Good point DF96.
I think the biggest offense in American food is salt.
I'm probably one of the worst offenders for spices. I have two full shelves of spices.
However, garlic salt with black pepper and flour on a Standing Rib roast produces such a wonderful layer of crispy fat that I will never stop making it like that.
In fact, I may make one for Christmas this year. With Yorkshire pudding.
Calories and Fat be damned!
I think the biggest offense in American food is salt.
I'm probably one of the worst offenders for spices. I have two full shelves of spices.
However, garlic salt with black pepper and flour on a Standing Rib roast produces such a wonderful layer of crispy fat that I will never stop making it like that.
In fact, I may make one for Christmas this year. With Yorkshire pudding.
Calories and Fat be damned!
Having had the good fortune to travel around much of the globe, and having around 250 lbs attests to my good food preference, all I can say is that Nige is right, much of the food in Europe is similar or even same, just under different names.
Then, in addition to the above, God was kind enough to make me a member of a nation which both knows what makes great food and highly values good cooking by centuries old traditions, typically in form of one or two grandmas who did it like nobody else. And, being geographically located as it is, Serbia is slap bang in the middle of a crossorads, physical, national, linguistic and culinary. Also, Serbia is traditionally a farming country.
I have already gone on record for saying this, but the stereotype that Britons eat badly is quite simply rubbish.
I kid about the Yorkshire pudding simply because many Britons think it's a British invention, when it is in fact little more different than a pancake. It did not sit well with my taste, but on the other hand, I feel the Britons are still No.1 in other things. NOBODY makes biscuits like the Britons, nobody. NOBODY has the selection and quality of cottage made marmelades and jams as the Britons do - trust me, I tried and investigazed dilligently. And, arguably, nobody else has kidney, apricot and apple pies the Britons do, at least in terms of commercially available products.
Few have the beer/ale variety that the Britons have, yes, including Germany, which comes in about equal. Right now, I'd kill for a pint of cold Courage Light Ale.
The best for last - cider. British cider turns French cider into mopping up water. The Germans don't exist on the cider map of Europe, nor do most others either. And I spent 3 years in Somerset, "The Cider County", where else would I be? The only trick is not to buy from the local farmers from the barrel in the front yard, you want the suff from the barrel in the back yard. Just like it would be for sliwowtiz (plum brandy) in Serbia. The back yard stuff will usually raise the dead.
Unfortunately, even then in 1970, most Britons didn't appreciate what they already had.
Then, in addition to the above, God was kind enough to make me a member of a nation which both knows what makes great food and highly values good cooking by centuries old traditions, typically in form of one or two grandmas who did it like nobody else. And, being geographically located as it is, Serbia is slap bang in the middle of a crossorads, physical, national, linguistic and culinary. Also, Serbia is traditionally a farming country.
I have already gone on record for saying this, but the stereotype that Britons eat badly is quite simply rubbish.
I kid about the Yorkshire pudding simply because many Britons think it's a British invention, when it is in fact little more different than a pancake. It did not sit well with my taste, but on the other hand, I feel the Britons are still No.1 in other things. NOBODY makes biscuits like the Britons, nobody. NOBODY has the selection and quality of cottage made marmelades and jams as the Britons do - trust me, I tried and investigazed dilligently. And, arguably, nobody else has kidney, apricot and apple pies the Britons do, at least in terms of commercially available products.
Few have the beer/ale variety that the Britons have, yes, including Germany, which comes in about equal. Right now, I'd kill for a pint of cold Courage Light Ale.
The best for last - cider. British cider turns French cider into mopping up water. The Germans don't exist on the cider map of Europe, nor do most others either. And I spent 3 years in Somerset, "The Cider County", where else would I be? The only trick is not to buy from the local farmers from the barrel in the front yard, you want the suff from the barrel in the back yard. Just like it would be for sliwowtiz (plum brandy) in Serbia. The back yard stuff will usually raise the dead.
Unfortunately, even then in 1970, most Britons didn't appreciate what they already had.
I completely agree.
Whatever else is said about British food, one has to admit that it is among the healthiest cuisines around and probably the most direct one (little or no spices).
