Diet, Spices Temperament

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 12:25 pm

I have often thought that diet & spices have much to do with our temperament and personality. No offense intended here, but the general English diet seems to be void of much in the way of spices and seasonings other than salt and pepper and many (not all) English folk have personalities that reflect that (BLAND). My English sil whom I respect and admire is a good example. His basic demeanor is BLAND.

Italians. Spanish, Greeks & French have temperaments and personalities that seem to reflect their diets which are more seasoned with various herbs & spices. My own personality (intriguing), and temperament (effervescent) :wah: certainly reflect my diet spiced with a wide variety of spices. Garlic, ginger, paprika, saffron, basil, thyme bay, chili powder, rosemary, oregano, cumin, clove and of course the combined mixture of some of the foregoing (CURRIES).

So then----do you like spices and what are some of your favorites?

Post by **LarsMac** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 12:37 pm

I dunno.

My diet is rich with herbs and spices, and yet, I remain rather bland.

Gramps always said the English went out to conquer the world just because they were in search of good take-out.

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 12:46 pm

LarsMac;1368907 wrote: I dunno.

My diet is rich with herbs and spices, and yet, I remain rather bland.

Gramps always said the English went out to conquer the world just because they were in search of good take-out.

Get some chili's into your diet Lars, and you will SPARKLE.

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 3:52 pm

Lon.........have you any idea what the traditional English take aways are ?

Possibly the most popular and the hotter the better amongst the macho amongst us, Indian, followed by Chinese, or possibly Kebabs.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 3:59 pm

Bruv;1368923 wrote: Lon.........have you any idea what the traditional English take aways are ?

Possibly the most popular and the hotter the better amongst the macho amongst us, Indian, followed by Chinese, or possibly Kebabs. You're forgetting the Thai, Indonesian, Mexican, Turkish, Arabic, Greek etc etc etc.

You see Lon, we have evolved rather since you were last In England In 1907 as a young boy. In fact, we even have running water and electricity now.

Scotland will be getting their's In about 20 years time.

Snooz · Post by **Snooz** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 3:59 pm

Is Thai food popular over there? It's nice and spicy but they also include lemon grass and coconut milk. The combination of the flavors is scrumptious.

Edit: oops, Oscar and I must have been posting at the same time. Never mind.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 4:04 pm

SnoozeAgain;1368926 wrote: Is Thai food popular over there? It's nice and spicy but they also include lemon grass and coconut milk. The combination of the flavors is scrumptious.

Edit: oops, Oscar and I must have been posting at the same time. Never mind.

Yes, Thai Is very popular. It really came Into It's own ( no pun Intended ) about 15 years ago but now most towns have several Thai resturants and take-outs;

Our Supermarkets ( The more up market one's like Sainsbury) sell most of the fresh Ingrediants to make your own at home and In my city centre there Is a wonderful Exotic cash and carry where you can buy just about anything related to exotic spices.

I myself love Mediterranean and we visit a Turkish deli once a week to stock up on sun dried tomatoe's jalepeno peppers, Fetta cheese etc....

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 4:16 pm

Bruv;1368923 wrote: Lon.........have you any idea what the traditional English take aways are ?

Possibly the most popular and the hotter the better amongst the macho amongst us, Indian, followed by Chinese, or possibly Kebabs.

Yes I am aware of the Takeaways--it's the same in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand etc----very popular, however my initial post was really referring to TRADITIONAL ENGLISH MEALS. Take a ways are not consumed on a daily basis (at least I hope not.)

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 4:22 pm

TRADITIONAL ENGLISH MEALS ????

Many would say Curry is Traditional English.

We even take garlic these days, dont cha know ?

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 4:37 pm

It's the basic day to day meals eaten by French, Italians etc. to which I was referring, all of which season their foods considerably more than day to day basic English meals. One must really consume on a regular basis these wonderful herbs and spices to have a positive effect on one's personality. Having takeaways occasionally just won't do the job. I consume on a daily basis, meals at home prepared with these mentioned spices. I will take SPAM and cook it with garlic, oregano, thyme, paprika, lemon juice, tabasco sauce. I always have hot sauce and peppers with my scrambled eggs. It's to this kind of eating that I owe my sparkling personality to. :wah:

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 4:47 pm

Bruv;1368930 wrote: TRADITIONAL ENGLISH MEALS ????

