Is there a Food That You Don't Like, But Think You Should

[Morning Glory]

If I were to make risotto, I'd use whatever rice that produced the end product that I liked, or if I really wanted some and all I had on hand was some long grain rice, that's what I'd use.

Food "rules" - not for me. Cook what you like and what works for you.

I absolutely agree with you in general terms - but here its a specific dish made with short grain rice which absorbs flavour in slow cooking & releases the starch to form a silky smooth result. That's the nature of a risotto - just like the nature of a a Biryani is that the grains are separate - so long grain or basmati rice is used. I'm not really talking about 'tradition' or 'authenticity' here at all. I'm talking about choice of ingredients producing very different end results.

Here is a (beautiful looking) Risotto from @MypinchofItaly: https://www.cookingbites.com/threads/milanese-saffron-risotto.14770/



And here is a Biryani:



But of course, you can call a dish whatever you like and use whatever ingredients you prefer! Its just that it might get confusing if you said you were making me a risotto abnd then served something that looked like the second photo.

 

[MypinchofItaly]

If I were to make risotto, I'd use whatever rice that produced the end product that I liked, or if I really wanted some and all I had on hand was some long grain rice, that's what I'd use.

Food "rules" - not for me. Cook what you like and what works for you.

It doesn't always work that way though, because sometimes certain 'rules' are born on the basis of experience and above all, the tradition of a certain country, which is not to be underestimated. Certainly everyone is more than free to eat what and how wants, the suggestion is given to make people discover something that is not yet well known and is a shame. Then, that dish may or may not like, but at least one has tried something done according to tradition.
Everything then makes sense when it comes from a curiosity, otherwise we would not have even talked about it.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

When you say 'toast' do you mean until it goes brown - no... I'm sure you don't. Until it becomes translucent, you mean?

To me, toasting the rice means that you get it coated with butter or oil (just enough to coat...they shouldn't be floating in oil), and heat it until you start to smell a nutty aroma. I'm not doing it until the physical appearance changes, since there are different colors of rice. This usually takes just a few minutes, and you really need to keep moving the rice in the pan so it doesn't burn, and so all of it gets toasted. If it's been a few minutes, and you can't detect the aroma, don't keep toasting it...those few minutes will have a big effect on the final product.

 

[MypinchofItaly]

When you say 'toast' do you mean until it goes brown - no... I'm sure you don't. Until it becomes translucent, you mean?

Toast the rice, is the next step in making rice become translucent. You have to toast it in the pan for a very few minutes, otherwise you burn it. Butter or oil - not both together, choose one or the other (you don't have to fry the rice) they don't have to be abundant, for the butter it is enough a piece (a finger), for the oil just a spoon. As @The Late Night Gourmet says,you have to get a smell like a toasted hazelnut. Then, immediately add half a glass of white wine, then mix again. And then start to add a ladle at time, the hot broth.

 

[Karen W]

I've had risotto made with orzo (& peas), or orzotto with pearl barley. Quite good. Broken, toasted fideo noodles might be interesting, but not a true risotto.

 

[TastyReuben]

Its just that it might get confusing if you said you were making me a risotto abnd then served something that looked like the second photo.

That wouldn't confuse me, it'd just make me say, "Oh, that's different!"

above all, the tradition of a certain country, which is not to be underestimated.

Tradition, to me, is fine and interesting and all that, but mainly as an exercise in history and just knowing how something is historically done, so I have an idea of when I'm following a prescribed practice or going off on my own.

Borrowing from either Duke Ellington or Louis Armstrong (I can never remember which one), there are two kinds of food, the good kind and the other kind. If I'm in the mood for a risotto and I look in the cupboard and the only rice I have is a long grain rice, I'm going to use it and when I taste the finished dish, I'll either think it tastes good or it tastes bad. The last thing I'm going to think about is whether it's traditional or not.

Tradition has a place, but it's not at the top, not for me, and no area or country or geographical region "owns" a dish. Once its out in the world, it's there for everyone to interpret and use what's readily available to them in their area or what they prefer for their tastes.

I do hate the idea of pineapple on pizza, though. That's just a hot mess.

 

[Karen W]

I just call it something else, like "playful risotto," or "Italian macaroni and cheese."

 

[Karen W]

I didn't like spinach growing up, but I do now. As I got older and my taste buds "matured," as well as my exposure to new foods & my cooking skills improved, my "likes" grew.

 

[TastyReuben]

I just call it something else, like "playful risotto," or "Italian macaroni and cheese."

I like that!

