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The Ten Most Recent Comments By nicksweeney

From Serious Eats

Is Cheese Vegetarian?

That 'in a sense', Jamie, is the kind of sense that would also stop people from eating ethically, because at a sufficiently wide angle, nothing is unconnected to slaughter. All distinctions collapse. Vegetarians can't escape the cycle of slaughter. Vegans can't easily escape the massacres wreaked by farm equipment upon small creatures in fields. If you quibble about whether vegetarianism should extend to not eating things in a production model that allows other people to eat meat, then you might as well just order up the grain-fed, cow-crate steaks and be done with it.

(I'm reminded of the Jain monks whose vow not to take life leads to them starving themselves.)

I haven't consciously, deliberately eaten meat in a decade. I've no doubt unconsciously consumed animal products, especially in recent years, since the US is far behind Europe in taking animal fat and other stuff out of products you'd otherwise expect to be fine. And purity is a lofty goal: should I refuse the slice of birthday cake at my young relatives' parties because the eggs used to make it are from battery hens?

You just do the best you can in your own choices, and you trust that small-scale farmers handle the meat side of their agriculture with the conscientiousness of their other work. Because livestock farming is the exploitation (in a neutral sense) of animals' life and death, and that's just how it has been since the ancient hunter-gatherers had a few ideas to make their lives easier.

nicksweeney at 4:15AM on 12/20/07

From Serious Eats

You May Also Substitute Vermouth

I just splashed the last of my Noilly Prat (refrigerated, natch) into a risotto, as you do; the bottle of white Lillet, though, is reserved for summer drinking on ice.

nicksweeney at 10:09PM on 07/11/07

From Serious Eats

Wine by Any Other Name

I'm not a terroir cultist, but the same varietal grown in very different regions can produce very different wines.

The real lesson from this piece: learn to love your wine dealers. Ask questions -- especially 'have you tried this one? what do you drink it with?' -- and soak up their knowledge. Find dealers who bring in obscure regional stuff and cherish them like family members. Vocalise your palate: you won't sound silly. (I miss Oddbins.)

But to answer the question: some of my favourite Australian grenaches are too expensive when imported to the US to justify buying, but if I want a summer-berry red, then an supermarket-shelf Spanish garnacha will often do the trick.

nicksweeney at 5:08AM on 04/08/07

From Serious Eats

Wines That Love

'To win over foodies'? Well, maybe. To me, it smacks of 'neither fish nor fowl' at that price point: $12 isn't expensive, but it's in the range where buyers are probably going to have a clue about basic pairings. If you're buying n Buck Chuck, you're in red=red meat, white=white meat territory.

(I seem to remember some UK supermarket wines in the equivalent of the American under-$10 range having those tasting grids for a range of suggested pairing options.)

Pretty labels, though. And I don't mind the concept of getting away from varietal/vintage.

nicksweeney at 4:57AM on 04/08/07

From Talk

Immersion blender

Braun. All the way. Though I'd not seen the model 2qra mentions, and I'm now tempted to nab one...

nicksweeney at 1:27AM on 03/28/07

From Serious Eats

Wine: A Look at Corks and Screw Caps

It's understandable that winemakers are nervous about whether screwcaps might affect the development of wines that are meant to spend a long time bottle-aging: you honestly don't know until you try it. I'd be interested to know if any major makers are laying down vintages with caps and corks then testing them, or whether they're not prepared to risk losing even a small amount of their annual production.

There are also synthetic corks, which deliver the satisfying 'pop': I believe Bonny Doon has experimented with them, and I've seen plasticorks used elsewhere, more commonly in the UK. But if you're going to take the plastic route, then you might as well go the whole way and adopt the screwcap.

nicksweeney at 1:23AM on 03/28/07

From Serious Eats

In Defence of British Food

British food at its best is often hard to adapt to restaurant eating, which may be why so many home-table meals work badly in the pub-grub setting. (The exceptions are the fry-up and the chippie.) I wonder sometimes whether the substitution of money for time over the past quarter-century has left people not quite affluent enough to eat marrowbone and mutton and S&K pie at St John, but also lacking the time or suppliers (or bravery) to cook it themselves.

Strangely, I think there's a useful comparison with Mexican food, which is more or less unobtainable in the UK beyond crappy tacos. Most Britons aren't aware of mole poblano or pozole or menudo, and those are dishes that, even in the US, have made a much slower transition from the home kitchen to the restaurant table and the general American palate.

I've been thinking a lot about British eating habits in days past, particularly thanks to Pepys' Diary. Lots of group lunches and chophouses and turkey-pies and oysters by the dozen. And lamb, a meat whose relative rarity and cost in the US continues to puzzle me.

Heavy? Let's say 'northern European'. And the ne plus ultra of British food to line your stomach with concrete is served to Oxford dons in winter.

nicksweeney at 4:03AM on 03/02/07

Responses to Comments by nicksweeney

From Serious Eats

In Defence of British Food

I lived in England for two years and lost weight, and loved the food--loved Tescos, Marks and Spencers, Sainsbury's and the ease of finding good vegetarian food. I loved the gastropub atmosphere and the emphasis on talking and pub quizzes rather than just drinking.

I don't eat meat or drink beer and there was lovely Indian food, the chips were great for junk food, and snack food like crisps, flapjacks, and chocolates were divine. Ditto jacket potatoes with cheddar and butter--now that's awesome street food!

