[sub]See also a Fenris Pit thread.[/sub]
I normally get my lunch from an Asian-run buffet place. Today, I had some fettuccine Alfredo but when I took a bite I noticed a flavor that didn’t belong. Took me a while to place the flavor then it hit me. Nutmeg! Who puts nutmeg in an Alfredo sauce? Didn’t taste bad, just strange. At least they didn’t use mayo.
Nutmeg is often used in creamy sauces. In fact, when I saw the thread title, that’s what I thought of. I use it in mac and cheese.
Nutmeg in mac & cheese I kind of understand, if a sharp cheddar or something similar is used. It was a bit overpowering in that Alfredo sauce.
Animal fat in Hostess-type desserts–yuck.
I once found honest to God beef in a dorm cafeteria hamburger. That was certainly unexpected.
A friend and his wife once invited me over and they made some type of chicken that had a sauce that had an orange juice base.
Maybe that is common in high-falutin cooking, but it struck me as unusual. T’was pretty damn good though.
Everybody puts a few gratings of nutmeg in real sauce Alfredo (as distinct from that thinly-disguised library paste that comes in a jar).
I avoid “soft-baked” chocolate chip cookies. They have a weird, fruity off-flavor because they contain raisin paste. (Sometimes date paste.)
It never ceases to amaze me that people don’t know that gelatin/Jello is made with bones and connective tissue, mostly from cows. (The “mostly” always gets them)
I’ve brought this up in many coversations related to the OP, and when I do, MOST people downright don’t believe it, at all. The most fun is when you ask them what it IS made out of. Try this, ypu’ll see what I mean.
It doesn’t bother me though, I’d still eat it. Although, I can’t remember the last time I did…
Fighting ignorance one Jello lover at a time! Hey, I’m doing my part!
There’s s recent Snopes thread about Jell-O brand gelatin.
I have some friends who are vegetarians. They eschew Jell-O brand gelatin and make their vodka shooters from “vegetarian gelatin”. I don’t know what it’s made from.
Hmm. I don’t know what vegetarian gelatin is, either, but I can take a few guesses - arrowroot? Cornstarch? Gum arabic?
I’m gonna go google and see if I can find out.
Aha! Agar-agar! (Cornstarch is also listed.)
Yep, that’s why I steer clear of Jello and marshmallows. Agar-agar and other seaweeds are often used. Gelatin is in a surprising array of products, including some low-fat margarine and yogurt brands.
Back to the OP–I once had a bowl of chili at Girl Scout camp that contained pineapple!
I’ve made “alfredo” sauce with nutmeg, though you do have to go very easy on it. It’s too easy to overspice it and ruin the flavor. Supposedly this is more of a Rome-area flavoring for this sauce.
I had vegetable egg rolls that, upon inspection of the ingredient list on the back of the box, contained chicken fat, chicken broth, and even some very finely-minced chicken meat. I wished I’d read that before eating them and then becoming violently ill.
I made some homemade baked beans with pineapple - the recipe made me wary when I read it, but it actually turned out to taste very good.
I’ve seen some odd novelty recipes like this before, but none are coming to mind right now. It’s on the order of odd ingredients like “use a can of tomato soup in chocolate cake”, though.
I just got a kickass recipe for empanadas that contains both black currants and green olives. Damn tasty, too-- but definitely a weird mix for someone new to empanadas.
That’s probably what happened with the sauce I had yesterday. I’ve had fresh Alfredo before but never noticed any nutmeg in it but it was so strong in that one that I nearly threw it out. I had to get something from the snack machine to get the nutmeg taste out of my mouth.
Reminds me of the barbecue sauce I made a couple of weeks ago. The recipe called for cocoa powder.