Peculiar Produce

Taking a trip through uncharted aisles, where few shoppers dare to tread

December 06, 2015

Peculiar Produce: Unknown Cheese Edition

December 06, 2015/ Guest User

Today: another pair of items that is not, technically, produce. Look, I know what the title of the blog is, but it was the catchiest name I could think of. I mean, what would YOU have named it? Probably like “Weird Food” or something. That’s lame as hell. Actually come to think of it, a good name for it would be “Uncharted Aisles,” referring to aisles in a grocery store. Which is right there in the subheading, goddamnit. Why didn’t I go with that one?

OK, sorry. I’m rambling a bit here. Let’s move on.

I like cheese. I eat it often, and in large quantities. Not really a fan of blue cheese, but pretty much anything else is fair game. I’m a big fan of aged cheddar and feta cheese, in particular. So, I decided to find some weird cheeses, ones I hadn’t tried before, and give them a spin. I went down to The House of Cheese in the ByWard Market and picked out a couple of different kinds. Here’s how that went:

I tried out the Irish cheddar with Irish whiskey in it first. Now, I’ve had Irish cheddar before, and it’s pretty great, so I figured this one would be excellent as well. I did like it, but it wasn’t quite what I was expecting.

The other Irish cheese I had was sharper, more crumbly. It had definitely been aged more. And in contrast, it contained exactly zero percent whiskey. This whiskey cheese was a lot less aged (I’m guessing for maybe only a few months, if at all) and still retained most of its softness. It was fairly mild as well. You could definitely taste the whiskey in the background. It was an interesting and unexpected combination of flavours that came together really nicely. I also enjoyed it on some crackers I bought for the occasion.

I really didn’t know what to expect with the Moroccan spiced cheese. I didn’t even know what they meant by “Moroccan spice” as there is no information on the cheese itself in regard to what goes in it. After a little research I have come to the conclusion that it is probably a mixture of spices known as “ras el hanout.” But I have no way to know for sure. I don’t even know what type of cheese makes up the base for this. It tasted a little like parmesan, but it could be goat cheese for all I know.

What I DO know is that it’s delicious. The cheese base on its own tastes great, but then the spices just add so much more depth. It tastes a bit like what a spice rack smells like; there’s a whole bunch of things happening inside your mouth with every bite. It was delicious on crackers and on its own. If you can deal with the steep price, definitely give this one a try.

David Gurman

David has never been a big fan of veggies, but because he loves you guys so much he started this blog just for you. He currently attends the professional writing program at Algonquin College and spends his free time trying not to take anything too seriously.

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November 21, 2015

Peculiar Produce: Pickled Asian Food Edition

November 21, 2015/ Guest User

Remember in my first post when I mentioned that I was going to talk some more about the regular dragon fruit (as opposed to the yellow variant)? Well, I ate it, and it was supremely underwhelming and barely worth writing about. It tasted like the yellow dragon fruit except with much less flavor. It had been in my fridge for a while so for all I know it had started to go bad, and that’s all I have to say about that. But I digress.

If you haven’t had kimchi, then go ahead and treat yourself. It is a dish originating from Korea, and consists mainly of cabbage along with other ingredients which is then fermented. It sounds kind of gross, and looks a little odd as well, but is actually really good and makes a pretty tasty side dish for your bibimbap or whatever.

So I figured, since I like kimchi so much, why not try something of a similar nature? I went down to the Arum Korean Market and browsed their pickled goods section. Eventually I picked up two things (mainly because they were among the minority of the items for sale that were actually labeled in English). These two things were pickled garlic stems, and pickled plums.

I tried the pickled garlic stems first. I was expecting a powerful and overwhelming garlic taste coupled with an extreme saltiness, and to be honest I was kind of assuming it would just be bad. Not so!

The garlic flavor was much more subdued than I thought it would be, and the pickling process gave it a tasty zesty flavor. And despite being soaked in brine for who knows how long, the stems actually maintained a nice crunch. I think you are meant to add the stems to other dishes, but on their own they actually make a pretty delicious snack. The package cost me about six dollars.

Now, the pickled plums. Hoo boy.

I’ve had mango pickle before, which is an Indian condiment wherein mangoes are mixed with various spices and herbs and then pickled (obviously). It’s actually really delicious and adds a flavor that is sweet, salty, and spicy all at the same time to your curry or stir-fry. So I figured, fruit and pickling, similar process right? Nope.

These pickled plums are a product of Japan. They can be eaten on their own or with rice, or as an ingredient in other dishes. And, I’ll be honest, they’re not that great. They’re kind of like olives, so they’re very salty, but also really mushy, and have a weird, kind of unappealing sour taste to them as well. I ate three because I didn’t want to waste the money I spent on them, but I doubt I’ll be able to bring myself to eat any more. That’s six bucks down the drain. I went into it expecting a surprisingly good dish, despite all appearances, but sometimes you really can judge a book by its cover. And this isn’t a very good book.

