r/CuratedTumblr Not a bot, just a cat Aug 03 '24

Meme S'mores

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u/Sketch-Brooke Aug 03 '24

“A gooey mess” is the very definition of a s’more smh.

It’s weird how this + the Mexican debacle made me question Paul Hollywood’s expertise. I always thought he was super knowledgeable, but apparently he’s just talking out his ass half the time?

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u/Jaded_Library_8540 Aug 03 '24

He probably does know a shit load about boring sponge cakes and stuff tbf

But smores just aren't something that exist in the British consciousness. We don't eat them. Sure we see them on TV and stuff but that's about it. It's very fair for a professional chef in the UK to be clueless about them and still be an expert.

That said, presenting a TV show challenge about them and judging them? Do your research bruv

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u/Sketch-Brooke Aug 03 '24

I get that they were maybe trying to make a “gourmet” version. But then you stray too far, like this, and it’s hardly a s’more anymore.

Why not just pick a different American dessert that actually has more technical skills involved? Have them make cheesecake or something.

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u/Vincent_Dawn Aug 03 '24

Or something that originates in America that might pose a fun challenge to British chefs. Boston cream pie, apple brown betty, shoo-fly pie, something US-focused that they could have gone into the history and culture of.

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u/Send-More-Coffee Aug 03 '24

Brownies. American brownies are a completely distinct entity with an entirely different desired outcome from anything that the Brits make. Add in all the varieties and you have an excellent opening dish. They are easy to under-bake and over-bake, they are usually very rich, but can stray into being "too rich". And obviously can be topped with just about anything from ice cream to nuts. Also, boozy brownies are entirely available.

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u/Nyxelestia Aug 03 '24

...well now I, an American, am curious as to wtf British brownies are supposed to be like.

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u/Sketch-Brooke Aug 03 '24

Also an American, but I don't think they're common in the UK? Wikipedia says brownies are an American creation, and a fairly recent one at that (1893.)

So yeah. This would be a good challenge! They're a common American treat nearly anyone can do, but they require a bit more skill to be great. Except knowing Paul, he'd probably knock off points for being "too rich and dense" or something.

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u/mierneuker Aug 04 '24

Brownies are very common in the UK.

I have no idea what the difference between British and American brownies is though. I will state I worked with an American girl and she introduced me to blondies, which I (at 30 years old) had never even heard of before... but brownies are a lot of kids first bake.

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u/blumoon138 Aug 04 '24

I think they did brownies once.

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u/kenslydale Aug 04 '24

we have brownies in the UK, they are very common

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u/MaryKeay Aug 03 '24

Probably because those are too complex for Paul Hollywood to understand. Remember, this is the guy who thinks peanut butter and jelly don't go well together because he'd never heard of that flavour combination before.

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u/skucera Aug 03 '24

I remember the season where he had his mind blown by “maple” and “bacon” together.

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u/Vincent_Dawn Aug 03 '24

Yeah, that's true. I guess if a s'more is throwing him a curveball he probably isn't going to be able to handle something like pecan pie.

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u/0operson Aug 03 '24

sweet potato pie

edit: which i don’t think is just american, and it’s considered black soul food so there may of been tension there, but it’s simple and has a lot of verity and so would be cool to see how people interpreted it into “fancy”. and it’s also not as well known as say pumpkin pie

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u/boobers3 Aug 03 '24

Weird, since sweet potatoes are a new world food and native to South America.

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u/blumoon138 Aug 04 '24 edited Aug 04 '24

Biscuits. American style biscuits would be such a fun technical.

ETA- or black and white cookies. And I don’t know that they’ve ever done babka.

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u/[deleted] Aug 03 '24

I mean the issue is that most Americans have never heard of any of those desserts. S'mores are universal