Philosophy Now Forum

It's that time of year again when hoards of Xmas diners insist on cooking and eating the Devil's Testicles.

For generations parents have been puzzled why their children refused to eat those disgusting little excuses for vegetables.

For myself I've never understood how anyone can let them come near the plate. As a kid I used to refuse the entire roast dinner because my Mum was in the habit of using the hot sprout water to make the gravy and so infect the entire dinner with that rancid cabbagey smell.

Most brassicas have that horrible taste and smell. When I was no more than five I got spotted trying to throw away a thick green cabbage leaf before I collected my school dessert. The eagle eyed teacher stopped me, and decided to make me eat it. I complained that cabbages made me gag. But regardless I was forced to eat the disgusting leaf with my custard and cornflake tart.

Now the puzzling mystery of why some love cabbage and sprouts and others do not.

Phenylthiocarbamide

It seems that some of us are capable os smelling and tasting Phenylthiocarbamide, whilst others are not. If you are capable then many brassicas have a revolting taint to them, making them unpalatable.
You can loose sensitivity to Phenylthiocarbamide with age. But at 55 I'm never going to eat those evil things. No the Devil's Balls can stay in the pot, and the vile liquid in which they are cooked will never be used to add to gravy in my home..

SO , how do others here feel about spouts

I love them, however they're not all equally palatable. I grow my own and thus pick them when they're quite small and only cook them for a few minutes. Many children are put off brassicas when they are young by being force fed them when they are overcooked and often they don't recover from the experience. Do you have an equal aversion to cauliflower and broccoli?

Obvious Leo wrote:I love them, however they're not all equally palatable. I grow my own and thus pick them when they're quite small and only cook them for a few minutes. Many children are put off brassicas when they are young by being force fed them when they are overcooked and often they don't recover from the experience. Do you have an equal aversion to cauliflower and broccoli?

Obviously eating come veg is a good idea, and has time has passed I have managed to find some palatable, as long as it is only very gently cooked. Savoy cabbage dropped into boiling water for two seconds to soften the leaves then scorched with pre-fried shallots and caraway seeds, for example.

I eat broccoli, but keep a slight crunch to it. Cauliflower is still disgusting, cook it how my may.

Going from the Wiki article, the ability to taste PTC varies from country to country, with the UK having around 30% who cannot taste it at all.

But also non-smokers and those not habituated to coffee or tea have a statistically higher percentage of tasting PTC than the general population. This might explain why children hate PTC more than their parents.

I only found out about this today from a question on University Challenge. It has great explanatory power over my experience of this foul vegetable over the years, and my own puzzlement with people who seem incapable of tasting that shit that makes me want to gag.

Childhood aversions to particular foods can become chiselled into our psychological granite and reinforced over time. I went to a boarding school where the food was utterly appalling and had to unlearn an awful lot of antipathies in my adulthood. However I quickly learned that the way food is prepared has a lot to do with the way that we engage with it and that a few simple herbs can work miracles with food which is otherwise rather bland. My wife and I tend to eat a lot of salads nowadays but this preference never went down well with our kids when they were younger. Although I did my best to prepare salad vegetables in new and interesting ways it was always the case that as far as my boys were concerned I was dishing up rabbit food. Interestingly they no longer feel the same way because I was scrupulous about never forcing them to eat anything they didn't want. I would encourage them and even lecture them but I never forced the issue. In the long run I reckon this was good policy because they now eat practically anything, as do my grandchildren.

Hobbes' Choice wrote:It's that time of year again when hoards of Xmas diners insist on cooking and eating the Devil's Testicles.

For generations parents have been puzzled why their children refused to eat those disgusting little excuses for vegetables.

For myself I've never understood how anyone can let them come near the plate. As a kid I used to refuse the entire roast dinner because my Mum was in the habit of using the hot sprout water to make the gravy and so infect the entire dinner with that rancid cabbagey smell.

Most brassicas have that horrible taste and smell. When I was no more than five I got spotted trying to throw away a thick green cabbage leaf before I collected my school dessert. The eagle eyed teacher stopped me, and decided to make me eat it. I complained that cabbages made me gag. But regardless I was forced to eat the disgusting leaf with my custard and cornflake tart.

Now the puzzling mystery of why some love cabbage and sprouts and others do not.

Phenylthiocarbamide

It seems that some of us are capable os smelling and tasting Phenylthiocarbamide, whilst others are not. If you are capable then many brassicas have a revolting taint to them, making them unpalatable.
You can loose sensitivity to Phenylthiocarbamide with age. But at 55 I'm never going to eat those evil things. No the Devil's Balls can stay in the pot, and the vile liquid in which they are cooked will never be used to add to gravy in my home..

SO , how do others here feel about spouts

Love handles and spouts; a teapot is nothing without them.
Sprouts as Devil's Balls - hmmm, Christmas Day is gonna be fun as I roll a firm one around my tongue, and think of you

marjoram_blues wrote:

Hobbes' Choice wrote:It's that time of year again when hoards of Xmas diners insist on cooking and eating the Devil's Testicles.

