I’m compiling a rant and rave for December’s food-themed magazine about the so-called ‘uncool’ foods people secretly – or unashamedly – love. Think Spam, string cheese, polony/bologna/devon, plain milk arrowroot biscuits, instant mashed potato…
So if you can’t get enough of cabanossi and cheese or think chiko rolls are an Aussie food icon, please leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts.
What is wrong with plain milk?
My freezer always has Chiko Rolls in it, and I’m thinking about getting the caterer bags from our local wholesaler/retailer instead of the 4 pack from the supermarkets to save money. Spam and Deb are always in my cupboard too and plain milk from a local dairy is a must (Peel Valley Milk). The best thing about the first three is I’m the only one in the house that likes them lol.
That might sound bad but I live in a house where I buy my favourite ice creams or other treats and they are gone before I feel like one lol. For someone who does all the cooking in the house and has 300+ recipe books, it’s nice to have quick, no fuss snacks to grab at times.
Would this not depend on your peer group, or indeed whether you really pay attention to The Kardashians?
I could suggest tripe and lambs brains are two that some might call uncool. However I’m aware of quite a few respectable, if not trendy eateries that includes either option on their menu. Others would simply call them disgusting or yuck!
Another favourite (in moderation for obvious reasons) are li hing mui, aka salty plums. There’s as many variations as ways to eat them. I prefer the brief nibble over time around the seed before sucking puckered on the seed. Again, is that uncool or would it be considered inappropriate to say so to anyone who is accustomed to finding the product in their local street market?
I’d feel saying anything is ‘uncool’ risks labelling oneself as being the least cool on the street!
I buy Spam . It makes great Carp bait 
Classic.
I hated sago and tapioca along with blancmange when I was little and had to eat it.
I would not eat in now if someone wanted to pay me to do so.
Kipfler potatoes because they are so expensive . I see a 500 g bag at Coles for $7.85 beside a bag of Baby Royal blues or Red potatos for $3.50 a kilo . I buy the Kipflers . Must be a potato snob I think .
I can no longer find Kipflers at our local Coles, Woollies or Supa IGA and have to get them from a market.
Dearer than ordinary spuds but well worth it, especially when used in stews and such like as thay hold up well and don’t turn to mush.
If you like custard, try the recipe in the above post as it tastes like custard with pearls/bubbles. The sago adds texture but no flavour.
Get a couple, halve or cut into thirds (depends on their size) and let them get at least two eyes each on each piece, then plant them…they grow well and will produce a reasonable crop. To plant in a pot get a pot around 50 cm diameter (or a bit bigger), put a mix of soil/potting mix and mulch/compost to about 10 - 15 cm deep, put potato piece on top then cover with about 20 cm of same soil mix. Cover with mulch and keep soil moist but not wet. When potato sprouts through the mix about 20 cm then fill the pot so that about only 10 or so cm of the plant are visible. Continue doing this until pot is full, you can then either put a plastic sleeve around the pot and continue the process until that is full or if the pot is reasonably deep already don’t bother with the sleeve. The potato plant will eventually flower and start dying. There will be potatoes to harvest. You can pick potatoes off the plant before this just be careful not to damage the main stem when digging into the pot to find them, so working from the edge in is generally safer. Just remember to not over water but keep moist, if the mix dries out the potatoes can get a scabby look to them.
Having nothing to contribute I must be really cool 
Uncool foods in our house are Spam, we like to put it in the fridge until firm then cut thickish slices and fry them in a pan, same with devon or strass sausage. Add fried tomatoes and eggs we are in blissville. We love arrowroot biscuits for our cheesecake bases, we make a salmon and veg fish cake using the instant mash as the binder. Full cream milk powder we use to make custard.
Tapioca or sago pudding made with lemon juice and a little rind to get extra lemony taste added in (I prefer the smaller sago “pearls” than the larger ones) and served with vanilla icecream.
Tripe in white parsley sauce or a good brown Jus is just the bees knees.
… Surely the ‘floater’ must be on the list - it is after all an unrecognised ‘super food’ …
Some might suggest if you haven’t consumed a pie floater standing at the Victoria Square pie cart in the early hours of the morning after a night out on the tiles and a few ales, and kept it down, you ‘haven’t lived’ … 
And for the record, it’s called Fritz not Devon, and no matter what you call it, there is nothing wrong with it, especially with tomato sauce in a sandwich or even fried up with eggs
Ditto for junket…
But the best fritz is bung!
Junket was one dessert that I liked.
Probably why the pollies also like their junkets.
What about two minute noodles, as in the Mi Goreng variety? It feels wrong to eat them, and yet so right. Also tends to come out on camping trips 