Not that it doesn't have its quirks - mashed apple with roast? And mint sauce all over that? What did that beef ever do to you to make it suffer so?
Other than that, it's all thumbs up.
I would say our main courses are fairly healthy. Our puddings are not: lots of sugar, fat or cream with some fruit to give us an excuse to eat it! Lovely!!
I have never quite understood our usual pattern of apple sauce with pork, mint sauce with lamb and horseradish (ugh!) with beef. I often pass on the extras - but I do like Yorkshire pudding with roast beef.
I have never quite understood our usual pattern of apple sauce with pork, mint sauce with lamb and horseradish (ugh!) with beef. I often pass on the extras - but I do like Yorkshire pudding with roast beef.
I can see the sense of horseradish with some Middle European meals, like boiled beef with boiled potatoes or rice - very tasty with some tomato suace, or hroseradish. Besides, horseradish is the best thing ever from natural sources known to man to open up your sinuses.
Come to think of it, of all the things I have tried in my life, including the Far Eastern cuisine in the Far East (original, not Westernised), the one and only thing that made me almost faint was the discovery that Americans treat and eat watermelon as a salty dish! To me, watermelon is my No.1 summer fruit, strictly cold out of the fridge, eaten as a fruit in its natural state, no additions.
In return, the Americans and Canadians taught me that ice cream should by no means be limited to hot summer days, just as nice in winter.
And the Americans showed me that the idea that they have no native cuisine is a plain outright lie, because they do. I discovered Cajun food the second time I was in USA, in December 1989, and was immediately hooked for life. Across the hotel wife and I were staying in Philadelphia was a Holiday Inn, with a restaurant called Carzy Alex, serving Cajun food. Haven't missed one free night we had to hit the place.
And in the one night we were not free, we were taken to a posh little place downtown Philly, where I was served the best chocolate mousse I even laid eyes on. Truly outstanding. 24 years later, it's still my reference mousse.
Dunno... a sticky toffee pudding might be one of the most unhealthy, spicy dessert I know.
Probably one of the best though
Friend, you really want to try a traditional baklava over here. You might find your priorities changing fast, as fast as your blood sugar level hikes up.
You'd be surprised how far dough, ground walnut, raisins, lemon slices and sugar sauce can take you.
Having moved from Germany to the UK I am forced to take issue with that statement.
English bread is not slightly different to german bread, it is fundamentally different.
Most german bread is made using sourdough while english bread predominantly uses yeast.
This results in a VERY different kind of bread.
German cuisine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
After 25 years I still miss a good choice of breads, beers and cold meats here in the UK but bread is always the first thing I buy when I visit family in Germany.
Well, perhaps technically they are different, but in the end, it boils down to the same - not good for you.
On the other hand, whatever I think of as tasty, turns out to have lots of cholesterol or something else working hard to kill you.
Perceptions are hard at work as well. For example, tell a Serb that you serve beans for breakfast (as in ye olde England) and he'll probably think you're off your rocker. He has no idea that British beans are just that, beans in straight tomato sauce, whereas his idea of beans is: beans, tomato sauce, lots of carrots, lots of onioins, black ground pepper, some (little) red hot ground chili and at the very least lots of smoked ribs. If done well, it'll have you licking your fingers, but easy on the stomach it is not. It has to simmer for at least 4 hours, preferably more, then to cool off completely. Best served the next day, when the process of osmosis is complete.
A plate of that and you'll understand all about The Force.
You'll also notice that The Force is strongest somewhat below your waistline, on your back side. Fear not - this is NOT covered by the Geneva Convention.
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DF96,
While I find British food a bit bland, I readily admit it is healthier than my local food, with lots of taste, but not nearly so healthy.
I also find the British audio to be a bit bland (overall, although of course there were exceptions), a bit lacking in life and pazzazz, as our American friends would say. Sometimes souding slow and lazy.
British audio did come up with a few items I'd kill for. Spendor BC3, for example, was a most un-British speaker, fast, lively, even ferocious on occasion. It might as well have been built by JBL or Altec.