Many would say Curry is Traditional English.

We even take garlic these days, dont cha know ? Yes, but with fries and ketchup

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 4:48 pm

Would a Scotsman dare to eat Haggis with TABASCO SAUCE? Would a Englishman put Tabasco Sauce on his CHIPS?

Attached files

koan · Post by **koan** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 10:19 pm

People can become addicted to foods that they're allergic to and that has a definite effect upon personality. :p

I'm allergic to spices and garlic and, aware of such, tend to eat very bland food. I think I'm boring as hell but apparently I make other people laugh and have a few good stories to tell.

There was one point when I realized that all my favourite foods were yellow or off white. Except corn which I'm allergic to and never fancied.

I won't eat wasabi with my sushi but I know people who do and they don't seem to benefit in the personality department. They are actually more likely to be someone who doesn't treat wait staff well. As a side thought, if you go on a date, pay attention to how they treat the wait staff, it's a good indicator of how they'll treat you after you start living together.

What were we talking about? Oh, yeah, ketchup. I used to put lots of it on my kraft dinner but now I prefer it plain with parmesan and maybe a bit of crumbled feta melted in. I put spicy pepper medley on just about everything but have seen no purpose in hot sauce outside of bragging how much you can tolerate. It's much like being proud of how much beer you can drink before you black out. Maybe fun at a party but no one wants to live with it.

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 4:40 am

Lon;1368931 wrote:

I will take SPAM and cook it with garlic, oregano, thyme, paprika, lemon juice, tabasco sauce. I always have hot sauce and peppers with my scrambled eggs. It's to this kind of eating that I owe my sparkling personality to. :wah:

There is nothing can improve on Spam other than a good English brown sauce.

Your assessment dooms the Germans and other Northern europeans then ?

Your personality ?

Nothing to do with genes then ?

Are all Italians/Spanish etc. hap hap happy all the time ?

Snooz · Post by **Snooz** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 5:13 am

Me thinks Lon has a small pot of poo he's cackling over while he stirs it in the corner.

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 8:01 am

Bruv;1368967 wrote: There is nothing can improve on Spam other than a good English brown sauce.

Your assessment dooms the Germans and other Northern europeans then ?

Your personality ?

Nothing to do with genes then ?

Are all Italians/Spanish etc. hap hap happy all the time ?

Sauerkraut with out a doubt has much to do with German temperament and no, Italians and Spanish are not happy all the time due I am sure to gas & constipation brought on by diet. :wah:

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 8:24 am

It's 8:25 AM Saturday morning and I have just finished my breakfast ------a three egg omelette with a cheddar cheese, tomato, green peppers, basil filling covered with just a touch of Hot Sauce---------a small bowel of stewed prunes and coffee. This meal will sustain me through much of the day and contribute to my enhanced mental and physical capabilities not to mention by scintillating persona. :wah:

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 8:33 am

Lon;1368981 wrote: It's 8:25 AM Saturday morning and I have just finished my breakfast ------a three egg omelette with a cheddar cheese, tomato, green peppers, basil filling covered with just a touch of Hot Sauce---------a small bowel of stewed prunes and coffee. This meal will sustain me through much of the day and contribute to my enhanced mental and physical capabilities not to mention by scintillating persona. :wah:
Keep your bowels regular at least.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 2:22 pm

You Know Bonnie Lonnie... You view on British eating may be right...

This Is what one of British Comedians thought about the British and use of spices.

Cumin

Live at the Apollo - MICHAEL McINTYRE - HERBS & SPICES - YouTube

Post by **LarsMac** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 2:40 pm

Bruv;1368923 wrote: Lon.........have you any idea what the traditional English take aways are ?

