Rater's Ridiculously Rambunctious Random Ranter #229

[Anonymouswizard]

Ah, it's the Grime Rhyme. Give me a few hours and I'll have it translated.

[Peelee]

Is.... is knowing all the lyrics to I'm Bo, Yo an old person thing now? Am I old?

[looks into it]
Released 2009. No, it's the children who are wrong!

[Bartmanhomer]

I'm relaxing at home, spending time with my older brother, and to be honest 2020 was somewhat of an average year for me.

[Fyraltari]

Is.... is knowing all the lyrics to I'm Bo, Yo an old person thing now? Am I old?

[looks into it]
Released 2009. No, it's the children who are wrong!

Ah, to be thirteen again...

[Anonymouswizard]

Is.... is knowing all the lyrics to I'm Bo, Yo an old person thing now? Am I old?

[looks into it]
Released 2009. No, it's the children who are wrong!

When did we say it was an old person thing? I'd never heard of the song until now, but I also don't know what the latest single released by, uh, who's a really popular artist? is.

[Peelee]

When did we say it was an old person thing?

Shortly in the future, amusingly:

I also don't know what the latest single released by, uh, who's a really popular artist? is.

Ah, to be thirteen again...

[Insane Jeenyus]

I've always wanted to try combining pumpkin and sweet potato, from scratch, in the same pie.

Buy a sugar pie pumpkin and some sweet potatoes and just experiment with mixing them up properly with spices and stuff, make a pie filling, and see if anyone can tell the difference.

if a sweet potato pie is done right, I honestly cannot tell the difference.

[Rater202]

if a sweet potato pie is done right, I honestly cannot tell the difference.

It's there, but it's subtle. A lot of people can't tell the difference though.

I think I can because I eat a lot of both. The same way someone who drinks a lot of wine learns to tell the difference between different yards and vintages.

[Peelee]

It's there, but it's subtle. A lot of people can't tell the difference though.

I think I can because I eat a lot of both. The same way someone who drinks a lot of wine learns to tell the difference between different yards and vintages.

Academic trials have actually cast a lot of doubt on sommeliers' purported abilities.

[Anonymouswizard]

It's there, but it's subtle. A lot of people can't tell the difference though.

I think I can because I eat a lot of both. The same way someone who drinks a lot of wine learns to tell the difference between different yards and vintages.

I've discovered that it works the opposite way to, people who eat a lot of spiced meat start to be unable to taste the flavour of meat. I've seen people cover meat in spices because they can't taste the actual meat.

That's not too say there's anything wrong with spiced meat, but if it's got to the point you think a well seasoned steak has no flavour...

And now I want steak.

[Rater202]

Academic trials have actually cast a lot of doubt on sommeliers' purported abilities.

Whatever. All I know is that I can tell the difference between pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie, like both, and want to try and combine them.

[Peelee]

Whatever. All I know is that I can tell the difference between pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie, like both, and want to try and combine them.

Sorry, I didn't mean that towards you (or even towards "super tasters", whom I do believe make valid claims in general), but rather towards sommeliers' more outlandish claims, such as being able to tell a year. There absolutely is a skill and ability associated with it, but not to the extremes they claim.

[Bartmanhomer]

Well Peelee, I took your advice and I did everything you said.

[Hyoi]

if a sweet potato pie is done right, I honestly cannot tell the difference.

I guess I've never had a sweet potato pie done right, then.

[tyckspoon]

if a sweet potato pie is done right, I honestly cannot tell the difference.

You're starting with items that have a fairly subtle flavor as is, mixing them with a lot of cream and sugar (so the overall flavor profile at this point is basically dairy fat + sweet with orange food coloring), and then throwing a mix of fairly strong spices on top. It takes way more sweet potato/pumpkin than are used in most recipes for those to become really notable parts of the end flavor (and you get a much denser/less custard-y pie, too.)

..unless, apparently, you're Rater and are on your way to becoming a harvest vegetable pie snob

[Rater202]

Observation: There is a frightening correlation between the kind of person who refuses to let a child leave the table until they've eaten a large serving of vegetables and the kind of person who has no idea how to cook vegetables.

Take peas, broccoli, or Brussel sprouts. Nobody likes the traditional "boil them until they're soggy, mushy, and slightly grey" preparation which, in the case of peas makes them almost flavorless and in the case of broccoli and sprouts makes them smell and taste like a wet fart.

It's just, some people have trained themselves, or be forced, to develop a tolerance for it and don't learn how to make them better.

But if you say, cut the sprouts up into small chunks and roast them in oil with some steak seasoning and parmesan cheese until the sprouts start to turn slightly brown and you get some seriously good eats, yo.

