Ask Lemmy

So many people hate vegetables because they were raised on bland and over cooked soggy plant matter.

Roasted veggies are so fucking good.

Like... all hot food?

Yeah I hate the pearls, my wife loves them.

Black cofee can be really great from a good place. Mink Cafe was the best black coffee I've had, where milk took away from it.

Bitterness in coffee comes from overextraction, acidity in coffee often comes from underextraction.

On top of that darker roasts tend to be more bitter, and lighter roasts tend to be more acidic.

The main problem is usually the wrong grind size and brew method.

Grinding the coffee too coarsely makes it hard to extract flavours, leading to underextraction (sourness). Grinding too finely makes it easier to extract flavours (both desirable and undesirable) leading to overextraction (bitterness)

Regular coffee makers, pour over, and espresso are all percolation brews. That means that the water flows through the coffee and extracts flavours while it does these kinds of brews can develop channels while the water flows through, which causes the water to overextract the coffee where the channel is, but underextract the rest of the coffee, which can lead to a brew that is at the same time sour (underextracted) and bitter (overextracted)

The other general method of brewing is immersion brewing. This is where the coffee and the water hangs around for a while during the brew, and is then strained away from each other. Good examples are French press, aeropress, siphon, and cold brew. Since these methods can't really develop channels, you don't have the same problem with over and underextraction, and therefore these methods are also much easier to "get right".

So if you want an easy method too get better tasting coffee, try a French press, and be careful grinding too finely. If there's a layer of silt at the bottom of your cup you are grinding too finely. Pregroud coffee is usually too fine for French press.

I had a similar journey.. adding a splash of coffee to my cream and sugar slurry 😂

What did it for me was experimenting with different beans, brewing methods, and grinding fineness/coarseness before finding a combo that tasted rather sweet on its own.

My new problem is that I don't enjoy coffee made elsewhere clownface.jpg

What kind of coffee are you drinking? See if there's a local brand or cafe to try. Some coffee brands are usually much worse when they don't have additives to hide the flavor (ex, Starbucks)

Try doing lattes then americano's with cream, then drop the cream. If you can do americano's it's a baby step above black coffee, and when you get a black coffee just accept that it's shittier than an Americano, but OK more or less.

I worked at a health food store in college. I thought the people who drank that stuff were nuts til enough vendors came by with free samples. Free shit to a college kid is irresistible. By the time I quit that job I was drinking 1 a day, sometimes more. Additionally, I preferred the weird multi green one to the fruity ones (those were for noobs obviously). I still grab one from time to time, but them not being 5 feet away from me 40 hours a week put a real damper on my consumption of them.

Blue cheese is best as an addition to something else, like on a burger or salad. By itself or on a cracker it can be very overwhelming because of the strong flavor.

If you tried it those kinds of ways then it might not be your thing.

The first time I tried gorgonzola was on a buffalo chicken pizza at the pizza place I used to work at. They used franks wing sauce for the chicken. The vinagery spice mixed with the creamy funk of the gorgonzola is amazing to my taste buds. (Which is weird because I am generally a picky eater and it sounds like something I would hate) So maybe try it with chicken wings or on a buffalo chicken pizza.

Same here. I'm not a very picky eater at all, but I can't seem to eat blue cheese and it's not for lack of trying.

Not that you *have * to succeed — but have you tried it with honey and apples?

The cheese curds in poutine must squeek when you bite down.

I still barely fuck with raw onions, but grilled onions are great, and were the gateway drug to my appreciation for Onions in general. When I was a kid, I'd pick them out of everything. Had a burger unknowingly with grilled onions. Shit changed my life. Started to appreciate the flavor and even incorporate it into my cooking. Now, most things I cook have onions in them in some way, shape or form.

A squeaky onion is an undercooked onion imo, same for celery and carrots. I give those vegetables a big headstart on everything else. They're basically impossible to overcook and their best flavors come out when they're soft through and through.

Onions can have all kinds of textures and tastes depending on the type, condition and cooking method you use. Try raw red onions in a salad or caramelized for half an hour to put on a burger. Also I suggest removing the first layer (after the skin) as it's often tougher than the rest.

Funnily enough, Guinness was the first beer I ever liked, and I liked it first try. I greatly dislike most other beers. Which makes sense to me, given that most people who like other beers can’t stand Guinness.

Coffee is another example I could go into actually. Did not like it the first time I tried it. "Acquired" a taste for it too, given my grandmother owned a café that I'd eventually work in, lol. That was fairly easy.

But I also eventually tried to acquire a taste for black coffee too. Succeeded in the sense I can have it and don't hate it, but failed in the sense that I now know I vastly prefer my coffee with a bit of sugar a lot of cream.

Still, was informative. (I'm a 'texture' kind of person more than flavour and I like that creamy texture.)

Most days now I mix instant coffee with hot chocolate and cream in the mornings for a pseudo-mocha that's quick and easy. Can't be arsed to brew it. (Most days.)

Same, beer. Although once I took to it, it became my favorite. I decided I was going to learn to like it for social reasons; if you're going to bars, it's just easier and more economical to get some beer on draft. So I attended a monthly beer tour at a local brewery that also owned a restaurant. They toured their brewery, gave samples of all their beers along with whatever seasonals they were making. Then they did appetizers with beer pairings that they loved that may not have been their own. At some point, a flip just switched and I learned to love it, and not just as an easy cheap choice when going out.

It actually turned out to be my favourite form of liquor now.

Never would've guessed I'd turn into a bit of a beer snob given that first ridiculous spit-take, but here I am craving witbeirs, hefeweizens, wheat ales, lambics, refermented, Trappist, or my biggest weakness, particularly good sour beers like tart fruit or a Flanders red or even a dark sour that's one of the best beers I've ever had. (Commensurately has one of the best beer labels I've ever seen.)

Gotta drink something

Nah

Do you like bands that you need to acquire the ability to read their names on event posters?

I'm into hardcore and metalcore mainly. I started listening as a kid a bit ironically: it was loud, offensive sounding, and I was an idiot who sometimes sought attention. Fast forward and I really fell in love with it. I like screaming, although not all screaming. But Josh Scogin and Keith Buckley kinda opened the doors for me, and they were two of the best for sure.