to think that those "friendship" cake things are disgusting?

[Helenagrace]

There's a craze in these parts for "friendship" cakes. For those blessed enough to be ignorant of this craze basically someone hands you a horrible, yeasty, festering culture which you grow in your kitchen for 10 days and then make into a cake. Before you make the cake you remove some of the culture and hand it on to other people.

Am I the only one who thinks this is just disgusting and finds the thought of eating something that has been growing in my kitchen for 10 days simply dreadful?

I seem to be offending loads of people by turning down their offers of cultures - the last one actually told me that this mixture was called Herman as it was alive (she is clearly insane).

I'm not BU am I???

We had a bit of Herman a few months ago, I thought it was fascinating. The cake was minging, tasted of vinegar for some reason.

We had a bit of Herman a few months ago, I thought it was fascinating. The cake was minging, tasted of vinegar for some reason.

Me, me kreecher I remember ginger beer plants. I don't remember drinking much ginger beer but I do remember the disgusting-looking foamy mess. I seem to remember exploding bottles too. Such fun!

I had a friendship cake starter when I was at school! Not called Herman though. It was delicious.

Have got Herman envy now. If anyone in London wants to share out their Herman with me I'd be delighted.

Anyone?

I was given a Herman - he tasted delicious!
I'm in the South West - 'Plimuff' to be precise.

I gave him away, and got another one back, the second one wasn't so good...

How funny - I read this thread yesterday, and then DD's friend arrived with a Herman mixture after school! We are currently nurturing him in our kitchen and DD is reading him stories . Every time I walk past saying "yum, looking forward to eating Herman" she give me a horrified look!

I was given a portion of starter about 15 years ago - it seemed weird but it actually worked and the cake was yummy. I don't actually remember if I handed it on though.

Not odd to not want to partake in a culinary chain letter. Pretty odd to think living food is disgusting, especially when it's cooked before you eat it. Are you vegetarian? And do you ever eat yoghurt or bread (yeast is alive, after all) or drink beer or wine? Potatoes sprout if left, as do most roots, and if you put a bunch of mint or watercress in water it will grow roots and new leaves. Food has a life before we eat it, and your cake won't be raw.

Thanks for strating this thread helengrace! I have now for years tried to find the Herman recipe again! It is the beste cake ever (in my memory at least!) Will get one started now!

OMG yanbu! Handing round blobs of old cake mix makes me heave.

I seem to recall one coming home once handed over with great reverence with tales of how far it had travelled. I chucked it out.

I started a ginger beer plant a few years back (before DC!) and for a glorious summer I had at any time a dozen 2 litre drinks bottle full of fizzing liquid, which I had to let the CO2 out of every morning or the bottles swelled up alarmingly!

DH was at the time making homebrew for a party, and was keeping an eye on the alcohol levels in his barrel. I got him to test the ginger beer. It was somewhat more lethal potent than the homebrew! (hic)

Needless to say it's another thing that's gone west since DS arrived. Heh.

I too remember the yeast cake starters from childhood, though I'm blowed if I can remember what we called them. It certainly wasn't Herman. My mum wasn't the baking kind, so we didn't get that sort of thing very often.

bottles

My husband read me the 90% bacteria fact from New Scientist yesterday, so they agree with oddboots.

I have been lovingly parenting a Herman for the last 10 days - given to me by my daughter. I really don't know who to give the sloppy starter to and would rather make four Herman's - can you freeze them??? I would then always have a friendship cake to hand when friends or family pop in for coffee - I'm cetain my nearest and dearest would prefer this!

You should move out of the 1970s into a different area, then these dilemmas would not confront you.

ah Herman again. I wouldn't bother with it personally, I don't have thepatience for festering cake mixes but people say it tastes good if you perservere

Festering for 10 days? I don't see the problem. I have stuff festering in my fridge that needs to go to the antiques roadshow.

I remember Herman from years ago - I'm sure my mum used to make them.

Does anyone else remember growing Kombucha though? It was a yeasty thing that, if I remember rightly, had magical health-giving properties and was like a mushroom that had 'babies' that you shared with your friends
Herman-style.

I remember Kombucha. You made tea out of it, I think. I never tried it though, one look at my friend's Kombucha was enough to put me off for life. Whole new ball game compared to Herman.

I remember Herman too from when I was at Primary School. As I recall it made a dull, brown, rank tasting cake. The kind you'd get in a not very good health food shop.

This post made me laugh so much! DD2 was given one on Thursday, a day after her first day at secondary school. My initial thoughts were of disgust, but like some others have said anyone that can be bothered to make it must have basic hygiene skills - surely??? Anyhow, the wooden spoon is in the bowl and I don't have to do anything apart from stir until tomorrow. Actually, I thought it lovely that two girls walking home together after one day at a new school together should feel comfortable about offering and accepting a chinese takeaway container of blistering goo.

An aside about hygiene. Yesterday 29 Y1 hands went into making bread in our classroom. How many parents would refuse to try even a little bit of what they had baked? I know I couldn't, no matter how much I tried not to think about it.

Sorry, that should have been 29 pairs of Y1 hands ....

Celia Rivenbark wrote a hilarious essay on Amish Friendship Bread...something about taking it into the woods to be shot or something.

I can't find it to link, unfortunately.

Hi I am new here and not really sure what I'm doing ? I came on coz I have been given a herman cake and like Helenagrace , I am a bit freaked out by the whole thing . I have no problem whatsoever with how old the dough is , my main concern is how many grotty kitchens it may have been in and how many grubby kids fingers may have had a poke !!!!! x

We always have a sourdough starter mix in our fridge - the initial mix was given to my dh by a baker on a breadmaking course about 6 months ago and we've regularly given folk a bit to start their own mix and added a bit more flour and water to ours so we don't run out.