But the people who insist that you eat your damn vegetables never make the vegetables in a way that's anything more than "barely edible, but might make you sick."

And this is obviously the reason why there are som many people who hate vegetables.

[Bartmanhomer]

Observation: There is a frightening correlation between the kind of person who refuses to let a child leave the table until they've eaten a large serving of vegetables and the kind of person who has no idea how to cook vegetables.

Take peas, broccoli, or Brussel sprouts. Nobody likes the traditional "boil them until theiroggy, mushy, and slightly grey" preparation which, in the case of peas makes them almost flavorless and in the case of broccoli and sprouts makes them smell and taste like a wet fart.

It's just, some people have trained themselves, or be forced, to develop a tolerance for it and don't learn how to make them better.

But if you say, cut the sprouts up into small chunks and roast them in oil with some steak seasoning and parmesan cheese until the sprouts start to turn slightly brown and you get some seriously good eats, yo.

But the people who insist that you eat your damn vegetables never make the vegetables in a way that's anything more than "barely edible, but might make you sick."

And this is the reason why there are so many people who hate vegetables.

I love vegetables especially broccoli and spinach.

[Hyoi]

Observation: There is a frightening correlation between the kind of person who refuses to let a child leave the table until they've eaten a large serving of vegetables and the kind of person who has no idea how to cook vegetables.

How many people do you know well enough to assess both their child-rearing practices and their cooking?

[Peelee]

How many people do you know well enough to assess both their child-rearing practices and their cooking?

I was wondering something similar.

[Rater202]

I've met a lot of people who don't like vegetables but seem to think that "boiled long past the point where they're done" is the only way to cook said vegetables.

I've also met a lot of people whose parents were "clean your plate or else" types.

there is a significant overlap in those two groups.

I have also read several stories by people who proclaim similar incidents--being forced to eat overcooked, underseasoned, or otherwise improperly prepared vegetables or else not being allowed to eat anything else or being kept at the table after everyone else had eaten and left--all with comments further suggesting such a correlation.

Furthermore, there used to be a rather popular school of thought that children will eat anything if they're hungry enough, which led to a generation of parents who reacted to their children not liking food by refusing to feed them anything else until they ate the food in front of them

I admit that it's mostly based on anecdotal evidence and inferences but there does seem to be a correlation between the two categories of people...

Actually, that's not fair. Not knowing how to cook green vegetables is a common enough problem in the United States that there's probably a correlation between them and any other group of people, but you very rarely see people who know how to cook vegetables properly having to force their kids to eat them.

And, in fact, this very phenomenon--children being forced to eat improperly cooked vegetables--has been blamed for why so many people in the united states don't like things like Brussel sprouts or broccoli as adults so I'm not pulling this out of my ass or anything.

[Hyoi]

Actually, that's not fair. Not knowing how to cook green vegetables is a common enough problem in the United States that there's probably a correlation between them and any other group of people, but you very rarely see people who know how to cook vegetables properly having to force their kids to eat them.

That was where my mind went. More a matter of "these are both very common" than "these things are connected in some way".

Slightly related anecdote: as a child, I was once forbidden from eating any carrot sticks until I finished my bowl of ice cream.

[Rater202]

That was where my mind went. More a matter of "these are both very common" than "these things are connected in some way".

Slightly related anecdote: as a child, I was once forbidden from eating any carrot sticks until I finished my bowl of ice cream.

It might be more accurate to say that I've never heard of a good cook being the kind of person who has to force people to eat, regardless of whether they think that forcing children to eat food they don't like is a good thing or not.

...And I don't know how to respond to your annedote.

[Hyoi]

...And I don't know how to respond to your annedote.

It made more sense in context: I had asked for a particularly large helping and insisted in the face of general skepticism that I would eat the whole thing. So the issue was really holding me to my word, not making me eat one way or another. My family was generally pretty laid back about lifestyle choices but super strict on honesty/keeping commitments.

[Sermil]

It's a four-day weekend at your workplace, not in the US in general.

Thanksgiving is a four-day or five-day weekend vacation for schools and colleges. Most business and government workers (78% in 2007) are given Thanksgiving and the day after as paid holidays^[1]

It's a four-day weekend for a significant majority of people in the US. So I'm not sure what you mean.


^[1]"Thanksgiving (United States)", Wikipedia, 2020-11-27, retrieved 2020-11-27. Can't quote Wikipedia without a citation after all!

[LaZodiac]

Observation: There is a frightening correlation between the kind of person who refuses to let a child leave the table until they've eaten a large serving of vegetables and the kind of person who has no idea how to cook vegetables.

