Sunday, March 16, 2014

Don't Say Parmesan, Say Cheese

So the asswipes of the European Union want to ban American made cheese from carrying "European" names. What utter bullshit! The first part of this nonsense is that something labeled "Parmesan" has to come from only one place, Parma, Italy. Well, fuck Parma, Italy! Anyone who wants a monopoly on a type of product to stifle competition (and that's what this rotten, evil proposal from the socialistic, statist E.U. is, make no mistake about it) can go straight to Hell! The lie of this "place of origin" crap is exposed by its extension. The ban would include, apparently, all "European" cheeses, even if there is no specific place with the name of that variety of cheese, for instance, feta, though there is no "Feta", Greece. But get this, the assholes of the E. fucking U. (that's Europe fucking you Americans, folks) "argue" that feta "“is so closely connected to Greece as to be identified as an inherently Greek product." Hmm, so what about "Greek" yogurt, or spaghetti (why limit this to cheese), Should American made pasta not be allowed to use the name "spaghetti" since spaghetti originated in Italy? What nonsense!

United States dairy producers are rightly fighting this attempt to destroy their business, but Canadians aren't so lucky, as their Super Nanny State has already caved:

Under the Canadian agreement, for example, new feta products manufactured in Canada can only be marketed as feta-like or feta-style, and they can’t use Greek letters or other symbols that evoke Greece.-Say bye bye to parmesan, muenster and feta: Europe wants its cheese back

Oh, so now you have to pretend, based on the State's lies, that it isn't really "feta", but only "feta-like". And you can't use Greek letters??? Fuck that shit!

The only argument that would make sense was if protecting the consumer who is so stupid as to think something was produced in Greece when it was obviously not is your top priority, but people that stupid are few, and don't deserve "protection" anyway. The companies making these cheese products would only be guilty of fraud if they were deliberately deceiving consumers into believing their cheese was imported when is wasn't. None of them are doing any such thing. If I have a cheese labeled "Parmesan" that clearly states on the label that it's a "product of USA", then case closed, statist raving lunatics, there is no crime, there is no wrong, and you can take your ban and shove it up your nasty fucking European ass!

God, I fucking hate Europe!

10 comments:

  1. Yeah. Hm. I'm gonna have to go ahead and kinda disagree. The problem is that knock offs of parmiggiano-reggiano (aka parmesan) were wrecking the brand. The reason I kinda get this is because when I used to eat stuff that had 'parmesan' would give me cramps because it's basically crap. Authentic Parmiggiano on the other hand causes me no such problems. So, yeah, I want to know which is properly designated.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're forgetting what I stated quite clearly. If it says made in USA etc, there is no fraud on the part of the manufacturer of the product. Consumers who want cheese from Italy can search for it. Also. we're talking about products that have been sold for decades under these names and now they're suddenly supposed to call them something else?

      And what if an American company produces a "Parmesan" cheese that is actually like the original or even better? They can't call it that? It has to ONLY be manufactured in Parma itself?

      And I assume you stopped eating the stuff that caused you cramps and by your own words found and ate the "authentic" stuff, so what's your problem?

      Delete
    2. "So, yeah, I want to know which is properly designated."

      If it doesn't say "Made in Parma, Italy", don't buy it. If it's made by Kraft, how much more info do you need to know it's not "authentic"?

      Delete
  2. That's a good point about the Made in the USA. But why call it 'parmesan?'

    Call it something else.

    The problem Nick is when I go to people's homes or a restaurant, and they cook with that shit, it ruins my night! Happened with my mother-in-law back in the day. She looked at me like I had leprosy. Seriously, it's not my fault I know the difference between authentic and crap.

    Not only that, many times they scoff there's any difference! That aggravates me because there is.

    But I agree, where it's clearly stipulated 'Kraft Parmesan' they should be free to do so. I see their perspective though, they go and have 'authenticate Italian' food and they're served knock-offs.

    Bah.

    I knew this would rile you up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, T.C. Well, It's not that I don't sympathize with you. I can understand where you're coming from. I not a foodie myself, and I do love cheese, but my tastes are not very sophisticated. I do occasionally buy imported cheese, but it's more expensive, so I can't afford it most of the time. I do enjoy it though when I am able to have it.

      Still, I don't sympathize at all with the E.U.'s position on this at all.

      Yeah, I guess you know me by now, and I also knew you'd take some kind of contrary position and disagree with me. But it's all good. You remain my favorite Canadian blogger.

      Delete
    2. Parmiggiano is expensive. For a small 'triangle' cut or block can run you around $11-15 (Canadian, eh, dollars).

      It's hard to talk about this stuff without sounding like a snob- which I'm not. I just know good food is all and good food is very expensive. For example, there's a HUGE difference between a $25 bottle of olive oil and one at $8.

      I even looked at getting into food importing once upon a time.

      Delete
    3. I'd be interested in knowing the differences in quality of Olive Oil. I'd like to buy the good stuff, but it's a matter of cost on my limited budget.

      Delete
  3. http://www.stellacadente.com/public/uploads/content-images/A_Beginners_Guide_to_Olive_Oil.pdf

    Here's a nice start.

    I've been trying oils for years. You'll just have to shop around and determine what's the best price to quality value. I find that you can indeed find a really good bottle for $10 but, generally the really good ones fetch higher prices. Italian olive oils are 'harsher' (they pinch) and have a very green color (Spanish tend to be gold and nuttier) which I love. Nothing like dipping great bread in high-end olive oil.

    Add some real balsamic from Modena (the more aged the more expensive. Again, it's not balsamic if it's not from Modena. HUGE difference in quality. Huge), some fresh pepper and it makes for a great combination.

    ReplyDelete
  4. As for regions, Andalusia is the biggest olive oil producer in the world and have nice varieties although I'm less familiar with them. Crete in Greece and in Italy, Puglia, Calabria, Sicily and Tuscany are the main producers.

    I know some Portugal bottles are very good but are harder to find.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interesting. Thanks for the info.

      T.C., I think you are SE's "fifth Beatle".

      Delete

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