Useless Conversation

[Paelos]

Saw it on bizarre foods on the travel channel. It was one of the things the host refused to keep eating. The guy eats brains, bugs, heads, dirt, and animal dicks, but durian fruit was a no-go.

Supposedly it has the lovely aroma of rotted onions stewed in sewage.

[NowhereMan]

It's one of those things I keep meaning to try (it's also called Jack fruit btw). The aroma is horrible but supposedly quite a pleasant, creamy texture and taste. I do know that you tend to notice when it's in season in South East Asia.

[Mosesandstick]

Jackfruit and durian are different nowhereman, they look similar on the outside but the flesh is completely different. Durian has an overpowering smell and can be quit repulsive (but I love it), but jackfruit is generally very pleasant and usually sweet and nice.

[NowhereMan]

themoreyouknow.jpg

I've only ever seen pics of jackfruit and assumed they were the same thing.

[Sand]

Jackfruit and durian are different nowhereman, they look similar on the outside but the flesh is completely different. Durian has an overpowering smell and can be quit repulsive (but I love it), but jackfruit is generally very pleasant and usually sweet and nice.

Question. Ive always been told that smell and taste are very closely linked. Hence not having much taste when you have a cold.
So how is it this fruit tastes good while smelling like sewage? Ive always been curious about that.

[Nebu]

Question. Ive always been told that smell and taste are very closely linked. Hence not having much taste when you have a cold.
So how is it this fruit tastes good while smelling like sewage? Ive always been curious about that.

Sometimes the volatile components are different from the soluble ones. 

[Sand]

Question. Ive always been told that smell and taste are very closely linked. Hence not having much taste when you have a cold.
So how is it this fruit tastes good while smelling like sewage? Ive always been curious about that.

Sometimes the volatile components are different from the soluble ones. 

I dont know what that means.
I am going to completely guess it means that there are specific taste components that dissolve in saliva and hence the fruit gives a completely different taste than its smell?
But isnt the olfactory portion of the nose moist as well?

[NowhereMan]

Volatile components would the ones that vapourise and so get smelt.
Soluble components would be ones that dissolve and so get tasted.

With most food the volatile elements make up the flavour and complement the tastes you get on your tongue but I'm guessing where the two are radically different your body knows enough to separate them. Somewhat like having a tasty bag of sweets in the middle of a fetid swamp, the sweets don't taste bad because the place smells awful.

[Sand]

Thanks Nowhereman!

Does anybody know if this is the only fruit or food where this is the case? Cause that is really cool.
I heard about some rotten fetid shark the Icelandic eat, but that doesnt sound like it tastes good either, so probably doesnt apply.

[ghost]

I seem to remember some experiments when I was a kid where you would have someone smell an onion while eating an orange, and vice versa and it really changed the taste.  Plus smells are so ingrained into our psyche when it comes to food, e.g. fried chicken, pizza, steak or what have you, that I find it hard to believe that something could smell like sewage and be edible in any way.   

[Trippy]

There are lots of fermented foods that other cultures eat that smell nasty but taste good (at least to those people that eat it).

I've eaten some of the Asian ones (e.g. natto, "smelly tofu", kimchee) and survived.

[Nerf]

Anyone ever order anything from zazzle.com? I ordered a 33"x52" matte print of this today. If it doesn't look like garbage I'm going to get a nice frame for it and hang it over my fireplace.

That's pretty pimp, I must say.

It's really, really hard to click the "buy" button on this.  We keep talking about how we need some art to hang in the house.

And the couch is actually pretty comfy.

[RhyssaFireheart]

You know, when using the "change all associated passwords" website at work, the one that allows you to tie various accounts to the same password so you can change them all at once instead of individually, I rather expect all the passwords to get changed.  Apparently that is silly of me, so now I'm having to change them individually, thereby defeating the purpose of the all-in-one pasword change site.

I'm not going to mention the mainframe app we have which doesn't like special characters and only accepts passwords of 8 chars.

[ghost]

There are lots of fermented foods that other cultures eat that smell nasty but taste good (at least to those people that eat it).

