I am not going to make any claim here -about whether about whether I think there are standards of taste that are more than expressions of raw preference; in other words, I'm not going to say whether I believe it makes sense to talk about someone's evaluation being mistaken, as opposed to one that I simply don't share.
Instead, I'm just going to make the observation that the story tells us about lots of pop culture fans who do think mistakes are possible.
I think this points to one aspect of a tension that exists in our attitude towards the products of popular culture.
On the one hand, arguments about rankings, "Best of..." lists, and so on suggest that popular culture consumers really do feel that terms like "good" or "bad" are more than just expressions of raw taste, and that listings like this should not juts be popularity polls.....
@jemmesedi@pixelcats@s1m0n4 Taste is complicated. There are standards–but those are largely culturally-driven. There is also a large component of personal preference.
Going to the origin of the term "taste", which is to say food, there is (within a given culture) definitely a set of standards (which will vary HIGHLY by culture!) by which food is judged. Yet there are also people who don't like highly-regarded foods, or who like foods held in low regard.
@jemmesedi@pixelcats@s1m0n4 A coworker of mine in Ottawa showed me this: he loved greasy, soggy french fries. Where most people (to the point of it being a cultural touchstone) want crisp-outside, fluffy-inside chips that don't taste like they're dripping oil.
He hated those.
He instead got fries and then let them SIT for a while to get soggy and greasy before popping them into a microwave to heat them up again, getting essentially a grease-and-potato-pulp mess.
@jemmesedi@pixelcats@s1m0n4 Well it's "low class" food and a lot of people have a hang-up about plain, "peasant" fare.
Personally I really like well-made foods, simple or otherwise.
For poutine to work the fries have to be large enough to resist the soggification that gravy brings. And it has to be very FRESH cheese curds. (If you put actual cheese on my poutine I will not eat it, and if you put process cheese on it I will fucking cut you!)
@jemmesedi@zdl@pixelcats I've never had poutine because I don't like dishes with a lot of cheese and, unlike most people in the world, I don't go crazy for French fries either.
On top of that it's a lot of calories.
@s1m0n4@jemmesedi@pixelcats Well, it's a fine point, but poutine is made with cheese curds, not cheese. Cheese curds are far milder than even the mildest cheese and have a really nice nutty flavour without the hint of sour that even the mildest cheeses have. Further they have a more interesting texture.
@TheLastOfHisName@zdl@s1m0n4@jemmesedi As the granddaughter of dutch immigrants I'm just saying friet met mayonaise will always be far superior .. preferably served in a paper cone. 🤤
@pixelcats@TheLastOfHisName@s1m0n4@jemmesedi I had my first fries with mayonnaise in Germany. Now if it's available as an option at all, it's my topping of choice (ignoring the "ew!" faces the ignorant around me make).
You'll notice in that photo-essay that I refer to a "wash". This is a technique (primarily used in China, but also in a few other places) that eliminates some of the acrid tannin from tea: that horribly acidic bitter flavour that mars a lot of tea, especially when over-brewed.
I know people who PREFER tea to be flooded with tannin. (I call them "weirdos".)
Add comment