# Your most shameful culinary practices **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [March 23, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498 "2021-03-23T15:42:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/222 "2021-03-26T14:17:27Z")
That actually sounds good. Could also be sandwich filling. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/223 "2021-03-26T14:19:48Z")
I bake Scotch Eggs. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/224 "2021-03-26T14:26:05Z")
> [@salinqmind1](#): > > I don’t know if it’s shameful, but when I have some cold cuts hanging around, I will whizz them up in the food processor with a dill or a sweet pickle, mix with mayonnaise, and eat on crackers. Related note, and one I got from Alton Brown of Good Eats fame years ago. I like to periodically buy various specialty cheeses for eating or serving to guests and friends (in the before-times you know). When everyone is gone and you have leftovers, you throw all the leftovers bits of various cheeses in the food processor, along with a couple of cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup or so of leftover white wine from the same event, a couple of tablespoons of softened butter, and any savory herbs you like or have on hand. Process. Now you have a garlicy herby cheese spread of the gods, and perfect to finish off any leftover crackers, pitas, or crusty breads. ETA - not shameful really, but the quoted post brought it to mind and I might feel shamed if I bought decent cheese just to make it, but when you have half a dozen/dozen cubes of 4-5 different cheeses left it is sometimes hard to make them into useful dishes in short order. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/225 "2021-03-26T14:32:52Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I bake Scotch Eggs. Say more words! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/226 "2021-03-26T15:15:46Z")
I just printed this advice out for the hostess of the cheese tasting I am going to this evening. On-line of course, so it will just be our pod at the house and we’re all vaccinated. But she’ll have leftovers for sure. ---
**Author:** ![tricoteuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tricoteuse/32/4334_2.png) [@tricoteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tricoteuse)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/227 "2021-03-26T15:28:18Z")
> [@salinqmind1](#): > > I don’t know if it’s shameful, but when I have some cold cuts hanging around, I will whizz them up in the food processor with a dill or a sweet pickle, mix with mayonnaise, and eat on crackers. Any kind is good, but ham and pickle is best. My mother did that with bologna and sweet pickles, and Miracle Whip of course, and we ate it on sandwiches. She called it “monkey meat” but don’t ask me why. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/228 "2021-03-26T15:54:33Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I’ve had less luck with meat ends If you can get [bacon ends](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Wright-Brand-Bacon-Ends-and-Pieces-48-oz/10533732), they’re fantastic for pretty much any non eating-out-of-hand use for bacon, at a somewhat lower cost. > [@Seanette](#): > > MSG is not an uncommon addition to savory dishes around my place. I’m not averse to using MSG either. > [@Dogginit](#): > > Not a whole lot different from the way tabasco sauce is made, only with peppers instead of fish. [Or dill pickles for that matter.](https://youtu.be/6MgYPB0O1nI?t=145) Fermented in loosely covered tubs out in the elements. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/229 "2021-03-26T16:33:56Z")
> [@salinqmind1](#): > > I object! Claxton fruitcake is excellent, compared to the cheap trash sold elsewhere. It’s more of a confection than anything, should be cut in little cubes to add interest to the inevitable Christmas cookie plate I agree. I adore Claxton fruitcake. I keep meaning to drive down the bakery and tour it - Claxton’s only 200 miles from me. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/230 "2021-03-26T17:19:26Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > I agree. I adore Claxton fruitcake. I don’t so much adore it as feel a compulsion to buy a sleeve of it every Christmas and have a few slices with some strong black tea. Then throw the rest out swearing I’ll never buy it again. But I know I will. It’s a dysfunctional relationship. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/231 "2021-03-26T17:20:14Z")
We use that stuff that is 60% butter 40% marg, it spread easily even out of the fridge. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/232 "2021-03-26T17:22:31Z")
I feel like a thrifty 1940’s housewife, stretching my food stamps as far as they’ll go. Love Alton Brown’s cheese bitz recommendation, too. ---
**Author:** ![half-elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@half-elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/half-elf)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/233 "2021-03-26T18:11:14Z")
OK, I googled tilapia and I was disturbed by what I found. Not because tilapia were feeding on poo, but because apparently, tilapia are plant eaters, and they eat poo when they are being starved, so what you described seems really cruel. (Also it seems you should have no fear of eating regular tilapia as that is not their regular diet). ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/234 "2021-03-26T18:21:58Z")
Mini marshmellows and/or Peeps are so much better stale. I’ll buy a bag and open it and leave it in the cupboard for a few weeks, then eat them. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/235 "2021-03-26T18:32:53Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Then throw the rest out swearing I’ll never buy it again. Why throw it out? A few slices at a time, that thing could last you for years. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/236 "2021-03-26T18:35:03Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > I’m now married, but in the past I refused to let potential dates see me eat chicken until we’d been together for a while. It’s just not a pretty sight. You sound like a friend of mine. Apparently she eats every bit of cartilage and sinew, and there is nothing left but bare bone when she’s done with her chicken. I have never seen this, as she will not eat chicken in front of anyone but her husband. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/237 "2021-03-26T20:45:40Z")
There’s a “bakery outlet” nearby that always has packages of little cinnamon doughnuts that were smashed to crumbs. That’s OK by me because a spoonful of doughnut crumbs makes my morning oatmeal heavenly. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/238 "2021-03-26T20:48:56Z")
About that tilapia: I recall reading that the ancient Romans _prized_ fish caught from the Tiber that were caught close to the outflow of the Cloaca Maxima - the city’s drainage system. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/239 "2021-03-26T21:21:12Z")
There’s a fish market in Pittsburgh where you can sometimes buy Tilapia that are swimming in a tank. I like to buy one, pay for it to be dressed, then make tilapia ceviche one night and breaded tilapia air fried the next, or stuffed tilapia (based on my stuffed flounder recipe). ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/240 "2021-03-26T21:59:08Z")
When I was a little kid, we would sometimes drive 8hours each way my grandparents’ for a few days. One year we visited at Easter, which meant leftover ham for the trip back home. My mom chopped it up and mixed it with Miracle Whip and called it ham salad. Sandwiched with white bread and cut into square quarters for the 8-hour drive. Fifty years later, the trauma of that vile abomination is just as fresh in my mind as it was that awful, eternal car trip–my three sisters and I tumbling loose around the back of a puke green 1964 Chevy station wagon wailing in anguish at each Stuckeys we passed. We still use it as a reference point for awfulness in food. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498/241 "2021-03-26T22:02:01Z")
The very thought of tilapia coming anywhere near my mouth causes violent gut spasms and throat clenches. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-shameful-culinary-practices/938498.md?page=13)