There's a lot of bloggers out there who would give their left arm to generate a lot of controversy. Most of the time, the food bloggers just want to share good eats! So it's surprising to both parties when some of our recipes end up generating an unexpected amount of passion from our audiences! Here's some of our favourite (and most popular!) recipes... that have also caused huge controversy.
Who knew that people had such a hate on for smooth hummus? I suggested people use just a *tiny* bit of baking soda to chemically break down the hull of chick peas, and judging by the response, you would think I was saying that the secret ingredient of hummus is the blood and bones of my fallen enemies.
I guess I won't tell people that their toothpaste is mostly baking soda either.
"Gross. Baking soda. Why. Just blend better using the water from the can or water from the soaked beans."
"ARE YOU MAD. Baking Soda. The secret ingredient is TAHINI! Thats what makes it silky smooth and good olive oil. Baking SODA dont let any middle eastern person hear you say you add baking soda. That is like telling an Italian the secret ingredient to a good pizza is RAGU!"
"Baking soda!? Ew. No."
"This REALLY works. I do it all the time now."
"This post from Erica Ehm's YummyMummyClub has changed the way I make hummus FOREVER. One simple ingredient that you probably have in your cupboard right now will make THE SMOOTHEST homemadehummus you've ever made"
"Tried this tonight...... Best hummus EVER!!?"
Paula suggesting you ditch your crock pot in favour of a pressure cooker for this awesome risotto drew a line in the sand.
"Sounds like too many rules and restrictions. I prep my slow cooker meal, throw all food in and put the insert in the fridge. Then I put it in the cooker the next morning and turn it on. I'm doing too much after work to have to watch the clock so closely."
"Two words why I won't use one. Ka boom."
"I converted in France. All French mamas depend on this for a quick soup on a work night."
"Love my pressure cooker!! Saves me a ton of time."
Nicole got her fair share of hate mail over using baking soda too. In her case, it was over her nonna's kitchen hack: using a teeny tiny amount to neutralize the acidity of tomatoes without having to add sugar.
"Tried this method last night, then i spent an hour trying to FIX the sauce so I wouldn't waste my ingredients. The family thought the texture was good but the comments on flavour were bland. Not sure if I would use this method again. "
"My little family kept asking what was wrong with my sauce. I don't think I'll try it again."
"So I tried this, after reading this article. I am sorry to say that it was disgusting. It made it taste like canned tomato soup - not good unless you are trying to make tomato soup. It was inedible."
"Great trick! I tried this last time this article popped up on my feed. The thing is, you have to be patient, add a little at a time. If you add too much, the sauce tastes weird. And I find different brands of sauce/tomatoes requires different amount of baking soda, plus the ingredients you add will also change the acidity and taste, so there isn't really a one-size-fits-all kind of amount to use. So my advice is to add a little, let the sauce bubble and flavours to blend, taste test before you add any more. :)"
"I've done the baking soda trick for YEARS with my tomato sauce and soup. Mama taught me. I tell people and they think I'm nuts. Really cuts the acidity."
"I'm a convert! This is the best trick and it's made a huge difference, especially for my non-tomato loving daughter."
Of all the things that people were going to rage at me about, the quantity of sugar in a chocolate cake was not one I expected to happen... especially when people kept telling me how much they loved this cake because it was so much LESS sweet than storebought chocolate cakes. Oh and apparently the incidental vegan label sucks out flavour, too.
"really, 2 cups of sugar! can't that be reduced? and there are so many simple one dish cake and muffin recipes that use mashed bananas or unsweetened apple sauce for moistness and sweetness that I would never make a cake with so much sugar in it."
"Ew. Nothing that's vegan could taste good. Pass."
"Made this for my son's allergic classmate. Total hit!"
"I've been making it for years and have always gotten tonnes of compliments on it. Always moist and delicious! And a cinch to make."
"Thank you so mush (sic) for posting this cake. It IS awesome. It is so moist, fluffy and love the cocao flavour. "
Nicole got some outrage by people who don't keep coconut milk in their pantry over this 2 ingredient vegan buttercream.
