"Oh god, it tastes like mashed potato now. Why? I don't know!"
March 28, 2017 4:57 PM Subscribe
Irish People Try Surströmming (SLYT)
If you are sad for these people, other videos on their channel show them taste-testing lovely foods and being happily surprised.
If you are sad for these people, other videos on their channel show them taste-testing lovely foods and being happily surprised.
I enjoyed that Surströmming was one of the very early words duolingo taught me in Swedish.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:20 PM on March 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Chrysostom at 5:20 PM on March 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
The EU should add Theresa May (or better, Boris) eat Surströmming as a condition for Brexit.
I mean, why not have some fun with it?
posted by leotrotsky at 5:27 PM on March 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
I mean, why not have some fun with it?
posted by leotrotsky at 5:27 PM on March 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Let every EU country have a go...
Spain: Theresa May must run with bulls at Pamplona. Bull costume required.
Germany: Theresa May must wear German National Football jersey for all public appearances.
France: Boris has to fuck a pig on live television.
posted by leotrotsky at 5:28 PM on March 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
Spain: Theresa May must run with bulls at Pamplona. Bull costume required.
Germany: Theresa May must wear German National Football jersey for all public appearances.
France: Boris has to fuck a pig on live television.
posted by leotrotsky at 5:28 PM on March 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
I am addicted to these Facts "Irish people try..." videos. They have the best reactions.
posted by peacheater at 5:29 PM on March 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by peacheater at 5:29 PM on March 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
I also suspect that there is not a Scandinavian on earth who eats this stuff directly from the can
This is what annoys me the most about these types of videos (of which there are many) of people eating Surströmming. The can is opened carefully outside and then drained. The stomach contents from the herring is removed first, and then the backbone (generally by squashing the fish flat with a fork until the bones are visible and removable) so that only the herring fillet is left. The skin can be eaten, but many people prefer to remove it too.
Once cleaned, surströmming is eaten on tunnbröd, with some sliced/mashed potatoes and chopped onions, possibly with some creme fraiche and dill. Nobody ever eats it from the can like that, even those who prefer it with the potato on the side and no bread. And there is drinking and drinking songs to go with it too, so you don't gulp it down but eat it slowly.
I don't much like it myself, tbh, but it's not the crazy awful dish that people are making it out to be. It was a way for poor people to preserve the bounty of herring from the summer to eat in the wintertime. This is totally the reason behind all kinds of foods, including the similarly ever-maligned lutfisk...
Authority/Source: I grew up on the beautiful Höga Kusten, the area of Sweden that originated this dish. I have braided fermented herring tails into cans myself, and my cousin smelled like the brine an entire summer when she worked at the packing plant for Röda Ulven.
posted by gemmy at 6:08 PM on March 28, 2017 [48 favorites]
This is what annoys me the most about these types of videos (of which there are many) of people eating Surströmming. The can is opened carefully outside and then drained. The stomach contents from the herring is removed first, and then the backbone (generally by squashing the fish flat with a fork until the bones are visible and removable) so that only the herring fillet is left. The skin can be eaten, but many people prefer to remove it too.
Once cleaned, surströmming is eaten on tunnbröd, with some sliced/mashed potatoes and chopped onions, possibly with some creme fraiche and dill. Nobody ever eats it from the can like that, even those who prefer it with the potato on the side and no bread. And there is drinking and drinking songs to go with it too, so you don't gulp it down but eat it slowly.
I don't much like it myself, tbh, but it's not the crazy awful dish that people are making it out to be. It was a way for poor people to preserve the bounty of herring from the summer to eat in the wintertime. This is totally the reason behind all kinds of foods, including the similarly ever-maligned lutfisk...
Authority/Source: I grew up on the beautiful Höga Kusten, the area of Sweden that originated this dish. I have braided fermented herring tails into cans myself, and my cousin smelled like the brine an entire summer when she worked at the packing plant for Röda Ulven.
posted by gemmy at 6:08 PM on March 28, 2017 [48 favorites]
I also enjoy their recent video of Irish People Try Root Beer. I didn't know until recently how it's reviled outside of North America, and this bunch dislikes it so much they start to think all five samples are actually the same drink in different bottles.
