And they turn their noses up at my offerings!!!

[Chancer]

It doesnt seem to matter what I prepare for a communal casse croute or pique-nique (French) people go into shock horror refusal mode, they love to pass disparaging comments about the bizaare things that they consider we eat despite never having the courage to try any of them.

Despite no longer eating sweet things I submitted to trying a piece of  what I thought was cake d'automne, after all I cannot rale about their reluctance if I do the same myself, it was rather a shock when I put it in my mouth and tasted tinned tuna [+o(], frankly it tasted disgusting and yet when I once offered around carrot cake it was roundly condemned without anyone trying it.

Am I alone in not enjoying eating tinned tuna fish in a sweet cake?

[suein56]

[quote user="Chancer"]Am I alone in not enjoying eating tinned tuna fish in a sweet cake?[/quote]

Invited to our first apero dinatoire I discovered - just like you - that cake, as served by the French, is not sweet but savoury. It was quite a shock, but I survived. It did make me gather up enough courage thereafter to enquire what things were before I tried them - and I found that doing that wasn't considered at all impolite, rather the opposite.

Sue [;-)]

[NormanH]

May ze EEEngleeeh zay eat la confiture avec la viande  Quel horreur...

[idun]

[quote user="NormanH"]May ze EEEngleeeh zay eat la confiture avec la viande  Quel horreur...
[/quote]

 

I know what cake is at an apero. Basically because I was told, that the odd looking cake with grapes in it, was a savoury cake with green olives and was very good, and I am not an olive fan really.

That is a new one on me with tinned tuna in it and it shouldn't have been sweet. Can't say I'd enjoy it either.

 

In fact I cannot remember being served tinned tuna in France apart from on a Nicoise Salad.

 

The trick is not to tell them what is in things Chancer, ie the carrot cake, just say a cake aux epices, as there are spices in it. Leave them in ignorance and they will usually at least try. I 'm not keen on carrot cake, so they don't have to like it either, but some will.

 

You've just reminded me of going to a friends house and they must have bought sweet pastry by mistake and made a chicken pie, we all ate it, but it was very strange and not to be recommended, ever.

[Chancer]

The problem seems to be that everyone wants to name their dish kek, what ever happend to gateau?

Yes I have had savoury kek as an apéro and very nice it was too, I knew it would be savoury as I was once vilified for serving up a sweet apéro.

I have also had kek as a dessert which was bread and butter pudding to me, another kek dessert was a madeira sponge with crême anglaise, finally Lidl or perhaps its Aldi sell kek which is a chocolate cake covered with (probably not) chocolate.

This degeuelasse creation was definitely a sweet cake with tinned tuna floating around in it, I had to eat some banana kek to debarasse the taste!

T

[5-element]

That tuna kek sounds dégueulasse, Chancer. As Idun says, it shouldn't be sweet!! There has been a recent fashion for cakes salés, usually cut up and presented at apéritifs, dinatoires or not.

The term cake used to be reserved for fruitcake, and I think it had to be made in a rectangular tin. Then everything that was made in such a tin, like a breadloaf, became called a cake.

I have eaten quite disgusting savoury cakes made by people and brought to share - the sort of thing I would never have dared to present to anyone!

I also agree that if I made carrot cake, I wouldn't say what it is, I would make them taste it first. Something else that some people don't like at all is ginger, or any spices. Yet I find that the French people who do like spicy food, really gobble it down as they are quite deprived most of the time, except for the harissa that comes with couscous.

Perhaps a good tip is to make something that is not British - if it is exotic - Indian, Thai, Chinese, Moroccan, South American, even the humble houmos etc... people are less likely to turn their nose up. It is such a shame that British food should still have such poor reputation that people don't even want to try it!

[nomoss]

[quote user="5-element"] It is such a shame that British food should still have such poor reputation that people don't even want to try it![/quote]

Unfortunately a well-deserved reputation in many cases.

e.g.

Cockles, mussels, whelks, etc. boiled to the consistency of leather, then soaked in vinegar

Soggy chips drenched in vinegar

Wartime type dried peas soaked, dyed bright green, and boiled down to a homogeneous and tasteless paste

Best steak "fried" in water for several minutes, served with anaemic par cooked onions

[JSKS]

[quote user="nomoss"]

Unfortunately a well-deserved reputation in many cases.

e.g.

Cockles, mussels, whelks, etc. boiled to the consistency of leather, then soaked in vinegar

Soggy chips drenched in vinegar

Wartime type dried peas soaked, dyed bright green, and boiled down to a homogeneous and tasteless paste

Best steak "fried" in water for several minutes, served with anaemic par cooked onions

[/quote]

You make that sound like a bad thing!

[NickP]

[quote user="nomoss"]

[quote user="5-element"] It is such a shame that British food should still have such poor reputation that people don't even want to try it![/quote]

Unfortunately a well-deserved reputation in many cases.

e.g.

Cockles, mussels, whelks, etc. boiled to the consistency of leather, then soaked in vinegar

Soggy chips drenched in vinegar

Wartime type dried peas soaked, dyed bright green, and boiled down to a homogeneous and tasteless paste

Best steak "fried" in water for several minutes, served with anaemic par cooked onions

[/quote]

This comment  from someone who has obviously not eaten in the UK for a long time, and whose taste buds have been fractured by the average  food dished up by a large proportion of the French food establishments.[Www]

[Chancer]

Pretty soon I am going to try something that the French turn their noses up at,  - Topinamur. A friend has promised me his crop (they dont like it!) and I have a faint hope that I might be able to use them to replace my staple of sweet potatoes which are becoming harder and harder to find around here and more and more expensive when I do get lucky, there has been nothing in a radius of 50 miles for about 6 weeks

From what I can gather Topinambur together with Rutabaga is considered only suitable for bêtes (and the English bien sur!) seemingly they were all that was available to eat during WW2.

I have never tried either, are they both degeuelasse? Will Topinambur be a substitute for patates douces?

[Clair]

[quote user="nomoss"]...boiled down to a homogeneous and tasteless paste

[/quote]

The other day, I caught a snippet of "Un dîner presque parfait", the French version of the Channel 4 TV program.

One of the hosts commented she hadn't just cooked her veg "à l'anglaise" and a guest replied, "so they weren't just cooked in water then?"    [Www]

[Clair]

[quote user="Chancer"]From what I can gather Topinambour together with Rutabaga is considered only suitable for bêtes (and the English bien sur!) seemingly they were all that was available to eat during WW2.

[/quote]

Funny you should say that...

I bought some yesterday together with parsnips and turnips, to make a root vegetable gratin (excellent and simple video recipe HERE, if you want to surprise your French guests)

[Gardengirl]

That tuna cake sounds really awful! And I just love carrot cake!

I can't say I've noticed much of a problem with 'English' food offerings I've taken along - in fact, they go down well at clubs etc we belong to. Recently a sherry trifle (actually it was whisky and orange!) went so well that people were having second helpings before all had managed to get their first helping!

[Rose]

[quote user="gardengirl "]

That tuna cake sounds really awful! And I just love carrot cake!

I can't say I've noticed much of a problem with 'English' food offerings I've taken along - in fact, they go down well at clubs etc we belong to. Recently a sherry trifle (actually it was whisky and orange!) went so well that people were having second helpings before all had managed to get their first helping!

[/quote]

Tuna cake does indeed sound horrible!

Our friends at our Rando group all love my cakes and I've been tasked again this year to run a cake stall for the Telethon event... I must have had 400 little cakes last year and they all sold.  And GG, my neighbour adores raspberry trifle... and lemon drizzle cake.

[just john]

[quote user="Rose"]
Our friends at our Rando group all love my cakes and I've been tasked again this year to run a cake stall for the Telethon event... I must have had 400 little cakes last year and they all sold.  And GG, my neighbour adores raspberry trifle... and lemon drizzle cake.
[/quote]

No surprise there then [:D] don't miss out the walnut & coffee though . . .

[Rose]

Hello JJ - not seen you around for a while... I'm trilling again on Saturday but I think you're not here?

[just john]

'fraid not, what offerings are available in Mars[kiss]

 

[Rose]

[quote user="just john "]

'fraid not, what offerings are available in Mars[kiss]

[/quote]

So far away... I'll have to tell you later xx

[mint]

Hi, JJ, welcome back!

I sent you a PM.

5-e gave me a recipe for savoury cake which I still have.  Might try it on you, if you aren't careful![:P]

I see Professional Masterchef with Michel Roux is making a return.  Now THOSE offerings should tickle even jaded taste buds..

BTW, would you class M Roux's cuisine as French or English or sort of Fusion Cooking of both?

[idun]

[quote user="Chancer"]

Pretty soon I am going to try something that the French turn their noses up at,  - Topinamur. A friend has promised me his crop (they dont like it!) and I have a faint hope that I might be able to use them to replace my staple of sweet potatoes which are becoming harder and harder to find around here and more and more expensive when I do get lucky, there has been nothing in a radius of 50 miles for about 6 weeks

From what I can gather Topinambur together with Rutabaga is considered only suitable for bêtes (and the English bien sur!) seemingly they were all that was available to eat during WW2.

I have never tried either, are they both degeuelasse? Will Topinambur be a substitute for patates douces?

[/quote]

Do you mean Tominabour?  They started serving them in nice resto in our bit of the Rhone Alpes, in our last few years there. We could always buy them, but not often. It is delicious, well I think it is, an artichoke, trouble is that it really does make you fart. You'll have to change your name to Peter if you keep eating a lot of it!![6]

 

In my bit of the north of England we call Rutabaga turnip, even though it is swede, and I quite like that too, mashed with potatoes and in soups.

[pachapapa]

topinambour..jerusalem artichoke..horrible!!

sorry cant make the dinner invite[:)]

[idun]

No PPP is wrong, it is good. Lovely in soup.

[Chancer]

I doubt that any change to my diet could actually increase my trouser trumps to beyond their current critical level. [:(]

I blame it on all the fruit but in all honesty I really would like to know what component of my diet is responsible if it is just one.

The only things that I eat each and every day, and the down under thunder occurs every day, are bananas, apples, pears and porridge oats.

[idun]

On QI last night they said that they measured wind in 'pints', are you trying to tell us that you have upped yours to 'gallons'[:-))]

 

Well the topinabour will do anything to stop this problem.

[NormanH]

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Flatulence/Pages/Causes.aspx

If you have a lot of milk with your porridge you may also have

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/lactose-intolerance/pages/introduction.aspx

I know...I could f*rt for the G20