# Food Items that make no sense to you. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 2, 2002, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924 "2002-05-02T20:23:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**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:** [May 8, 2002, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/121 "2002-05-08T13:20:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\* > > :eek: > > What other kind of celery _is_ there? > > Fenris \*\* Don’t worry. It’s not a different color celery, just a different part. Here, what is referred to as celery is celery root or celeriac. The celery stalks we occassionally find here are usually imported from Holland, although it seems domestic growers are starting to get wise on the gap in the market. I’m assuming that the celeriac sold here comes from a different type of celery than stalk celery. Celeriac occassionally is sold with the stalks, but they’re very wilted and anemic-looking. There’s no possible way you could use it as stalk celery. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2002, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/122 "2002-05-08T13:30:40Z")
Let me add one more point of info, **Fenris**. There’s also a type of celery called _Golden Celery_ which is grown under a clump of dirt or paper which produces, well, whitish-yellowish celery. (A similar method is used to grow white asparagus, rather than green.) Incidentally, celery shouldn’t be too bitter. If it is, it’s just crap celery. It’s no wonder people have bad experience with veggies, as 90% of the stuff available at supermarkets are colorless, tasteless imitations of real vegetables. God, I didn’t even know what a real tomato was supposed to taste like until my parents started growing them in the garden. Those greenhouse tomatoes available during winter at Jewel? Why even bother? Canned tomatoes are a better alternative at that point. But I’ve digressed enough… ---
**Author:** ![Arken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Arken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arken)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/123 "2002-05-08T13:32:09Z")
I went to the supermarket yesterday. They now have SALT in various ‘fun’ colours too. They claim it makes the salt easier to see(?) Please fight my ignorance and tell me… what’s bubble tea? ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/124 "2002-05-08T14:06:43Z")
I used to mix Brewers Yeast into orange juice and drink it. The smell was pretty odd, and noone ever likes the taste. I kindof got used to it. I don’t really know if it helped me or not, but…it DOESN’T make sense does it? ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/125 "2002-05-08T15:24:27Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by pulykamell \* > \*\* > God praise celery!_\* Especially when used for “ants on a log”! ---
**Author:** ![Squish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Squish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squish)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/126 "2002-05-08T18:41:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pulykamell \* > \*\* > > Ummm…well you can blame the original “moron” who created the Waldorf salad. Apples, walnuts and celery _define_ the salad (you can also add lemon juice, raisins and sugar…Oh, and of course mayo.) In fact, the original only consisted of apples, celery and mayonaisse. You take out the celery, and you no longer have Waldorf Salad. If you don’t want celery in your Waldorf Salad, then don’t order Waldorf Salad, cuz it’s obviously not what you want. > > \*\* Exactly. I have to admit that that original remark puzzled me–what did you _think_ Waldorf Salad was? All I’ll say on the Great Celery Debate (as we’re straying from the OP a bit) is that celery is an essential in cookery. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/127 "2002-05-08T20:21:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arken \* > \*\*Please fight my ignorance and tell me… what’s bubble tea? \*\* There are several variations, but generally bubble tea is tea, flavouring, and sweetened milk, shaken and served cold, with ice and tapioca pearls. Sometimes grass jelly or tofu is added. The drink is usually served in a clear plastic cup with a domed or autoclaved lid, and a very thick straw so that you can suck up the tapioca pearls, which are the size of gumballs. It’s very popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but not well-known elsewhere. Owing perhaps to its sizeable Chinese population, Toronto has several bubble tea shops, but I haven’t seen any in other North American cities. ---
**Author:** ![Arken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Arken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arken)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/128 "2002-05-08T20:58:49Z")
Thanks, psychonaut. Sounds like the tea version of the aforementioned Orbitz which is, indeed, extremely disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/129 "2002-05-08T21:20:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arken \* > \*\*Sounds like the tea version of the aforementioned Orbitz which is, indeed, extremely disgusting. \*\* Nope – Orbitz is nothing like bubble tea. Orbitz has small gelatinous spheres which are the same density as the pop. With bubble tea, you have large marble-sized balls of black tapioca that sink to the bottom of the cup. They’re trapped underneath the ice and can only be extracted through a straw. But even the tapioca pearls are optional; some people prefer their bubble tea with coconut jelly, almond tofu, or with nothing added at all. The “bubble” in “bubble tea” doesn’t refer to the tapioca but rather to the air bubbles formed when the tea is shaken (usually with ice and milk or some other creamer). ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/130 "2002-05-08T21:23:52Z")
We have them here in New York, originating (_surprise, surprise_) in Chinatown, but they’ve branched out. What I first saw was actually not tea, but coffee - and simply called Tapioca Coffee. I persuaded a friend of mine to try it; now she loves it and I leave it alone, having decided that the pearl tapioca is just too large. ---
**Author:** ![butter\_pie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@butter\_pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butter_pie)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/131 "2002-05-08T21:38:08Z")
I actually liked that Orbitz stuff and the tapioca pearls in the Bubble Tea. Mmm, chewy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Squish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Squish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squish)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/132 "2002-05-08T22:50:53Z")
