Chef Taste Tests Pretentious Ingredients!!

[@droomprinsesje1234]

Fancy water makes me so angry, the claims for money going to the local community can't be traced, meanwhile it is extracted from fragile areas, potentially withheld from locals (or charged for), and shipped across the world. Water should be free for people locally. Also the official Apsu water website doesn't seem to exist anymore, making me even more suspicious.

[@kirstena4001]

this

[@PetraBot]

100%

[@ronintje7647]

Seriously, the company claiming its "environmentally friendly" while shipping bottles of WATER to the other side of the world. There is nothing environmentally friendly about wasting fuel on that water to transport it to pretentious people in Europe who then claim to care about the environment. Probably the same pretentious people who buy quinoa while claiming to care about climate change.

[@Chtulhu1204]

Yeah, I'm from Norway, we damn near invented fancy "glacial" water. What your buying is a branded glass bottle, with tap water. It's just a scam with super high profits.

[@MediaDestroyer]

Also compared to London tap water, that’s an almost 50,000x markup lol

[@rasmusxmage]

Vitelotte potatoes are mostly prized by the french kitchen due to the amount of butter they can absorb, which makes for a very indulgent mash. Should have given that a try

[@jennteal5265]

That is the most French thing _ever_ 😂😂

[@AlexanderNash]

@@jennteal5265 "The French's reckless disregard for how bad butter is for you never fails to impress me" - Jon Pinette

[@goranpersson7726]

@@AlexanderNash i mean.... butter isnt bad for you tho. sure after a certain point consuming it becomes troublesome but that goes for just about everything

[@anubislover8989]

Ben's, Baz's, and Jamie's expressions at the water's price had be laughing so hard I woke up my dog. 🤣

[@Beaten247]

I couldnt wait for that moment to come as your comment shows first for me, just got it, thank you, 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@mekkio77]

And for a second I was afraid that Baz was going to accidently spill it. He came dangerously close to doing so. In American dollars, that's an almost hundred and fifty dollar bottle of wine! I would have started crying if I had accidently spilled it.

[@aarond9563]

The thing is I had the same exact expression at 13:43. I was laughing out loud hysterically when I heard that. Funny enough I had the same exact guess of 40 pounds.

[@AksentNethariaFilm]

LMAOO I replayed that bit like 10 times just to see each of their reactions 😭

[@johanea]

Your life is OK otherwise?

[@thecherrypah83]

I cannot tell you all how many times I rewatched the moment that Mike said "This bottle of water cost us ...". The facial reactions from Ben and Barry crack me up every time.

[@wumpusrat]

Jamie just staring open-mouthed and wide-eyed was hilarious, too.

[@Kagome6691]

I just wonder if James saw this episode, and if he did, what was his reaction?

[@jonaswestman1245]

i want an episode where Ben does the "cheap vs premium ingredient" concept but the dishes are made by normals

[@SortedFood]

This is such a good idea haha!

[@ReadingWithLove]

This would be EPIC!

[@LeilaniLovesElephants]

Wow! That sounds complicated, with train wreck possibilities... I AM 100% HERE FOR IT!

[@markmcguire2009]

@@SortedFood it needs to be blind tasting

[@jasontstein]

This is the way.

[@broadwaystar2b]

When Barry tipped the water bottle after hearing its cost, I literally shouted “Don’t spill it!” at the tv The AUDACITY of that price tag 🤣

[@lets.get.intoit.]

He was also drinking from it far too liberally before that!

[@appa609]

@@lets.get.intoit. If you spill the bottle just refill it from the tap. You paid $1 for water, $10 for a nice bottle, and $100 for the feeling of being fancy.

[@lets.get.intoit.]

@@appa609 🤣🤣🤣 They did say it tastes good, though. Although Ben also said it tastes like an ice block, which in my experience is not a compliment so that confused me a bit lol

[@kristinyt]

Ben had some good points about supportive the idea behind the business. I'd say you cannot look at this type of product as "a bottle of water". You should look at it as "an oppurtunity to try something new and support a small business which donates a lot of money to the cause that you like". It is the same as when you donate blood. You do not expect to get a fancy t-shirt afterwards, you just get an okayish t-shirt and you are happy with it because you know your blood can help somebody.