...Just like the Federation.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:26 PM on March 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
...Just like the Federation.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:26 PM on March 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
"You basically just have to, like, forget that you're living."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:37 PM on March 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:37 PM on March 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I also really love this channel - one of my favorites is when they taste-test various kind of Polish alcohol. My father has some Polish ancestry, as does one of our neighbors when we were growing up - it was him who introduced my father to the Polish liqueur krupnik, which is one of the liqueurs they test in this.
They describe it as "it smells like a night of regret." ...Based on the one time I've tried it, that is certainly an astute description.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:09 PM on March 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
They describe it as "it smells like a night of regret." ...Based on the one time I've tried it, that is certainly an astute description.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:09 PM on March 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
It was a way for poor people to preserve the bounty of herring from the summer to eat in the wintertime.
And you thought it sucks to be poor in the US...
posted by 2N2222 at 7:31 PM on March 28, 2017
And you thought it sucks to be poor in the US...
posted by 2N2222 at 7:31 PM on March 28, 2017
I've had it 3 times, twice as an exchange student. I was living in Malmö the 2nd time I had it and my host family was careful to open all the windows in the entire apartment before opening the can. We ate it on flat bread, with boiled potatoes, and drank beer and aquavit. Well, they had aquavit, anyway. It grew on me over time. I like working-class/poor food. Mostly. But the first time, night of regret for sure. There's a story, which I hope is untrue, about a bunch of Somali refugees who arrived in a bus in the middle of nowhere, Sweden, and were greeting by well-meaning Swedes dressed up in Swedish outfits who served them surstömming. Supposedly the poor refugees could barely choke it down and nearly bolted until it a Swede explained that no, that's not what they would be eating all the time and yes, Sweden had pizza and hamburgers.
posted by Bella Donna at 7:32 PM on March 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 7:32 PM on March 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Oy vey , the forced wackiness of an improv class mixed with the desperate quest for views.
posted by Damienmce at 7:41 PM on March 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Damienmce at 7:41 PM on March 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
I understand the surstromming represents a time when the bounty of the sea needed to be preserved to help people get through the long cold winter but surely dried herring or salt-preserved herring would accomplish much of the same goals without some of the putresence inherent in some of these pickled fish variants.
posted by vuron at 7:47 PM on March 28, 2017
posted by vuron at 7:47 PM on March 28, 2017
Sweden had pizza and hamburgers.
Ha! Yeah, we've seen that Swedish pizza - oy vey indeed! ;-)
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:49 PM on March 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Ha! Yeah, we've seen that Swedish pizza - oy vey indeed! ;-)
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:49 PM on March 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
...but surely dried herring or salt-preserved herring would accomplish much of the same goals without some of the putresence inherent in some of these pickled fish variants.
No doubt. But what a boring world that would be!
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:51 PM on March 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
No doubt. But what a boring world that would be!
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:51 PM on March 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
I am addicted to these Facts "Irish people try..." videos. They have the best reactions.
Their "southern sandwiches" episode was clearly marred by a lack of decent southern sandwiches. Like, no one serves pimiento cheese* on stale bread. And I don't know what sort of pulled pork they were on about, but it certainly wasn't Eastern North Carolina pulled pork (because that shit is the jam, y'all)
*Irish people, I will happily make you pimiento cheese. I am a southerner of such southernness that I keep multiple jars of pimientos on hand in the cupboard in the event that I HAVE TO MAKE PIMIENTO CHEESE. Pimiento cheese is glorious. It is amazing. You did not have good pimiento cheese.
posted by thivaia at 7:54 PM on March 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Their "southern sandwiches" episode was clearly marred by a lack of decent southern sandwiches. Like, no one serves pimiento cheese* on stale bread. And I don't know what sort of pulled pork they were on about, but it certainly wasn't Eastern North Carolina pulled pork (because that shit is the jam, y'all)
*Irish people, I will happily make you pimiento cheese. I am a southerner of such southernness that I keep multiple jars of pimientos on hand in the cupboard in the event that I HAVE TO MAKE PIMIENTO CHEESE. Pimiento cheese is glorious. It is amazing. You did not have good pimiento cheese.
posted by thivaia at 7:54 PM on March 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Since one of the Irish women asked if fish have penises, I think that's a sufficient segue into this Fish Cock taste test. Might also make a pleasant chaser for anyone put off by all the gagging in this video, since apparently fish cock (spoiler: it's not actually fish penis) tastes pretty good.
posted by tobascodagama at 7:59 PM on March 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by tobascodagama at 7:59 PM on March 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Gemmy speaks the truth. The only thing I'd like to add is that the potatoes should ideally be almond potatoes), which are the best potatoes.
