Another food thread, why not?

[IronWolf]

I agree about the quick stir fry or, better still, steaming. However, it has come to light in our household that microwaving certain veggies increases their sweetness. My Mom is currently a HUGE fan of nuking corn on the cob- a bit of water in a covered dish, zapped for a while, and buttered, and your corn will come out quite tasty. I think some of the same goes for carrots.

I do love sweet corn. When I was a kid there were times our entire meal consisted solely of sweet corn! We've been using the microwaving trick for corn on the cob for awhile now. We shuck the outer layers, put them in the microwave, nuke for about a minute per ear, rotate ears and then nuke for another minute per ear. Works great and tastes good.

In addition, sometimes bitterness can be attributed to the age of the veggie in question. Bell peppers change RADICALLY in flavor as they age- young ones can be quite sweet, while the older ones have the classic pepper taste that makes them invaluable in fajitas.

Bell peppers are liked by Mrs. IronWolf and IronPup, so we have those around frequently. Even on times they say they are especially good I have tried them and found them on the bitter side.

I have had them in fajitas, but eating them straight hasn't suited my taste buds.

Carrots are another prime example of this. Baby carrots can be amazingly sweet. You might try those.

I've had baby carrots, but maybe I just didn't have good ones. I'll listen for when Mrs. IronWolf and IronPup are saying how good the next batch of baby carrots is and give them another shot.

Finally, always make sure the stuff you're cooking is both ripe and in season (frozen stuff should be fine). Either factor can affect flavor.

We actually belong to a CSA where the farm veggies are delivered to us from a local farm. So we get fairly high quality veggies through our house, I just haven't been able to convince my taste buds to like them.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Have you considered that you may be...a carnivore?

Well, as long as you get your nutrients, you should be OK. There are other healthy options besides eating your veggies.

Grains, fruits & nuts can fill in for a lot of stuff you get from veggies, and can be gotten in a variety of ways. I make my own trail mix out of dried dates, cherries, pineapples, various kinds of rasins (regular, red & goldens, small and jumbo), pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, brazils and cashews. Oh yeah, and shelled sunflower seeds.

Then, of course, there is always things like juices or certain sauces. Marinara is particularly healthy, for instance. And V-8 contains stuff from all kinds of veggies.

I'm also a big fan of the lowly bean, but then again, I'm a Creole. To paraphrase a great modern poet, "red beans and rice didn't miss me."

 

[IronWolf]

Have you considered that you may be...a carnivore?

I blame my mid-western roots for my meat and potato diet!

Well, as long as you get your nutrients, you should be OK. There are other healthy options besides eating your veggies.

Grains, fruits & nuts can fill in for a lot of stuff you get from veggies, and can be gotten in a variety of ways. I make my own trail mix out of dried dates, cherries, pineapples, various kinds of rasins (regular, red & goldens, small and jumbo), pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, brazils and cashews.

I do enjoy a few select fruits and trail mix type mixes are always good. That helps as well.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The main risk from trail mix is that it can be extremely high in nutritional value for its volume.

Why is that a problem?

Because its so darn tasty (if done right) that people can eat lots and lots of it...then wonder why they're gaining weight or having spikes in their blood sugar. My trail mix nearly killed a diabetic friend of mine- he was eating it a couple of coffee-mugs at a time.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Right now I'm more of a "Is it cheap and edible? I will eat it" sort of guy. Under more normal monetary circumstances I tend to enjoy cooking, and I'm looking forward to getting back into it if (fingers crossed) my job prospect comes through.

Ah, yes. That's not too uncommon - some folks have very acute receptors for bitterness. And, some vegetables are just bitter.

It seems more foods taste bitter to me than others.

Then there is the texture issue. Certain foods just don't feel right due to texture.

I'm the same way, especially with regards to texture. I simply can't eat tofu because the texture bugs me so much. Inevitably, every person I tell this to says I just need to try it cooked a different way. Let me tell you, I've had tofu cooked in more ways than I ever thought possible, and all of them tasted/felt weird in my mouth.

I get the same thing with bitter foods as well, and especially wines. All wines are immensely unpalatable to me, as is black coffee and tea. Most vegetables I don't have a problem with, and oddly I can tolerate dark beers more than lighter ones, and beers more than wines/teas. I'm also very sensitive to sweetness; what few deserts I can eat without having allergic reactions (to eggs) I generally don't eat anyway because of it. On the other side, I love things that are savory and/or sour.

I'm probably what they call a "supertaster," but the biologist in my screams at the over-generalization of the term. I am certain that it is not so cut-and-dry, and that a person's perception of taste/smell (like vision and sound) is highly variable based on genetic and environmental factors.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The human sense of taste & smell can vary greatly from person to person, changes over time (kids have more taste buds than adults because we lose them as we age*), and health. If you do have allergies (as I do), certain reactions can virtually kill your sense of taste for periods of time.

"Super-taster" is kind of like "genius"- a statistical artifact. I qualify as a genius...just barely. I've never applied for a MENSA card, but I already know from certain tests that I qualify. And I also know several people who are so smart they make me feel like an idiot on a regular basis. Intellectually, I routinely test in the top .25% of the human race...but they're in the top .25% of that sample.

So you may be a super-taster...you just may not be the pinnacle of that classification.

* Which has led to speculation that this may account for why so many kids hate stronger-tasting foods like certain veggies, meats or cheeses, and may binge on sweets.

 

[IronWolf]

I'm the same way, especially with regards to texture. I simply can't eat tofu because the texture bugs me so much. Inevitably, every person I tell this to says I just need to try it cooked a different way. Let me tell you, I've had tofu cooked in more ways than I ever thought possible, and all of them tasted/felt weird in my mouth.

Ah! Tofu. Mrs. IronWolf used to mix that in with the ground turkey for taco night.

 

[LightPhoenix]

"Super-taster" is kind of like "genius"- a statistical artifact.

Something seems wrong to me about that analogy, but honestly I've sat here for ten minutes trying to pin it down and can't. I think what you're getting at and I'm for some reason blanking on is that taste/scent is a gradation, like intelligence.

Ah! Tofu. Mrs. IronWolf used to mix that in with the ground turkey for taco night.

Travesty.

 

[Umbran]

"Super-taster" is kind of like "genius"- a statistical artifact.

Not as I understand it. "Genius" is an arbitrary line drawn in an otherwise smooth statistical distribution. Some aspects of what we speak of as "supertasting" are not just the long tail of the distribution - there's a discontinuity in the distribution, a bit more of an "on/off" switch to the phenomenon, as it were.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I think what you're getting at and I'm for some reason blanking on is that taste/scent is a gradation, like intelligence.

That's what I'm getting at.

Not as I understand it. "Genius" is an arbitrary line drawn in an otherwise smooth statistical distribution. Some aspects of what we speak of as "supertasting" are not just the long tail of the distribution - there's a discontinuity in the distribution, a bit more of an "on/off" switch to the phenomenon, as it were.

It could be. I could be wrong. (I'm big enough to admit that.)