What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[rewebster]

The perfect edible banana---

Bananas that still have the 'all yellow' skin taste bitter and unripe to me, like most of the peaches, nectarines, and some other fruits at the market (sometimes its unavoidable to HAVE to buy them). I've talked to some people who have never had a fully tree ripened peach or nectarine, and who think those fruits are supposed to be slightly crunchy. A tree ripened peach or nectarine's flesh will turn to a soft semi-translucent color when left to ripen on the tree (and that only takes one extra day on the tree), not the whitish hard crunchy texture that markets have to buy to insure there is no bruising (damage) during the picking and shipping process. The banana's (imported 'normal' bananas) full sweetness doesn't happen until there's spotting on the skin.

 

[Evo]

That's overripe to me. I like them when they just start to get a few freckles, this one's skin is puckering and the stem is turning black. This would be ok to mash up into banana bread, but too soft and sticky to eat plain. That's my taste.

When my ex-husband and I moved to Georgia, he'd never eaten a tree ripened peach before. I found a "pick your own" orchard and the first one he bit into was so incredible, there was no way to keep the juice from spilling down your chin they were so juicy, he picked 30 pounds of them before I could get him to stop.

 

[rewebster]

no--it wasn't 'soft and slimy' ---but it did only have 'some freckles' two days ago.

After someone has 'tasted' a fully ripened peach or nectarine, its almost torture to eat one of the 'normal' market ones.

 

[turbo]

When I was consulting for a paper mill in Cedar Springs GA, the nearest town with hotels and restaurants was Dothan, AL, and there just happened to be peach orchards on my commute. I LOVED peach season! I have a peach tree and two apricot trees (along with other fruit trees) on my front lawn that I planted from bare-root seedlings a couple of years back. I sure hope they grow up to be productive like some of my apple trees.

 

[rewebster]

I have an early white cling-free, and I may plant a late yellow cling-free this year. If I do, I'll have to do some landscape planning (smaller city lot--more trimming of that shade/apple).

 

[scorpa]

I just bought my very first BBQ! I am excited to try it out.

 

[Moonbear]

That's overripe to me. I like them when they just start to get a few freckles, this one's skin is puckering and the stem is turning black. This would be ok to mash up into banana bread, but too soft and sticky to eat plain. That's my taste.

Good, you're invited to have bananas with me, and banana bread too. I completely agree that the one pictured is overripe and ready to make into bread.

 

[Evo]

WooHoo! I passed the banana test!

Mmmmm, banana bread.

OK, WHO MOVED THE SMILIES? :grumpy:

 

[rewebster]

hmmmmm---


----you can't tell a banana by its cover

 

[Evo]

hmmmmm---


----you can't tell a banana by its cover

You can when they start puckering up.

 

[rewebster]

pucker?


it may have had a few more age spots than you like, but it's not puckered up

--give it three more days, THEN it will be pucked up

 

[rewebster]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_vFd16w70E&feature=related






moral of the story: keep your banana in a dark spot / out of the light

 

[turbo]

moral of the story: keep your banana in a dark spot / out of the light

Watch out what kind of dark spot you choose, though. Bananas give off ethylene gas while ripening, and the gas accelerates ripening if allowed to concentrate. If you close up your bananas in a paper bag, they will ripen a lot faster than if you left them in a bowl on the kitchen counter. If you buy a bunch of under-ripe bananas, it would be a good idea to put a few in a paper bag to ripen quickly, while the rest stay in a well-ventilated area to ripen slowly.

 

[Evo]

Also, once your banana gets to the preferred ripeness, you can significantly slow further ripening by placing it in the refrigerator. This may turn the skin dark, but the banana inside will remain at the same stage of ripeness for several days.

I was curious about something and looked at the Chiquita Banana site. I knew that bananas grew from rhizomes, but I did not know that they are classfied as a perennial herb. And the banana fruit is technically a berry.

http://www.chiquita.com/Products/Bananas.aspx

 

[Math Is Hard]

I like my bananas almost green with not even a hint of a freckle.