I occasionally put milk and sugar in my tea, but I’m drawing the line at tapioca or jelly \. Another food item(s) that make no sense: sugar-free chocolate and candy. Ah, ah–I _am_ diabetic–saw that coming. 😉 Either eat the real stuff occasionally, or just give it up and eat fruit. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/133 "2002-05-09T01:35:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vanilla \* > \*\*I used to mix Brewers Yeast into orange juice and drink it. > The smell was pretty odd, and noone ever likes the taste. > I kindof got used to it. > I don’t really know if it helped me or not, but…it DOESN’T make sense does it? \*\* What was it supposed to help you do? There was a thread in GQ about a week ago asking about Brewer’s Yeast…for dogs as a flea repellant! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/134 "2002-05-09T01:58:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Squish \* > \*\* > > Exactly. I have to admit that that original remark puzzled me–what did you _think_ Waldorf Salad was? > > All I’ll say on the Great Celery Debate (as we’re straying from the OP a bit) is that celery is an essential in cookery. \*\* My mistake, my mistake…I was thinking **Watergate** Salad. Pistachio pudding mix, Cool Whip, pineapple, coconut, walnuts, other fruit, and yes, I’ve had it with celery and it’s just disgusting with celery. I don’t like Waldorf Salad for that very reason…too much celery. I know it’s essential in cooking, but I still don’t like it. I do use it when it’s called for and essential, but I will act like a child and pick it out of something I’m eating if I’m at home. Out in public I do behave like an adult, though. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/135 "2002-05-09T02:45:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\* > B) The grossesst of the gross: Orbitz soda. > > Clear colored fruit soda with little balls of jelly bean/bubblegum-like stuff floating in it (apparently the balls had the same specific gravity(?) as the soda so they floated with relativly even distribution). The stuff looked great, the soda tasted mediocre, but the fact was that you couldn’t drink the stuff becasue A)you’d choke to death on the BB sized pellets and B)Who wants gum/jelly beans in their soda? > > Fenris \*\* Philistene! I LOVED Orbitz. It was so weird. These little beads just floating on your tongue. (I believe they were gel, and so they were soft-you didn’t choke on them). The thing I hate about celery is that it’s so frayed-you bite a piece off, and those little threads just hang and choke you. ---
**Author:** ![DarkWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee59a6/32.png) [@DarkWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarkWriter)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/136 "2002-05-09T04:44:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BiblioCat \* > \*\*My mistake, my mistake…I was thinking **Watergate** Salad. Pistachio pudding mix, Cool Whip, pineapple, coconut, walnuts, other fruit, and yes, I’ve had it with celery and it’s just disgusting with celery. > I don’t like Waldorf Salad for that very reason…too much celery. > I know it’s essential in cooking, but I still don’t like it. I do use it when it’s called for and essential, but I will act like a child and pick it out of something I’m eating if I’m at home. > Out in public I do behave like an adult, though. 😉 \*\* I _love_ Watergate Salad! Holidays and cookouts wouldn’t be the same without it. I agree with you about celery. I’ll cook with it when I must, but I’ll pick it out as I eat it. And I _don’t_ behave in public - there will be a little celery pile on the side of plate, no matter where we go to eat. I also drive my husband nuts when I remove the lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and other unnecessary veggies from sandwiches and burgers. Veggies are for salad! 🙂 Sheri ---
**Author:** ![Squish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Squish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squish)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/137 "2002-05-09T04:59:57Z")
Burgers _must_ have veggies! Lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado! Never had Watergate salad. I shy away from anything that involves either Jello or Cool-Whip. ---
**Author:** ![techchick68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/138 "2002-05-09T06:57:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\*A) Thou shall not dis, nor even question “Chicken-Fried Steak”. Thou shall simply thank God for this, his bounty and goodness and have another slab, with sausage gravy and smashed 'taters. > Fenris \*\* Fenris needs to be tied and lash whipped. Chicken Fried Steak? ACK. Personally I am not one for breaded meat, chicken, fish or seafood. I can’t stand it. Gentlely marinated in a nice sauce and carefully cooked to perfection (note there’s no grease, maybe real butter or olive oil but Lord have mercy, not fried!) Of course I rarely eat meat anyway so you can have all the Chicken Fried Steak that I will not eat in my lifetime. 😉 \< not checked for typos, almost time for bed \> ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/139 "2002-05-09T07:41:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miss Teerious \* > \*\*IMO, saurkraut(sp?) is the most vile looking/smelling/tasting substance in existence, ever. I mean, I wouldn’t even know what it tastes like, except that my dad was one of those “try it at least once” kinda guys. How anyone can even get past the awful smell is beyond me, not to mention enjoy the flavor. Makes me wanna puke just thinking about it! _shudders_ Ugh! \*\* Sounds like my experiences with beer and almost every type of alcoholic beverage I’ve ever had. Puke city. Personally, It ain’t a dog with a lot of kraut (though maybe it’s my german genes that have something to do with it). Though, I’d NEVER eat it sans hot dog/sausage. It’s a condiment, not an appitizer. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924/140 "2002-05-09T07:58:02Z")
Diet Soft Drinks. Bubbly water with no taste. If I want something healthy to drink, I’m not drinking soda. If I want something soda, I want it to be tasty. And if I’m trying to use it to lose weight, I think it would be a drop in the damn bucket compared to the stuff I’m eating, which is where I should be focusing my efforts in that case. Thus, I don’t get it. _Prepares to get flamed_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-that-make-no-sense-to-you/106924.md?page=8)