[@The_Yukki]

@@lets.get.intoit. While I am a bit late to the party... Placebo is hell of a thing. They said a spoon that equals essentially licking a battery makes food taste better, because marketting says it makes food taste better.

[@JeffKelly03]

I realize that it's his own personal vacation time, but it's becoming more and more clear that Ben is one hell of a world traveler. I'd love to see a series of travelogues on some of these adventures, but again I know it's his vacation time and he probably doesn't want to bring his work with him. Still, hearing him talk about the Andes, etc, makes me wish we could see him going to these places and learning about the foods and cultures there.

[@umiluv]

Food tourism is what foodies and chefs love to do. I regret not having done it before the pandemic. At least there’s lots of different foods in the US.

[@SCHTRAM]

I'd love a travelling show with him where he brought a straight man character type paired with him. He's a bit too food focused for it to be entertaining for long.

[@CreachterZ]

Also, he could then write off the expenses! Brilliant!

[@RadishKetchup]

You should follow his Instagram he posts loads of his travels

[@JeffKelly03]

@@CreachterZ Haha - I love that you said that, because I was thinking the exact same thing! His holidays could be a business expense.

[@Relinque9]

That water unsettled Barry, he became quiet and grumpy. Totally loved it 😆

[@ItsNiteNite]

I want a blind taste test video of dishes with and without bay leaf to see if it actually does anything

[@dawnchesbro4189]

It does. If you steep bay leaf in hot water, like you would tea, you definitely taste the bay in the water.

[@MrRanosama]

​@@dawnchesbro4189 Yes, but I think the point is, would you taste that in a dish with other spices and ingredients?

[@omaimaf9963]

In my country tomato sauce for pasta is made with bay leaves (plural not a measly one) I use ones that I dried myself and I absolutely taste the difference, it tastes bland without it.

[@fabe61]

@@MrRanosama would you necessarily be able to taste any complex stewed dish and pick out if there’s onion? It’s such a stupid argument that bay leaves don’t do anything. If they didn’t do anything, they wouldn’t be used so routinely across numerous cuisines.

[@kg4wwn]

What is up with people saying they can't taste bay? I find it has a strong and easily discernible flavor. Perhaps not on the level of ginger or garlic, but only a step below. MUCH stronger flavor than things like oregano, or parsley, or even basil. Is this one of those things that 75% of the population has/doesn't have a mutation to taste it or something?

[@Aviendha123]

Ben's and Barry's reaction to the water price is hilarious but Jamie's shocked face while listening to Mike is priceless lol 😄

[@JeffreyKelley]

The miso powder is something that Brad leone made on bon apetite a few years ago. he made a few different powders from fermented things and used them on popcorn. Every person in the video loved it.

[@SortedFood]

That sounds like an interesting vid!

[@albinostman3713]

Was just thinking about writing that same comment! If i remember correctly he also did kimchi and sauerkraut, but the miso was so standout for me that i tried it myself. Nowadays I have a shaker with dried miso butter (with some smoked habanero) powder at home that's dedicated to popcorn whenever I have it. Also great on runny scrambled eggs!

[@BrowneePointz]

The problem was it involved Brad Leone

[@Shelsight]

@@BrowneePointz I’d say Brad Leone being in any video was a benefit, not a detriment. Down to earth guy and decent chef.

[@OrbObserver]

@@BrowneePointz Haters gonna hate

[@aymiewalshe982]

Oh man...my Dad grew purple potatoes one year and was just tickled by them. We all decided, however, that they were almost impossible to eat because of the dissonance the color created. (I mean, none of us are chefs...we were eating mash.) It was so weird. But I love the history of things like that.

[@jessicazaytsoff1494]

A purple potato has an oddly 'human flesh' like color when cooked. Even though it's still purple. So I understand the reluctantly.

[@ducklinsenmayer7681]

Ben deserves a badge for nailing what region that sea salt comes from.

