[vapour]

What type of foods do you guys feel are underrated or overrated? Maybe it's something about this type of food you never understood why it's so talked about or why customers always "ooo-ing or ahh-ing" over it on the menu.

I'll start first..

underrated: tough cuts of meats.
it takes much more skill to prepare a tough cut of meat than let's say a beef tenderloin.. a beef tenderloin, i can just season it and grill/sear it to the right doneness. where as tough meats, take much more time and effort to flavour it and to braise it to a mouth watering, meltingly tender state.. yumm

overrated: souffles.
it's just a base and whipped whites. to me, it's just a fluffy cake that's too wet,it's flavour diluted with whipped egg whites. egg whites are pretty inexpensive and restaurants charge an arm and a leg for them.

an overrated bakery staple is the genoise cake. in my opinion, it's always too dry and the crumb too coarse. but it's used for practically everything. i much prefer to use a chiffon style sponge.

any thoughts? if anyone can change my opinion about souffles, go right ahead.

[ChefTorrie]

Souffles are not overrated at all.

[M2k]

Explaination?

[kuan]

Originally Posted by ChefTorrie

Souffles are not overrated at all.

Agree. A well made souffle carries and magnifies the flavor of, erm, whatever it's made of. (sorry for the grammar)

[Psycho Chef]

The mellowing and harmonization of cheeses by the egg whites within a cheese souffle makes it an etheral experience when properly made.

[kuan]

You know I don't think there's such a thing as an overrated food. I believe it's just not prepared properly.

[DC Sunshine]

Underated?
-Organ meats -you can get some delicious flavours out of kidneys & livers with the right cooking.
-Mutton - getting harder to source it by the day. Its better in some dishes than lamb.
-Cabbage - it seems to be falling out of favour, but its very versatile.
-Eels - delish!

Over-rated?
- Fillet steak. yep its soft, but bland. You've got to add flavour so much IMHO. And the price! I think the attraction is more in the snob appeal.
- Lobsters - ditto as per fillet steak. Crab tastes better - just on its own.
- Turkey. Unless you really know what you're doing - its dry. And all that bone to the ratio of meat. Dunno why some people torture themselves each year trying to make it nice. Tradition I guess.

That's all for today....your turn!

DC

[BombayBen]

I think the reason the restaurants charge a lot for souffles is because quite a lot of work goes into getting them just right. I had to practice a lot to get mine just right! I agree with all above - a well made and well seasoned souffle is just divine and very satisfying

[ChefTorrie]

Originally Posted by M2k

Explaination?

No explanation needed, they are just not overrated, never even heard of such a thing... Plus, Kuan did my explaining for me, haha!

[henry]

overrated?

Meringue on pies. It looks so nice piled and swirled and browned peaks, but does anyone really eat it? ALL of it?

H.

[shroomgirl]

most truffle oil......oh man drizzle truffle oil over anything and you can upcharge significantly....most of the time I'd rather it be left off the dish.

microgreens....um ok, unless they are integral they just detract by adding umph flavor, many times missmatched to the other components....read above.

a good pie is a beautiful thing, many times it's so much better than tarts/galettes.....but finding a scratch pie that has had time and good ingredients is a difficult thing.....at least around these parts.

under/overrated....good food is good food, doesn't matter if it's white linen or diner dive....fresh great quality ingredients prepared with a deft hand are what I'd love to have at all our dining experiences.....pretty simple huh.

[Coregonus]

Underrated: Bony fish. People almost learned that even some fat can be good for you but still are missing whole lot of enjoyment.

Overrated: None such. All ingredients are made in heaven. If we can't find them proper use, doesn't mean there is no divine purpose.

C

[piracer]

Originally Posted by shroomgirl

microgreens....um ok, unless they are integral they just detract by adding umph flavor, many times missmatched to the other components....read above.

Oh my god, i hate microgreens, they piss me off so much. I went to this really chi-chi place for like desperate housewives and what not, and my mum who wasnt hungry ordered a microgreen salad for bloody $20 thinking it would come with something else not stated on the menu. Oh wow, bad choice, it came with erm... micro greens and cherry tomatoes, for $20!!!!!

[kuan]

Originally Posted by DC Sunshine

Underated?
-Organ meats -you can get some delicious flavours out of kidneys & livers with the right cooking.

I love lamb kidneys and chicken liver. Once in awhile I get this hankering for chopped liver. Good thing we have a deli nearby.

[shroomgirl]

offal....usually thrown in for free from the farmer cus noone else wants the leaf lard or organs.