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Closed Food: The most overrated and over-praised food

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Jeanh

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For Chinese food, to me it has to be You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. and You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., as they are in essence expensive cartilage and bird spit with little taste to themselves. The taste come mostly from the broths, which you can get at a fraction of the price. AFAIK, their claim to medicinal properties are not supported by credible and statistically controlled evidence.

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shark fin soup, aka expensive cartilege

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Swallow nest soup, aka processed bird spit.

For general western food, I'd nominate You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. and You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., for the former are fatty bird livers that would probably shoot your cholesterol over the roof, and the latter are preserved fish eggs that taste mostly salty.

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Foie gras, aka fatty bird liver.

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Caviar, aka expensive preserved fish eggs



Kobe Beef.
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A brief introduction: Kobe Beef is considered by many to the very best cut of meat in the world. If you compare it meat ratings in the US it ranks two grades higher than Prime - Platinum.

In order for a cut to be classed as Kobe, it must adhere to many strict factors:

  • Must be of pure Tajima-gyu lineage.
  • Must have been born and raised in Hyōgo Prefecture.
  • It must be a steer (castrated bull) or ****** cow.
  • It must have only been fed grains and grasses from within the Prefecture.
  • It must have been processed in approved slaughterhouses within the Prefecture.
  • It must have a fat marbling ratio (called BMS) of level 6 or above.
  • It must have a Meat Quality Score of A-4 or A-5 (the top grades).
  • The animal’s gross carcass weight must be 470kg or less.
  • Must be assigned a 10-digit ID number so that its authenticity can be traced back to the individual cow it came from.

But that’s not all.

  • Each cow is given beer in the summer months. This stimulates their appetite when the temperature and humidity depresses feed intake.
  • They are massaged and brushed with the rice wine Sake, which relieves stress and reduces muscle tension. It’s believed brushing the cow makes its skin softer and thus relates to superior meat quality.
  • Around feeding time, classical music is played. This is also used as a relaxation technique as well as conditioning them to associate music with food to increase appetite.
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In a literal sense, this surely makes them the most over-praised food in the world.

All of this is used to extenuate the marbled texture of the meat. It’s this marbling that creates the wallet-opening great taste.
The fat in Kobe beef quite literally melts in your mouth (or at around 17 degrees Celsius). That’s it. That’s the end result of all that provenance and pompous pampering. I’m not sure it’s worth it for something so fleeting.

None of these techniques have actually been proven to improve the flavour or texture, but it definitely helps to push the price and increase demand.

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Speaking of worth, the EU ban on Japanese meat imports has recently been lifted so there’s a few restaurants in London serving Kobe. One kilo (enough to feed five people) comes in at £1000. This turns out to be more expensive than a return flight to Japan (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.) and eating it there (You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.).


 
Dear @Jeanh,

Since 2 years have passed since the last reply in this thread, I am locking it to prevent necroposting. Feel free to start a new thread or contact any forum staff if you want this to be reopened.

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