When did you last eat spam? [... if ever]

[mercia]

My late father had a very sweet tooth, but always put pepper on his strawberries.

interesting, my father used to put sugar on his lettuce
[and could happily drink condensed milk neat ]

in my youth pork pies seemed to have a lot more of that surrounding jelly than they do now [at least today's supermarket ones] which I remember hating, and calling "jelly meat whiskas"

[jayne lee wilson]

I bought some pastrami last week - now that makes a decent sandwich!

Decided it needed some gherkins, so out to the Coop. When I got the jar back home I couldn't unscrew the lid, not even after standing it in boiling water. Was reduced to attacking it with a hammer rather than missing out on the gherkins ...

Have you tried an elastic band wrapped round the lid? Usually works even with my dodgy mitts...

[Sir Velo]

Have you tried an elastic band wrapped round the lid? Usually works even with my dodgy mitts...

Try using a tea towel to get that extra degree of purchase, or failing that, find a man to do it.

[Anna]

interesting, my father used to put sugar on his lettuce
[and could happily drink condensed milk neat

We used to spread raspberry jam on Cos lettuce leaves and roll them up - delicious! And black pepper on strawberries is very nice. I've had evaporated milk in coffee but cannot understand how anyone could drink condensed milk (in fact I think it's only ever used to make ultra-sweet desserts like Banoffee Pie?)
This morning I'm craving a pastrami and picked cucumber sandwich thanks to frenchie!
Edit: Angel Delight do a sugar free version but it still contains: Maltodextrin, Modified Starch, Vegetable Oil, Whey Powder from Milk, Emulsifiers (Propane- 1, 2-Diol Esters of Fatty Acids, Sunflower Lecithin), Gelling Agents (Tetrasodium Diphosphate, Disodium Phosphate), Milk Proteins, Colours (Plain Caramel, Annatto, Mixed Carotenes), Flavourings, Anti-Caking Agent (Silicon Dioxide), Sweeteners (Aspartame, Acesulfame K), Contains a source of Phenylalanine

[jean]

I've had evaporated milk in coffee but cannot understand how anyone could drink condensed milk (in fact I think it's only ever used to make ultra-sweet desserts like Banoffee Pie?)

And to put in sandwiches - we used to do that, and so did Winnie the Pooh:

Pooh always liked a little something at eleven o'clock in the morning, and he was very glad to see Rabbit getting out the plates and mugs; and when Rabbit said, "Honey or condensed milk with your bread?" he was so excited that he said, "Both," and then, so as not to seem greedy, he added, "But don't bother about the bread, please."

But I don't know how you could drink it - isn't it far too thick?

[mercia]

But I don't know how you could drink it - isn't it far too thick?

I guess I meant consume rather than drink

[french frank]

Have you tried an elastic band wrapped round the lid? Usually works even with my dodgy mitts...

No, I haven't. Standing the jar upside down in a small bowl and pouring on boiling water to above the level of the lid has always been sure-fire for me (the metal expands faster than the glass), and then I wrap a teatowel round the wet lid.

The problem this time was that the only gherkins the Coop had were not the little cocktail ones but full sized ones in a much larger than usual jar, and I couldn't get a good purchase on the metal lid to grip and twist it properly.

Try using a tea towel to get that extra degree of purchase, or failing that, find a man to do it.

The hammer was probably less trouble ... and the gherkins are happily accommodated in another jar, in common kitchen-fashion marked 'Moutarde à l'ancienne':



Bryn - quite right: I stand corrected on that point.

Haslet: yes, I buy this regularly, either for sandwiches (with tomatoes) or as meat to go with salad.

[amateur51]

I'm rather at a loss for words....

Try it sometime - it's a magical effect.

As is balsamic vinegar on strawberries and avocado, yes served together

[amateur51]

Have you tried an elastic band wrapped round the lid? Usually works even with my dodgy mitts...

I have a pair of past-their-best Marigold rubber gloves that come in handy for opening jars and bottles of champangne, prosecco etc

[Bryn]

Here's the answer to your jar problem, frenchie:



A 36" Stilsons should do the job nicely.

Or better still:

[mercia]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/jar-opener/s?ie=UTF8&keywords=jar%20opener&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ajar%20opener

[eighthobstruction]

Just the mere thought of 36" Stilsons takes me back to working through the icey/snowy winter of 78-79 up in Scotland where the job entailed working with the freezing cold steel of the stilsons (having to light a fire to warm the handles) ....absolutely no fun at 0600hrs....

....eeee right manly job that were....

[mangerton]

We used to spread raspberry jam on Cos lettuce leaves and roll them up - delicious! And black pepper on strawberries is very nice. I've had evaporated milk in coffee but cannot understand how anyone could drink condensed milk (in fact I think it's only ever used to make ultra-sweet desserts like Banoffee Pie?)
This morning I'm craving a pastrami and picked cucumber sandwich thanks to frenchie!
Edit: Angel Delight do a sugar free version but it still contains: Maltodextrin, Modified Starch, Vegetable Oil, Whey Powder from Milk, Emulsifiers (Propane- 1, 2-Diol Esters of Fatty Acids, Sunflower Lecithin), Gelling Agents (Tetrasodium Diphosphate, Disodium Phosphate), Milk Proteins, Colours (Plain Caramel, Annatto, Mixed Carotenes), Flavourings, Anti-Caking Agent (Silicon Dioxide), Sweeteners (Aspartame, Acesulfame K), Contains a source of Phenylalanine

Anna, that Angel Delight looks delicious. As I'm sure board members know, silicon dioxide is a prime constituent of sand.

I thought I'd leave Caliban's remark about strawberries to see what others had to say, and I'm interested to find that others agree with my dad's opinion.

36" Stilsons are possibly just slight overkill, Bryn. I should have thought 24" should be sufficient.

[french frank]

Here's the answer to your jar problem, frenchie:

I will bear that (and the other proprietory brands) in mind for next time, Bryn. I'm afraid the jar in question, as an olliform vessel, no longer exists, but I did save most of the vinegar and pickling spices.

[vinteuil]

... no discussion yet on wines to accompany one's spam?

I was thinking of a lightly chilled Loire red - perhaps a chinon or a saint-nicolas-de-bourgueil - to go with the spam in its natural state.

For spam fritters, something with more body - a marcillac or cahors?