I've eaten some of the Asian ones (e.g. natto, "smelly tofu", kimchee) and survived.

My understanding that a lot of this was from the brain being conditioned to associate the smell, i.e. eating these foods from a young age so that the smell is automatically associated with the taste.  Oh well, one look at a kimchee bottle is enough for me.  There's some stuff I won't do.  

[Cyrrex]

I.  Hate.  Diet.  Soda.

Hate it.  I mean, it all tastes like shit, all of it.  Fucking Shit!

And then comes Diet Dr Pepper Cherry into my life.  Whoever developed the combination of ingredients for this stuff must assuredly be getting a Nobel Prize.  A Nobel Prize in Diet Soda That Somehow Tastes Awesome.  Where has this stuff been all my life and why didn't you people ever mention in before?

[Merusk]

The idea of Kimchi has always fascinated me since I first saw it as a plot point on M*A*S*H as a kid.  One day I might actually have to try it.

Tried Coke Zero Cherry, Cyrrex?  I have the same reactions about diet soda but enjoy the Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry (and Cherry Vanilla) and CZ Cherry as well.   

[Bunk]

Never realized that kimchee was considered that out of the ordinary. Mind you, so many of the "Japanese" restaurants in Vancouver are actually Korean, that it's lead me to numerous opportunities to try it. Wasn't repulsive (like say, Uni is), just rather strong. Wouldn't go out of my way have it (and I like most pickeled things).

[ghost]

Make the switch to water, Cyrrex.  You'll feel better! 

We started on the only water kick about 6 months ago.  It's the best thing I've done in a while.

[Cyrrex]

The idea of Kimchi has always fascinated me since I first saw it as a plot point on M*A*S*H as a kid.  One day I might actually have to try it.

Tried Coke Zero Cherry, Cyrrex?  I have the same reactions about diet soda but enjoy the Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry (and Cherry Vanilla) and CZ Cherry as well.   

That is fabulous advice, no, I have not tried it.  Do they still make the Cherry Vanilla?  Haven't seen that anywhere.  

And Kimchi is amazing stuff.  You made my mouth water profusely just by typing out the word.  It is very powerfully flavored (not hot, exactly).

Make the switch to water, Cyrrex.  You'll feel better! 

We started on the only water kick about 6 months ago.  It's the best thing I've done in a while.

I already am a water drinking maniac - I only rarely drink anything else (other then protein shakes, but that's more like a meal).  I just have a sudden urge to drink something with flavor for a while and want to avoid anything with sugar or HFCS.

[Yegolev]

I'm not going to mention the mainframe app we have which doesn't like special characters and only accepts passwords of 8 chars.

If you don't use a dictionary word or repeat characters, eight is secure enough.  It's not just mainframes, though.  Until a scant few years ago, AIX ignored password characters past the eighth.  Now there are encryption methods which allow longer passwords, presumably due to 9/11, but not all applications are compatible.  Specifically, DB2 9.7 doesn't, or perhaps didn't until some recent service pack.  I know about it due to a fifteen-character-password requirement (retarded) which manages to conflict with a lot of things.

[Merusk]

The idea of Kimchi has always fascinated me since I first saw it as a plot point on M*A*S*H as a kid.  One day I might actually have to try it.

Tried Coke Zero Cherry, Cyrrex?  I have the same reactions about diet soda but enjoy the Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry (and Cherry Vanilla) and CZ Cherry as well.   

That is fabulous advice, no, I have not tried it.  Do they still make the Cherry Vanilla?  Haven't seen that anywhere. 

I'm not sure if they still make the Cherry Vanilla.  I know it was hard to find in the first place, but I haven't looked for it in a while.   Meijer brand DID still sell it as of 3-4 months ago when I was still working and stocking up for lunches.  I'd switched from name brands to store brands because it was up to $3 cheaper per 12 pack and they tasted the same.

re: Water Drinking.  I just can't do water for lunch, I need a little more flavor than water w/ lemon. It's the one time a day I drink soda any more.  Anyone else have the same hangup?

