# Silliest Foodie Item, Idea, or Trend? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 16, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533 "2013-02-16T20:04:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/181 "2013-02-19T12:37:32Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > 1. Iodine is required for thyroid health. > 2. Without iodized salt, your diet may or may not provide you with enough iodine. (See American history. See my “healthy eating” friend and her goiter.) > 3. Dietary sources of iodine are spotty at best. Most people don’t eat ocean fish every day, or even drink milk every day. > 4. Processed foods and fast foods don’t generally contain iodized salt. > 5. If you give up iodized salt at home, or find yourself frequently using sea salt instead, you are giving up an important (and recommended) source of iodine. > > What am I missing? You have failed to show that 2, 3 and 5 are correct. ---
**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:** [February 19, 2013, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/182 "2013-02-19T13:01:12Z")
[Macaron towers](http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID48576/images/Macaroon_tower.jpg). Tackiest shit I’ve seen in years. It will be looked back on and ridiculed as much as meat loaf with pineapple rings inside, or fondue sets. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/183 "2013-02-19T13:07:37Z")
What’s a good term for “iodine snobs”? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/184 "2013-02-19T13:39:05Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > What’s a good term for “iodine snobs”? 😛 Iodits! ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/185 "2013-02-19T13:53:02Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > As you admit, even though you can get a wide range of locally grown produce, you still end up buying 80% of your food from big chain stores. The people I’m criticising would argue that that’s not acceptable. Which is of course a fantasy. Could you local farmers’ market supply your entire community’s food needs? Of course not, but if I really wanted to, I could get my entire food needs from them. Hell, I could probably get half from my own backyard if I was willing to expand my garden quite a bit and grow things year-round. I agree that it’s pretty stupid for people to think that everyone should get 100% of their food intake from local sources. It just doesn’t work that way with population densities as they are. However, to say that a few people can’t get what they eat locally is equally stupid- of course they can, but at a significant cost in money and convenience, including seasonal availability, location, etc… ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/186 "2013-02-19T14:57:02Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > You have failed to show that 2, 3 and 5 are correct. You’re right. I should have made more effort to prove that history happened. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/187 "2013-02-19T15:06:06Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > You’re right. I should have made more effort to prove that history happened. That makes absolutely no sense. “People got goiters 100 years ago, so nobody should use sea salt today.” ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/188 "2013-02-19T15:36:37Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Wait, what? I thought those things were actually made with some kind of separate melted chocolate or some other similar separate stuff in the middle; what I’ve eaten of it in the past certainly doesn’t have the look, consistency, or taste of raw cake batter. If it’s really just raw in the middle, wouldn’t that be illegal in some places? There is more than one way to make a molten chocolate cake. One way is to use less flour and under bake it. The other (better) way is to put chocolate (or ganache) in the center prior to baking. ---
**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:** [February 19, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/189 "2013-02-19T15:53:57Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > That makes absolutely no sense. > > “People got goiters 100 years ago, so nobody should use sea salt today.” Why isn’t kosher salt in this discussion, too. That’s not iodized either, right? If that’s true, it turns out I don’t use iodized salt and haven’t for at least a decade or so. (And I am wondering if this is actually something I should be careful of. I actually think most of my family just uses kosher salt.) ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/190 "2013-02-19T15:58:36Z")
No, it isn’t iodized. If you’re concerned that you aren’t getting enough iodine, you can buy an iodine supplement, or eat more of the foods that contain it. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/191 "2013-02-19T16:21:25Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Why isn’t kosher salt in this discussion, too. That’s not iodized either, right? If that’s true, it turns out I don’t use iodized salt and haven’t for at least a decade or so. (And I am wondering if this is actually something I should be careful of. I actually think most of my family just uses kosher salt.) My friend went without iodized salt for years. Her goiter developed around age 50. I’d keep an eye on iodine intake. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/192 "2013-02-19T17:02:38Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Cupcake stores. > [@freckafree](#): > > A pox upon you! If you like cake, what’s not to like about being able to buy a single serving (or many different single servings)? Because these “Gourmet” Cup cake stores sell substandard cake with four inches of frosting. I’m not five. There is more to cake than frosting. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/193 "2013-02-19T23:38:33Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I agree here. I don’t know so much about what is considered “free range,” but the “cage free” eggs at our local grocery are about 2.5-3x the price of the regular eggs. Ethical issues aside, these eggs taste exactly the same to me. I would pay $5/dozen to get real free-range farm eggs. They taste and look completely different to me. The cage-free stuff is a waste of money–tastes exactly the same as the battery farmed chickens. > > The diet does make a huge taste difference in the flavor of chicken and their eggs. The eggs I’ve had from chickens that have been fed exclusively a grain diet have been flavorless and bland: your typical supermarket eggs. The eggs I’ve had from chickens that have been eating bugs and worms and dirt and whatever it is that chickens eat in addition to grain have always tasted more “eggy” and the yolk has been a firm with a vibrant orange color, rather than a kind of limp, lemon yellow yolk. > > But diet affecting the flavor of meat shouldn’t be surprising. Anyone who’s had grass-fed beef vs. grain-fed been knows the difference diet can make (and I personally am not the biggest fan of grass-fed beef, even though it is sold at a premium. There is a clear difference in taste, though.) Yeah, it irritates me that egg cartons say “vegetarian fed hens” like it’s a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/194 "2013-02-20T01:19:20Z")
That’s it!!! I’m forcing everyone here to eat cupcakes baked with iodized salt and covered in 27 inches of frosting made with tincture of iodine. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/195 "2013-02-20T01:34:14Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > That’s it!!! > > I’m forcing everyone here to eat cupcakes baked with iodized salt and covered in 27 inches of frosting made with tincture of iodine. _giggle_ Would that be sea salt caramel frosting cupcakes? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/196 "2013-02-20T01:56:44Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Note that there can be a difference in salts based on being coarser or or finer grained, assuming they’re not dissolved. Mouthfeel and to some extent the intensity of saltiness, due to the surface area involved. This. As a chemistry minor I am a fancy-salt skeptic, but coarse kosher sea salt tastes better then iodized table salt. I mean when I season already-served food with it from the grinder. The grinder improves the flavor I think because it reduces the grain size a little (but it’s still larger than regular table salt). ---
**Author:** ![NIKI50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/958977/32.png) [@NIKI50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NIKI50)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/197 "2013-02-20T09:44:09Z")
“a gourmand often enjoys fine food, but is fully capable of appreciating lowbrow fare,” I like this… I think I’ll use it, it fits. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/198 "2013-02-20T13:42:19Z")
My table salt comes from a 200 million year old sea salt deposit-did the oceans have different salts back then? BTW-my wife’s physician warned us against eating shark-he says there have been cases of iodine poisoning in people who eat shark meat. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/199 "2013-02-20T13:49:45Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > BTW-my wife’s physician warned us against eating shark-he says there have been cases of iodine poisoning in people who eat shark meat. I can find no such cases. Are you sure he didn’t say mercury? ---
**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:** [February 20, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533/200 "2013-02-20T18:54:13Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Would that be sea salt caramel frosting cupcakes? 😃 Goddammit, now all I can think about is sea salt caramel frosted cupcakes. You suck and when I make them this weekend, I’m not sharing any with you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silliest-foodie-item-idea-or-trend/650533.md?page=11)