Take peas, broccoli, or Brussel sprouts. Nobody likes the traditional "boil them until they're soggy, mushy, and slightly grey" preparation which, in the case of peas makes them almost flavorless and in the case of broccoli and sprouts makes them smell and taste like a wet fart.

It's just, some people have trained themselves, or be forced, to develop a tolerance for it and don't learn how to make them better.

But if you say, cut the sprouts up into small chunks and roast them in oil with some steak seasoning and parmesan cheese until the sprouts start to turn slightly brown and you get some seriously good eats, yo.

But the people who insist that you eat your damn vegetables never make the vegetables in a way that's anything more than "barely edible, but might make you sick."

And this is obviously the reason why there are som many people who hate vegetables.

I've actually read recently that the Brussel Sprouts you remember being bad are because all of the sprouts at that time where sourced from a very bitter, sour seed, and a sciencetist fixed them to make them taste better now, by finding a not bitter seed in a seed vault and cultivating Not ****ty Brussel Sprouts.

Also everyone disagreeing with Rater is wrong; the reason why people didn't like vegetables growing up is because a lot of your parents just can't cook.

[Peelee]

That was where my mind went. More a matter of "these are both very common" than "these things are connected in some way".

Slightly related anecdote: as a child, I was once forbidden from eating any carrot sticks until I finished my bowl of ice cream.

My toddler eats cucumbers like bananas. Hand him one it'll be gone in twenty minutes. Little dude can't get enough of those! He likes strawberries and raspberries more, but dang does he love eating a nice cucumber.

It's a four-day weekend for a significant majority of people in the US. So I'm not sure what you mean.

"Business and government workers" do not comprise the majority of people in the US (especially as "business" is intentionally vague there). For an enormous amount of Americans (I would be shocked it it was not the majority), Thanksgiving is a Thursday off before a 2-day weekend. And, for a huge number of people (but not a majority, and especially not this yeah, thankfully), it's not even a Thursday off.

If you're one of the ones that gets a four-day weekend, more power to ya! That's the dream. But that is not the case for a remarkably significant percent of the population.

Now,if you think it should be, I'm 100% with you there.

[Qwertystop]

When I was little I remember having some neighbors over for dinner once and one of the kids asked if the broccoli was raw, because it was still green.

Can confirm, some people just don't know how to cook veg. I mean, this wasn't even anything high-effort – just steamed instead of boiled.

[Hyoi]

"Business and government workers" do not comprise the majority of people in the US (especially as "business" is intentionally vague there). For an enormous amount of Americans (I would be shocked it it was not the majority), Thanksgiving is a Thursday off before a 2-day weekend. And, for a huge number of people (but not a majority, and especially not this yeah, thankfully), it's not even a Thursday off.

Case in point, I live in the United States, and I am working right now.

[Rater202]

I've actually read recently that the Brussel Sprouts you remember being bad are because all of the sprouts at that time where sourced from a very bitter, sour seed, and a sciencetist fixed them to make them taste better now, by finding a not bitter seed in a seed vault and cultivating Not ****ty Brussel Sprouts.

Also everyone disagreeing with Rater is wrong; the reason why people didn't like vegetables growing up is because a lot of your parents just can't cook.

Yeah, the engineered a sprout that's much less bitter, but it still smells like ass if you boil it too long. The less bitter strain helps, but you still gotta cook it right.

Canned vegetables are the worst: This stuff is, strictly speaking, already cooked but do most people cook it enough to reheat on the stove? Nope, dump the can in and boil it for as long as if you were boiling fresh vegetables.

As a rule of thumb, if the vegetable tastes better before you cooked it, you're cooking it wrong. And some vegetables require very specific preparations.

Take beets: Beets are earthy and slightly bitter, but can easily become bland if you make them wrong, so it's best to serve them as part of a dish with other strong flavors.

Like, the best suggestion for beets I've seen is to steam them, peel them, then roast them with herbs and shallots... And then cut them up, layer them in a mason jar with french cut red onions, and let them pickle for a weak with a vinegar-based brine.

[Peelee]

Canned vegetables are the worst: This stuff is, strictly speaking, already cooked but do most people cook it enough to reheat on the stove? Nope, dump the can in and boil it for as long as if you were boiling fresh vegetables.

It really sounds like it's less of an issue of "everybody does it wrong" and more of an issue of "everyone that you personally know does it wrong". I've never heard of anyone boiling vegetables (with the exception of corn), let alone always boiling all vegetables, let alone canned vegetables!