Which food trends are you tired of?

[IglesiasPiggle]

Sriracha on everything. Enough already.

I don't understand this trend for putting biscuits on cakes, in brownies and in chocolate. I could understand it a bit more if it's incorporated into the brownie but often it's just stuck on top.

Burgers that require you to dislocate your jaw in the manner of a python, in order to eat them. I don't have a delicate appetite. I like a good sized burger but some are so ridiculously huge and have so many toppings that you practically need a forklift to get it to your mouth.

What food trends don't you understand?

I am always aghast at the labels on plant based foods. The meat substitutes, all the highly proccessed stuff that is smooshed up and make to look like ham or kebab meat or cottage pie.
The list of ingredients is often eyewatering- all the leftover shit seems to go ino them.
I don't eat much meat, but prefer to eat simple stuff like chick peas and actually cook, than eat all the vegan crap that is sold.

The vegan but dairy-containing pizza in the freefrom section isn't an entirely theoretical risk, either — this child with a dairy allergy died because his dad picked him up a chocolate bar from the freefrom section and didn't check the label, assuming it was there because it was dairy free when it was actually just gluten-free (which doesn't usually justify including in the freefrom section — lots of brands of chocolate are gluten free). I mean, yes, you should be checking labels scrupulously all the time, but people make mistakes, people can be in a hurry, and when you put an item in the freefrom section people will make assumptions based on their experience as to why it's there. For the pizza, vegan implies no milk, it's among the GF and/or DF pizzas, so someone unfamiliar or in a rush could easily fuck up.

That is awful that a child died but if your child has an allergy so severe it could kill them you should be checking the labels scrupulously - the shop hasn’t done anything wrong there, many things in the free from aisle will contain different allergens.

For example, they’ll have stuff which is dairy free for those who are intolerant but it may contain egg. So someone allergic to egg should check the label and not presume something in the free from aisle will automatically be free if egg.

I believe a similar thing happened at prêt or another sandwich shop, but they were in trouble as they had not included the allergen in the label.

Should should should. Kid's still dead, and putting a dairy-laced "vegan" pizza in the freefrom section risks similar slipups. I'm just pointing out how people can mess up sometimes so it's as well not to do things that make it more likely.

Yes, the child is dead, but usually what would come out of that situation (like at the sandwich shop, or McDonald’s ‘hot coffee’) is that the brand would be encouraged or forced to change their labelling to make it clear to customers that their product contains allergens.

This was already done in this case. They literally couldn’t have done anything more, unless they change perhaps to have a specific ‘dairy free’ section, rather than simply free from.

I'm not saying Morrisons did anything wrong in that specific case. I'm using that case as an example of how people can slip up when it comes to checking labels, because of an assumption about what qualifies something to be in the freefrom section, and how that tendency to relax when it comes to food in the freefrom section could mean people make the wrong assumptions about the "vegan" pizza, which isn't actually "free from" the problematic ingredients people might normally expect to be in a pizza and are shopping in the freefrom section to avoid (gluten, wheat, dairy proteins — well, I suppose it counts as lactose-free).

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

I might come across as grumpy, but pretty much everything.

Food has turned into a spectator sport and a show of activity. I think it's obscene now, when we are nearing a environmental catastrophe to have all the wasteful cookery programmes and the endless cook books and magazines and to be chasing the newest, most exotic ingredient.

We need to step back and go back to a more utilitarian view on food, I think.

Agreed. Cheese in particular has a surprisingly high carbon footprint - higher than pork or chicken www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/is-dairy-or-meat-worse-for-the-environment-b1891387.html

@gogohm

Not a modern trend but can we have egg free breakfasts please? I'm a meat eater and I love avocados too but I hate eggs, well specifically egg white with a passion, and I've been told twice this week alone (I'm on a road trip holiday up in Scotland) that they couldn't vary the breakfast to not include egg (surely it saves them money!!!)

I second this!

Why are all you people eating processed vegan foods if you don’t like it? There are plenty of less processed alternatives, like Bol or Soulful brand ready meals, or the classic vegan meal of side salad and chips in a restaurant.

I actually quite often had chips and a side salad when we used to go out regularly especially for lunch I really like it as a little meal!

I don't think the less processed vegan things are on the menu very much when going out for a mixed meal if you see what I mean- it used to feel to me like pub menus were 60% meat, 30% fish/seafood and then 10% veggie, kind of thing, now it seems more like 50/30/and the other 20% is a vegan easy options for the chef which is most often something processed. I've obviously not counted that up to be accurate but as someone who quite often chooses veggie simply because I like it (cheese is the ultimate ingredient, in my opinion) and I'm fussy about meat, and would happily eat a proper 'old fashioned' vegan curry or chilli or other veg and carb combo dish (but not a processed/pretend meat thing, yuck) I can see where people are coming from with this issue.