(And everyone knows it's an acquired taste. See e.g. this QI clip where Sandi is calling a random Swede. (random swedes previously))
posted by effbot at 8:01 PM on March 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
(And everyone knows it's an acquired taste. See e.g. this QI clip where Sandi is calling a random Swede. (random swedes previously))
posted by effbot at 8:01 PM on March 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I also enjoy their recent video of Irish People Try Root Beer. I didn't know until recently how it's reviled outside of North America, and this bunch dislikes it so much they start to think all five samples are actually the same drink in different bottles.
I... I may have to go lie down for a while.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIKE ROOT BEER I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT WAS PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE
posted by chrominance at 8:37 PM on March 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
I... I may have to go lie down for a while.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIKE ROOT BEER I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT WAS PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE
posted by chrominance at 8:37 PM on March 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Wow. Surstromming is not for the faint of heart, but I like really intense flavors, so maybe I'd take the plunge.........
I'm not Australian, but I love me some Vegemite. And while I usually spread it on a cracker with a butter buffer, sometimes I'll scoop a bit of it on a spoon and, well, eat it. A spoonful? No. But a good part of a spoonfull of Vegemite? Sometimes and occasionally, yeah.
*End shameful confessional*
posted by but no cigar at 9:30 PM on March 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
I'm not Australian, but I love me some Vegemite. And while I usually spread it on a cracker with a butter buffer, sometimes I'll scoop a bit of it on a spoon and, well, eat it. A spoonful? No. But a good part of a spoonfull of Vegemite? Sometimes and occasionally, yeah.
*End shameful confessional*
posted by but no cigar at 9:30 PM on March 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIKE ROOT BEER I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT WAS PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE
American here. Do not like root beer. But admittedly, it's not the root beer's poor fault. My dad knew the A&W delivery guy and got a discount or something. When I was growing up, my family worked our asses off in the hot sun every day in fields, and for break time, we got root beer every day. I have a Pavlovian response to root beer now, wherein when I have it, I have the urge to run away from home.
That said, throw some ice cream in there, and you got yourself a deal.
posted by greermahoney at 10:15 PM on March 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
American here. Do not like root beer. But admittedly, it's not the root beer's poor fault. My dad knew the A&W delivery guy and got a discount or something. When I was growing up, my family worked our asses off in the hot sun every day in fields, and for break time, we got root beer every day. I have a Pavlovian response to root beer now, wherein when I have it, I have the urge to run away from home.
That said, throw some ice cream in there, and you got yourself a deal.
posted by greermahoney at 10:15 PM on March 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
There's some old-fashioned smelly antisceptic ointment in the UK called TCP. That's what root beer smells like.
(Although, having said that, I loathe the smell of TCP but I rather like root beer. My wife's American and she doesn't like root beer, although that's after exposure to TCP, so...)
posted by BinaryApe at 10:17 PM on March 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
(Although, having said that, I loathe the smell of TCP but I rather like root beer. My wife's American and she doesn't like root beer, although that's after exposure to TCP, so...)
posted by BinaryApe at 10:17 PM on March 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Yeah, I eat spoonfuls of Vegemite. Most Australians don't, but I do.
posted by retrograde at 10:35 PM on March 28, 2017
posted by retrograde at 10:35 PM on March 28, 2017
As someone who spends half their time in Ireland I tend to find these a bit crinegy (people from a different country are different!) but the Irish people watch The Boondock Saints one had me in stitches- this is what happens when you give religious people guns- indeed.
posted by fshgrl at 11:28 PM on March 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by fshgrl at 11:28 PM on March 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
i was really quite sad that Irish people don't like rootbeer. but then i watched some more of those videos and it appears Irish people don't like ANYTHING. except, maybe, regular beer.
posted by lapolla at 11:34 PM on March 28, 2017
posted by lapolla at 11:34 PM on March 28, 2017
The problem with root beer, from a British/Irish perspective, is the wintergreen, which is not used in any food products here, but common in medicinal ones, and even then only ones for external use like liniments and ointments.
