At a food writers dinner last week Cecilia Robinson (My Food Bag) was telling us how polenta is such a polarising ingredient that My Food Bag will not use it anymore. They get too many complaints.
What do you think of polenta? Like cooking it or not and is it just the cooking of it that is perhaps the problem or eating it as well?

Personally I don't feel strongly about polenta one way or the other. It's not something I make a lot, but certainly wouldn't let it put me off making an otherwise good looking recipe.

I think it's one of those things that you have to understand what you are doing when you are cooking it, and it's also something of an acquired texture to eat. I like it best with lashing of cheese and butter stirred into it, but from the "Food Box" approach I'd imagine that would be something they wouldn't be encouraging.

I like it as chips and have had mixed results with it as a mash/porridge!!

I am a bit on the fence with a few of starches - quinoa, Cous cous, barley and even some of the pastas such as orzo.

Jenna Wrote:
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> Personally I don't feel strongly about polenta one
> way or the other. It's not something I make a lot,
> but certainly wouldn't let it put me off making an
> otherwise good looking recipe.

This is my view too. We don’t eat a lot of carby foods anyway, and there are many that we prefer to polenta, so I haven’t cooked or eaten it in many years.

Cheese Lover I am not an orzo fan, I find it an awkward shape. Too small to chew yet too big to swallow as is.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/2018 07:59AM by helen.

I don't make polenta often, but I do like it - I make it in a double boiler (no spatters), cool it, freeze leftovers in slices, and grill them brushed with olive oil. It's good made with a mix of milk and chicken stock rather than water.

I like polenta, and as another poster said, with lots of butter and Parmesan added, so I don't make it very often. And I occasionally let it set and cut into larger pieces, put a thin sliver of a blue cheese on top and grill until bubbly. Very yum but a bit of a treat due to all the butter & cheese.

Not keen on it and would probably be underwhelmed if I received it in My Food Bag....I never cook with it so its probably more to do with my lack of experience cooking with it. I always enjoy it at a restaurant but its never the main event. I would also think that if Tofu turned up - such a ghastly ingredient (IMO)

I love it cooked as Fries (Ottolenghi recioe), , but never seem to really use it much. Try Ottolenghi corn polenta with eggplant sauce, very good!

Interesting things to thnk about "polarising ingredients"

I had to have a google and discovered many are things that many people dont like due to their unusual taste or texture or even smell.

Im surprised about polenta though. Maybe its just that we arent used to it here in NZ, its a but like a porridge like consistency I guess and if your sauce isnt amazing I guess it wouldnt make for a great meal. Polenta chips are pretty fine though.

Yes agree Tofu would be my polarising ingredient too - everything else Im good with. (It does annoy me when people complain about blue cheese, parmesan and oysters though ;-))

Vanessa

Right there with you on tofu. It is the texture for me. I will happily give people a pass for not liking shellfish as both the taste and texture are right up there.

Polenta is a no-go zone for me, but I love marinated and stir-fried tofu. Risone is really handy when you're trying to think of a last-minute carb to complete a meal. It's quick and easy to cook and goes with anything as long as there is also a well flavoured sauce to accompany it. Barley and other grains are also a staple for me, used in place of rice or potatoes and cooked in a number of ways.

Interestingly I've always wanted to like polenta but never really seemed to get it right. Even the neighbors dog wouldn't eat it when I decided to make firm polenta and grill it on the BBQ one night I love the idea of soft polenta too but never managed to be happy with the result....until, we went to Italy and Coatia and I ordered it in some lovely restaurants there and realised what it was meant to taste like. Soft polenta needs to be REALLY soft and I tried white polenta which is gorgeous with fish, it needs to be generously seasoned, I use half milk half stock and don't spare the butter and cheese! I make it often now and everyone enjoys it, another thing is I never use instant polenta and I prefer the fine ground. I haven't found white polenta here in the supermarket but you have reminded me to try to find it online.

I seldom have polenta. Every once in a while is okay for me.
A friend has tried several times to teach me how to make the most of tofu. Her advice is to freeze it then tip off any of the liquid. I still wasn't sold on the idea.
In every case it really is, to each their own.

I don’t really get why polenta would be “polarising”. I mean, it’s pretty bland by nature......really it’s there to soak up the sauce of the main part of the meal. Served stand alone, it needs to be cooked in a flavourful broth or milk with lots of cheese and butter....which is ofc what you are tasting, rather than the polenta. I guess I don’t get how such a mild flavour can be challenging, unlike blue cheese which is pretty assertive and you tend to love or loathe. Even the texture of polenta isn’t that big a deal as it’s pretty adaptable, made thicker or thinner, softer or firmer. Texturally I can “get” an issue with tofu, particularly silken tofu, as I’m not keen on slippery food(I don’t like panna cotta for that reason) but slippery isn’t often a desired texture in western diets, unlike Asian ones.

I wonder if the method of cooking is more an issue than the polenta itself. All the stirring required and the tendency to be lumpy if you're not careful. Agreed on the absolute need for lots of cheese and butter.

I really dislike polenta. I always wondered if it was just me not preparing it correctly, but a few years ago I was in San Francisco and went to Zuni Café which is famous for their polenta, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I hated that as well so I feel I've given it a good try but nope.

I am partial to home made polenta chips. Dead easy to make and very tasty.
Edited to say 'fries' in case you think they'd be like potato crisps.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2018 12:15PM by Chris.

Jenna - if you cook it in a double boiler you only need to stir it occasionally, and it doesn't go lumpy.

Not a polenta fan.