I can’t wait for the asparagus to pop their heads up over my allotment plot. I pick and eat it raw.
Let me know of progress - I'll keep an eye out in the shops.
If you want to do more than just scoff it where it grows, I've got a good "recipe" (i.e. accompaniments and presentation) you might like.
Just for fun, how do you feel about these foods? I like 'em all!
Oysters I think they are great. Prefer them raw, but will eat them cooked. I know that raw they are not the safest of foods, but they are not as risky as fugu fish. Hopefully I’ll never nearly lose a leg like Michael Winner once did from eating a funky oyster
Mushrooms Are they really binary, like Marmite? Pick any food and you’ll find some people love it, some hate it, and it’s a spectrum.
Thumbs up from me, BTW. Creamed mushrooms on toast = yummy lunch.
And what’s wrong with “earthy”? I saw some chef on TV once (might well have been the prick with a fork) going on about how excited he was that someone was breeding beetroots without the earthy taste, and I thought “You utter wazzock – the earthy taste is one of the reasons they are so nice”.
Blue cheese Not found one I don’t like, and they vary so much in strength and character that I wonder if people who say “I don’t like blue cheese” are actually saying they don’t really like cheese. F*** them.
Ironically one of my least favourite cheeses is white stilton.
As for fermentation and rotting – google (other search engines are available) stinky tofu. Loads of videos on YT as well.
Marzipan What’s wrong with bitter? I love bitter. Never noticed that marzipan was. One of my favourite non-alcoholic aperitifs is tonic water with a generous slug of Angostura. I once was given some cans of San Pellegrino Chinotto – great stuff. Made an excellent mixer for Campari.
My son is in an unfortunate position re almonds and marzipan – he loves the flavour but has an intolerance which makes his lips tingle. OTOH he has no intolerance or allergy whatsoever to peanuts, but he can’t stand the flavour.
Gherkins Oh come on. Really? I’ve yet to see a shop selling that quintessentially English takeaway without a big jar of wallies there.
Coriander I know. I could ever understand how some people could dislike it so much until I learned about the genetic trait which makes it taste like soap to them. Angela Hartnett is one. Me, I’d use it in almost anything savoury.
I wonder if there are other genetic traits re other flavours. I can’t abide the taste or smell of coffee for example. Why?
Anchovies Love them. Not so much on pizza, but in an egg mayo, or egg salad, sandwich, yes please. Spread anchovy paste on toasted soldiers with soft boiled eggs, oh yes. (The stuff in a tube is good, as it stays fresh in the fridge for ages).
And if I’m roasting lamb and want to get all cheffy I’ll insert small pieces of anchovy in slits in it. But usually I just slash the meat and rub in a mix of anchovy paste and black olive tapenade.
Liquorice Here I’m pretty much in the “no thanks” camp. I don’t
hate it, but I really can’t abide any of the drinks like pastis, sambuca etc. But I do like a bit of (raw) fennel in a salad, I do eat liquorice allsorts (the ones which aren’t too high a % of liquorice – the toilet rolls are my favourite), and I’ll use star anise in cooking.
Yeast extract And here we are. The Devil’s smeg.
The article said “Chemically, it's very similar to meat and coffee, and it's actually very close to coffee in terms of its aroma.”
So maybe that’s why I think it’s ghastly.
OTOH, I love Bovril, and that’s 27% “marmite”, and I recently had a mushroom curry by Andi Oliver which had Marmite in for an umami flavour, and it was good, so maybe I should try Marmite again with an open mind.
Maybe I should try coffee again.
Olives Won’t hear a word said against them. Have always got a jar of the dry, pitted, black ones in the fridge, and I always add them to red meat pasta sauces, lamb casseroles, chicken parmentier. A must have topping for pizzas. Always have a few of those small pouches of pitted green and black olives in herbs and garlic etc (e.g. Crespo) in the house – great with crackers and cubes of feta if you just want a nibbly snack type of meal.
