The Carnivore Project

Test Mustards & Game Pie

Mustard is one of those annoying condiments that travels in mobs. Like the old Denis Leary routine about tequila, you let one in, and it sneaks in six or seven of its friends... As a result, there's always the awkward point in one's shopping cycle where the fridge is filled with naught but mustard (and, in our case, a half-empty bottle of tonic water).

Being scientifically-natured, we decided to figure out which of these sulfurous refugees was actually the tastiest. Helpfully, we had an award-winning Poachers Game Pie on-hand. The pie itself (our 'Control', if you will) was delicious. The skilled judges (that is, us), called it 'subtle', 'meaty' and 'smooth-textured' with a nice 'gamey aftertaste'. 

We appraised five mustards (we should clean our fridge more) - each one was judged for Heat, Flavor and Texture, then given an overall ranking.

The five contenders:

- Grey Poupon Old Style

- Maille a l'Estragon

- Mikado English Mustard

- French's Classic Yellow Mustard

- Moutardes de Beaune Edmond Fallot (Tarragon Dijon)

The results are after the jump...

Hamburgers in London: The Wheatsheaf and Smith's of Smithfield

So here I am, an American living in London.  Occasionally friends or a family member will ask me what it is that I miss most about the US, probably as a way of filling awkward conversational silences, but perhaps in the hopes that I'll say something gloriously clever, or at least funny.  But my answer is always the same:  I miss hamburgers. 

(My fingers insist on typing the word out as "haumburgers" this morning - perhaps this is phonetically symbolic of my ever-increasing Englishization, which manifests itself as an enormously pretentious-sounding Mid-Atlantic accent?*)

So, yes.  Hamburgers.  It's not that they're unavailable in this city, or even that they're not very good.  They are as widely available as in any American city, and many are very tasty.  But they are not perfect. 

Coolea

The cheese of the month at Neal's Yard Dairy is Coolea.

Coolea is a delicious, slightly salty cheddar from Ireland, made with traditional animal rennet and the nectar of the gods. It is a beautiful cheese in a very traditional way. Its soft, yellowy glow, smooth texture and perfectly rounded shape make Coolea the Platonic form for all cheddars.

Congratulations! (It burns!)

The 2007 Hot Pepper Winners have been announced.

The overall hot sauce winner was Sizzlin' Sauces 'Creepin' Quag' (which also took the Habanero category).

The barbeque winner was the W.O. Hesperus Company's 'Bar Harbor-Que' (the winner of the 'fruit' category - trumping the winners in 'hot' and 'extra hot'... intriguing!).

Hot Pepper also chose winners in salsa, condiments, dry rubs and... frighteningly... 'extreme' categories. (The latter went to 'Dragon's Blood' from Chili Pepper Pete).

Also worthy of note, Hot Pepper gives out awards for 'creative thinking' and label design. This is a great idea, not just for the deserving winners, but for the industry as a whole. Keep up the good work!

Holiday Bourbon

Lebowski, clearly angling for a Christmas present, sent me this article in the New York Times about the influx of high-end and 'super-premium' bourbons to the market.

The background on bourbon marketing is really interesting - the writer assumes (probably correctly) that the bourbon market has made a conscious and aggressive effort to court business. Although it'll 'never be vodka', they felt that people could be encouraged to sip a quality bourbon on a night out and not feel out of place.

The article also gives a nice summary on the difference between bourbon, whiskey and Jack Daniels (although he doesn't use super-heroes to help make the distinction).

Monkey Shoulder Appreciation Society

Monkey Shoulder - the astoundingly smooth, triple blended 'whisky' that probably offends true Scotsmen by its very existence - is hosting a series of 'Appreciation' events.

Described (modestly) as 'witty, intelligent and insightful', the events are dedicated to the 'life pursuits of the modern man' (grunt, chest-butt).

The upcoming event - the second in the series - features Jason Lewis, who was the first person to circumnavigate the globe using only human power (it took 13 exhausting years).

The talk is on November 27th at the Hospital (24 Endell Street, WC2), from 6.30 to 9 pm. The event is free, with free Monkey-based cocktails, but there's extremely limited seating.

Email them for your ticket.

Looking ahead, January 25th will be 'The Art of Whisky and Cigar Appreciation', hosted by the editor of Whisky Magazine. More whisky, less pedal-based travel... that's something I can appreciate.

Republicans hate cheese

...less controversially, they also dislike historic barns.

Feel the Burn

The Hot Pepper Awards (for food of an exceedingly brutal nature) are about to begin. The final deadline for applications, November 15th, is approaching quickly.

You can't just drop a jalapeno in some gasoline and ship in it. For one, they require professionally-prepared foodstuffs only. For two, you'd still probably lose.

Follow the mayhem.

I want candy

"The All Candy Expo - held at the massive McCormick Place from Sept. 17-19 -offers a wonderfully weird world of sweetness inside the strange confines of a convention center. Only industry folks and lucky members of the fourth estate can enter - signs strictly forbid anyone under 16, even babies. And behind those gray walls lies glory." (More from The Onion)

Christmas is coming!

How great is this email from Krispy Kreme?

(Alas, the screenshot doesn't have the animated gifs in their full glory)

I love this - it feels like one of those irritatingly optimistic chain forwards from someone's aunt - rather than a typical piece of corporate spam.

Even the plea at the end *not* to reply - it actually makes me think this really was just randomly sent from "Mary" because she was THAT excited about the Watford branch's Christmas donut and just HAD to tell her friends.

My heart (and arteries) is with the Watford branch and their 'Snowy Snowball' donut. What about you?

Here are the options:

Shannon Corner entered a scrumptious Kristmas Kake, loaded with dried fruits and frosted with white glaze.

They also entered a Mint Choc Delight, a minty chocolatey doughnut with a light green glaze finished with a chocolate "fancy" on the top.

Watford 's entry was a Snowy Snowball Doughnut - white creamy centre with white icy glaze and white chocolate curls.

And Enfield's Chocolate Orange Doughnut was filled with soft orange-flavoured chocolate, chocolate iced and decorated with a crystallised orange slice.