The problem with British food is not that it is bad, but that when it is bad it is grotesquely, epically bad food, bad food like none other I have been served in restaurants--like the pub where I asked if the soup was vegetarian and the man said, "oooh, I'll have to go back and have cook look at the tin" and the soggy white bread, Nescafe, and so forth. And because tourists don't know where the good British food is they eat at such places and go back without seeing how good it can be, particularly in supermarkets and out-of-the way places.

HeartofGlass at 9:51AM on 06/26/08

From Serious Eats

Is Cheese Vegetarian?

fungi are spiritual??

akk328 at 2:31PM on 04/23/08

From Serious Eats

Is Cheese Vegetarian?

Karen emailed me a response to this, which she would've posted herself if she weren't so busy packing for tomorrow's farmers market! From Karen:


You brought up the issue of the economic need to use all the animals (and their by-products) produced on a sustainable farm. The issue is also moral: how can a dairy producer ensure that the animals are treated well after they leave their operation (assuming they are treated well when there) if they are sent to auction or anywhere else? That was our issue when selling off young lambs. We felt that the last three days of their lives (on a trailer, no food or water, handled heaven knows how) was inhumane after being raised with care and respect for 4 months. That's how we started raising ALL of our lambs on pasture ourselves. Yes they go to slaughter, but we bring them there, and can ensure that up to the very last minutes of their lives they see a familiar face and are not mishandled or abused. Same thing goes for our culled milking ewes.

What bothers me the most is that somehow rennet from the stomachs of ALREADY SLAUGHTERED calves is considered the engine that drives the train for many so-called vegetarian cheese eaters. It is such a small issue! What about how the animals were treated when alive (e.g., I know some of the producers for Cabot -- vegetarian rennet not withstanding -- and they are confining their cows and running factory-like farms) should be the key issue. ALL of those animals will eventually be used for meat (as long as healthy), so THAT they are slaughtered is a non-issue. And, that slaughtered animals' stomachs get used for making rennet to me is a non-issue.

As a person who spends her life with livestock, cares for them 24/7, relies on them to keep our farm viable, and loves them for how they enrich my life and community, the "wide angle" is the ONLY one that I look through. That people less familiar with farming have a narrower lens is not an excuse for bad decision-making -- so I feel my responsibility is to the sustainable farming model to which I adhere, and that includes educating (and sometimes scaring away) customers whose narrower lens allows them to feel comfortable eating Cabot cheddar -- with vegetarian rennet.

Warmest regards,
Karen

jamieforrest at 2:43PM on 12/21/07

From Serious Eats

Is Cheese Vegetarian?

I think I would say that cheese is not vegetarian and eggs are not vegetarian. well, at least not strictly vegetarian. I'm living in South India where there are a lot of vegetarians, to say the least, and they do not eat eggs or cheese. In fact, serving eggs in school became a big controversy because vegetarians did not want their children to watch other children eating eggs. Some places won't rent to non-veg people, though that may be a form of religious discrimination. And the veg places do not serve alcohol.

I moved here from San Francisco, and seeing veg here is a whole nother level compared to veg in the US.

The Jains do not appear to be starving though - I think they are allowed to eat fruit that has fallen to the ground and also are maybe required to eat whatever is given to them when they ask for food.

debbieann at 8:11AM on 12/20/07

From Serious Eats

Wine by Any Other Name

Hey Guys,
Its Gianluca --the other brother, from the store In Vino Veritas you guys used to come to. Someone tried to buy a gift certificate on the phone from Maine and he told us about this article. We were all delighted to find such appreciation for what we do. And thanks to people like you guys, we continue to do what we love to do. It was a great article and we are flattered and happy to have provided pleasant shopping experiences. I remembr the BLUEBERRY PANCAKES....so i know specifically who you guys are. You were great customers!!! I was wondering what happened to you guys! Anyway come find us anytime..and to selfishly plug in our stroe..it is IN VINO VERITAS 1375 First Avenue (corner of 74 Street)
212 288 0100 Free Delivery
Thanks again, Gianluca---and Gianbruno and the whole staff at In Vino Veritas.

Gianluca at 2:12PM on 04/27/07

From Serious Eats

Wine by Any Other Name

yay, another gv fan. we don't have trader joe's here, but weingut hofer's gruner veltliner is also pretty inexpensive and tasty.

erica.a at 2:51PM on 04/17/07

From Talk

Immersion blender

I have no electrical outlets right near my stove, so I am happy to have Cuisinart's cordless model.

floretbroc at 4:46PM on 03/28/07

From Talk

Immersion blender

I inherited mine from my grandmother, actually. She got it from my grandfather as soon as they came out and it cost over $100! It is a Braun Minipimer2. It has been in continuous use since sometime in the late 70s. Just in the last month the poor thing has finally had a bit of a problem. The housing has cracked around the screw that attaches it to the motor. I am definitely in the market for a new one. This thread was helpful, I now know I'll stick with the Braun.

Calichef at 8:14AM on 03/28/07

From Talk

Immersion blender

I have the cheapest immersion blender available, and I have to say it works just fine. It has no attachments at all, just two speeds, one of which is nigh on useless. I don't have a food processer (although of course I wish I did) and I have found that with a little acquired technique I can do lots of things with it. For me, the hardest thing to master was breadcrumbs, which you need to keep as aerated as possible. Otherwise, I grind things like nuts with it all the time, and have never had a problem.

caley at 7:07AM on 03/28/07