"Julia Altshuler" > wrote in message
...

> We have "tres cornichons" pates.

Is this a brand name? I'm curious about what's in them, as pates and
terrines can be made from just about anything.

> Of all the items in the store, I like most of them,
> or, if I don't care for it, one of the other sales clerks
> does. The exception is pate. None of us can stand
> it. We don't even like the smell.

It simply may not be very good pate. I'd say that, without trying
some others, don't give up on the idea of pate altogether.


> This got us thinking about other fancy gourmet items.
> I enjoy many types of seafood but not cavier which
> I think is slimy, salty and fishy.

In my experience, *good* caviar (and by "good" I mean good quality,
which doesn't have to be the best sturgeon) is not slimy, overly salty
or overly fishy, but rather fresh, bright and slightly briny. We not
infrequently have ... err, I think it's cod roe -- I can't remember
the right Danish word, which in turn would give me the right English
word -- for dinner. Small -- much smaller than salmon roe (which is
nice too) -- bright orange eggs, spooned onto warm toast with a
sprinkling of chopped red onion and a dollop of creme fraiche. With a
glass of good, crisp white wine, and that's a very nice meal indeed.

> I wouldn't go near fois gras.

Is it the liver thing or an ethical/political statement? Further
reading is encouraged:
http://www.worldtable.com/foiegras.html -- especially the sidebar
http://www.ariege.com/gastronomie/foiegras/eng.html -- especially the
last paragraph

I have no ethical issues with eating foie gras when the duck or goose
has been allowed free movement during the rather short force-feeding
period. And the fact that the birds will freely come to the feeders
speaks volumes to me.

As a foodstuff, foie gras is really something special. To me, at
least, it doesn't have an overtly "liver" flavor, and when properly
prepared has a gorgeous texture. Paired with a good glass of
Sauternes or other sweet wine (not to be confused with a dessert
wine), it's simply glorious.

> Personally, I don't like olives, but others do.

I love olives which are crisp to the bite, but can't stand mushy ones,
regardless of how good the flavor.

> I do like saffron which is expensive,

It is, rather. I'm not as fond of saffron as I had hoped to be. I
recently made a potato dish in which the potatoes were cooked in
chicken stock highly flavored with saffron. The taste was okay, but
the nose was ... just wrong. *shrug* I'll give it another go when I
finally get 'round to making paella, and that will probably sort it
out, one way or the other, for me. Put me firmly in the "maybe"
column with paella.

> and I'm learning about wines and slowly starting to think
> I can tell the difference between the good stuff and the
> cheap stuff.

I think it's useful to make a distinction between good wine and bad
versus expensive wine and cheap wine. Some inexpensive wine is quite
drinkable -- which is good, if you want to drink wine on a daily
basis. And some expensive wine is crap.

And how ridiculous to spend a lot of money on a special vintage wine
if you're not going to serve food worthy of it. Food and wine pairing
is an art, one that I have only just begun to play around with. I
usually defer to my husband, who's a fair bit more knowledgeable about
wine than I am; when we're out with certain of his friends/colleagues,
he'll defer to them or not, depending on their wine knowledge (a few
of our friends are proven oenophiles -- it's always a treat to share
meals with them).

> Most of us like the blue cheeses though there's
> a preference for the milder ones as opposed to
> the strong, wet authentic ones from Roquefort.

A strong cheese, carefully paired with fruit, nuts, wine, etc., can be
a joy. Sometimes they're just too overwhelming on their own. Cheese
is a beautiful way to end a meal, though.

> So what's the deal with fancy French gourmet
> items?

*shrug* Dunno. I don't buy things because they're "fancy," "French,"
"gourmet" or any combination thereof. I buy various foods because
they please me (and those I cook for, if I'm cooking).

> The people who like them love them and come
> into our store just for them and rave about how
> wonderful it is to find a store that carries them.
> Yuck.

??? "Yuck" because people are happy they've found a shop which sells
things they like? Or "yuck" because they come across as trendy
poseurs who don't know any better?

> Those of you who enjoy pate and cavier and fois gras,
> what is it about the foods that you like? Can you describe
> them in a way that will make the rest of us understand?

No, I probably can't, although I've written rather a lot above (which
is what happens when you get me pre-coffee -- I'm just hoping I'm
comprehensible this morning).

But the best thing is that no law says you have to like everything.
Eat the things you do like, be bold when trying new things and don't
be afraid to say you don't like something (of course, tact is
sometimes called for, but that's an easy enough skill to acquire).
Life's too short to eat things you don't like.
-j

jacqui{JB} wrote:

>>The people who like them love them and come
>>into our store just for them and rave about how
>>wonderful it is to find a store that carries them.
>>Yuck.
>
>
> ??? "Yuck" because people are happy they've found a shop which sells
> things they like? Or "yuck" because they come across as trendy
> poseurs who don't know any better?


