The internet is filled with things. Here are some of them.
#food
2024
CostCo Butter Conspiracy2024 Nov 24
I missed this eleven months ago when it happened, but apparently a reddit post gained some attention for accusing CostCo's store-brand butter of having secretly changed, causing their butter-centric recipes to start failing. When others started chiming in "same here" it sparked Allrecipes to do an investigation, the results of which were entirely inconclusive. But along the way, we learn all sorts of interesting facts about butter, such as that European butters are slightly more fat-to-water than American sweet-cream butters.
But what of the conspiracy? Did CostCo change how they make their butter? People are still saying yes this season, which is how I heard of this. And whether they did or not, it all speaks to the basic, fundamental underlying issue: food standards in America are old, and the allowances are more generous than needed for modern manufacturing. So whether or not CostCo really is doing this devious thing – decreasing the fat percentage in their butter to the legally allowable tolerance in order to save money – the fact that they can at all is problem enough. And in an era of increasing shrinkflation, is it any wonder that nobody trusts the massive corporations to be actually selling you what they claim to be selling you?
Why do most bagels suck?2024 Nov 24
This is a 2015 article from NPR's The Salt called Chew On This: The Science Of Great NYC Bagels (It's Not The Water) that explains that a proper bagel must be, before being baked, first "poached or boiled in a solution of water and malt barley for anywhere from 30 seconds to 3 minutes" in order to thicken the crust and lock in the bagel's moisture. This is what makes it a chewy, delicious bagel and not just a round bread.
Why would anyone do it wrong and make crappy bagels? Because it's cheaper to skip the boiling step and just bake them. And then, proving that there is no god, some people grew up eating them made wrong and now prefer them this way.
Now, why do some toast their bagels and make them with things like blueberries and pumpernickel? I don't know, why do some people turn to lives of villainy?
Why was there a bucatini shortage in America?2024 Oct 27
What even is a bucatini? (It's a pasta in the shape of a straw.) Why was there a shortage during 2020? (All pasta was running out, and bucatini is both more involved to make and under less demand.) Why am I linking this article now? (Because it's writing is amazing.)
Refried beans are only fried once2024 Sep 27
This is doubtless common knowledge to any of the hundreds of millions of people who make refried beans, so I'm a little embarrassed I'm only learning this now, but "refried" beans are only fried once. The "refried" In the name comes from a mistranslation of the Spanish word "refrito." "Refrito" uses the prefix "re-" which unlike English, in Spanish doesn't mean "twice" but "very" – meaning the actual translation is "well fried beans."
"MSG in Chinese food isn't unhealthy -- you're just racist"2023 Oct 14
The "whyusemsg.com" website is now defunct, but this article remains a reminder that the malignment of MSG is America and the west stemmed not from science, but from racism against Asians and Chinese in particular, viewing Chinese restaurants as dirty places that were unconcerned for the cleanliness of their food. Quoth the article: "'Calling it Chinese restaurant syndrome is really ignorant,' said restaurateur Eddie Huang ... he pointed out that MSG is not only delicious – but found in practically all processed foods, from ranch dressing to Doritos." Moral of the story: stop shunning MSG.
I missed this eleven months ago when it happened, but apparently a reddit post gained some attention for accusing CostCo's store-brand butter of having secretly changed, causing their butter-centric recipes to start failing. When others started chiming in "same here" it sparked Allrecipes to do an investigation, the results of which were entirely inconclusive. But along the way, we learn all sorts of interesting facts about butter, such as that European butters are slightly more fat-to-water than American sweet-cream butters.
But what of the conspiracy? Did CostCo change how they make their butter? People are still saying yes this season, which is how I heard of this. And whether they did or not, it all speaks to the basic, fundamental underlying issue: food standards in America are old, and the allowances are more generous than needed for modern manufacturing. So whether or not CostCo really is doing this devious thing – decreasing the fat percentage in their butter to the legally allowable tolerance in order to save money – the fact that they can at all is problem enough. And in an era of increasing shrinkflation, is it any wonder that nobody trusts the massive corporations to be actually selling you what they claim to be selling you?