For a while, it was trendy to rename modern spins on traditional dishes as "Not Your...," so it could be called "Not Your Mama's Risotto."

 

[MypinchofItaly]

That wouldn't confuse me, it'd just make me say, "Oh, that's different!"


Tradition, to me, is fine and interesting and all that, but mainly as an exercise in history and just knowing how something is historically done, so I have an idea of when I'm following a prescribed practice or going off on my own.

Borrowing from either Duke Ellington or Louis Armstrong (I can never remember which one), there are two kinds of food, the good kind and the other kind. If I'm in the mood for a risotto and I look in the cupboard and the only rice I have is a long grain rice, I'm going to use it and when I taste the finished dish, I'll either think it tastes good or it tastes bad. The last thing I'm going to think about is whether it's traditional or not.

Tradition has a place, but it's not at the top, not for me, and no area or country or geographical region "owns" a dish. Once its out in the world, it's there for everyone to interpret and use what's readily available to them in their area or what they prefer for their tastes.

I do hate the idea of pineapple on pizza, though. That's just a hot mess.

I don't even think that if I don't have the right rice for a risotto, tradition will jump out of a remote corner of my kitchen and punish me. Oh dear...
He prepared it anyway and I will say good, but I know it can be better than that with the most suitable rice for risottos.
Tradition is knowledge, it provides you with information and means to access variations, and it is what tells you that preparing one food with an ingredient rather than another is better for this and that other reason. If you want to use another, nobody will stop you.

For me instead an area or country or region 'owns' a dish, it is a recognition precisely because that country has thought of it, reasoned, cooked it and sent it to the world. Freedom of variations on the theme? Sure. But maybe there are things that you don't know yet and it's nice to know. And maybe even useful.

Pineapple on pizza.....it exists?

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Borrowing from either Duke Ellington or Louis Armstrong (I can never remember which one), there are two kinds of food, the good kind and the other kind. If I'm in the mood for a risotto and I look in the cupboard and the only rice I have is a long grain rice, I'm going to use it and when I taste the finished dish, I'll either think it tastes good or it tastes bad. The last thing I'm going to think about is whether it's traditional or not.

I do agree with you. But, I sometimes find that I'm missing out on a better preparation (which might be the Traditional one) by using what's on-hand. There is a difference between the feel of risotto that's made with arborio rice and something that's made with a different grain. It doesn't mean that the one I made with farro is bad (it was delicious), but if I had never made a risotto with arborio, I wouldn't have known what I was missing.

 

[Morning Glory]

There is a difference between the feel of risotto that's made with arborio rice and something that's made with a different grain. It doesn't mean that the one I made with farro is bad (it was delicious), but if I had never made a risotto with arborio, I wouldn't have known what I was missing.

Yeah - I think that's spot on. It was sort of what I was trying to say. The different grains have different properties - so its important to try out the 'traditional' ingredients sometimes - simply because they are sometimes specific in character.

 

[TastyReuben]

but I know it can be better than that with the most suitable rice for risottos.

More suitable to your liking, yes. Better, not necessarily. "Better" is completely an individual taste. My wife likes her pasta cooked a bit past al dente- to her, that's "better," but most people would disagree.

Pineapple on pizza.....it exists?

Yes...ham and pineapple, otherwise known as Hawaiian pizza, but blame the Canadians. They invented it.

But, I sometimes find that I'm missing out on a better preparation (which might be the Traditional one)

Agreed, and it's equally important to experiment, because you might find something that you like even better. If I don't like risotto because it's too creamy, then I'll experiment and find a less creamy version, and then I'll have a risotto I like, and if someone says, "That's not really risotto," I'll beg to differ.

so its important to try out the 'traditional'

I definitely agree that it's absolutely fine to prepare things in a traditional manner, but preparing things a bit non-traditionally doesn't suddenly invalidate that dish - if you used your grandmother's risotto recipe, subbing in long-grain rice, it's still risotto.

 

[Morning Glory]

Yes...ham and pineapple, otherwise known as Hawaiian pizza, but blame the Canadians. They invented it.

Did they really? I didn't know that. Its become a legend - people either think its OK or think its not. But... I'm coming round to the idea that it could be OK. But not too much pineapple. Just a few delicate pieces to counterpoint the cheese and meaty bits (pepperoni for those who like that).

 

[TastyReuben]

@morning glory - for me, it's the pineapple that clashes with the tomato sauce. It tastes way off to me. Additionally, I don't really like hot fruit. Any kind of baked fruit dessert, I usually eat at room temperature.