Ronnie's mention of chocolate and fruit reminded me of another of my least-faves:
Mocha.

I love chocolate, I like coffee on special occasions, but keep them separate. A chocolate covered espresso bean is OK; using coffee powder in chocolate desserts to heighten the bitterness (not to the point of tasting coffee though) is just fine, but drinking-coffee with chocolate in it is just wrong to my palate.

ronnie_suburban wrote:

bweiny wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:I know I'm in the vast minority here but with very few exceptions, I really dislike chocolate and fruit.

I could see room for non-berry deviations from this rule. Like banana fudge gelato is as good as it gets and nothing like a rich chocolate with raspberry sauce. I mean banana splits are universally beloved and they have pineapple with fudge and banana.

Yeah, it's mostly citrus and berries with chocolate that make me shudder. I can tolerate bananas with chocolate but I really dislike the rest of it . . . definitely no pineapple, cherries, strawberries or dried apricots, either. Why ruin perfectly good chocolate and perfectly good fruit by forcing them into an unnatural union?

=R=

I love chocolate covered strawberries, but in general other fruits w choc, especially raspberry and gasp....ORANGE, are wrong.

This reminds of the running joke in my office. Whenever someone wants to get me mad, and change the subject of conversation, they'll ask me if I like carrot cake. I can rant all day about that stupid, stupid, unholy union.

ronnie_suburban wrote:

bweiny wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:I know I'm in the vast minority here but with very few exceptions, I really dislike chocolate and fruit.

I could see room for non-berry deviations from this rule. Like banana fudge gelato is as good as it gets and nothing like a rich chocolate with raspberry sauce. I mean banana splits are universally beloved and they have pineapple with fudge and banana.

Yeah, it's mostly citrus and berries with chocolate that make me shudder. I can tolerate bananas with chocolate but I really dislike the rest of it . . . definitely no pineapple, cherries, strawberries or dried apricots, either. Why ruin perfectly good chocolate and perfectly good fruit by forcing them into an unnatural union?

=R=

To each their own but raspberries and chocolate in dessert is a classic combination. My Hungarian mother made a cake with layers of chocolate, raspberry and apricot. Pretty fantastic. And the Brits famously have their Jaffa cakes and chocolate oranges. Love 'em all.

spinynorman99 wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

bweiny wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:I know I'm in the vast minority here but with very few exceptions, I really dislike chocolate and fruit.

I could see room for non-berry deviations from this rule. Like banana fudge gelato is as good as it gets and nothing like a rich chocolate with raspberry sauce. I mean banana splits are universally beloved and they have pineapple with fudge and banana.

Yeah, it's mostly citrus and berries with chocolate that make me shudder. I can tolerate bananas with chocolate but I really dislike the rest of it . . . definitely no pineapple, cherries, strawberries or dried apricots, either. Why ruin perfectly good chocolate and perfectly good fruit by forcing them into an unnatural union?

=R=

To each their own but raspberries and chocolate in dessert is a classic combination. My Hungarian mother made a cake with layers of chocolate, raspberry and apricot. Pretty fantastic. And the Brits famously have their Jaffa cakes and chocolate oranges. Love 'em all.

Absolutely. That's why I started my post with "I know I'm in the vast minority here . . ." So many timeless, classical desserts are right up this alley. They're just not for me.

=R=

I’m in an even vaster minority, as I don’t like raw tomatoes. If they are super ripe, I can tolerate - but not happily. I have no problem with any form of cooked tomato and use them in many of my meals.

I am not enthralled with chocolate and fruit. One exception would be a carefully crafted Black Forest Cake. These are elusive, but when done right....Voila.

I don't like chopped nuts on my food. The texture turns me off.

bweiny wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:I know I'm in the vast minority here but with very few exceptions, I really dislike chocolate and fruit.

I could see room for non-berry deviations from this rule. Like banana fudge gelato is as good as it gets and nothing like a rich chocolate with raspberry sauce. I mean banana splits are universally beloved and they have pineapple with fudge and banana.

Why would anyone ruin a perfectly good banana split by putting pineapple on it?

seebee wrote:... This reminds of the running joke in my office. Whenever someone wants to get me mad, and change the subject of conversation, they'll ask me if I like carrot cake. I can rant all day about that stupid, stupid, unholy union.