[ghost]

I did, until I just forced myself to stop drinking anything else-  no tea, soda, nothing.  I have a bit of an addictive personality and if I have one soda or tea at lunch it's all downhill from there.  Heck, I'm halfway to being Mormon right now.   

[Nebu]

I did, until I just forced myself to stop drinking anything else-  no tea, soda, nothing.  I have a bit of an addictive personality and if I have one soda or tea at lunch it's all downhill from there.  Heck, I'm halfway to being Mormon right now.   

This is my problem as well.  I go a couple of months drinking nothing but water and then breakdown and have a diet coke.  Next thing I know, I'm back to drinking a 12 pack a day. 

[Paelos]

Love Love LOVE Coke Zero with cherry. OMG! I will gush about it like Sjofn does about the Sims.

[Sky]

Diet Coke is my ADHD medication 

[Lantyssa]

This is my problem as well.  I go a couple of months drinking nothing but water and then breakdown and have a diet coke.  Next thing I know, I'm back to drinking a 12 pack a day. 

Same, but I can't stand the taste of diet sodas, so I jump right to the real stuff.  Thankfully I'm at the end of my third month on mainly water, with a juice of some kind with dinner at home.

My biggest problem is that with no caffeine and a new medication, my body wants the day to only be 23 hours long.  While great for making it through the Daylight Savings change, it's playing a bit of havoc with my sleep schedule to want to wake up an hour earlier every day.

[ghost]

Thankfully real soda is probably better for you anyway, unless you're going through a 24 pack.  

Edit:  It's amazing how much less soda with real sugar in it I can drink as compared to the HFCS stuff.  I drink half of a coke with real sugar and I'm done.

[Sand]

I'm not going to mention the mainframe app we have which doesn't like special characters and only accepts passwords of 8 chars.

Well of course it has to be 8 characters. That way all the brainless drones can make their password "password".  



And Kimchi is akin to ambrosia of the gods. And I dont count it in the smells bad, tastes good category. It tastes excatly like it smells: garlicky, spicy, tangy, awesome on everything (especially hotdogs!), goodness.

[Lantyssa]

Edit:  It's amazing how much less soda with real sugar in it I can drink as compared to the HFCS stuff.  I drink half of a coke with real sugar and I'm done.

It is, though I'm scared to try in case it makes me take up the HFCS drinks again.  I really wish I didn't have to go out of my way to get Mexican Coke, as I could probably strike a balance if it was more readily available.

[Sky]

I really wish I didn't have to go out of my way to get Mexican Coke

Always makes me chuckle.

[Rasix]

Heh, once before going into Tijuana, my roommate gave me a wad of cash and said "Get me some Horintos and coke".   Slight double take and a follow up question, and I was relieved I didn't have to tell him I wouldn't do a drug deal while I was down there.

[ghost]

Edit:  It's amazing how much less soda with real sugar in it I can drink as compared to the HFCS stuff.  I drink half of a coke with real sugar and I'm done.

It is, though I'm scared to try in case it makes me take up the HFCS drinks again.  I really wish I didn't have to go out of my way to get Mexican Coke, as I could probably strike a balance if it was more readily available.

Most Coke from Mexico is made the same way ours is.  They do still make a limited amount with sugar cane though.  It's a shame that it isn't more readily available. 

[NowhereMan]

I'm really not much of a fan of sugary drinks though I drink way too much black coffee. That and water is pretty much all I have during the day. I have learned though that Chocolate Mint protein shakes made with mint taste far too much like actual milkshakes, now I'm always tempted to have one at home and part of me keeps thinking, "Well you could do with a bit more protein in the diet today..."

[Nebu]

Drinking regular coke just serves to make me even more thirsty.  Oddly, I find that coke zero (the one with Splenda) tastes enough like real coke that it has a similar effect.  I blame osmotic pressure!

[Paelos]

I probably drink about 3 Coke Zeros a day, 1 Diet Mountain Dew, and 2 cups of coffee in the morning with Splenda.

That's in tax season though, so my caffeine intake is