Yuck to the cavier, pate and fois gras, not the people who like them and
come to our store (nearly all of whom are people I rather like and the
few that I don't are so outrageous that the staff has a great time
talking about them afterwards).


I'll supply more answers to all these good responses to my original post
later when I've got more computer time. For now, thanks to all who wrote.


--Lia

In my view , we grow up eating bland easy to like foods but as we grow
older we need something more stimulating for our taste buds.. That's where
we turn.
Some go sweet, some bitter, some salty, ect.. It's a bit like Sex I suppose.

Peter


"jacqui{JB}" > wrote in message
...
> "Julia Altshuler" > wrote in message
> ...
>
> > We have "tres cornichons" pates.
>
> Is this a brand name? I'm curious about what's in them, as pates and
> terrines can be made from just about anything.
>
> > Of all the items in the store, I like most of them,
> > or, if I don't care for it, one of the other sales clerks
> > does. The exception is pate. None of us can stand
> > it. We don't even like the smell.
>
> It simply may not be very good pate. I'd say that, without trying
> some others, don't give up on the idea of pate altogether.
>
>
> > This got us thinking about other fancy gourmet items.
> > I enjoy many types of seafood but not cavier which
> > I think is slimy, salty and fishy.
>
> In my experience, *good* caviar (and by "good" I mean good quality,
> which doesn't have to be the best sturgeon) is not slimy, overly salty
> or overly fishy, but rather fresh, bright and slightly briny. We not
> infrequently have ... err, I think it's cod roe -- I can't remember
> the right Danish word, which in turn would give me the right English
> word -- for dinner. Small -- much smaller than salmon roe (which is
> nice too) -- bright orange eggs, spooned onto warm toast with a
> sprinkling of chopped red onion and a dollop of creme fraiche. With a
> glass of good, crisp white wine, and that's a very nice meal indeed.
>
> > I wouldn't go near fois gras.
>
> Is it the liver thing or an ethical/political statement? Further
> reading is encouraged:
> http://www.worldtable.com/foiegras.html -- especially the sidebar
> http://www.ariege.com/gastronomie/foiegras/eng.html -- especially the
> last paragraph
>
> I have no ethical issues with eating foie gras when the duck or goose
> has been allowed free movement during the rather short force-feeding
> period. And the fact that the birds will freely come to the feeders
> speaks volumes to me.
>
> As a foodstuff, foie gras is really something special. To me, at
> least, it doesn't have an overtly "liver" flavor, and when properly
> prepared has a gorgeous texture. Paired with a good glass of
> Sauternes or other sweet wine (not to be confused with a dessert
> wine), it's simply glorious.
>
> > Personally, I don't like olives, but others do.
>
> I love olives which are crisp to the bite, but can't stand mushy ones,
> regardless of how good the flavor.
>
> > I do like saffron which is expensive,
>
> It is, rather. I'm not as fond of saffron as I had hoped to be. I
> recently made a potato dish in which the potatoes were cooked in
> chicken stock highly flavored with saffron. The taste was okay, but
> the nose was ... just wrong. *shrug* I'll give it another go when I
> finally get 'round to making paella, and that will probably sort it
> out, one way or the other, for me. Put me firmly in the "maybe"
> column with paella.
>
> > and I'm learning about wines and slowly starting to think
> > I can tell the difference between the good stuff and the
> > cheap stuff.
>
> I think it's useful to make a distinction between good wine and bad
> versus expensive wine and cheap wine. Some inexpensive wine is quite
> drinkable -- which is good, if you want to drink wine on a daily
> basis. And some expensive wine is crap.
>
> And how ridiculous to spend a lot of money on a special vintage wine
> if you're not going to serve food worthy of it. Food and wine pairing
> is an art, one that I have only just begun to play around with. I
> usually defer to my husband, who's a fair bit more knowledgeable about
> wine than I am; when we're out with certain of his friends/colleagues,
> he'll defer to them or not, depending on their wine knowledge (a few
> of our friends are proven oenophiles -- it's always a treat to share
> meals with them).
>
> > Most of us like the blue cheeses though there's
> > a preference for the milder ones as opposed to
> > the strong, wet authentic ones from Roquefort.
>
> A strong cheese, carefully paired with fruit, nuts, wine, etc., can be
> a joy. Sometimes they're just too overwhelming on their own. Cheese
> is a beautiful way to end a meal, though.
>
> > So what's the deal with fancy French gourmet
> > items?
>
> *shrug* Dunno. I don't buy things because they're "fancy," "French,"
> "gourmet" or any combination thereof. I buy various foods because
> they please me (and those I cook for, if I'm cooking).
>
> > The people who like them love them and come
> > into our store just for them and rave about how
> > wonderful it is to find a store that carries them.
> > Yuck.
>
> ??? "Yuck" because people are happy they've found a shop which sells
> things they like? Or "yuck" because they come across as trendy
> poseurs who don't know any better?
>
> > Those of you who enjoy pate and cavier and fois gras,
> > what is it about the foods that you like? Can you describe
> > them in a way that will make the rest of us understand?
>
> No, I probably can't, although I've written rather a lot above (which
> is what happens when you get me pre-coffee -- I'm just hoping I'm
> comprehensible this morning).
>
> But the best thing is that no law says you have to like everything.
> Eat the things you do like, be bold when trying new things and don't
> be afraid to say you don't like something (of course, tact is
> sometimes called for, but that's an easy enough skill to acquire).
> Life's too short to eat things you don't like.
> -j
>
>