When MacDonalds first appeared in the UK their menu included root beer, and I was very eager to try it, having come across it in so many American books. I can clearly remember the feeling of horror and betrayal at the first mouthful, when I realised that it tasted exactly like Germolene, the horrible pink ointment my mother used to put on my grazed knees when I was a child. Root-beer was clearly not popular here, as it came off the McD's menu pretty quickly, and I've never seen it for sale anywhere here since then.
posted by Fuchsoid at 1:07 AM on March 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
When MacDonalds first appeared in the UK their menu included root beer, and I was very eager to try it, having come across it in so many American books. I can clearly remember the feeling of horror and betrayal at the first mouthful, when I realised that it tasted exactly like Germolene, the horrible pink ointment my mother used to put on my grazed knees when I was a child. Root-beer was clearly not popular here, as it came off the McD's menu pretty quickly, and I've never seen it for sale anywhere here since then.
posted by Fuchsoid at 1:07 AM on March 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
nobody takes bites directly from a wheel of Munster
Speak for yourself! I've eaten so many strong cheeses – in France, direct from producers, so often from whole milk too – just plain like that, there isn't much that fazes me.
And yet in spite of my Norsk heritage of tørrfisk producers, I have yet to eat dried or pickled fish. Definitely need to try, there are so many good breads here that could be paired with surströmming.
posted by fraula at 1:58 AM on March 29, 2017
Speak for yourself! I've eaten so many strong cheeses – in France, direct from producers, so often from whole milk too – just plain like that, there isn't much that fazes me.
And yet in spite of my Norsk heritage of tørrfisk producers, I have yet to eat dried or pickled fish. Definitely need to try, there are so many good breads here that could be paired with surströmming.
posted by fraula at 1:58 AM on March 29, 2017
The problem with root beer, from a British/Irish perspective, is the wintergreen
I may be one of the few British people who like root beer. Generally it's not root-beery enough for me, though. I grew up really enjoying all of those flavours we tend to associate with throat pastilles and other medicinal stuff. Root beer tastes like the antiseptic Germolene smells, because of the wintergreen, so that's where most British (and maybe also Irish) people first come across the smell.
But anyway, if something's got menthol, wintergreen, or any of the other medicinal-tasting things in it, sign me up. I just wish root beer wasn't so crappy and so expensive here. We get some sort of bland locally-made stuff called Carter's, and sometimes you can find bottles of the Australian stuff (Bundaberg) or occasionally a can of Dad's or A&W at one of the increasingly common 'American sugary food' shops. But there's a real lack of a commonly-available cheap root beer that makes me a bit sad; it's understandably though, because almost nobody likes the stuff here.
Won't be buying any Surströmming though. Anything fishier than the least offensive white fish is too much for me.
posted by pipeski at 2:41 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I may be one of the few British people who like root beer. Generally it's not root-beery enough for me, though. I grew up really enjoying all of those flavours we tend to associate with throat pastilles and other medicinal stuff. Root beer tastes like the antiseptic Germolene smells, because of the wintergreen, so that's where most British (and maybe also Irish) people first come across the smell.
But anyway, if something's got menthol, wintergreen, or any of the other medicinal-tasting things in it, sign me up. I just wish root beer wasn't so crappy and so expensive here. We get some sort of bland locally-made stuff called Carter's, and sometimes you can find bottles of the Australian stuff (Bundaberg) or occasionally a can of Dad's or A&W at one of the increasingly common 'American sugary food' shops. But there's a real lack of a commonly-available cheap root beer that makes me a bit sad; it's understandably though, because almost nobody likes the stuff here.
Won't be buying any Surströmming though. Anything fishier than the least offensive white fish is too much for me.
posted by pipeski at 2:41 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I understand the surstromming represents a time when the bounty of the sea needed to be preserved to help people get through the long cold winter but surely dried herring or salt-preserved herring would accomplish much of the same goals without some of the putresence inherent in some of these pickled fish variants.
