Things I Didn't Know About Food

[MarkD]

We have a couple threads related to cooking, but I thought I'd start a discussion of things you learned about food later in life.

For instance, I was probably in my 20's when I learned that vegetables could have flavor and texture. My Mom hardly ever made fresh vegetables, usually canned, sometimes frozen, and she always boiled them into submission. The first time I had broccoli that I had to chew I thought I'd died and gone to Heaven.

Also, in my household growing up, "steak" was "chuck steak". I never knew steak could be tender, flavorful, and not have gobs of inedible crap mixed in with it. I never understood the fuss over steak as a special occasion meal.

What can I say, we were poor.

[bubblewhip]

Cooking Pasta in a frying pan = life changed forever.

[Weetabix]

I must have been lucky. My mom steamed vegetables, so I always liked them. She made me try lots of things.

I wound up teaching my wife a lot of things. She found she actually likes:
- vegetables when they're not microwaved to mush
- steak when it's cooked properly
- gravy when it's not ONLY milk and lumps of flour

[Aglifter]

The first thing I made, was chocolate chip cookies - for a bake sale for Cub Scouts, I think. Mom didn't want to make them, or maybe I was supposed to, and mine turned out better.

My brother's first dish was pumpkin pie - my grandmother is known for her's, and he complained that Mom's wasn't as good, and she told him to make one, himself. He did, and it was better than either of theirs.

(Matters of pride, and family tradition for us, matters of getting it over with for them.)

[tfbncc]

My mother was born in Scotland. The scots aren't known for their flavorful and delicious food. Mostly it consists of boiling something until it's dead. Also, during the time that I was in junior high and high school, my mother's parents came to live with us. My grandfather was on a low salt/salt free diet, so by extension, the rest of the family suffered the same fate, and God have mercy upon anyone who would complain to my grandmother about her cooking. You would end up with a wooden spoon being applied liberally to your head and hind side.

Then I joined the Navy and discovered a whole new world of food that was seasoned, cooked properly, and was a delight to eat. Mostly in Norther Europe and the Mediterranean countries. If you ever get the chance to actually try real, French cooking, do NOT pass it up. I got in the habit of actually planning to take myself out to dinner when I had the time and funds. So many memorable meals.

[MarkD]

My mother was born in Scotland. The scots aren't known for their flavorful and delicious food. Mostly it consists of boiling something until it's dead.

Yeah, my Mom was Norwegian. One word: Lutefisk, although thankfully she never inflicted THAT on me.

[Erik]

My mother was born in Scotland. The scots aren't known for their flavorful and delicious food. Mostly it consists of boiling something until it's dead.

Yeah, my Mom was Norwegian. One word: Lutefisk, although thankfully she never inflicted THAT on me.

Yeah, that's Scandinavian cooking. The only part of Scandinavia where there is any form of cooking culture is probably Denmark and the southernmost part of Sweden. And even there they just follow the motto of "good food, lots of food, and food at the proper time". I'm not sure if people from other countries would agree with the "good food" part though, a lot of it is kind of an acquired taste.

Anywhere else the focus is pretty much about eating whatever is available, and coming up with ways to store food for months and still be able to eat it.

Lutefisk by the way, is nowadays considered a Christmas dish in most of Scandinavia, I think it's just along the Norwegian coast they would eat it at other times. But I've been to Christmas dinners where they've had up to 20 types of pickled herring...

[Precision]

My mother paid $900 ( back then) for one of the first microwaves.

She then made every meal in it for the next 6-9 months. Need I say more about why I became an actual trained Chef.

I (self motivated) began cooking dinner for the family at age 9. There were some DISASTERS, but on the whole the family was happy (including mom) when I cooked.

[Rich]

My mother taught me how to burn water.

Since, I've learned to rely on my trusty mcrowave for survival.

Nuff said.

[MarkD]

Lutefisk by the way, is nowadays considered a Christmas dish in most of Scandinavia, I think it's just along the Norwegian coast they would eat it at other times. But I've been to Christmas dinners where they've had up to 20 types of pickled herring...

Oh, it was mostly a Christmas thing for my Mom when she was a kid too. She never made it because it turned the pots black.

For the uninitiated, Lutefisk is dried cod (baccala to Italians) which is reconstituted by soaking it in lye. Yes, the stuff that's used for making soap and cleaning drains.