"Great idea! Of course, I always have coconut milk in my pantry <rolls eyes>. and the three hours of chilling time to kill after the kids are in bed <cough> so the cupcakes are ready for tomorrow morning (which I'll get a preview of when I'm finally going to bed after wrapping this one up). An emergency fix needs to be quick and realistic. For example: no frosting? Dip them in chocolate. Melting time: 2 mins. Cooling time: who cares, I'm going to bed, they'll be good to go in the morning."
"I can't wait to try this! This sounds amazing!"
"This frosting would go great on the Chocolate Quinoa Muffins I posted last week. Then they would totally pass as cupcakes!"
Maija's blender muffins recipe comments section was popcorn-worthy.
"So because these are flourless, they are healthy?? Not with all that sugar and the processed grains (oats), which is genetically modified..."
"Sugar is plentiful these muffins and sugar is now research-proven to be a brain toxin"
"Wow, 1/2 cup of sugar? We are encouraging this as a great way for our kids to start the day?! This is the problem our kids our facing today, everything is loaded with refined sufar and they are addicted to it. No wonder 30% of our school aged kids are overweight or obese."
"I love these muffins and come for the recipe. I *stay* for the comments. ;)"
"We added some frozen blueberries once the batter was prepared and they were a huge hit in my house!"
"I did this exactly as the recipe called, couldn't find a single serve cup of yogurt so used at least 2/3 cup of vanilla greek yogurt. They turned out really moist for me. My 8 yr old loved them! I used a Ninja food processor instead of a conventional blender."
Nicole's vegan nacho cheese sauce got people's blood boiling.
"If you're vegan you should just eat meat and cheese instead of making fake meats and cheeses."
"Life's too short for fake butter, fake cheese and fake people."
"Please do not call this cheese sauce. This is not cheese, it is a vegetable sauce. Cheese is a DAIRY product and contains milk."
"This is...a revelation. Could it actually be true? Nacho cheese sauce for vegans? I am DAZZLED. Needless to say, will try :)"
"I'm going to have to try it. Super curious. Sounds like it would be a healthier option too!"
"Yum!! Gonna try! Would go well with my vegan spinach dip."
Okay, so this one is actually from my home site, but it was one of the first vicious comments I ever got.
I deleted the original comment because it was so ridiculously cruel to say these things to a complete stranger but I've never forgotten that got an essay of a comment about how I should be ashamed of myself as a food lover for substituting oil for butter in a gingersnap recipe for my dairy-allergic son.
People are endlessly amused by the story of this comment. Usually as they're cramming my gingersnaps into their face.
Maija got some raeg over posting an "easy" scalloped potato recipe, because anything that requires potato peeling/slicing automatically is disqualified as easy by many people.
"This is a very normal scalloped potato recipe. What's different about it, except I prefer to use corn starch rather then flour?"
"If you have to peel and slice the potato, I would NOT qualify this as "easy" recipe."
"if it takes prep work, then it's not as easy as going to Applebees. ha ha!"
"Made these today for Easter dinner. They were really good! I like this recipe because they are what I call traditional scalloped potatoes, not made with a cheese sauce."
"my mom does this, but skips the flour and puts slices of onions and s&p in each layer too. Sooooo good."
People have very strong feelings about butter versus mayo on grilled cheese, as Paula has discovered.
"you'll be prying the butter out of my cold dead hands"
"Mayo.. yuck"
"Um, no thanks. Mayo on grilled cheese is nasty"
"Gee, I put the Hellmans on the inside w/ the cheese and sweet raw onions. I'll have to put some on the outside now for a taste test."
"I have done this, it's not as crispy I found and you need to cook it fairly low, but it is definitely a yummy sandwich, especially if you are trying to lower your saturated fat intake, a tablespoon of low fat mayo has way less than a tablespoon of butter - and let's be honest, who only uses 1 tablespoon of butter when making a good grilled cheese? LOL. But the mayo goes farther too."
"Mayo is just egg and oil so technically it's French toast and cheese!"
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