Since when...

[coltle6920]

did New Englanders become the official taste testers for the rest of us?

I frequently watch America's Test Kitchen on TV. One can get some good ideas from watching but they're hardly the last word. They have a segment where a panel taste tests a different item each episode. In the end you are told which item was voted the best and you should go right out and buy it.

Same thing goes for their recipes. "We cooked 500 turkeys." "We made 5000 meatballs." "Here is the way you should be doing it."

Sorry but I grew up on ethnic foods made from recipes handed down from generation to generation. You palate is no better than mine when it comes to what tastes good. Isn't that all that matters?

Didn't mean to lump in all New Englanders. The kitchen is up there in one of those small States.

 

[lihpster]

Also, things can "taste" better because of other factors. Using freshly ground herbs and spices as opposed to dried. But the biggest "taste enhancer" for me was the chef. My mother was a scratch cook. She wasn't especially great or anything, mostly just good, filling meals. That said, there are three or four dishes she made, that I swear are the best I ever had, bar none. Her pork fried rice is still World's Champion. One of those dishes was a recipe on a soup can. Still the best.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Taste is subjective.

"Hey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know ..."

 

[Rudi]

They do make good chow-da.

 

[mdf9183]

They did a taste test on picante sauce and did not even include Pace picante sauce and they picked some northern sauce as the best.

 

[Jack Flash]

America's Test Kitchen

At least it's been a better show since that prissy guy with the bow tie left. J-E-R-K.

I would believe their taste testers are pretty representative of the US. We are a highly mobile society; just because someone lives in the Northeast now doesn't mean he didn't grow up in Iowa.

Besides, what does a jar of salsa cost, like a few bucks? Buy the one they say is best and try it. How bad can it be? If you don't like it as much as your favorite, bury it in a pot of spicy chili and be done with it.

 

[rockquarry]

They did a taste test on picante sauce and did not even include Pace picante sauce and they picked some northern sauce as the best.

As mentioned in a previous post, taste is subjective. Pace picante is fair for a bland store-bought-out-of-a-jar salsa, but there are many, many regional brands (at least in Texas) that aren't quite so dull as Pace.

Home made salsa can be much better, and it's no more difficult to make than it is to develop a good handload. It just takes a little experimentation.

I guess I should add that my wife prefers Pace over all others (including homemade) because it's not hot or spicy.

 

[bigwheelzip]

Since when did New Englanders become the official taste testers for the rest of us?

Since Autumn, 1621.