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It has recently been brought to my attention that most of my posts are 'incredibly glowing and complimentary', which may have left you with the false impression that I lead the charmed and blessed life of a New York Times food critic who dines daily at Michelin Star restaurants (no such luck).
Having given this unconscious and peculiar behaviour some thought, I have come to the conclusion that writing about food that you don't like the taste of is rather difficult and problematic since you are required to eat the food that you don't like the taste of. Ergo, a conundrum is born.
Furthermore, I have a pinch too much of pride to indulge you in every single one of my cooking disasters and failures (yes, there have been more than just the Chelsea Buns), which would have served as the perfect bouillon for posts of a more critical nature. The next fiasco will have to be catastrophic and entirely not my fault in order to be turned into words for the world to enjoy.
Saying that, I have decided to revive an old challenge of mine that is sure to produce grumbles and scathing remarks by the bucketfull: several years ago, I took it upon myself to cure my tastebuds of their aversion to certain foods, including coffee, strawberries, oranges, kiwis (basically, any fruit that is remotely 'hairy'), lamb and Indian cuisine, by continually forcing myself to consume these foods. I won the battle (if one can win a battle against themselves?) and have enjoyed my war spoils ever since.
This approach is aptly described by Jeffrey Steingarten (food critic for Vogue) in The Man Who Ate Everything: 'scientists tell us that aversions fade away when we eat moderate doses of the hated foods at moderate intervals, especially if the food is complex and new to us.' Essentially, I trained my tastebuds to like the foods that I hated.
I can't say that my stomach is entirely enthused about this project. For once, we are not quite resonating at the same frequency with one another. But, I am determined that no food shall undermine me. If possible, I want to like absolutely everything so that I can enjoy absolutely everything. In that vein, I am going to tackle two particular food foes; papaya and chilli con carne (waves of resistance shudder down my spine at the very thought!).
It has been a while since I have eaten a papaya (an exotic fruit for those of you who don't know) so I can't remember the taste. No doubt, I was so traumatised by the experience that my brain has tucked that memory away into an unused sulcus. Chilli con carne (a spicy minced meat stew containing kidney beans), beloved post-drinking snack of America, has a pervasive smell that I find utterly repulsive (it is the Fran-repellent). If the nose says no, it's not coming near my mouth.
I'm not sure how papaya can be made more appetising aside from completely masking the taste with something else. So, I will just have to brute force my way through that challenge. But, you may have a chilli con carne recipe that you swear by, which I will gratefully try out (just post it in the Food Forum). It's possible, only just possible, that I have unfortunately come into contact with bad chilli con carne. That would be a pleasant surprise.
Let's get ready to grumble!
Having given this unconscious and peculiar behaviour some thought, I have come to the conclusion that writing about food that you don't like the taste of is rather difficult and problematic since you are required to eat the food that you don't like the taste of. Ergo, a conundrum is born.
Furthermore, I have a pinch too much of pride to indulge you in every single one of my cooking disasters and failures (yes, there have been more than just the Chelsea Buns), which would have served as the perfect bouillon for posts of a more critical nature. The next fiasco will have to be catastrophic and entirely not my fault in order to be turned into words for the world to enjoy.
Saying that, I have decided to revive an old challenge of mine that is sure to produce grumbles and scathing remarks by the bucketfull: several years ago, I took it upon myself to cure my tastebuds of their aversion to certain foods, including coffee, strawberries, oranges, kiwis (basically, any fruit that is remotely 'hairy'), lamb and Indian cuisine, by continually forcing myself to consume these foods. I won the battle (if one can win a battle against themselves?) and have enjoyed my war spoils ever since.
This approach is aptly described by Jeffrey Steingarten (food critic for Vogue) in The Man Who Ate Everything: 'scientists tell us that aversions fade away when we eat moderate doses of the hated foods at moderate intervals, especially if the food is complex and new to us.' Essentially, I trained my tastebuds to like the foods that I hated.
I can't say that my stomach is entirely enthused about this project. For once, we are not quite resonating at the same frequency with one another. But, I am determined that no food shall undermine me. If possible, I want to like absolutely everything so that I can enjoy absolutely everything. In that vein, I am going to tackle two particular food foes; papaya and chilli con carne (waves of resistance shudder down my spine at the very thought!).
It has been a while since I have eaten a papaya (an exotic fruit for those of you who don't know) so I can't remember the taste. No doubt, I was so traumatised by the experience that my brain has tucked that memory away into an unused sulcus. Chilli con carne (a spicy minced meat stew containing kidney beans), beloved post-drinking snack of America, has a pervasive smell that I find utterly repulsive (it is the Fran-repellent). If the nose says no, it's not coming near my mouth.
I'm not sure how papaya can be made more appetising aside from completely masking the taste with something else. So, I will just have to brute force my way through that challenge. But, you may have a chilli con carne recipe that you swear by, which I will gratefully try out (just post it in the Food Forum). It's possible, only just possible, that I have unfortunately come into contact with bad chilli con carne. That would be a pleasant surprise.
Let's get ready to grumble!
Posts
I'll post you a chilli con carne recipe later. It's the one I use. very easy to prepare :)
ReplyDelete...and, probably very smelly! :p Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThere’s no problem about writing what you like or don’t like, especially what you cook/bake yourself at home. Even writing about specific ingredients, or such things like your weetabix :). To read it would make anyone want to eat it. But the trick to writing as a food critic I think is that when you go to a restaurant or coffee shop and taste the same foods, just how good do they taste, how well are they prepared /presented. Here is where you can be critical or praising as a true food critic.
ReplyDeleteYou know how critical I can be of restaurant food, what about that Thai restaurant you took me to. It was good, but like your mum I could have picked holes in the food, even the service. This is something I’d like to see you write about. The good, the bad, and the ugly :)
You may like the foods now that you hated, but just how well are they prepared in restaurants!
Everyone's a critic! ;) Sounds like I need to make a visit to Nandos...
ReplyDelete