sprinkled with salmon roe. It was
more than twenty years ago, but I remember it vividly; that's how good it
was.

Quoted message said:

I don't like liver based pates or foie gras, but I've never met any bird
or mammal liver that I like.

Jessica, I noted that you specified "bird or mammal liver." Does that mean
you MIGHT like monkfish liver or lobster liver? Even <shudder> cod liver?

If liver is prepared properly, I like it very much. Chicken liver, duck
liver, goose liver, pork liver, calf liver...they're all good. I don't have
it often because it's so high in calories. (Dammit, now that I'm thinking
about rich food, I want rilletes!)

Quoted message said:

Olives I love, preferably served with cheeses, crusty bread, garlic shrimp
and good wine.

I'm not sure why olives are considered "gourmet" food. They're a staple for
the peasantry in most of the countries where they originate! There's a wide
spectrum of olive flavors, and I like some much better than others, but I
enjoy exploring the different types.

Quoted message said:

Roquefort isn't my favorite on it's own but is a fine complement of tastes
when matched with ripe off the tree pears in season or crumbled upon a
sandwich of good rare roast beast & arugula.

Oh yeah (though you forgot to include toasted walnuts). Or melted together
with butter and dolloped onto a rare steak. Tastes *do* change, though. I
never used to care for *any* cheese, but now I'm gaining an appreciation for
the finer ones, thanks to some cheese-loving friends.

Since the subject is "gourmet items" and nobody else has mentioned this one,
I'll toss out my opinion that "tradizionale" balsamic vinegar is a gourmet
item without peer. It's a shame that the "di Modena" vinegar has been so
horribly corrupted for mass consumption.

Bob