Well, if you are talking pineapple in the carrot cake then we are in agreement. That is an unholy mess!

Xexo wrote:

bweiny wrote:I mean banana splits are universally beloved and they have pineapple with fudge and banana.

Why would anyone ruin a perfectly good banana split by putting pineapple on it?

Forgive me if this was sarcasm, but pineapple is a (I thought universally accepted) topping in a traditional banana split. I inserted my own personal preference for fudge over standard chocolate topping, but pineapple is by the book. It's like the best fruit around - fresh, chunked or otherwise.

bweiny wrote:

Xexo wrote:

bweiny wrote:I mean banana splits are universally beloved and they have pineapple with fudge and banana.

Why would anyone ruin a perfectly good banana split by putting pineapple on it?

Forgive me if this was sarcasm, but pineapple is a (I thought universally accepted) topping in a traditional banana split. I inserted my own personal preference for fudge over standard chocolate topping, but pineapple is by the book. It's like the best fruit around - fresh, chunked or otherwise.

I didn't know that. I've never had, or seen a banana split with pineapple on it. Another new thing I learned today.

I've only seen them with pineapple and personally won't order one without. They are a staple to the original BS. Gotta have some pineapple in the carrot cake to get that moistness. Kicks it up in that regard.

The banana split make up made me think of something I've never enjoyed. Hot fudge on ice cream. I know I'm in the minority, but I want my ice cream cold, in solid form instead of it melting.

You can try and use wafers or some type of barrier to keep the ice cream cold, but it's good. Just like warm apple (or other fruit) pie a la mode.

They're just dishes that are meant to beat eaten immediately once served, which is in keeping with ice cream generally, but with greater emphasis.

Re: banana splits, when I was a kid and used to order them, because I didn't like fruit and chocolate, I'd order them with caramel or butterscotch sauce instead of chocolate sauce or hot fudge. Problem solved.

=R=

Hi,

My issue with banana splits, the bananas are usually under ripe.

In Bloomington, Indiana, there is a drive-in where people are encouraged to bring their own banana for a split. Whenever I go there next, I hope to arrive armed with my perfectly ripe banana.

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

My issue with banana splits, the bananas are usually under ripe.

In Bloomington, Indiana, there is a drive-in where people are encouraged to bring their own banana for a split. Whenever I go there next, I hope to arrive armed with my perfectly ripe banana.

Regards,
Cathy2

Yeah, under ripe bananas just aren't worth it. But, at least for me, a banana is the perfect ripeness (is that a word?) for about a day and a half, then they are too ripe and make me gag. I've pretty much given up buying them.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

My issue with banana splits, the bananas are usually under ripe.

Regards,
Cathy2

There is an easy away around the "unripe banana." Instead of buying the garden-variety Cavendish banana, purchase Thai bananas. They are smaller than your typical banana. Then allow them to turn nearly black. When they hit that stage, they are NOT mushy and they have reached their maximum flavor.

I had to remind Mrs. jlawrence01 NOT to throw them away or freeze them when they got to that stage as they were good for another week.

Hi,

It is rare there is not a banana sitting in our fruit bowl. Those small bananas are terrific, though I just about never make any banana splits at home.

I learned something recently: the banana peels are edible. I have not yet tried one yet. When I do cook some, I will report back.

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy2 wrote:I learned something recently: the banana peels are edible. I have not yet tried one yet. When I do cook some, I will report back.

I can't imagine them being made any better than tolerable. The peel is very fibrous and bitter. The bits of proto-banana in banana blossoms are vile, and that's almost entirely skin.

I'm reminded of an old, old SNL satire of Euell Gibbons "Many parts of a two-by-four are edible"

Pie and ice cream. To me it ruins the pie and the pie is enough. Fried egg on a hamburger. I don't like eggs and sounds like excess. Who needs an egg topping a hamburger. Fried chicken and waffles. No. Just no. I'm also not a fan of the fad of flavoring things with herbs or plants such as lavendar flavored lemonade or thyme vanilla ice cream. I also don't like putting coffee into chocolate things such as adding powdered coffee to brownies, etc. I like the basic flavors themselves to sing.