It's not just pickled though, is it? I've had pickled herring, and we didn't have to open it outdoors.
posted by rodlymight at 2:54 AM on March 29, 2017
It's not just pickled though, is it? I've had pickled herring, and we didn't have to open it outdoors.
posted by rodlymight at 2:54 AM on March 29, 2017
It's not just pickled though, is it?
Pickled herring ("Inlagd sill" in Swedish) and fermented herring ("Surströmming") are two very different things. See comments in this previously for more, including why the same fish has two different names in Swedish.
posted by effbot at 3:01 AM on March 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Pickled herring ("Inlagd sill" in Swedish) and fermented herring ("Surströmming") are two very different things. See comments in this previously for more, including why the same fish has two different names in Swedish.
posted by effbot at 3:01 AM on March 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Pickled herring is the food of the gods. I’m really not sure that I want to ever try Surströmming though.
posted by pharm at 3:35 AM on March 29, 2017
posted by pharm at 3:35 AM on March 29, 2017
As a non-american I confirm the root beer hate. Last time I was in the U.S i tried to understand why it tastes good by drinking 3 or 4 different times. Trying to get used to the taste.
I did it with sea urchin once as a challenge, once a week I ate sea urchin over a couple of months and it worked now I love sea urchin.
I can't still finish a can of root beer though, I'm not going to abandon the project of liking it one day, but it's hard.
posted by SageLeVoid at 4:25 AM on March 29, 2017
I did it with sea urchin once as a challenge, once a week I ate sea urchin over a couple of months and it worked now I love sea urchin.
I can't still finish a can of root beer though, I'm not going to abandon the project of liking it one day, but it's hard.
posted by SageLeVoid at 4:25 AM on March 29, 2017
Someone in the comments section said that root beer was the American marmite/vegemite. Would have to concur. (Full discourse: not American, British or Australian, but love root beer, marmite and vegemite. But I've always loved strong flavors. My relatives hate all three.)
posted by peacheater at 4:36 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by peacheater at 4:36 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I also enjoy their recent video of Irish People Try Root Beer. I didn't know until recently how it's reviled outside of North America, and this bunch dislikes it so much they start to think all five samples are actually the same drink in different bottles.
This Irish person accidentally bought root beer last week by picking up a bottle of what I thought was ginger beer, which happened to be beside some very similar looking bottles of actual ginger beer, and not checking the label. It tasted like drinking flowers. I won't be having it again.
posted by kersplunk at 5:43 AM on March 29, 2017
This Irish person accidentally bought root beer last week by picking up a bottle of what I thought was ginger beer, which happened to be beside some very similar looking bottles of actual ginger beer, and not checking the label. It tasted like drinking flowers. I won't be having it again.
posted by kersplunk at 5:43 AM on March 29, 2017
The problem with root beer, from a British/Irish perspective, is the wintergreen, which is not used in any food products here, but common in medicinal ones, and even then only ones for external use like liniments and ointments.
That's because wintergreen dominant root beer sucks. Too minty & cold. The primary flavor of root beer should comes from sassafras, Sarsaparilla from sarsaparilla, and Birch beer from birch bark and sap.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:04 AM on March 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
That's because wintergreen dominant root beer sucks. Too minty & cold. The primary flavor of root beer should comes from sassafras, Sarsaparilla from sarsaparilla, and Birch beer from birch bark and sap.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:04 AM on March 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
MetaFilter: I did it with sea urchin once as a challenge.
Also, I don't think Root beer is a good flavor pair with urchin.
posted by amanda at 6:51 AM on March 29, 2017
Also, I don't think Root beer is a good flavor pair with urchin.
posted by amanda at 6:51 AM on March 29, 2017
But... root beer floats? The greatest food possibly ever? I had no idea non-Americans didn't like root beer.