 

[rewebster]

Also, once your banana gets to the preferred ripeness, you can significantly slow further ripening by placing it in the refrigerator. This may turn the skin dark, but the banana inside will remain at the same stage of ripeness for several days.



http://www.chiquita.com/Products/Bananas.aspx

so, you don't disagree with that negative then, no?

 

[Evo]

so, you don't disagree with that negative then, no?

No, the skin will darken, but remain smooth. I'm sorry rew, your banana had seen better days.

 

[rewebster]

I like my bananas almost green with not even a hint of a freckle.

do you eat the leaves and the stem, too?

 

[rewebster]

No, the skin will darken, but remain smooth. I'm sorry rew, your banana had seen better days.

--yeah-I agree its going down-nuts and kneeding and-put it in the oven--

 

[Math Is Hard]

do you eat the leaves and the stem, too?

MmmmmMMMmmmm.. :!)

 

[rewebster]

I'm sorry rew, your banana had seen better days.

Evo----I've been thinking about this for a while now...


and...I don't think it's fair...

I think you're stereotyping my banana

 

[Moonbear]

Evo----I've been thinking about this for a while now...


and...I don't think it's fair...

I think you're stereotyping my banana

Yep, it's age discrimination.

 

[rewebster]

Yep, it's age discrimination.

:rofl:

you crack me up sometimes


---but, I'm not going to start eating the stem and leaves

 

[Andre]

So, I'm heading off for France a few days to the Alsace helping my brother in law to feed some 100 guests the traditional dish "Tarte Flambé" (pronounced tarrth flahmbay). A sort of small pizza although the bottom is much thinner.

First spread a sause of crême fraiche (sour creme) with black pepper and local herbs on the bottom, then cover with thin onion rings and very small diced bacon and top it with cheese crumbs also of a local cheese type.

Then there should be a traditional brick stove with a wood fire in the back, put in the tartes in front and close the door for about 2-3 minutes, then turn the tortes 180 degrees for another minute to get them evenly burned (flambé). A lot of work but the result is exceptionellement. Très bien.

 

[turbo]

Sounds tasty, Andre!

 

[lisab]

So, I'm heading off for France a few days to the Alsace helping my brother in law to feed some 100 guests the traditional dish "Tarte Flambé" (pronounced tarrth flahmbay). A sort of small pizza although the bottom is much thinner.

First spread a sause of crême fraiche (sour creme) with black pepper and local herbs on the bottom, then cover with thin onion rings and very small diced bacon and top it with cheese crumbs also of a local cheese type.

Then there should be a traditional brick stove with a wood fire in the back, put in the tartes in front and close the door for about 2-3 minutes, then turn the tortes 180 degrees for another minute to get them evenly burned (flambé). A lot of work but the result is exceptionellement. Très bien.

Mmmm! Anything with bacon gets my approval. Bon appetite, Andre!

 

[turbo]

lisab, it you want a real treat, make these very simple poppers:

Slice jalapeno chilies in half lengthwise. Leave seeds and placenta in the chilies for nice heat - remove for "sensitive" types. Mix lots of crumbled crispy bacon into cream cheese with some black pepper and stuff the chilies with the mix. Top with shredded Monterey Jack and broil or roast on a grill until the cheese is melted and getting brown.

You can fancy these up with other fillings, etc, but these basic poppers seem to disappear as soon as I pull them off the grill. I cook them on an aluminum pizza pan lined with foil for easy clean-up.

 

[Evo]

So, I'm heading off for France a few days to the Alsace helping my brother in law to feed some 100 guests the traditional dish "Tarte Flambé" (pronounced tarrth flahmbay). A sort of small pizza although the bottom is much thinner.

Sounds delicious Andre! Growing up I had dolls from the different parts of France and I loved the little Alsatian one in her costume.