Regarding the banana peels. Ages ago, I remember my mom mentioning that her doctor had her feed very overripe bananas, peel and all, to my oldest brother (her first child). I don't remember if mom mentioned why he had her do that. This was back in the early 1950s, as my brother was born in 1951. So this isn't a new idea.

What about banana peel bacon?

I do believe this could be kosher!

Cathy2 wrote:What about banana peel bacon?

I do believe this could be kosher!

The marinade sounds pretty good: soy sauce, maple syrup, smoked paprika, and garlic powder. Since first hearing about eating banana peels from Andy Smith, the food historian who recently wrote Why Waste Food?, I've been thinking about giving it a try. This might be the recipe that actually gets me to do it.

Rene G wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:What about banana peel bacon?

I do believe this could be kosher!

The marinade sounds pretty good: soy sauce, maple syrup, smoked paprika, and garlic powder. Since first hearing about eating banana peels from Andy Smith, the food historian who recently wrote Why Waste Food?, I've been thinking about giving it a try. This might be the recipe that actually gets me to do it.

Since first hearing about eating banana peels from Andy Smith, the food historian who recently wrote Why Waste Food?, I've been thinking about giving banana peel bacon a try.

The other day at lunch, the idea of making banana peel bacon popped up again. My Dad's favorite meal involves bacon and it is his Father's Day dinner. I suggested maybe I use banana peel bacon instead of the real deal. The recipe I located has a pretty good sounding marinade of: soy sauce, maple syrup, smoked paprika, and garlic powder.

Take a very ripe banana, scrape the soft material inside, then drop it in the marinade from 10 minutes to several hours. In our case, it was in the marinade for close to 24 hours.

Remove the marinated peel, dryif off, then slip it into a preheated frying pan with maybe a teaspoon of oil. After about five minutes, the banana bacon came out crisp and impressively bacon-like.

Good enough I fear my Dad will consider banana peel bacon a daily rite. Of course, when I asked if I could use it instead of pork belly bacon for his favorite dish, the answer was no.

Maybe I should try banana peel bacon crumbled in a salad?


(I might cook a minute less next time, though it still tasted pretty good.)

Regards,
CAthy2

Cathy -

I love your sense of adventure and that your family mostly seems to go along with it.

The GP wrote:Cathy -

I love your sense of adventure and that your family mostly seems to go along with it.

You are so right, they mostly go along with it.
***
Elsewhere it was commented if you have a latex allergy, then banana peels are not for you.

Thanks!

Regards,
Cathy2

Meanwhile, I learned you can make a banana peel cake!

ronnie_suburban wrote:I know I'm in the vast minority here but with very few exceptions, I really dislike chocolate and fruit. I don't mind an occasional chocolate-covered raisin but that's about the extent of it. When I see chocolate dessert with raspberry sauce, it makes me want to cry.

=R=

For me, the dislike is specific to raspberries. I can't stand the combination.

Katie wrote:I think I'm a person who's willing to try most things in the food world, and I certainly do scan a lot of recipe blogs and sites. But there are some things I'm bound to skip over, and lately I'm noticing it's because they involve combinations I'm just never going to for. Yes, I could make them and eat them, and others in the house might even like them more than me, to me, they're page turners.

The first few that come to mind are:

- for that matter, chicken cacciatore or any chicken with a tomato sauce

When I was a kid, my Mom would get a sparkle in her eyes when making Spanish rice, Chicken curry, and Chicken Cacciatore. You could tell this was something exceptionally interesting to her.

My Mom's memory is fading, like she does not recall eating a meal just minutes before. She is hungry and cannot understand why we have not eaten.

Yet when I asked her about Chicken Cacciatore recently, she commented how much she enjoyed it and recalled making it herself.

I had ten chicken thighs, a half box of mushrooms and all sorts of canned tomatoes, so it was Chicken Cacciatore on the menu. When I advised my sister, her reaction was related to how much she did not like Chicken Cacciatore. Note she also does not like Chicken Curry and absolutely unaware of Spanish Rice. Fortunately my sister agreed to give Cacciatore a try, which is not always her position.

Fortunately, everyone liked the Cacciatore. My sister agreed it was not as scary as she thought, so it could be offered again. My Mom ate some but was not very enthusiastic (as I hoped she would be).

Someday soon Spanish rice will be revisited.

Regards,
Cathy2