Possibly the most popular and the hotter the better amongst the macho amongst us, Indian, followed by Chinese, or possibly Kebabs.

oscar;1368925 wrote: You're forgetting the Thai, Indonesian, Mexican, Turkish, Arabic, Greek etc etc etc.

You see Lon, we have evolved rather since you were last In England In 1907 as a young boy. In fact, we even have running water and electricity now.

Scotland will be getting their's In about 20 years time.

See, this just proves Gramps was right. Y'all were looking for gastronomic stimulation.

Post by **LarsMac** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 2:47 pm

Lon;1368909 wrote: Get some chili's into your diet Lars, and you will SPARKLE.

I do. We roast our own Jalepenos, Habaneros, and Poblanos. I grow Prik Ke un I brought back with me after a gummint sponsored tour of Indochine.

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 2:54 pm

Here's a real disgusting image of English Cuisine----------THE CHIP BUTTY-----This is enough to make a maggot gag. :wah:

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Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 3:01 pm

Oooooozing with stars and stripes sauce ?

Shot yourself in the foot Lon ?

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 3:12 pm

Bruv;1369050 wrote: Oooooozing with stars and stripes sauce ?

Shot yourself in the foot Lon ?

leave It Bruv, he ain't worth It.

Don't worry Lonnie, this Is a quaint British saying... Usually spoken around 02.30 In the morning outside a Bristol Night club.

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 3:38 pm

Just to be fair----here is an equally disgusting American Treat------THE JUNK FOOD PIZZA

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Post by **LarsMac** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 4:30 pm

There is nothing fair about THAT!

koan · Post by **koan** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 9:03 pm

This is really just a variation on the superstitious adage "you are what you eat." So if I eat human heart I'm kinda cool.

Clodhopper · Post by **Clodhopper** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 1:54 am

I think traditional English cooking rather died out with two world wars, rationing, and the austerity that followed. I'm not sure what I'd call traditional English cuisine.

But food and empire are intimately linked. Pepper and nutmeg were the big ones early on. One of the earliest "modern" wars we had was with the Dutch over their monopoly of the East India spice trade. Very nasty it was too, including the Massacre of Amboina.

Famine remained a problem until Empire grain started coming in from America, and malnutrition was a problem until the mid C20th.

Pies are still, I think, the only thing I'd call traditional English. You still get some fantastic pork pies, chicken and ham, venison, various game...mmmmdribble. Melton Mowbray is still at the heart of it. Cheeses too. We do an incredible range of cheeses from Shropshire to Stilton to Wensleydale and literally hundreds of small local varieties like Cornish Yarg.

So my suggestion for a traditional English meal would be Pie and Cheese.

I believe the only thing the French are prepared to concede is a truly English contribution to the culinary art is the biscuit.

Post by **LarsMac** » Wed Sep 14, 2011 2:07 pm

Mushroom pie seemed to be a regular fair at a lot of inns and pubs when I was wandering about the English countryside. And I could always find Fish and Chips.

Then I discovered a TRUE English delicacy.

Jaffa Cakes!!!

The official home of McVitie's Jaffa Cakes

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Wed Sep 14, 2011 3:14 pm

LarsMac;1369594 wrote: Mushroom pie seemed to be a regular fair at a lot of inns and pubs when I was wandering about the English countryside. And I could always find Fish and Chips.

Mushroom pie ?

Are you sure it wasn't Steak and mushroom pie ?

Or Chicken and mushroom pie ?

Never heard of Mushroom pie.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Wed Sep 14, 2011 3:59 pm

Bruv;1369601 wrote:

Never heard of Mushroom pie.

Nor me.

Unless It was a vegetarian pub :wah:

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 7:45 pm

I have had mushroom pies in New Zealand. They are sold fresh and frozen in the super market. The only thing comparable to them in the U.S. are the frozen chicken pot and beef pot pies, but pies as known in the UK, Oz and NZ are not widely available in the U.S. I am fond of vegetable & mince pies. When Kiwi's visiting the U.S. ask for a pie they about fall over when asked if they would like Apple, Peach ---Lemon Meringue etc. :wah: