“…we’re constantly impressed with the leaps and bounds being made in the world of vegan baking.” [1]
I happened upon this somewhere on the web today, and it caught my attention. But why? I’m not vegan or vegetarian, and would probably never consider becoming either. I do have a good friend who is vegan, but I’ve never baked for her and don’t particularly intend to (sorry Mads). I don’t even like cakes very much.
One can find things on the web that are far more absurd, amusing and stupid, but something about the bland affectedness of this phrase really grabbed me. “We’re constantly impressed.” Really? What do you mean? The extent to which you are impressed never changes? Every time you hear … read on »
Archive for the ‘food’ category…
Sweaty Rectangle
1. Toe
We’ve all got things. You’ve probably got a thing. I know I’ve got several things. One is that I can move the little toe of my left foot so that it’s…well, just watch the footage below.
Can anyone else do this? I would be (mildly) interested to know.
2. Whelk
Whelks! What a great idea. Wow, we’re so adventurous. Aren’t we just the coolest goddam cool urbanite gourmet jelly beans in town? Well…
After a bit of sunbathing in the garden we hopped on a bus up to Stockbridge to mooch, josh, eat, drink, make hay, chat, and drink. First stop fishmonger and it’s always the same: what to get? Do I gotta know before I get in the shop? Apparently so, so:
Er, … read on »
Glasgow Kiss
Not Paris or Venice – I took Ann to Glasgow to celebrate her birthday. It was a weekend of appetite and passion and curiosity, for which Glasgow is – despite the Edinburger prejudices – the perfect environment.
I chose a hotel called the Kirklee (here’s a nice satellite image)
It’s one house in a very odd red sandstone serpentine terrace in one of the loveliest parts of the West End. It was designed by David Barclay in 1902, so it’s contemporary with Mackintosh, whose art nouveau influence can be seen in the stained glass. Otherwise it’s more traditionally Edwardian, something the proprietors of the hotel make a big thing of, though I can’t say they’ve succeeded very convincingly: there are too many … read on »
Tasty! MSG, Umami and a Winter Walk on Cruach Ardrain
It hadn’t occurred to me that savouriness was an identifiable taste that savoury foods had in common. Professor Kikunae Ikeda was led to the discovery of glutamate, and the invention of monosodium glutamate, by the idea that foods that are not sweet, sour, bitter or salty actually share another taste: savouriness, or umami. He said:
There is a taste which is common to asparagus, tomatoes, cheese and meat but which is not one of the four well-known tastes of sweet, sour, bitter and saltyhttp://www.glutamate.org/media/glutamate.htm
This all happened a hundred years ago, so why did nobody tell me before? At a young age we are taught about sweet, sour, bitter and salty, but I don’t recall being told about umami. Anyway, it must … read on »
Veggie Pathology
© Ken Currie www.nationalgalleries.org
Is there a connection between principled vegetarianism and ghoulishness? An obscure example is the vegan grindcore band Carcass (defunct many moons ago I think). And as an obscure example perhaps it’s inadmissable. But no, I present Carcass here as the apogee of this disposition and the perfect illustration of this idea, the idea that whatever it is that leads people to become principled vegetarians has, for some at least, got something to do with a preoccupation with, or a fear of or fascination with, the macabre and the grisly and the anatomical.
I haven’t thought it through yet, but I’m fairly sure there’s at least a kernel of truth here. It’s certainly true that these vegetarians and … read on »
©2010 Alistair Robinson