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Pedants' corner

Has there ever been a food pedanrty thread in here before?

221 replies

StNiChaolas · 17/12/2012 09:19

Inspired by Morrison's claim that vegetarians should spice up their Christmas dinner with a Naice 3 Fish Roast from their Fishminger.

Hmm

Tomatoes and cucumber arre fruit.

Roobarb is a dog.

Okra is bleurgh.

You must eat a doughnut without lickling your lips.

Aspargus and cutlery are not friends.

Marathons were far superior to Snickers.

OP posts:
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BIWIshYouAMerryChristmas · 19/12/2012 19:17

I agree, booge. English mustard is a wonderful, irreplaceable condiment.

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HazeltheMcWitch · 19/12/2012 15:19

I hereby maintain that whether a tomato is a fruit or vegetable, or one masquerading as the other, once in a domestic setting it has No Place within a refrigerator.

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booge · 19/12/2012 15:13

Why has no one defended English Mustard, I can't eat a sausage or ham sandwich without it. It's the only thing.

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nickelbabylyinginamanger · 19/12/2012 14:20

aham.

The botanical definition of a fruit is an organ that contains seeds, protecting these as they develop and often aiding in their dispersal. This may be at odds with everyday usage of the word "fruit." Botanically, pineapples, oranges, and apples are fruits, but so too are "vegetables" like tomatoes and cucumbers. The pods that contain peas and beans are fruits, as are the dry, inedible structures that bear the seeds of many wild plants.

Read more: www.biologyreference.com/Fo-Gr/Fruits.html#ixzz2FVX14gj1

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Toughasoldboots · 19/12/2012 14:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

GrimmaTheNome · 19/12/2012 14:15

tomatoes are fruit not veg
and in case that's not clear, tomatoes are botanically fruit but colloquially/in culinary terms vegetables. So its scientificall correct to say they are fruit but incorrect to say therefore they are not veg. Logic fail.

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GrimmaTheNome · 19/12/2012 14:13

But there is no botanic definition for a vegetable! It is a purely culinary term. And people spout that shit about tomatoes being fruits as though they are scientific genii (sp).

But there is a botanic definition of a fruit. Problem that the word fruit is used loosely to mean 'sweet edible plant thing' and vegetable is 'savory edible plant thing' (more or less). So I think its as inaccurate to say 'There is no botanic difference between a fruit and a vegetable' as to say that tomatoes are fruit not veg.

Now, this being a pedantry thread, we have to query 'scientific genii'. Is that a genie who emerges from an electric lamp? Grin Using latin plurals wrongly looks a bit thick

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mum2twoloudbabies · 19/12/2012 14:11

Now I understand the mince rinsing

amberleaf with you on the gravy have never used gravy browning but always wondered what on earth it was for because my gravy is perfectly good without it.

ethelb Xmas Confused and I am f*confused

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nickelbabylyinginamanger · 19/12/2012 13:53

Xmas Grin

poor chaolas. Xmas Sad

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LadyClariceCannockMonty · 19/12/2012 13:43

ethelb, sorry, I don't get the olives/basil thing ...

[slow on uptake]

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StNiChaolas · 19/12/2012 13:13

Comma.

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StNiChaolas · 19/12/2012 13:12

And a Happy New Year to you, too ethelb.

Smile

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ethelb · 19/12/2012 11:44

@ladyclarice that reminds me of the time I was sold olives in basil paste. With garlic.

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HaveYourselfAMardyLittleXmas · 19/12/2012 11:42

Still no need to call someone thick even if it is Chaos. Just make your point without being snippy.

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ethelb · 19/12/2012 11:41

But there is no botanic definition for a vegetable! It is a purely culinary term. And people spout that shit about tomatoes being fruits as though they are scientific genii (sp).

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HaveYourselfAMardyLittleXmas · 19/12/2012 11:41

Don't hold back ethel Xmas Confused It's a light-hearted thread.

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TunipTheVegedude · 19/12/2012 11:37

My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires, and more slow

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GrimmaTheNome · 19/12/2012 11:29

There is no botanic difference between a fruit and a vegetable

There can be. Some vegetables are not fruits. Some are roots, tubers, stalks. In the case of rhubarb, we have a 'fruit' that isn't a fruit. Grin

I don't think Americans really understand cheese to be honest
Very few do. We lived there and found a deli which had a Stilton. I'm pretty sure we were the only people who ever had any of it before it got totally past it (but still sadly on display).

I was always rather worried by the pizze etc claiming to be topped with '100% real cheese' ... or rather, by those without this wording, WTF was the yellowish rubbery stuff on them? Confused

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ethelb · 19/12/2012 11:14

"Tomatoes and cucumber arre fruit."

Do you know how thick this one makes you sound?

There is no botanic difference between a fruit and a vegetable.

Yes they are fruit (as well as vegetables) but why stop there?

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LadyClariceCannockMonty · 19/12/2012 11:09

You're right, Fellatio.

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Toughasoldboots · 19/12/2012 10:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

FellatioNelson · 19/12/2012 10:59

I don't think Americans really understand cheese to be honest. Grin

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AmberLeaf · 19/12/2012 10:57

Browning liquid is nasty bitter stuff, I can always taste if its in something.

For gravy I use a cornflour paste at the end. My best gravy is made with a mix of vegetable cooking water, meat juices, onion and a bit of 'this and that' [seasonings depending on what Im cooking]

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AmberLeaf · 19/12/2012 10:51

I think the mince rinsing came about from a misunderstanding

If you put cold water into mince, the fat on top will harden and its easier to remove it.

I saw a friend rinse mince with hot water, she said she was getting rid of the fat, I told her she was also getting rid of the flavoursome juices too!

Personally I try to use the best quality mince I can [lean steak mince] and let it cool then pick the fat off once its cold.

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LadyClariceCannockMonty · 19/12/2012 10:36

'only available in French' is really making me giggle, for some reason. Grin

Mardy, there was indeed a mince-rinsing thread, and does that sound like a dreadful euphemism or what?

At the end of dinner in a restaurant in New York once I asked the waiter what the cheese in my salad was, as I'd really liked it. Response: 'Blue cheese.' Me (Englishly): 'Yes, but ? sorry ? what sort of blue cheese?'. Waiter (slowly, with a supercilious mini-smile, as if to a simpleton): 'Bl-u-u-ue cheese. It's blue cheese.'

Wanker.

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