4 ms·

I don't mind steamed sprouts today, but I remember how utterly repulsed I was by them as a kid. The preparation doesn't make a ton of difference, in my opinion.

pazimzadeh 3y ago
tastes can change too
delgaudm 3y ago
Also possible: your taste preferences changed over time. I know mine have.
- mathattack 3y ago
  Yes - mushrooms and olives on pizza used to be a crime against humanity. I don’t think Papa John’s invested in higher quality toppings.
  - kube-system 3y ago
    I'm not so sure. I feel like the quality of fast food ingredients has gone up since the 90s. I have a couple of theories: I think consumer preferences have pushed in that direction (e.g. I remember McDonalds chicken nuggets used to have chewy gristle in them), and JIT inventories mean that ingredients can be fresher, and food science (e.g. additives and preservatives) has improved, and improved flavor along with it, and there are also new preparation methods which improve quality of the final product.
    - coryrc 3y ago
      > used to have chewy gristle in them Chickens have gained significant breast mass in the last few decades (so much so it causes "woody breast") and, with increased supply, the price of breast meat (less gristle) has come down proportionally. Like the McRib, economics drives McDonald's decisions.
    - JohnFen 3y ago
      > I feel like the quality of fast food ingredients has gone up since the 90s. Interesting. My impression has been the exact opposite of that. Ingredients seem more uniform, true, but they also are much less flavorful and seem to be higher in salt than ever.
- Auracle 3y ago
  My wife and I got some brussels sprouts recently that tasted exactly how I remember them as a kid. We both noticed it immediately and my daughter refused to eat them (when she normally loves them). So while that may be true, it’s absolutely true that they’ve changed.
carlosjobim 3y ago
[flagged]
- two_handfuls 3y ago
  Some people also cook because it’s cheaper, or healthier.
  - carlosjobim 3y ago
    Yeah, but these people usually don't hate cooking. While if you had to cook because you were a woman, quite a few probably hated it and thus never improved.
- anthk 3y ago
  Not the case in Europe at all. Any $RANDOM woman here over 40/50 cooks far better than any one in the US. My mother has a huge amount of recipes inside her head. Also, homemade food in Europe (especially the Southern) has a much better quality than any industry-processed food.
  - carlosjobim 3y ago
    I don't know how your statement disagrees with mine? You are basically agreeing with me. A "random woman" in Europe who cooks well is not random at all, because we live in different times and people cook because they like it or are good at it. There are very few people who are bad cooks anymore, because those who are bad at cooking simply do not cook at all, especially not for other people. In the past you'd have a lot of bad cooks, because most women had to cook, wether they were good at it or liked it or not. I'm prepared to believe that in Southern Europe, family cooking traditions have been kept alive and healthy, resulting in high quality cooking. In Northern Europe and the US I don't know what the hell was going on in the 20th century.
- Broken_Hippo 3y ago
  I cook because going to a restaurant is prohibitively expensive to do every day. Raw ingredients in Norway are already expensive. Most folks cook because they have few decent choices and like the past, they take shortcuts when they can. At one time, yes, women did most cooking, to a point and dependent on where one lived. Kitchens were dangerous for not only you, but your neighbor too - if you lived in a city. Which meant that if you lived in a city, you bought bread because you were very unlikely to have a place to bake it. You might not have a kitchen at all - most folks living in Roman cities just didn't and purchased food elsewhere. You might not even know how to make bread, being a woman in the past. Professional cooks and bakers were often men.
treme 3y ago
cut them in quarters, sprinkle dash of salt, stir fried 'til brown over medium-high heat with olive oil, and sprinkle few drops of fish sauce (or oyster sauce depending on pref). prep it makes a huge difference and it's one of best tasting/healthy vegetable imo.
maxerickson 3y ago
Overcooking will increase the bitterness, the preparation makes a ton of difference. I don't really recall how my mom might have cooked broccoli and such, but I certainly identified things she did cooking that were not ideal as far as outcomes (and I would say she was a reasonably good cook).
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- anotheruser13 3y ago
  My mom bought Green Giant broccoli and cauliflower in a gluey pseudo-cheese sauce. It was as disgusting as it sounds. I didn't like broccoli and cauliflower until I had them raw. Of course, YMMV :)
  - tptacek 3y ago
    Cauliflower is probably the most versatile vegetable there is. Apart from boiling, there's no bad way to treat it. Even boiling works in soup!
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    - lukas099 3y ago
      Other than slow cooking, unless you want to smell sulphur farts for six hours.
    - BenjiWiebe 3y ago
      And I even like it boiled and then stirred with butter, salt, and pepper. But nothing beats eating it roasted...
- sublinear 3y ago
  Completely agree about the prep. It's not a modern phenomenon either. Even 1960s mainstream influencers like Julia Child were showing people how to peel and incise the stems, pan fry with butter, salt and olive oil oven roast, serve with various sauces, etc. What changed is the marketing around home cooking. Now everyone aspires to be their own private chef. It's understandable for people living in the mid-20th century western world to see all this as a bit pretentious. The goal back then was just to get a decent healthy meal on the table. Any flourishes such as adding bacon, duck fat, or whatever else were likely seen as unhealthy, inaccessible, or just plain weird.
supportengineer 3y ago
When I was a kid, brussels sprouts were prepared by boiling them in water for an hour, and serve with absolutely no seasonings. I can go down the street to a restaurant called Left Bank and they have the most amazing brussels sprouts. I think they cook them in bacon grease. The outside is crispy and it has something like caramelized sugar on it. They are absolutely freaking delicious.

