Chewing on my food dislikes

Earlier this week, Free Press arts and life editor Jill Wilson brought in some delightful sweet treats that she picked up from The Butter Tart Lady for our weekly team meeting — specifically, some sour cherry imperial cookies and some butter tarts.

In eying up the delicious desserts, the first thing I blurted out (before even a thank you — how rude!) was a question about the butter tarts: “Are there raisins in these?” (There were not.)

For me, raisins are acceptable in exactly two forms: rock-hard and coated in sugar in raisin bran cereal, and jammed together in the little red boxes of Sun-Maid raisins.

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It got me thinking about the foods I dislike, or have taken a while to warm to, and I’ve come to realize it’s the texture of certain foods that bother me.

Tomato juice, salsa, ketchup, tomato sauce and such have always been fine by me, but it wasn’t until about 15 years ago that I could eat fresh tomatoes — the watery interior of the things put me off for some reason. It was during a wine trip to the Okanagan Valley that coincided with peak tomato season that I tried one and finally came around.

Around the same time I also came to appreciate olives — their meaty, chewy texture had long been a turn off until, while visiting a California winery, I tried some warm olives that had been grown on-site and realized what I’d been missing.

Bananas? Bring ‘em on — as long as they’re exactly the right level of underripeness. As soon as the peel has even the smallest fleck of brown, I’m out.

And then there’s pineapple — I love the smell of the tropical fruit, and it always looks so good, but it’s that reedy, chewy texture, and the way it makes your mouth sort of tingle (at least mine), that’s the turn off. I’m still trying, but at this point I’m not sure I’ll ever come around.

Texturally, certain dairy products are a problem for me. Cottage cheese on its own is a no-go, but in lasagna it’s fine. Yogurt in its gelatinous form is a hard no, but frozen yogurt is great. It took until my 30s before I came around on sour cream. Pudding is still a hard pass.

Are other folks out there dissuaded by certain foods because of texture? Or am I just coming to realize that… that I’m a picky eater?

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Tasty tidbits

🥤 Any fans of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives out there? If so, you can now get your “dirty soda” fix at The Forks.

The drink is a purported Utah delicacy made popular by the reality show and involves a combination of soda pop, cream and flavoured soda. Get your mitts on the trendy beverage at The Forks Trading Company’s food shop, located on the main floor of the market.

🍨 There’s also a new ice cream option at The Forks. Milksmith has expanded beyond Corydon Avenue and opened a second location in the Johnston Terminal.

The sweet, colourful shop, owned by Siuleen Leibl, specializes in rolled ice cream, milkshakes, boba tea and inventive cold dessert creations.

☕ The folks behind Sho Coffee & Bar (290 William Ave.) have set up a new venture not too far away. Soho Kitchen + Wine is located at 100 King St. and offers Italian-inspired breakfast fare, salads, pastas, meaty mains and more.

They don’t appear to have a website yet, but you can check out their Instagram page to see some of the dishes.

Recommended fare

Ben: I was at The Forks Market yesterday picking (read: tasting) wines for the November list at The Common, and decided to have a beer flight to cleanse the ol’ palate afterwards.

They have loads of local fall brews on tap right now including One Great City’s Migration Marzen, Obsolete Brewing Co.’s Roller Rink Vienna Lager, Interlake Brewing Co.’s Night Walk Porter, Barn Hammer’s Festbier German Lager and many more.

You can check out the full list here.

Eva: I had a lovely conversation with Anna Olson, Canada’s Queen of Baking, at McNally Robinson Booksellers this week.

She was in town promoting her latest, Anna Cooks — which is full of fun savoury recipes and offers a look at how Olson cooks at home. You can find a video of our chat here.

Homemade

Meat, meat, meat. This month’s Homemade Cooking School class is all about how to properly cook protein.

Chef and Red River College Polytech instructor Jordan Carlson guides us through tempering, seasoning and resting, with a video demonstration and recipe for Steak Diane.

Jordan Carlson is a culinary instructor at Red River. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)

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