 

[Andre]

Okay all, thanks for the attention. I'm just finished helping to make about 170 Tartes Flambé within one hour and 15 minutes. It was a remarkable experience. Well tomorrow some sigh seeing foto safari to the pittoresque medieval cities Rouffach and Colmar along the wine route. Gewurztraminer is the top grape, closely followed by pinot gris, keeping eyes open for the local costumes, but I'm afraid that has vanished from the day to day scenery.

 

[Moonbear]

I love Alsatian wines (I have a couple bottles left of a Pinot Gris from Alsace, and it is one of my favorite wines)! And the flaming pizzas sound good too.

 

[ZapperZ]

Trip to Malaysia - Pt. 1

During my recent trip to the south of Malaysia about a month ago, food was, of course, a major part of the trip. Here are some pictures I took of the stuff I had shoved into my mouth.

This is dragon fruit. It appears that it is the latest craze over there, and it is being grown all over the place, even in people's backyards!

Various types of fish being grilled on top of banana leaves.

The next few pictures are the dishes I was served during a "feast" at this outdoor seafood restaurant. I recognized about 90% of what I was eating. Didn't find anything that wasn't delicious.

It was very hot and humid there, all year long. So what better way to cool off than a great big serving of shaved ice, Malaysian style. Not only did it come with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, but it also had red beans, corn, pineapples, etc... served with several syrups and chocolate sauce. YUM!

[cont...]

 

[ZapperZ]

Trip to Malaysia - Pt. 2

[...cont]

However, the BEST type of food of all (at least for me), is the home-delivered satay. While you can certainly get satay at many restaurants and open-air vendors, this, to me, is the best way to get them. This guy does this as his part-time job in the evening. You call him a few days before you want him to come over to your place, and he prepares everything and rides his motorbike to cook you the satay. He has everything, including the charcoal grill. So right in your front yard, he'll grill the satay (you can order beef, chicken, or even "tripe") right there, and he also has the peanut sauce and other condiments that goes with the satay. He appears to be the favorites of a lot of people since he's pretty busy most nights. Anyway, the next few pictures are of him doing this thing while we all wait salivating.

BTW, if you have never had Malaysian satay before, as opposed to Thai satay, you are missing quite a bit. Malaysian satay is more flavorful since it used more spices in both the satay marinade and in the peanut sauce.

These last set of pictures are from my last day there, and I visited a farmer's market (something I ALWAYS try to do whenever I go some place new if they have one). As usual, there are a lot of food items, both prepared and for cooking.

Guess what these are!

The infamous durian, the king of fruit.

Zz.

 

[Moonbear]

Wow, Zz, now my turkey sandwich from lunch doesn't seem very satisfying anymore. Two questions...in the third farmer's market photo, what are the things next to the bananas that look like giant, fuzzy strawberries? And, does anyone other than tourists on a dare really eat durian? I have no idea what is in those bins that you said to guess...from all I can see there, it could be grass clippings.

 

[ZapperZ]

Wow, Zz, now my turkey sandwich from lunch doesn't seem very satisfying anymore. Two questions...in the third farmer's market photo, what are the things next to the bananas that look like giant, fuzzy strawberries? And, does anyone other than tourists on a dare really eat durian? I have no idea what is in those bins that you said to guess...from all I can see there, it could be grass clippings.

The "fuzzy" fruit is rambutan. "Rambut" is a malay word for "hair". So it is a "hairy" fruit. When you peel it, the flesh on the inside is white and rather sweet.

I haven't seen any tourists that have eaten a durian on the fly. I think I know a few that may have planned on doing that when they arrived, but most tend to shy away from it.

Those things in the bins are various types and sizes of dried fish. :) And no, strangely enough, they don't smell that strong.

BTW, in the 2nd picture of the Farmer's Market, the root vegetables on the right (the longish looking ones) are actual, real tapioca. It is a starchy root, and has nothing to do with the pearly, round ones that we are so familiar with here.

Zz.

 

[Evo]

I've tagged the food and recipe threads, so now you can just select "food" or "recipe" to find the food threads. Try it out!