[@Narangarath]

Not really, you can pretty safely assume it's a Nordic thing whenever you hear "salt" and "licorice" in the same product name.

[@Slabfish]

@@Narangarath presume if you already know about various cultures and food, most people dont or have never been to or experienced these countries food

[@Narangarath]

@@Slabfish My presumptions of pros and non-pros are wildly different, and yes, I would presume a pro would have a vague idea where in the world salty licorice is popular. It IS a bit of a culinary meme.

[@kawaii.jarate]

If you haven't done it yet, Matsutake Mushrooms! A Japanese delicacy praised for its distinct pine-y aroma and flavor. These delicacies are very difficult to grow commercially due to its unique environment requirements. My great grandparents loved mushroom hunting in the fall and I have many fond memories of savoring Matsutake Gohan.

[@GeoFitz4]

I love purple potatoes. When I want to do roasted potatoes, I get these bags of baby waxy potatoes with a mix of yellow, red, and purple potatoes. Olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder and roast them for about 20-25 minutes and they're wonderful.

[@SortedFood]

They sound absolutely delicious!

[@suckieduckie]

No smoked paprika? Works wonders with roast potatoes.

[@GeoFitz4]

@@suckieduckie Honestly had never crossed my mind, but I will definitely give that a try next time!

[@suckieduckie]

@@GeoFitz4 Let me know what you think, keeping it a bit simpler with just the garlic powder is also very nice.

[@janmay3901]

Roasted baby colored potatoes with rosemary and flaky sea salt.

[@DanielDugovic]

10:45 "Would you like to learn how to taste water?" Mike was extremely prepared for this segment.

[@kittykatinabag]

With the dried miso powder and how easy I feel it would be to make a home made version (even without a dehydrator), I'd love to see if there's any more pretentious ingredients that could be diy'd and if there's a difference between the brand version and the diy version Oh, I have that salt but in birch smoked and black lava versions. I think its worth it because its been 7 years and I still have quite a bit left, but then again I don't use it super often.

[@endwarAH80blackfoot]

The bottle of water may be worth a stupid fortune, but the reaction faces on Ben, Barry and Jamie was just priceless! XD

[@ogreman2229]

That water may be legitimately the most pretentious item they’ve ever had on one of these episodes.

[@Jimoshi1]

Made with inviromentally friendly ways lol. They also claim they support some charity with it(i bet less then 1%) so you can pretend like you saving planet and shit. Literally made for retards who has money but no brain.

[@NOT-A-Monolith]

Your just racist

[@disliked1390]

"It's tastes like the geology of the region" this dude straight up making stuff up lmao

[@cynicalcitizen8315]

Dihydrogen Monoxide?

[@ffc1a28c7]

@@disliked1390 it contains rock flour of the glacial region. It is *literally* correct.

[@788rad]

I love it when a new episode of "What's Barry bought now" comes out.

[@christophernorton6050]

I love this format in general, but the expressions when they heard the price of the water just made this entire video! Beyond that though, I thought you had a good group of items this time around. More of these please!

[@MazzyJC]

I love purple spuds. I also have always said fresh rain water tastes sweet. Well in country areas not sure about the cities. I would love the salt. My brother went to Romania on a holiday and went to Salina Turda salt mine in Transylvania. Going from his photos it's amazing. It has a lake, restaurant and ferris wheel and a gift shop selling heaps of things as well as salt from the mine. So he bought me a packet of the salt. It was the nicest salt I have ever used. You guys need to get some native Australian herbs and spices to try. I think the Chefs would love them.

[@becks1716]

So I have the licorice salt that they sampled, and I LOVE to use it for my dry pickling, oatmeal, cookies/brownies....it's so freaking good and you only need a little of it compared to other flavored salts!

[@bobblelooble3530]

Brownies?! You're a genius. I have some as well, going to give that a try soon! It is a really great ingredient, and I don't even like regular liquorice!

[@becks1716]

@@bobblelooble3530 sprinkle it on top when it’s still soft as you would flakey salt! I hope you like it!!

