# A lady at a restaurant didn't know what carrots or cucumbers were. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 9, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230 "2012-09-09T21:15:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/121 "2012-09-12T06:42:16Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > It’s not that simple. Your basic shot is expresso. Add milk and it’s latte. Add chocolate and it’s mocha. Something else about adding hot water and milk foam. Do they have different types of coffee beans as well? Hot water and espresso is an americano. So called because apocryphally american troops in WWII couldn’t get drip coffe, only espresso so they started asking for it mixed with hot water so as to approximate a traditional american cup of joe. Usually milk foam is not added but there’s always one or two weirdos. I used to have one guy who’d get four shots of espresso with milk foam and then he’d dump 3 packets of sugar in it. Weird. About 70% of coffee consumed is made from Arabica beans and the rest is Robusta. Arabica is milder and more flavorful. Robusta is strong but bitter. Since most coffees come from one kind of bean, it’s the roasting that has the strongest effect on their flavor and caffeine content. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/122 "2012-09-12T09:28:20Z")
> [@Girl\_From\_Mars](#): > > I’m fascinated by this. Do you actively avoid fruits and veggies - eating around them in prepared dishes or not ordering something because it includes veggies? Yep. I generally don’t order things that will have vegetables embedded in it, or specify no salad, that kind of thing. If a salad comes anyway I just leave it. > [@Girl\_From\_Mars](#): > > Are potatoes and tomatoes (in all forms) something you avoid? Potatoes are okay, though only in a couple of forms. Tomato I can tolerate if it’s in deep. Same with onion and spices. But generally I avoid them. > [@Girl\_From\_Mars](#): > > Is it a taste or texture thing? Both, I think. Mostly taste. > [@Girl\_From\_Mars](#): > > Do you eat anything else to compensate for the lack of fibre and vitamins in your diet? Not deliberately. I just eat mostly what I’ve always eaten since I was a kid, a scattered amount of generally simple foods in a few combinations. > [@Girl\_From\_Mars](#): > > Did your parents eat like this as well? No. They tried really hard to get me to eat properly, and even asked the Doctor about me. He responded “Is he sick because of it?” and no I wasn’t. So he shrugged and said “Then it doesn’t matter.” Presumably he had seen that kind of thing a lot, and dismissed it as a minor inconvenience rather than a serious problem. I even volunteered myself for a scientific study on diets, thinking I’d be an interesting anomaly in their statistics. They concluded that my health was fine, maybe a little bit high in cholesterol but not dangerously so, and though they recommended I eat better they didn’t find any problems. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/123 "2012-09-12T09:56:05Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Hot water and espresso is an americano. So called because apocryphally american troops in WWII couldn’t get drip coffe, only espresso so they started asking for it mixed with hot water so as to approximate a traditional american cup of joe. Usually milk foam is not added but there’s always one or two weirdos. I used to have one guy who’d get four shots of espresso with milk foam and then he’d dump 3 packets of sugar in it. Weird. > > About 70% of coffee consumed is made from Arabica beans and the rest is Robusta. Arabica is milder and more flavorful. Robusta is strong but bitter. Since most coffees come from one kind of bean, it’s the roasting that has the strongest effect on their flavor and caffeine content. Ah thanks. Are there different ways to brew as well? I think Starbucks uses pressurized steam or something (coffee machines also say “19 bar”), but I get the feeling there’s another percolation method. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/124 "2012-09-12T10:47:20Z")
A return to the start of the thread. I have heard about a couple of teachers who were compelled to write a school textbook explaining what fish are when they discovered that the only thing their pupils associated with that word was white, cube shaped (sort of) and deep frozen, something like this: [http://www.google.com/imgres?start=244&hl=en&as\_st=y&biw=1024&bih=619&addh=36&tbm=isch&tbnid=D4uo72BUfMG68M:&imgrefurl=http://zgseafood.en.alibaba.com/product/545824952-213430035/Frozen\_fish\_meat.html&docid=KPI0Z6jYUKnl5M&imgurl=http://i00.i.aliimg.com/photo/v4/545824952/Frozen\_fish\_meat.jpg&w=709&h=425&ei=g2dQUPzJJuaQ4gSnh4CYDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=280&vpy=192&dur=334&hovh=168&hovw=280&tx=181&ty=89&sig=107821222095641573253&page=14&tbnh=107&tbnw=179&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:244,i:195](http://www.google.com/imgres?start=244&hl=en&as_st=y&biw=1024&bih=619&addh=36&tbm=isch&tbnid=D4uo72BUfMG68M:&imgrefurl=http://zgseafood.en.alibaba.com/product/545824952-213430035/Frozen_fish_meat.html&docid=KPI0Z6jYUKnl5M&imgurl=http://i00.i.aliimg.com/photo/v4/545824952/Frozen_fish_meat.jpg&w=709&h=425&ei=g2dQUPzJJuaQ4gSnh4CYDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=280&vpy=192&dur=334&hovh=168&hovw=280&tx=181&ty=89&sig=107821222095641573253&page=14&tbnh=107&tbnw=179&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:244,i:195) ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/125 "2012-09-12T10:51:18Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Yes, capsicum = bell/green/sweet pepper = mango (pepper) _mango pepper_?? _quick google_ what a bizarre terminology. > [@Aaronx](#): > > The coffee room thing reminds me of when I bought a loaf of bread and they asked me, toast or sandwich? Thick sliced or thin sliced. There’s also, recently “Cafe”, aka “you get about 3 slices to a loaf” > [@Battle Pope](#): > > Tangentially related but I used to help run a local youth outdoors group. > > One of the camps was 10 days in central New South Wales. About 30 15-17 year old’s both male & female. They do all their own cooking etc while there. One of the most common injuries we had one year was cut fingers because we had a bunch of kids who didn’t know how to use a potato peeler. True story from my husband’s childhood (his parents used to run adventure camps) One time a bunch of kids were back at the campsite, while Dad and the rest of the gang were off somewhere doing somethingorother exciting. He realised they were going to be late back, so he radio’d back to camp with instructions for starting dinner, including “boil the cabbage” So they went and got the round green thing from the food box and proceeded to start it boiling. As it turns out, no, lettuce doesn’t boil well :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/126 "2012-09-12T11:45:06Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > The coffee room thing reminds me of when I bought a loaf of bread and they asked me, toast or sandwich? > [@SCAdian](#): > > Okay, I’ll bite… > > Pun intended, of course. > [@Aspidistra](#): > > Thick sliced or thin sliced. > > There’s also, recently “Cafe”, aka “you get about 3 slices to a loaf” I’ve never been asked this question, but this is my guess: “The kind of bread we use to make toast” v. “The kind of bread we usedto make sandwiches” > [@AaronX](#): > > Ah thanks. Are there different ways to brew as well? I think Starbucks uses pressurized steam or something (coffee machines also say “19 bar”), but I get the feeling there’s another percolation method. There are probably a half dozen or so common ways to make coffee. The forcing of superheated water through tightly packed grounds for 10 seconds or so is how you make espresso. The rest of the common methods are varieties of drip brewing, but any one coffee house is probably only going to use one of them, or, at most two. Boiling - This is the old-timey way Steeping - French press, soft brew, or vacuum brew Drip brew - Filter coffee (standard American style), percolating (upside down filtering), “pour through” (essentially filter coffee without a machine) Cold brew - uses cold water > [@Aspidistra](#): > > _mango pepper_?? > > _quick google_ > > what a bizarre terminology. Apparently the origin is that at one time mangoes were only available in the Midwest in pickled form and “mangoed” became a synonym for “pickled.” Bell peppers were also commonly pickled, so they became “mango(ed) peppers.” ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/127 "2012-09-12T12:28:01Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I’ve never been asked this question, but this is my guess: “The kind of bread we use to make toast” v. “The kind of bread we usedto make sandwiches” But if you’ve only seen 1 type of bread, then you won’t know the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/128 "2012-09-12T12:34:57Z")
NM ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/129 "2012-09-12T15:06:38Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > But if you’ve only seen 1 type of bread, then you won’t know the difference. Is it puffy square bread vs. a rounded crusty loaf of bread? I’ve only seen bread referred to as “toast bread” in Europe, and that was the square style of Wonder-type bread. If it’s thick sliced vs thin sliced, that wouldn’t have occurred to me. ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/130 "2012-09-12T15:24:17Z")
Slightly off topic but I’ve had more than one person ask me if the chicken we sell off the farm still has 1) its internal organs and 2) feathers. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/131 "2012-09-12T15:26:34Z")
“Capsicum” can catch out British people, too. We just call it a “pepper”, often “green pepper” or “red pepper” as appropriate to distinguish it from the spice. I’ve also heard it called “sweet pepper”, but that’s pretty rare. I doubt the average person in the street would know what a capsicum was, unless they were either a gardener or someone who used a lot of recipes from the internet. **jlzania** , why is that a strange question? I’ve seen free-range farm chicken offered for sale both whole and cleaned. I have no idea whether you think it’s a bizarre question because “of course they’re plucked and cleaned” or because “of course they still have their internal organs and feathers”. Unless of course they’re looking at the chicken in question at the time, of course! ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/132 "2012-09-12T15:27:01Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’ve never heard it, but my typical order includes the adjective “black”. I’ve gotten very specific with my ordering if it’s not someplace that allows/requires you to put the extras in yourself. I once ordered black coffee at a Dunkin Donuts and they gave me black coffee with 2 spoonfuls of sugar in it. It was revolting. When I brought it back, the woman at the counter was fairly pissy because I hadn’t said “Black, no sugar, the way nature intended” or something. I just didn’t know you had to be so specific when trying to get things left out of your beverage rather than added in. ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/133 "2012-09-12T15:40:45Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon;15483394 **jlzania** , why is that a strange question? I’ve seen free-range farm chicken offered for sale both whole and cleaned. I have no idea whether you think it’s a bizarre question because “of course they’re plucked and cleaned” or because “of course they still have their internal organs and feathers”. Unless of course they’re looking at the chicken in question at the time, of course![/QUOTE] You may be right. I just assume that when someone is coughing up $3.75 per pound for a bird, they know that all the hard work has already been done for them. Plus I’ve never seen any free range chicken around these parts that hasn’t been processed before purchase. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/134 "2012-09-12T17:22:21Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > “The kind of bread we use to make toast” v. “The kind of bread we usedto make sandwiches” Well, I use sliced bread to make toast, but I use sliced bread to make sandwiches. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/135 "2012-09-12T18:06:49Z")
> [@grude](#): > > It is actually kind of annoying, at least at first. > > Zaboca=avocado > > Melungen=egg plant > > Fig=banana > > Kurilee=bitter melon > > I think just the other day I finally made the connection that callaloo a leaf veggie is the same plant as a root vegetable. There are also tons of different names for non-potato root starch veggies like tanya or yam. I’ve seen people use the generic term ground provisions. Dasheen! That’s what we use the tops of as callaloo. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/136 "2012-09-12T21:05:38Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Well, I use sliced bread to make toast, but I use sliced bread to make sandwiches. I understand that the toast bread is cut thicker so as to allow it to get crispy on the outside, whiles staying soft inside. Thinner slices can get crispy and hard all the way though if you like your toast reasonably brown. Doesnt seem to be a difference to the shape of the loaf that I have seen. Cafe style is thicker again, presumably for the same reason - I’ve only seen ‘cafe’ style bread for raisin bread, not a sourdough or other. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/137 "2012-09-12T23:46:24Z")
> [@Girl\_From\_Mars](#): > > I’m curious as I’m just teaching my 7 month old to eat and watched her joy the other day when she took her first mouthfuls of strawberry and watermelon - oh to taste something like that again for the first time! I was jealous. Perhaps you have that all ahead of you!😉 One of my friends was highly allergic to strawberries as a child, but the allergy subsided with time, so he had, as an adult, the opportunity to enjoy his first taste of strawberries. Yes, it was epic. (He threw a daiquiri party.) ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/138 "2012-09-13T00:33:53Z")
Jay on Modern Family: “_That’s_ charcuterie? I’ve been avoiding that on menus for years. They’re **killing** themselves with that name!” ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/139 "2012-09-13T05:09:31Z")
> [@Girl\_From\_Mars](#): > > I understand that the toast bread is cut thicker so as to allow it to get crispy on the outside, whiles staying soft inside. Thinner slices can get crispy and hard all the way though if you like your toast reasonably brown. Doesnt seem to be a difference to the shape of the loaf that I have seen. Cafe style is thicker again, presumably for the same reason - I’ve only seen ‘cafe’ style bread for raisin bread, not a sourdough or other. Only thing I’ve seen like that is “Texas toast,” which comes in slices about twice as thick as normal bread slices. ---
**Author:** ![Satellite\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Satellite\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satellite_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230/140 "2012-09-13T06:43:09Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > At most coffee houses/espresso bars in the United States, if you’re ordering regular drip coffee, you are expected to add the cream and sugar on your own, so baristas don’t want to know whether you want it black or white. They just want to know if you want room. > > Even at a diner or restaurant where you are being served at your table, you might ask for black coffee, but if you want cream and sugar, you just ask for cream and sugar and it will be brought to you to add it yourself. You don’t ask for “white” coffee. I drink coffee regularly. I go to Tim Horton’s\*, and order a **large triple-triple**. No need for them to leave room, and they know exactly how to prepare it. 😃 \*For those of you who aren’t familiar with Tim’s, and are in the US, it’s similar to (but better than) Dunkin’ Donuts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lady-at-a-restaurant-didnt-know-what-carrots-or-cucumbers-were/634230.md?page=8)