Does this mean you've never had those little barrel shaped root beer hard candies? I feel so sad for y'all.
posted by misskaz at 7:06 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Does this mean you've never had those little barrel shaped root beer hard candies? I feel so sad for y'all.
posted by misskaz at 7:06 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Also, you have to drink real root beer. Not sugared soda water with vague root beer flavoring. Serious Eats has some info.
posted by crush at 7:26 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by crush at 7:26 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
how it's reviled outside of North America
Not so much reviled as unknown, I'd say. The only place I ever heard of it (till now) was because it was what Snoopy used to drink when he was being a WWI fighter pilot, bizarrely.
posted by Segundus at 7:34 AM on March 29, 2017
Not so much reviled as unknown, I'd say. The only place I ever heard of it (till now) was because it was what Snoopy used to drink when he was being a WWI fighter pilot, bizarrely.
posted by Segundus at 7:34 AM on March 29, 2017
Someone in the comments section said that root beer was the American marmite/vegemite.
This makes sense. It also sounds like root beer is like tofu as well. If you start with the bad stuff, it might turn you off forever for something that can be very delicious.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:34 AM on March 29, 2017
This makes sense. It also sounds like root beer is like tofu as well. If you start with the bad stuff, it might turn you off forever for something that can be very delicious.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:34 AM on March 29, 2017
(I guess this applies to a lot of food but I'm only here to rep for tofu and root beer.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:43 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:43 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Also, you have to drink real root beer.
Schilo's in San Antonio. I shit you not, the first sip is like this light goes on and you realize what root beer was always trying to taste like.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:09 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Schilo's in San Antonio. I shit you not, the first sip is like this light goes on and you realize what root beer was always trying to taste like.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:09 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Seconding birch beer, which is underappreciated.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:38 AM on March 29, 2017
posted by Chrysostom at 8:38 AM on March 29, 2017
This thread just made me remember a British soft drink that I tried as a kid 30+ years ago: Dandelion & Burdock, which I recall (probably wrongly) as being at least somewhat similar to root beer.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 8:54 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by sevenyearlurk at 8:54 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Have we officially moved over to the "complaining about cross-Atlantic soft drinks" rail now? Because ginger beer is an abomination against both God and man. Soft drinks shouldn't taste like burning.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 9:36 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Huffy Puffy at 9:36 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Because ginger beer is an abomination against both God and man. Soft drinks shouldn't taste like burning.
You're supposed to mix it with alcohol, silly.
posted by effbot at 9:40 AM on March 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
You're supposed to mix it with alcohol, silly.
posted by effbot at 9:40 AM on March 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Soft drinks shouldn't taste like burning.
As somebody who eats lemons straight, I respectfully disagree. I need to get my burning somewhere.
posted by solarion at 9:48 AM on March 29, 2017
As somebody who eats lemons straight, I respectfully disagree. I need to get my burning somewhere.
posted by solarion at 9:48 AM on March 29, 2017
Soft drinks shouldn't taste like burning.
I usually add a drop of chilli sauce and some juice from grated ginger to ginger beer, to get the burning up a bit. I've never had a ginger beer that burns enough for me.
posted by howfar at 10:14 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I usually add a drop of chilli sauce and some juice from grated ginger to ginger beer, to get the burning up a bit. I've never had a ginger beer that burns enough for me.
posted by howfar at 10:14 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
You're supposed to mix it with alcohol, silly.
Even better when it's already alcoholic to start with.
posted by delicious-luncheon at 10:21 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Even better when it's already alcoholic to start with.
posted by delicious-luncheon at 10:21 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Have we officially moved over to the "complaining about cross-Atlantic soft drinks" rail now? Because ginger beer is an abomination against both God and man.
Speak for yourself. Leaves more for me if you don't like it...
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:33 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Speak for yourself. Leaves more for me if you don't like it...
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:33 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yeah, over a decade in the US has not taught me how to to like root beer. I'd rather get inside a big trash bag and open a can of Surströmming.
Or so I thought until I read this on Wikipedia:
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 11:20 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Or so I thought until I read this on Wikipedia:
The fermentation starts from a lactic acid enzyme in the spine of the fish, and so the fermentation is by autolysis; together with bacteria, pungent smelling acids are formed in the fish such as propionic acid, butyric acid and acetic acid. Hydrogen sulfide is also produced.My question is, are we sure root beer isn't actually liquified Surströmming? Also, has this been used for crowd control at all?
