50 First Dates
I thought of something the other night. If you ever go on a first date with someone, never ever order anything that has squid ink in it. Yes, people actually cook / eat dishes with this stuff in it. But prior to last night, my only exposure to this inky food flavouring additive was by watching Iron Chef.
The stuff is black. I mean, it's really black. It blackens everything that it gets cooked with, making the whole dish blacker than black, which is likely why they call it squid ink. Had they not, I figure they would have left it as "squid urine" or something more indicative of what this liquid really is. (That, and I'm sure nobody would ever want to eat "squid pee".)
And yet, it's surprising that a substance with such an un-appetizing appearance doesn't really have a strong taste. It's a rather subtle flavour, even if it looks like the paella was completely charred and burnt in the pan. But after a few bites, I admit that I couldn't get over that look.
Not even touching on the fact that it makes your teeth look like you haven't ever brushed your teeth in your life, and your tongue looks like you've just sucked on a lump of coal. And even if you wanted to clean that up at the table, I don't think swishing and gargling with your wine / sangria / water is going to go over well with your first date watching you.
Just a warning before it ever happens to any of you.
7 comments:
I should note that -- thankfully -- I wasn't on a first date when I tried squid ink last night. And the paella description was very sneaky about it -- they slipped the words "squid ink" in there, making it look like it was just a touch of it, not a whole bucketful. And, of course, the waiter assumed I wanted the LARGE size of it without even bothering to ask me. Great. A $36 pot of Black. Just wonderful.
squid ink.. yumyum.. :) i used to eat alot of squids in TW.. and the ones with the ink is the BEST!
Squid ink pasta is actually very good, I find...they blend it into the pasta itself and the sauce can also be of squid ink. But if you think the actual eating part of it is bad, wait until you...how would I say this?...pass it through your body. Let's just say the black doesn't break down through digestion...enjoy!
Jon
D'oh! Jon, I forgot to check out my doody to see.
I don't hate the taste of squid ink, but the blacky blackness of that black is too black for me. I really had thought they completely charred our dish, or they made jerk paella or something. M told me when the guy brought out the huge pan, she was thinking, "Are you serious?"
About halfway through the dish, we had enough of seeing each other with black lips, teeth, and tongues -- I picked at all the rest of the shellfish and seafood, and then we asked for the cheque.
I somehow have a knack for ordering exactly the wrong things.
Jon, (1) You're right. The ink doesn't break down during the digestion phase. (2) And evidently, it can stay in the system for quite some time (ie. over two days). I suppose it just coats your innards the way it does your mouth.
Hey Ben,
If you're into painting your insides and you've got some cash to throw around, try eating caviar. It's not black. It's grey, at least, Sevruga is grey. Osietra is nutty-brown grey and beluga is fairly black.
Another experiment worth trying over the summer is eating a lot of blue Mr. Freezies. =) I would not recommend eating a lot of red ones as they may give you an accidental scare.
Reggie
Hahaha...glad you started checking your doodoo more frequently. Just glad I could warn you, in the event you might have freaked out like I did...
Jon
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