A very nice lady in private messages, interspersed with obscene vocabulary, offered to praise the jellied meat, since I, so and so differently, assert that in Russia there is also decent cheese, and imported cheese is far from always of quality the best.
No, judging by the expression she used - “to get him out of the cold,” she obviously did not intend to praise him, on the contrary, she tried with all her might to show that real ladies, like her, did not use jellied meat in any way. Only that notorious parmesan for two euros per kilo, which is full of foreign supermarkets.
I didn’t argue with this beautiful lady (you never know what there, in the cougar, she sees, but I don’t do without cougar), because... And I will praise the jellied meat!
I know the current generation of culinary intellectuals are being ostracized in the cold. In their opinion, it is too... plebeian. There are no truffles, nothing (okay, right? put), and the name of the jellied meat is too domestic.
Every now and then on YouTube videos are released with the "reactions" of foreigners to our food - and at the sight of jellied meat, these same foreigners begin to wrinkle their faces contemptuously - they say, phew, what disgusting.
Yes, only this is the trick... Jellied meat is eaten not only in Russia, it is eaten all over the world. This dish is healthy, tasty, nutritious and inexpensive. This means that it is very popular.
I know, those who have never been abroad, and therefore only use Parma, Parmesan and Jamon (here you need to add a grinning smile), well, I have an idea of foreign cuisine exclusively from YouTube videos like “noble Herr from Germany tried our jellied meat, I'm showing the result”, I don’t believe, but ...
In Germany, jellied meat can be found under different names. One of them is sülze. Selts. Brawn in our concept is not equal to jellied meat, however, the variety of its types in German-speaking countries makes it possible to put sülze on the same level with jellied meat.
For example, Berlin brawn, which uses pork skin for gelling
But just brawn (like most - from a pork leg), but with an addition: pickled cucumber
But the British prefer to cook jellied meat out of their heads. It's called Head cheese. No, no, it doesn't smell like Parmesan here either, believe me, even though there is a word "cheese".
Head cheese, or "head cheese", is made from the head of a calf or a pig, less often a ram or a cow. Here the brain and eyes will not go there, but the legs, despite the fact that the cheese from the head - can. In modern conditions, other parts of the carcass can also be taken.
But maybe then the French will not let you down, and will definitely not use such a common dish? Ah, and then a bummer. All kinds of terrines leave no chance for gourmets not to taste banal jelly, brawn, jellied meat, even if it is called differently.
Here is the site "Chef Simon" recommends it. For the faint of heart, please turn your back - there are no truffles. But there is a pork knuckle with all the delights.
Why did I write all this?
Firstly, to show: contempt for their own cuisine and products and the confidence that solid truffles abroad are most often inherent in those who do not know foreign cuisine.
Secondly, for example, I am always interested in similar dishes from different cuisines. For example, cooking jellied meat with cucumber pickle is a good idea for me. I will definitely try it in the fall.
And thirdly - you know, given that there are dishes similar to jellied meat, jelly and brawn in almost all kitchens the world, it seems, videos with "reactions of foreigners" to Russian cuisine, in which they look at jellied meat with wild eyes, it seems fake. In the sense that they are staged. And people who, on the basis of these videos, hint that jellied meat is downright a culinary disgrace, which no decent person abroad will eat are just... naive creatures.
Such are the things.