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 11:20 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I usually add a drop of chilli sauce and some juice from grated ginger to ginger beer, to get the burning up a bit. I've never had a ginger beer that burns enough for me.
Have you tried Goya? Rather low on actual ginger flavor, but it burns like hell, I think they put capsaicin in it.
I still miss Stewart's ginger beer. Never found another that had the kick and the creamy mouth feel. They discontinued it right before the dark n stormy craze took off. Damn you Dr. Pepper.
posted by Diablevert at 12:18 PM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Have you tried Goya? Rather low on actual ginger flavor, but it burns like hell, I think they put capsaicin in it.
I still miss Stewart's ginger beer. Never found another that had the kick and the creamy mouth feel. They discontinued it right before the dark n stormy craze took off. Damn you Dr. Pepper.
posted by Diablevert at 12:18 PM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
This thread just made me remember a British soft drink that I tried as a kid 30+ years ago: Dandelion & Burdock, which I recall (probably wrongly) as being at least somewhat similar to root beer.
I had some of that a couple of years ago and fell in love immediately. The only other soda to elicit a similar response from me was the equally hard to find San Pellegrino Chinotto.
posted by mkhall at 12:33 PM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I had some of that a couple of years ago and fell in love immediately. The only other soda to elicit a similar response from me was the equally hard to find San Pellegrino Chinotto.
posted by mkhall at 12:33 PM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Those Irish people try x vids crack me up but they did lead to the question what the hell do the Irish eat? Some of the things they try are really mundane and some just common.
posted by Belle O'Cosity at 2:34 PM on March 29, 2017
posted by Belle O'Cosity at 2:34 PM on March 29, 2017
Dandelion and burdock is the best, I think it's definitely similar to root beer in that they both seem to share a sarsaparilla cordial flavour. Plus it's one of those rhythmic names that's fun to mess with, bandelion and durbock. I'd never associated it with TCP before, but I can see the same sort of woody sweetness in the smell. (TCP is good stuff too, as far as I'm concerned it's a panacea. Cut? TCP. Sore throat? TCP. Leg fell off? TCP.)
posted by lucidium at 4:07 PM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by lucidium at 4:07 PM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
'Murican here. Hate root beer with a passion. It tastes like nursing homes, not the fancy kind with a grand piano in the lobby, but rather the kind you read horror stories about in your local paper, the one with the puke-green walls and the disaffected staff.
Floats are awesome in theory, but why are you ruining all that good ice cream by drowning it in medicine-water? Just give me more ice cream, man.
posted by basalganglia at 4:36 PM on March 29, 2017
Floats are awesome in theory, but why are you ruining all that good ice cream by drowning it in medicine-water? Just give me more ice cream, man.
posted by basalganglia at 4:36 PM on March 29, 2017
The diet dandelion and burdock soda I found at Sainsbury's is flavored with licorice.
2 years ago Fox's Glacier sweets put out a limited pop bottle line that included it, but the bag I bought only had one piece and the flavor can't be shipped to the states (even though both plants are sold in supplements here).When I was in the UK last fall I checked several pound and sweet shops, but it was no longer being sold.
I like root beer, but some of it's made with Red 40 dye and I'm allergic.
Moxie tastes like slightly bitter root beer.
posted by brujita at 10:44 PM on March 29, 2017
2 years ago Fox's Glacier sweets put out a limited pop bottle line that included it, but the bag I bought only had one piece and the flavor can't be shipped to the states (even though both plants are sold in supplements here).When I was in the UK last fall I checked several pound and sweet shops, but it was no longer being sold.
I like root beer, but some of it's made with Red 40 dye and I'm allergic.
Moxie tastes like slightly bitter root beer.
posted by brujita at 10:44 PM on March 29, 2017
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I would definitely like to try this stuff someday, but I'd like to have a professional with me to show me the right way to eat it, rather than just guessing. A lot of I guess "cultural" foods deserve a certain level of respect and understanding to be properly appreciated. I'd like to try that crazy Sardinian maggot cheese - casu marzu - someday too!
posted by turbid dahlia at 5:13 PM on March 28, 2017 [5 favorites]