Steven James Forsberg > wrote in message >...
> : It's a pleasant diversion from the fact that yesterday's Salisbury
> : steak is today's beef-and-barley soup. By the way, how come the
> : Merchant Marine only permits barley to be served in soup, never as a
> : vegetable?!? They serve white rice three times a day, every day
> : (hint: former US colony); but barley, which tastes ten times better
> : and is healthier, is taboo.
>
> Raised on a farm in the true American style, I was amazed to find
> upon joining the Navy that they served rice with every meal. In my youth
> any rice on the table qualified as a (rare) "Chinese" dinner. Likewise such
> exotic dishes as fried Okra. Side dishes other than some form of potato?
> Incredible!
> And what congressman did the folks at the "Trappey's Bull" hot sauce
> company pay off to get that contract? There may be no salt and pepper shaker
> at your table, but there were always multiple bottles of hot sauce...
>
> : I'm surprised that the congressional delegation from North Dakota
>
> I don't know all the details, but aren't there periodic spats about
> the government requiring 'real' butter, no low cal/fat substitutes? Even
> the Israelis had trouble matching the dairy lobby where I grew up... IIRC
> local schoola are *prohibited* from even offering cows milk substitutes
> (like soy milk), I wonder if the navy is the same...
>
> When it's all said and done, however, perhaps the most telling
> statistic about Navy chow is that 16% of people in uniform are 'obese' by
> body fat standards. (that from the most recent 'Navy Times'). The Navy
> is trying to get people to eat healthier, etc. Geeze, after going to all
> that trouble getting McDs and BK on base..... :-)
>
>

Clue: potatoes are bulky, rice is not. I used to wonder why hominy is
the rare product and grits the common?

hominy

hominy [Algonquian], hulled corn with the germ removed and served
either ground or whole. The pioneers in North America prepared it by
soaking the kernels in weak wood lye until the hulls floated to the
top. Hominy is boiled until tender and served as a vegetable. Hominy
grits (hominy ground into small grains) are boiled and served as a
vegetable or as a cereal, or they may be shaped into patties and
fried; they are especially popular in the S United States. Samp is a
type of coarse hominy.

grits
Pronunciation: (grits), [key]
—n. (used with a sing. or pl. v.)
1. Also called hominy grits. coarsely ground hominy, boiled and
sometimes then fried, eaten as a breakfast dish or as a side dish with
meats.
2. grain hulled and coarsely ground.