David Gurman

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November 07, 2015

Peculiar Produce: Canned Meat Edition

November 07, 2015/ Guest User

I have to issue a warning about my last post: don’t eat the kiwano unless you’re a fan of intestinal distress. Seriously, it apparently has a bunch of dietary fibre in it, so unless you’re looking to get a case of the runs, avoid it at all costs.

And now:

I know what you’re thinking: "David, this isn't produce!" If you'll recall, I said in my first post that I wouldn't be exclusively covering produce in the interest of not limiting my options. And now you're probably thinking, “Oh David, this isn’t obscure, Spam has been around for God knows how long, this post is garbage.” Well, consider the following: have you actually ever eaten Spam in your life? It used to be a big thing, but not anymore. Yeah, you’ve passed it by on the shelves in the grocery store, but have you bought a can and eaten it? Probably not. But now you don’t have to, because I’m going to do it for you.

Here’s what it looks like out of the can. It’s basically a meat brick.

I cut a slice off of it to test it out. It tastes a bit like ham, a bit like bologna… the most generic pork taste you can possibly think of. You get the feeling that it’s just a whole bunch of different meats mashed together into this brick. Not bad, but nothing to write home about. Inspired by the picture on the can, I cut off two more slices, threw them between two slices of bread, added a bit of cheese, onion, and mustard, then microwaved it for 45 seconds. It got extremely hot on the bottom, but more importantly, the cheese melted a bit and the meat heated up to make a hot Spam sandwich. It was not bad, although the Spam kind of overpowered the cheese and onions. The expiration date on the can said 2018, which is either a testament to the secure packaging or an indication of how little the product has to do with actual food. It cost about four dollars, so that’s pretty decent for a food product that could probably survive a nuclear holocaust with no adverse changes to its taste or nutritional content.

Next up, I had a tin of smoked herring from the Brunswick fish company:

Like the Spam, it’s probably something you’ve seen before but never tried. So I figured, why not?

I was expecting individual de-boned herrings inside when I opened it, but instead I got this cat food-looking wad of fish.

I grimaced and dug in. It turned out to be pretty decent - a little salty, not too strong of a fishy taste, an all right texture. I ate the whole tin right then and there. I’m not sure how you’re supposed to use it, maybe put it on a sandwich or in a salad like tuna, or eat it straight out of the container like I did. I doubt it matters anyway. I paid $1.80 for it, which seems solid for what you get.

David Gurman

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October 11, 2015

Peculiar Produce: Spiky Yellow Fruit Edition

October 11, 2015/ Guest User

Welcome to the inaugural post of Peculiar Produce! The idea behind this blog is, I go to stores and buy food that maybe most people have never had, and then I try it and tell you all about it. Don’t let the name fool you though, I won’t be limiting this blog to just produce. There’s a whole bunch of stuff out there that hasn’t been touched by John Q. Public, and I intend to tell you guys all about it.

To start things off, we’re going to look at a couple of fruits I found at my local Loblaws. Now, chances are you’ve seen these before, what with them being found at a big store like Loblaws, but you most likely passed them by, not knowing what they were, what they taste like or even how to eat them. But no more! For here, I shall explain all of this stuff and more.

First up, we have the yellow Pitahaya:

Hailing from Colombia, this fruit is actually a type of dragon fruit. It’s apparently a lot sweeter than regular dragon fruit (which I have yet to try - more on that later) and is rich in Vitamin C. To eat it, you cut in half, then scoop the contents out with a spoon.

It actually tastes pretty great, a bit like a mixture between a honeydew melon and kiwi. The seeds within are edible as well and give the flesh of the pitahaya a nice crunch. All in all, it makes a healthy and pretty tasty snack. It’s a bit pricey, though, at around six bucks a fruit, so it’s not the sort of thing you can eat every day.

The next fruit I tried was the Kiwano, also known as the horned melon for obvious reasons:

It’s native to sub-Saharan Africa, but it is currently grown in many locations around the world. Like the Pitahaya, you’re meant to cut it open.

This time, you’re apparently meant to suck the flesh out of the rind somehow. It didn’t seem to want to cooperate, though, so I ended up just scooping the contents into a bowl.

It may look like green sludge with seeds in it, but it’s actually just hundreds of these little jelly-like seed pods.

Taste-wise, I didn’t like it quite as much as the Pitahaya, although it was not bad. It was a lot more tart and sour, kind of like sour green grapes, or possibly a Granny Smith apple. Texture-wise, it felt a lot like the flesh of a grape, and you could pretty much just drink the whole thing, seeds and all, directly from the bowl (which I ended up doing). Like the Pitahaya, it contains a good amount of Vitamin C, and also like the Pitahaya, it cost me six bucks. Probably not worth it in this case.

Tune in next time, when we discuss canned meat!

David Gurman

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Gurman, David

Peculiar Produce

Peculiar Produce: Unknown Cheese Edition

David Gurman

Peculiar Produce: Pickled Asian Food Edition

David Gurman

Peculiar Produce: Canned Meat Edition

David Gurman

Peculiar Produce: Spiky Yellow Fruit Edition

David Gurman

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