There was another monitor class, 3 way Rogers speaker, which completely obliterated my perceptions of the quantity and quality of bass available from an 8 inch driver. A wonderfully even handed, well balanced sound. I forgot the model designation, current in the second half of the 70ies.
Some Meridian CD players also stuck in my memory as being highly desirable. And the only amplification from the UK I would have loved to have owned in its day was from a now gone company called Armstrong. They had a fabulouly sounding receiver, and later on, a 200W/ch power amp.
I realise these are personal perceptions hard at work, no universal truth carved in stone. Please don't misunderstand, I am not implying that British audio is bad per se, I am simply saying it is generally not to my taste. My general orientation regarding amplification and speakers has always been turned towards U.S. of A. and Germany. Both have turned out some wicked products over time.
As for tuners, which I am emotionally very attached to, I have yet to hear a Brtitish tuner sound better than my reVox B760, although I must add that even for them, this was a one-off product, which their later production could never catch up with.
My open reel tape decks were from Germany (first two, Uher of Munich) and the last from nominally Holland, actually made in Austria, Philips. A monster machine, which ousted reVox as the reference machine in German audio press, I sold it in 1995, as tapes started becoming rare and abnormally expensive.
But, oddly enough, I kept my Sony TC-K 808 ES cassette deck. That machine astounded me with sound I never thought possible from a cassette deck, including in my view mostly overrated Nakamichi models (although their Dragon model is usually used as THE reference, and rightly so). Even today, with awful quality tape from some cellar in China, it still manages to shine. It's not going anywhere.
While I find British food a bit bland, I readily admit it is healthier than my local food, with lots of taste, but not nearly so healthy.
I also find the British audio to be a bit bland (overall, although of course there were exceptions), a bit lacking in life and pazzazz, as our American friends would say. Sometimes souding slow and lazy.
British audio did come up with a few items I'd kill for. Spendor BC3, for example, was a most un-British speaker, fast, lively, even ferocious on occasion. It might as well have been built by JBL or Altec.
There was another monitor class, 3 way Rogers speaker, which completely obliterated my perceptions of the quantity and quality of bass available from an 8 inch driver. A wonderfully even handed, well balanced sound. I forgot the model designation, current in the second half of the 70ies.
Some Meridian CD players also stuck in my memory as being highly desirable. And the only amplification from the UK I would have loved to have owned in its day was from a now gone company called Armstrong. They had a fabulouly sounding receiver, and later on, a 200W/ch power amp.
I realise these are personal perceptions hard at work, no universal truth carved in stone. Please don't misunderstand, I am not implying that British audio is bad per se, I am simply saying it is generally not to my taste. My general orientation regarding amplification and speakers has always been turned towards U.S. of A. and Germany. Both have turned out some wicked products over time.
As for tuners, which I am emotionally very attached to, I have yet to hear a Brtitish tuner sound better than my reVox B760, although I must add that even for them, this was a one-off product, which their later production could never catch up with.
My open reel tape decks were from Germany (first two, Uher of Munich) and the last from nominally Holland, actually made in Austria, Philips. A monster machine, which ousted reVox as the reference machine in German audio press, I sold it in 1995, as tapes started becoming rare and abnormally expensive.
But, oddly enough, I kept my Sony TC-K 808 ES cassette deck. That machine astounded me with sound I never thought possible from a cassette deck, including in my view mostly overrated Nakamichi models (although their Dragon model is usually used as THE reference, and rightly so). Even today, with awful quality tape from some cellar in China, it still manages to shine. It's not going anywhere.
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*knock knock*
"who´s there?" burp..
"your second bypass, dear sir"
mmmkay... but just let me finish first that big, fat piece of pork in my hands
OK, less feast on this for awhile ...
What the hell are we looking at here with this resistor fest .....?
We be lookin' at a Krell product, Massa Wayne. Looks a lot like either their power stabilizers, or two channels of someting really mean.
Older generation, where you see Motorola MJ 15025/15026 today you'd see MJ 4281/4301 and its metal can, 250W high speed replacements, metal can package of my MJL 3281/1302 A plastic pack 200W output devices.
Those trannies can ROCK!
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