A sibling to the other “shameful culinary practices” thread…
I used to eat those little Chef Boyardee spaghetti tubs for lunch. Pop the top, heat in the microwave for 30 seconds, and consume. Then I realized that life was too short to eat that stuff (and life might be shorter if I didn’t stop).
Lipton, Red Rose, and similar abominations have been banished from my home.
There was a time I put my chef’s knife in the dishwasher regularly. I still hang my head in shame when I think about it.
If you have a decent dishwasher with a dedicated silverware tray this is totally fine. The problem was when people had those old shitty washers with the basket and everything was clanking together all the time.
It has been well over a decade since I’ve had a meal from any fast food restaurant (McD, BK, W. etc…). The single exception was the storied chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A. It wasn’t worth the hype, tbh.
Similarly with Kraft Mac & Cheese, hot dogs, Totino’s pizza rolls, and Chicken Nuggets. Kids used to devour those when they were little but I weened them off the stuff when they hit pre-teens.
No more reusing tea bags. In fact, no more tea bags at all for home brewing, always decent quality looseleaf tea open brewed in a proper pot. Once you go black (looseleaf tea), you never go back.
No more instant coffee. It’s just not worth it. (unless there’s no other source of caffeine)
No more margarine. Either butter or olive oil.
No more reduced or no fat yogurt. Yogurt is supposed to have fat! I take it full fat, plain, and add my own fruit. No sweeteners either. (unless it’s Liberte, their full fat sweetened yogurt is to die for. Fortunately it’s hard to get here)
Have you run across Ellenos? Interesting stuff - dense, rich, very slightly salty. For years it was a cult Seattle thing thing, but you can now get a few flavors at Whole Foods in the SF Bay Area. More of a once in awhile thing for me, but worth a try if you get the chance.
This. Nicely done. Although I never considered instant coffee or margarine to be anything but emergency use only.
Sounds interesting, but I tend to not like my yogurt super thick. While I’ve enjoyed the flavor of greek yogurts, the texture, especially when mixed with my fave additives like dried fruit and bran buds, is less nice.
But I do enjoy trying most dairy products. If it makes its way into the midwest or I see it in Vancouver, BC my next trip there (to see family), I’ll grab a sample.
To me, it depends on what the handles are made of. I have an original Zwilling J. A. Henckels chef’s knife with a wooden handle that NEVER goes in the dishwasher, and I occasionally oil the wood to keep it in good shape. But I have a newer Henckels utility knife of equal quality but with a plastic/composite handle, and that one goes in the dishwasher all the time, blade side up in its own compartment. Both have lasted for many years and will for many more. But for that reason I use the smaller utility knife when I have to cut raw meats, so I can put it through a hot disinfecting dishwasher cycle.
There was a time when I cooked my pasta in unsalted water. No longer.
And I used to often substitute milk in recipes that called for cream. Now it’s cream or nothing.
Cooking rice without first washing it. It’s really not necessary from any hygiene perspective with the rice we get here, which is cleaned with air during the packing process, and never contains grit, and I never really found it all that necessary in terms of loose starch or flavour, but now, unless I’m making paella or risotto, I wash rice before cooking it.
microwaving it for 30 seconds seems like a lot of bother.
In college I’d open a can of Chef Boyardee ravioli and eat it straight out of the can at room temp on occasion.
A recent widow, pandemic cooking for myself, I am knocking off my bucket list of Things To Stuff In My Mouth before I croak. All good stuff, all the time. I cook for myself and friends, if they want to join me. No more hamburg n’ gravy over hamburg rolls, no more dollar menu items from the drive-thru on the way home, no more jar of spaghetti sauce over a pound of elbow macaroni. I treat myself to a really good cobb salad a couple times a week, already prepared, and it lasts me for a meal (and a snack for later)… There’s always a package of Lipton Noodle-O soup to prepare, a pack of Oscar Mayer bologna , and a sleeve of crackers on the premises, though. Need my cheap salty junky fix, I’m not totally renouncing everything.
I usually bake my own bread and dog treats. I make my own yogurt and cheese. I buy mostly single ingredients, rather than prepared food (exceptions: Mrs. Callender’s chicken pot pie and Claussen’s minis).
No more sugared sodas, or chips of any kind.
I did have a Nachos Belgrande about three weeks ago.
I’ve never heard anyone call them that. Is it a local/regional term?
We’re pretty informal here. Hamburgers and french fries are burgerfries. Hamburger is hamburg, hamburg rolls hold same. I don’t know that anyone ever made a thing about it, we all know what it means.
It’s what they call steamed hams in Utica.
Well said. Let’s hear it for olive oil on bread!
Doner kebabs (gyros in the US?). There was a point in my life (maybe there’s a point in everybody’s life) when it occurred to me that between evenings of cooking, that monstrous fatty meat thing has down time. Never again.
Late night microwaved poppadoms. No. Just no - not any more.
j