"Peter Horsman" > wrote in message
...
> In my view , we grow up eating bland easy to like foods but as we grow
> older we need something more stimulating for our taste buds.. That's where
> we turn.
> Some go sweet, some bitter, some salty, ect.. It's a bit like Sex I
> suppose.
>
> Peter
>

As we grow up, we lose most of our taste buds. I suspect "bad" flavors like
bitterness become more palatable as we age just because they feel more
muted.

-T

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 08:09:46 +0100, "jacqui{JB}"
> wrote:

> "Julia Altshuler" > wrote in message
> ...
>
> > We have "tres cornichons" pates.
>
> Is this a brand name? I'm curious about what's in them, as pates and
> terrines can be made from just about anything.

It was a typo
http://www.3pigs.com/

sf

In article >, Julia Altshuler
> wrote:


> This got us thinking about other fancy gourmet items. I enjoy many
> types of seafood but not cavier which I think is slimy, salty and fishy.
> I wouldn't go near fois gras. Personally, I don't like olives, but
> others do. I do like saffron which is expensive, and I'm learning about
> wines and slowly starting to think I can tell the difference between the
> good stuff and the cheap stuff. Most of us like the blue cheeses though
> there's a preference for the milder ones as opposed to the strong, wet
> authentic ones from Roquefort.


You forgot snails! Do you sell them? Do you like them?

--
Dan Abel
Sonoma State University
AIS

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 18:52:54 -0500, Julia Altshuler
> wrote:

>So what's the deal with fancy French gourmet items? The people who like
>them love them and come into our store just for them and rave about how
>wonderful it is to find a store that carries them. Yuck. Those of you
>who enjoy pate and cavier and fois gras, what is it about the foods that
>you like? Can you describe them in a way that will make the rest of us
>understand?

I don't know why people would consider pate "fancy," as opposed to
liverwurst. :>

Simply put, if one likes liver, pate and liverwurst are probably easy.
I think all three are yummy, but too fattening to eat ad libitum. I
had seared foie gras once and enjoyed it, but wouldn't eat it again
because of the way the animals have to be treated.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 18:15:36 GMT, (Curly
Sue) wrote:

>Simply put, if one likes liver, pate and liverwurst are probably easy.
>I think all three are yummy, but too fattening to eat ad libitum. I
>had seared foie gras once and enjoyed it, but wouldn't eat it again
>because of the way the animals have to be treated.

Now, here's where "weird" kicks in: I love a good pate, but don't like
liver in any other form. Ever. Period. Blecchhh. My mother used to
cook liver and I hated it. Thank God, we always had a dog.

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA


"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

"Terry Pulliam Burd" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 18:15:36 GMT, (Curly
> Sue) wrote:
>
>>Simply put, if one likes liver, pate and liverwurst are probably easy.
>>I think all three are yummy, but too fattening to eat ad libitum. I
>>had seared foie gras once and enjoyed it, but wouldn't eat it again
>>because of the way the animals have to be treated.
>
> Now, here's where "weird" kicks in: I love a good pate, but don't like
> liver in any other form. Ever. Period. Blecchhh. My mother used to
> cook liver and I hated it. Thank God, we always had a dog.
>
> Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
> AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA

We're in the same boat, Terry. Pate is good eats but liver, as in liver and
onions, just doesn't work for me. I like the taste but the texture is just
awful! It's like chewing on a cotton ball. *bleh*

Bret



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Julia Altshuler wrote:
> A customer comes into the wine and cheese shop and asks for pate. We

> have "tres cornichons" pates. I ask her how much she wants, slice it

> for her, weigh it, etc. Of all the items in the store, I like most
of
> them, or, if I don't care for it, one of the other sales clerks does.

> The exception is pate. None of us can stand it. We don't even like
the
> smell.

<snip>

Seriously, I think people who like that stuff have altered taste buds
or olfactory nerves. They have to.

-L.