pazimzadeh 3y ago

tastes can change too

delgaudm 3y ago

Also possible: your taste preferences changed over time. I know mine have.

mathattack 3y ago
Yes - mushrooms and olives on pizza used to be a crime against humanity. I don’t think Papa John’s invested in higher quality toppings.
- kube-system 3y ago
  I'm not so sure. I feel like the quality of fast food ingredients has gone up since the 90s. I have a couple of theories: I think consumer preferences have pushed in that direction (e.g. I remember McDonalds chicken nuggets used to have chewy gristle in them), and JIT inventories mean that ingredients can be fresher, and food science (e.g. additives and preservatives) has improved, and improved flavor along with it, and there are also new preparation methods which improve quality of the final product.
  - coryrc 3y ago
    > used to have chewy gristle in them Chickens have gained significant breast mass in the last few decades (so much so it causes "woody breast") and, with increased supply, the price of breast meat (less gristle) has come down proportionally. Like the McRib, economics drives McDonald's decisions.
  - JohnFen 3y ago
    > I feel like the quality of fast food ingredients has gone up since the 90s. Interesting. My impression has been the exact opposite of that. Ingredients seem more uniform, true, but they also are much less flavorful and seem to be higher in salt than ever.
Auracle 3y ago
My wife and I got some brussels sprouts recently that tasted exactly how I remember them as a kid. We both noticed it immediately and my daughter refused to eat them (when she normally loves them). So while that may be true, it’s absolutely true that they’ve changed.

carlosjobim 3y ago

[flagged]

two_handfuls 3y ago
Some people also cook because it’s cheaper, or healthier.
- carlosjobim 3y ago
  Yeah, but these people usually don't hate cooking. While if you had to cook because you were a woman, quite a few probably hated it and thus never improved.
anthk 3y ago
Not the case in Europe at all. Any $RANDOM woman here over 40/50 cooks far better than any one in the US. My mother has a huge amount of recipes inside her head. Also, homemade food in Europe (especially the Southern) has a much better quality than any industry-processed food.
- carlosjobim 3y ago
  I don't know how your statement disagrees with mine? You are basically agreeing with me. A "random woman" in Europe who cooks well is not random at all, because we live in different times and people cook because they like it or are good at it. There are very few people who are bad cooks anymore, because those who are bad at cooking simply do not cook at all, especially not for other people. In the past you'd have a lot of bad cooks, because most women had to cook, wether they were good at it or liked it or not. I'm prepared to believe that in Southern Europe, family cooking traditions have been kept alive and healthy, resulting in high quality cooking. In Northern Europe and the US I don't know what the hell was going on in the 20th century.
Broken_Hippo 3y ago
I cook because going to a restaurant is prohibitively expensive to do every day. Raw ingredients in Norway are already expensive. Most folks cook because they have few decent choices and like the past, they take shortcuts when they can. At one time, yes, women did most cooking, to a point and dependent on where one lived. Kitchens were dangerous for not only you, but your neighbor too - if you lived in a city. Which meant that if you lived in a city, you bought bread because you were very unlikely to have a place to bake it. You might not have a kitchen at all - most folks living in Roman cities just didn't and purchased food elsewhere. You might not even know how to make bread, being a woman in the past. Professional cooks and bakers were often men.

treme 3y ago

cut them in quarters, sprinkle dash of salt, stir fried 'til brown over medium-high heat with olive oil, and sprinkle few drops of fish sauce (or oyster sauce depending on pref). prep it makes a huge difference and it's one of best tasting/healthy vegetable imo.

maxerickson 3y ago

Overcooking will increase the bitterness, the preparation makes a ton of difference. I don't really recall how my mom might have cooked broccoli and such, but I certainly identified things she did cooking that were not ideal as far as outcomes (and I would say she was a reasonably good cook).

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
anotheruser13 3y ago
My mom bought Green Giant broccoli and cauliflower in a gluey pseudo-cheese sauce. It was as disgusting as it sounds. I didn't like broccoli and cauliflower until I had them raw. Of course, YMMV :)
- tptacek 3y ago
  Cauliflower is probably the most versatile vegetable there is. Apart from boiling, there's no bad way to treat it. Even boiling works in soup!
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - lukas099 3y ago
    Other than slow cooking, unless you want to smell sulphur farts for six hours.
  - BenjiWiebe 3y ago
    And I even like it boiled and then stirred with butter, salt, and pepper. But nothing beats eating it roasted...
sublinear 3y ago
Completely agree about the prep. It's not a modern phenomenon either. Even 1960s mainstream influencers like Julia Child were showing people how to peel and incise the stems, pan fry with butter, salt and olive oil oven roast, serve with various sauces, etc. What changed is the marketing around home cooking. Now everyone aspires to be their own private chef. It's understandable for people living in the mid-20th century western world to see all this as a bit pretentious. The goal back then was just to get a decent healthy meal on the table. Any flourishes such as adding bacon, duck fat, or whatever else were likely seen as unhealthy, inaccessible, or just plain weird.

supportengineer 3y ago

When I was a kid, brussels sprouts were prepared by boiling them in water for an hour, and serve with absolutely no seasonings. I can go down the street to a restaurant called Left Bank and they have the most amazing brussels sprouts. I think they cook them in bacon grease. The outside is crispy and it has something like caramelized sugar on it. They are absolutely freaking delicious.