For generations parents have been puzzled why their children refused to eat those disgusting little excuses for vegetables.

For myself I've never understood how anyone can let them come near the plate. As a kid I used to refuse the entire roast dinner because my Mum was in the habit of using the hot sprout water to make the gravy and so infect the entire dinner with that rancid cabbagey smell.

Most brassicas have that horrible taste and smell. When I was no more than five I got spotted trying to throw away a thick green cabbage leaf before I collected my school dessert. The eagle eyed teacher stopped me, and decided to make me eat it. I complained that cabbages made me gag. But regardless I was forced to eat the disgusting leaf with my custard and cornflake tart.

Now the puzzling mystery of why some love cabbage and sprouts and others do not.

Phenylthiocarbamide

It seems that some of us are capable os smelling and tasting Phenylthiocarbamide, whilst others are not. If you are capable then many brassicas have a revolting taint to them, making them unpalatable.
You can loose sensitivity to Phenylthiocarbamide with age. But at 55 I'm never going to eat those evil things. No the Devil's Balls can stay in the pot, and the vile liquid in which they are cooked will never be used to add to gravy in my home..

SO , how do others here feel about spouts

Love handles and spouts; a teapot is nothing without them.
Sprouts as Devil's Balls - hmmm, Christmas Day is gonna be fun as I roll a firm one around my tongue, and think of you

So you are deficient in PTC detection?
Enjoy your balls!

Proper spouts are important for teapots. They need to emerge low from the body of the pot and extent away to prevent spillage.
I hate the ministry of Crapology which foisted upon us the late 1960s stainless steel monstrosities.

Such a thing is an insult to design.

Hey, that's my teapot you got there, It pours perfectly but I'm non too sure about the material. I've still to find my perfect pot...
Searching, searching...

Vinegar is the solution.

Arising_uk wrote:Vinegar is the solution.

Really? In what measure...

marjoram_blues wrote:Hey, that's my teapot you got there, It pours perfectly but I'm non too sure about the material. I've still to find my perfect pot...
Searching, searching...

You can't use that teapot without spilling,. You know I'm telling the truth.

Teapot design has been perfected generations ago. Note the height of the spout and the distance from the pot. Now imagine the liquid inside as you apply tilt. You will note that the liquid appears at the top of the spout long before it gets near the lid. I this was liquid can never spill from the lid as you pour.

Additionally the end of the spout needs to be pointy to exploit surface tension to stop dripping.

It's a no brainer.

Arising_uk wrote:Vinegar is the solution.

Eh?

Hobbes' Choice wrote:

marjoram_blues wrote:Hey, that's my teapot you got there, It pours perfectly but I'm non too sure about the material. I've still to find my perfect pot...
Searching, searching...

You can't use that teapot without spilling,. You know I'm telling the truth.

Teapot design has been perfected generations ago.

Screen Shot 2015-12-23 at 13.55.14.png

Note the height of the spout and the distance from the pot. Now imagine the liquid inside as you apply tilt. You will note that the liquid appears at the top of the spout long before it gets near the lid. I this was liquid can never spill from the lid as you pour.

Additionally the end of the spout needs to be pointy to exploit surface tension to stop dripping.

It's a no brainer.

Dahling Hobbsy - you do make me larf.
In the interests of science and to check my memory, I have performed the tea-making ceremony as befits a Tetley tea bag in that very same stainless steel pot. Bought as a temporary measure but I have to bow down to the great god of Asda, or Tesco, or Sainsbury. It's done good.
Now, you know as well as I do that seeing is believing. I saw nO drippings of any kind, so you are telling Almighty Big Fibs.
Re your preferred red traditional, I have no need to imagine - I have seen with my own een the dribbling spillage that tips out the spout.
I suggest dear HC, that you undertake research, research, research.

Hobbes' Choice wrote:

Arising_uk wrote:Vinegar is the solution.

Eh?

Aha, so much for the expert in teapots
Hint: stainless not.

Actually, I use my dishwasher...although some theories of tannin buildup suggest...

marjoram_blues wrote:
Dahling Hobbsy - you do make me larf.
In the interests of science and to check my memory, I have performed the tea-making ceremony as befits a Tetley tea bag in that very same stainless steel pot. Bought as a temporary measure but I have to bow down to the great god of Asda, or Tesco, or Sainsbury. It's done good.
Now, you know as well as I do that seeing is believing. I saw nO drippings of any kind, so you are telling Almighty Big Fibs.
Re your preferred red traditional, I have no need to imagine - I have seen with my own een the dribbling spillage that tips out the spout.
I suggest dear HC, that you undertake research, research, research.

Seriously I find it hard to believe that you teapot looks like the one I posted and does not drip.

I bet you have to leave at least an inch free from the top of the pot lid.