/ot/ - off-topic

Conspicuous consumption. It's not necessarily because the food is any good; that's besides the point. The point is that being able to consume it demonstrates wealth and status. Bonus points if it's something particularly exotic that can also be used to signal how cultured one is.

It's complete bullshit. They're still drinking rodent poop squeezings. But all the unwashed peasants can't drink it, so it's worth it.

>Why is it that foods that are the most expensive and desired by the rich are generally disgusting?

You know I'm kinda hoping that the rich and most middle class foodies would go back to thinking lobster is some kind of disgusting peasant waterbug, that way there'd be more for me to eat cheaply.
Not saying I'd consume ferret bung coffee, but plenty of delicious, abundant things are being artificially inflated because people like that are willing to pay whatever. The demand increases too with the status.
Same thing happened with ox tail; a few years ago it was 'gross' but today it's hip and delicious and is therefore more expensive.
Another day, another food fad.

Didn't the ferret digestive system break down the beans in some way and made the resulting coffee sweeter/not as bitter? I'd like to try it.

Most expensive food is complete bullshit, but some of it is actually very nice, I personally love expensive cheese.
There's also the exotic/imported factor, like with avocados. Shit gets expensive simply because it doesn't grow there. Berries are expensive as fuck in my country and I'm baffled to read about Americans making blueberry fucking pancakes

I don't know if that $1 patty we get at McDonald's is any less disgusting.

>>193322
What country do you live in? Blueberry pancakes, depending on how you make them and what you buy, often aren't made with real blueberries. But you could still get a back of actual blueberries from the store for like 99 cents though.

>>193326
I don't care what anyone says. A hot mc double with a fresh hot bag of fries tastes amazing.

>>193326
I'm brazilian. Maple syrup is 50 local bucks (for comparison, eggs are $6) and a small 150 gr box of blueberries is like $16 (and blackberries and other berries are even more expensive). Weirdly enough, strawberries are normal priced.

I just used it as an example of how shit can be expensive for dumb reasons

>>193330
Different anon here, but i knew you were BR as soon as I read your comment. I want fresh blueberries too, goddamn.

>>193331
I get them often because I like them so much, but I feel like the ones we get aren't exactly fresh… I'm convinced it's only because they aren't as popular, considering we get strawberries just fine

>>193322
Idk I live in the US and berries are still stupidly expensive.

>>193338
Not $16 per 150g expensive, though. People would chimp out if they couldn't get a pint of blueberries for under $10.

Most berries stocked in our grocery stores taste really sour and unripe anyway, due to how they're picked prematurely and artificially ripened with gases.
Strawberries taste so much better homegrown or from a berry farm, same as blueberries. Growing up my family had oodles of raspberry bushes in the backyard, and they were so much sweeter and juicier than supermarket ones.

The only berries that I don't see a taste difference in regardless of where they're sourced are blackberries and most cherry varieties.

Most (normal) expensive foods are good though…? Lobster, crab, caviar, sashimi, truffles, high-end coffee, tea, wine, cheese etc…

You probably just don't have expensive taste OP. Be grateful that you can enjoy cheap foods better than expensive ones.

Prove it that a majority of expensive foods are disgusting first.

I'm completely disgusted by foie gras, no one realises how it's made and they wolf that shit down.
Force feeding birds to death with a fucking tube "mmm so decadent!"

>>193343
>people don't know how it's made
Or they just don't care because force feeding ducks is the least fucked thing people do to animals for their meat.

>>193343
I agree with you anon. I found out about how it was made after trying to find some at Whole Foods (they don't sell it for ethical reasons). Never eating that shit again. :|

The one thing that annoys me as far as expensive meat is concerned though is how many people seem to think paying more for free range, pasture-raised, grass fed etc. is "ridiculous". Luckily I only live in wealthy areas so generally only hear this complaint online. But of course they still sell the cheap shit everywhere. Whenever I see someone buying cheap meat in front of me from places like Foster Farms, I immediately judge/look down on the person. I mean, just pay a few bucks extra to ensure the animal you are eating had at least some quality of life. Sheesh.

>>193352
Honestly, it doesn't make a difference for their quality of life. The "better" meats usually come from animals that aren't given antibiotics and they're usually suffering pretty badly. It tastes better and it's better for you, but it doesn't matter for the animals.

>>193367
I don't understand why these people get so uppdity about this because at the end of the day these animals are still being killed which the animal doesn't like. If they're going to have this holier than thou attitude they should at least just stop eating meat.

>>193352
>rich people problems
Most people can't afford free range, pasture-raised, grass fed etc.

And if all 7 billion people on this planet did, we will need to chop down the entire Amazon rainforest to fit the pastures.

>>193340
Yeah, this. Though I'm lucky in that regard, I like expensive shit a lot but still eat the cheap stuff