Beans

[livingdeb]

Am I getting pickier about refried beans? Or are refried beans getting worse? In the olden days I usually liked refried beans in restaurants. Now I usually don't.

I suspect that, like with a lot of things, people are trying to make their refried beans special. But I think they are already special, so when you add something else, there's a good chance you'll make them worse. It tastes like the special thing du jour is some sort of intense smoky pork flavor. Now, I like pork flavors as much as the next guy, but to me it feels like there's some new pork extract on the market and people are adding ten times as much as they should.

So now at some restaurants I'll try to find something that doesn't come with beans and rice. That's just sad.

There is certainly precedent. For example, pre-processed food has been made more and more special by adding loads of salt and sugar (or other sweetener). I used to like Campbell's tomato soup. Did it used to taste so sugary, or has it gotten so crazy only gradually? And now I can't even find a canned tomato soup from anyone that's not really a dessert sauce.

There are definitely a lot of manufacturers that have made the switch from sugar to corn syrup.

And meat has been bred to be riddled with more and more fat, preferably marbled in to enhance the flavor. But marbling just means it's harder to cut the fat out.

So now it's refried beans at restaurants. And it's not just that they're using lard instead of some kind of vegetable oil--Fonda San Miguel has really good refried beans and they use lard.

Fortunately, a migas breakfast taco usually satisfies me, so I can get that when I just can't stomach my old favorite, the enchilada plate.

Comments

[texpenguin.livejournal.com]

You have it kind of backwards. Many restaurants used to use lard or bacon fat to make their beans, but that's not so PC now, especially in Austin. Now they're tryng to make lower fat vegetarian beans, which can be quite yummy with certain oils, but some of the healthy oils du jour just taste a little funny. So, they add other flavors to cover up the funny. Also, bacon is cool now, but not bacon fat, so they might very eell be adding liquid smoke and bacon flavoring.

Alternatively, your taste buds do change over time. My tolerance for greasy and sweet things has definitely gone down over time.

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

So now that it doesn't have lard, it tastes over-the-top pork-flavored? That's scary. Plus, I thought everyone switched to vegetable oil a decade or two ago.

I like some fat-free canned refried beans, though my favorite (La Sierra refried black beans) do have some fat.

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, they switched to corn oil, mostly. But then that became un-PC too, so they started branching out to other oils maybe 10 years ago--canola, peanut, etc. Not all oils are great for frying/cooking. For example, Jack in the Box used to have really yummy curly fries about 10 years ago. Then they switched to some 'healthy' (er) oil that had the most obnoxious aftertaste that I gave up fries. About a year or so ago, they switched again. Still not as good as they used to be, but better than the nasty ones.

You're also completely right that in the world of Tex-Mex, where every restaurant has the same 20 items on their menu, they are trying to differentiate themselves. I wish they'd just go about it with great customer service, fresh ingredients, and consistent quality (like Chuys's, generally) rather than trying to reinvent the recipes.

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

Right, canola is in--but I didn't know restaurants went there. Interesting.

Yep, Chuy's is still good. I also still really like La Palapa, a place near me that gets mediocre reviews.

[llcoolvad.livejournal.com]

Substitute black beans!

[llcoolvad.livejournal.com]

I know that doesn't answer your overarching question, but that's what I do.

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

One place I go to frequently has two choices: refried beans or borracho beans--sadly, both are pork city. Another place I go to has only the refried beans. But I agree, it's good to look for alternatives!

[(Anonymous)]

That Campbells has been super sweet for at least 8 years-- that's when I stopped having it (I eliminated all HFCS when I found out I had PCOS). We haven't found any good substitutes and instead occasionally have to make our own tomato soup (which is DELICIOUS, but kind of defeats the purpose of quick grilled cheese and tomato soup meals). My husband used to really like sweet tomato sauce, but thankfully I weaned him off that.

N&M

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

Interesting.

I mix tomato paste with milk and maybe some basil for something quick, but the milk usually curdles a little, so I wouldn't serve it to others. The curdled part reminds me of the cheese in Indian food, so I like it fine.

Tomato paste and/or crushed tomatoes mixed with cream works a lot better and is still quick.

So I'm guessing your tomato soup starts with having to saute some onions in butter and goes from there?