As you can see from the title, my first response to this unknown food was exactly how it was conveyed through those three words: confusion, skepticism, disgust, and curiosity.
I see a pile of shrimp, layers of sliced ham, bits of mandarin oranges, a piece of pineapple and finally a cherry on the top.
Seriously, this trend of
meat fad is getting insane!!
This shrimp and ham cake does not sound appetizing to me at all, but who knows? Maybe all those ingredients add up to make the perfect ratio of flavors!
Apparently this "cake" is quite popular in
Sweden, especially among children to be eaten on their birthdays.
It has two layers of yellow cake, a
sweet mayo frosting (I'm trying to imagine this, but it's not working in my mind), layers of ham, a large amount of shrimp topping, pineapple, mandarin oranges, and a cherry.
Yeah...interesting? But...I'm gonna have to force myself
real hard to try this because:
1. I am
allergic to shrimp--one of those things that happen to you when you live in NYC.
2. It is mostly made with my
least favorite ingredients like mayo (sweet mayo, bleh), cold ham, and maraschino cherries.
Nowadays, I see a lot of meat use in foods that normally don't have meat--like the
meat salad that epic meal time made for their
video (
genius)!
To me, they all tie in together--the current bacon fad, epic mealtime's crazy popularity, this
cake--as a kind of
counter movement to the meatless, vegetarian or vegan diet that everybody has been promoting.
I can easily imagine how those who got sick and tired of other "grass-eating" people telling them what to eat and what not to eat, decided to
ignore everything and let their instinctive desire for juicy, fat meat run wild!
I feel that it's partially the
scandal of eating excessive amounts of something that is ethically or socially viewed to be
bad that makes it so popular, but also
our growing interests and responses of shock and dismay to these foods that makes things like epic meal time, or any other meat-promoting organizations to become so
successful.
So for those of you who have clicked on this post, congratulations, you have made some contribution to the success of the whole meat fad movement!
Nah, I'm just kidding, that's too much. But the next time you click on a post about
bacon, or some crazy meat dish, I hope you get a chance to reflect on this thought
Thanks for reading!
What do you think about the current trend of meat fad? or about this weird shrimp & ham cake?
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Comments (23)
I wasn't aware meat was viewed as 'bad' socially. I think I missed this week's newsletter.
I didn't know meat was a *fad* now, but I could see it, I guess. As far as this cake...it sounds gross, but when I went to Poland, I tried a lot of things that sounded gross and were really delicious, so I'd at least try it.
Personally, I do incorporate meat into my diet, but that's my choice. However, as much as I appreciate my meals with meat, I will pass on this cake coated in ham and shrimp. Some things just don't go together! And the obsession with putting bacon on cupcakes and donuts just baffles me. Not everything needs meat! Perhaps the sweet mayo frosting is egg yolks and oil, but without the vinegar and spices that mayonnaise has as American know it. Well, either way, this cake doesn't sound appetizing to me.
I do not, however, feel that meat is a fad. Only a small percentage of the people I know that I call my friends and family actually eat and/or promote a vegetarian lifestyle. So, I cannot say that "everyone" is promoting a meatless, vegetarian or vegan diet. Of course, everyone has the right to choose whether or not to eat meat.
Remember the "meatatarian" commercials?
lol meat on top of meat cooked inside of meat pureed into meat paste stuffed into MEAT aka epicmealtime.
the shrimp cake looks disgusting; sort of resembles a mashed up brain!
I heard that the cake itself wasn't that bad. I'd try it.
That's translated into "sandwich cake." I'm Swedish, we eat it all the time at special occasions and it's delicious. But the thing is, I think they changed the recipe because I don't remember the cherries on there at all. Actually, I don't remember ever eating maraschino cherries in Sweden ever.
And smörgåstårta is actually just supposed to be like a sandwich, but in a cake form. None of that sweet mayo or anything. This is just not what I've ever eaten that's been called that. What they did to this seems disgusting...
I don't like shrimp that much, but I guess I'd try it.
GROSS.
cake sounds gross but whats wrong with meat? you make it sound like anything with meat is bad and that it's a fad ... if it was a fad, it's a pretty dam long fad, i've been eating meat for as long as i can remeber
At first, I just thought this was some giant ham/shrimp platter, with just a little strange garnishing. Now, if it has mayo in/on it, I wouldn't touch it. Mayo is Evil White Slime.
I actually love all of those things but not together and not on a cake! hahaha
i'm tired of seeing such a meat-centric society. maybe that's what the poster meant about "fad"? you can't go into a chain restaurant without seeing meat in nearly everything aside from some appetizers. most salads have chicken/beef/fish even. obviously you can order those without it, but they're obviously pushing the meat first. i just find it annoying that no one focuses on balance in meals, but instead pushes that it's "okay" to eat large amounts of meat throughout the day.
I love the EpicMealTime videos. "In your face" does not begin to describe these guys.
Don't knock it till you try it.
You are right, this is popular in Sweden, I should know, since I live
there. It's basically a large sandwich, whit different fillings, topped
with shrim, ham and often eggs. The toppings can vary from roast beef to
smoked salmon but I've almost never seen one with canned fruit on
top,it seems disgusting. It's layerd with white bread and different fillings like mixtures of mayo or other sandwich-y dressings.
A straight translation would make it a sandwich-cake, and is a popular
food when a lot of people gather; birthdays, funerals etc. It is really
tasty if done right, I don't know about the version pictured though.
Check out this link to see what it's supposed to look like;
http://ensmakavkarin.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/smorgastarta.jpg
why does living in nyc cause shrimp allergy?
@XoAsianBabioX@xanga - I don't have exact statistics, but it is somewhat mutually agreed among all the people I know in nyc that many people develop some kind of allergy after living here. Sorry, perhaps it's more of an inside joke i guess?
@Bonvivante - really? i live in nyc, and i never knew this. o___O
@XoAsianBabioX@xanga - perhaps those around me (including myself) have strangely weak immune systems? haha just kidding, I'm glad to hear that you didn't get anything! it's painful, i swear, especially because "seafood" in most restaurants here seems to refer to "shrimp" in a lot of the cases...I miss good seafood
I actually grew up in Sweden (live in Canada now) and just visited there over the summer, and for the first time in my life tried some of this. Can I just ask, where on earth did you get your facts from?? This isn't a "cake" and is never eaten on birthdays as a cake, especially not for children. As a child I never wanted to try this, nor did anyone ever have this at a party as a cake... When I was younger my cousins and I always had meatballs and mashed potatoes while the adults enjoyed this sandwich cake. It's not meant for a dessert nor is it ever served as dessert or a BIRTHDAY cake?! It's just like shepherd's pie here, yes it's called a pie, but it's not served as a dessert, it's just a main dish. People in Sweden use actual cake, as a birthday cake. This is merely a meal, a popular cake for birthdays on the other hand is actually princess cake, which you can pick up at a local IKEA. It's eaten at gatherings with lots of people so you don't need to cook, you can just buy this as a meal for people to enjoy.
gross