Nuts in everything! I used to be able to buy crepes out and about for my daughter but not now, they all do a nutella filled one. Pizzas...now with dessert pizza with nutella Surely chocolate sauce would be acceptable?
Sprinkles of nuts as garnish...why???
Vegetarian alternative to a roast? Nut roast! Means we usually can't eat there. Nuts on planes etc etc, there are alternatives but rarely used.

@PattyPan

Why are all you people eating processed vegan foods if you don’t like it? There are plenty of less processed alternatives, like Bol or Soulful brand ready meals, or the classic vegan meal of side salad and chips in a restaurant.

There really isn't, that's the whole point. Most restaurants have replaced healthy clean vegetarian options to unhealthy junk/processed vegan food options.

@PattyPan

Why are all you people eating processed vegan foods if you don’t like it? There are plenty of less processed alternatives, like Bol or Soulful brand ready meals, or the classic vegan meal of side salad and chips in a restaurant.

The fact you mention ready meals and chips shows the issue, both are horrible for you.

@Shelddd clearly you are not familiar with the brands I mentioned - they just use normal ingredients you’d use in your kitchen, but the point was even in the realm of processed foods there are healthy vegan options. It’s really not that hard to find vegan options which are not meat alternatives/junk food - I’ve recently been on holiday in the U.K. so eaten out more than usual and managed to find lentil cottage pie, vegetable Thai curry, a bean burger (not meat alternative) and various salads in standard restaurants and pubs, plus was catered for in Indian and Chinese restaurants. So if you don’t like meat alternatives just don’t eat them 🤷‍♀️
(Also lol that the previous options - invariably goats cheese tart/mushroom risotto would be healthier anyway!)

I can eat anything, really, but avoid if possible:
Chocolate in cereals, Roll Mops, and Bagels. Also cold or tepid food that should be hot.

Cauliflower steak
Tomato ceviche

Wtf

Restaurants desserts which are so passe now.

Sticky toffee pudding
Chocolate brownies
Ice creams

I glance through and usually go for the cheeseboard

I'm vegetarian for ethical reasons, so have not problem with the vegan 'trend', but it irritates me that lots of restaurants that had started to do some pretty decent vegetarian options have replaced them with generic 'plant based' and vegan fakes of the meat options- without actually giving any indication of what you are actually getting. Eg. 'plant based burger'- could be soya based, could be beans/pulses, could be seitan, could just be a bread-crumb coated mush of potato and frozen veg. No meat eater would be keen on a 'generic meat' burger.

Plus I am allergic to one of the ingredients commonly used on vegan fake cheese/mayo/burgers/bacon etc so a meal out is now a bit like russian roulette- there's about a 70% chance I will get the squits half way through. My food choices when eating out seem to have gone back to how they were in the 80s when it was an omelette or a salad if you were lucky

@ClumpingBambooIsALie

The vegan but dairy-containing pizza in the freefrom section isn't an entirely theoretical risk, either — this child with a dairy allergy died because his dad picked him up a chocolate bar from the freefrom section and didn't check the label, assuming it was there because it was dairy free when it was actually just gluten-free (which doesn't usually justify including in the freefrom section — lots of brands of chocolate are gluten free). I mean, yes, you should be checking labels scrupulously all the time, but people make mistakes, people can be in a hurry, and when you put an item in the freefrom section people will make assumptions based on their experience as to why it's there. For the pizza, vegan implies no milk, it's among the GF and/or DF pizzas, so someone unfamiliar or in a rush could easily fuck up.

And there's always the possibility that someone decided they didn't want an ordinary chocolate bar and just dumped it in the free-from section.

I'll be quite happy to see the end of the GIN(!) obsession. There are other, less repulsive, spirits out there

If you don't like it, just don't drink it! I felt like that about vodka in the early to mid 90s. Tastes of nothing so I drank gin instead.

@gleegeek totally feel your pain, we are a family of 4 vegetarians, 3 are diagnosed coeliac, 1 has a nut allergy and is also sensitive to oats in gf food, 1 had a life threatening allergy to shellfish and is also oat sensitive

Trying to eat out is a nightmare at the best of times, even takeaways are difficult, I mainly cook from scratch but occasionally would like to have pre bought food however as many have found our go to coeliac foods have been bastardised for the bloody vegans and we’ve lost vital protein groups from foods that were developed for people like us

Vegetarian food isn’t usually put in the free from section so why do they insist on putting the vegan stuff there, it causes all sorts of confusion unnecessarily

Vegetarian food isn’t usually put in the free from section so why do they insist on putting the vegan stuff there, it causes all sorts of confusion unnecessarily

Because Vegetarian food is usually not egg and dairy free but vegan food certainly will be, which means that it's safe for many people with dairy and/or egg allergies.

@justasking111

Restaurants desserts which are so passe now.

Sticky toffee pudding
Chocolate brownies
Ice creams

I glance through and usually go for the cheeseboard

How is sticky toffee pudding or ice cream passé? What do you think should be on dessert menus?

@HoldingTheDoor some vegetarian products are gluten free, they’re still not in the free from section it’s the same difference, vegan products are not often safe for me but still get put in my section so it’s double standards