[@catzkeet4860]

Purple potaoes are, not exactly common here, but fairly easily available if you grow your own. Urenika are a nice solid purple type, with a waxy texture(makes great salad). Its known as a Maori potato along with several other types saved by Maori gardeners, that are purple, red, bi coloured and white. All tasty and all very visually compelling and usually fairly easy to find seed stock for. They're def not pretentious but delicious.

[@shezza_cpt]

When baz coordinates his hair colour, jacket and potato 😂

[@SortedFood]

Pretentious dial on full.

[@metalpuppet5798]

The only thing missing was it being a jacket potato 😂

[@Yzariel]

0:43 seeing the purple Potatoes is a joy. Made a mash out of them a week ago. Looks funny but tastes good. 😊

[@digiscream]

Ebbers: Water sommeliers are a real, valid thing Also Ebbers: HOW FKN MUCH, YOU GODDAMN LUNATIC????? That switch from "yep, I get it, totally makes sense" to "WTF?" was absolute gold.

[@THENAMEISQUICKMAN]

I think we've all experienced that when you're expecting to pay a little bit more than you usually would for say, a burger, and then they're like "oh it's actually £200 cuz we put gold leaf on it."

[@rianfelis3156]

And just like wine sommeliers a lot of it is the power of suggestion. There is some difference in the price of the process involved in bringing it to market, but mostly you are paying for that label, and to some extent paying for the privilege of paying more.

[@codenameu.arctos3747]

I remember when Penn and Teller had a TV show called Bullshit and literally showed how pretentious bottle water is by making a fake Water Sommelier. the show aired back in 2005 or so.

[@randomtology]

You can tell that Ebbers tries SO hard to be open minded in these videos, but every person has a line. Today we found that line and it's £120 water.

[@lostwizardcat9910]

@@randomtology yeah everything but the salt was pretty pretentious. and miso powder which i have no referance for i cant really say. the potatos sounded like they tasted like a normal potato and the water was a ripoff

[@Marvie4]

I make "miso crumb" at home for dirt cheap. Spread your favorite miso thin on a dehydrator screen intended for fruit leather, let it go until dry. Few pulses of the food processor and you're done. Amazing on popcorn.

[@darlouthia5153]

The explanation of how to possibly make Miso powder at home was great ! Thanks Ben !

[@SortedFood]

You’re welcome, glad you enjoyed the tip 😁

[@Quest723The]

@@SortedFood Tell Barry he needs to try Maldon salt on some Butter Pecan or Coffee ice cream. Not something to do all the time, but it does make a difference. Works on good quality choc/vanilla too.

[@Tyfonen]

@@SortedFood One Normal + Chef team up to make best miso powder at home? or spice blend? Put the winners concoction temporarily in stores?

[@umiluv]

@@Quest723The - I love Maldon salt.

[@anomaliecosmos]

I love how the water, a veritable "pretentious or yes, you decide", still represented a real and valuable culinary experience you acknowledged and discussed. Definitely the sort of balanced and reason-tempered banter I stay for.

[@CarlGorn]

Jamie's gobsmacked expression captures how I feel about the water's price _perfectly._

[@ukgroucho]

I've only ever had blue / purple potatoes in Kauai (Hawaii) bought from a farmers market so super fresh. They were delicious - but I think that is as much because they were really fresh (probably dug up that morning or the previous evening) than because of the colour. If you grow your own potatoes (a good variety) and harvest / cook them ASAP they always taste better than any you can buy that have been out of the ground for a week or months.

[@patty9061]

I miss the little bloopers at the end of the videos what happened to those? Also I think we need a pass it on with Kush in it where the Chefs have to follow a Normals recipe using budget friendly ingredients only , in order of who does the least take out during the week

[@lesmercredis]

There should be an episode where Ben (and/or any other chefs) review what look like fancy plated dishes, but are truly ready-made meals from Tesco or Saintsbury's or something

[@emilylexi]

Barry is looking all jazzy in his new jacket 🤣 that with purple potatoes is enough colour for my day

[@nancylindsay4255]

The potatoes and his jacket coordinate nicely.

[@babycheks05]

His hair looks great too, lol. He got it frosted.

[@lauram6156]

Jamie's face when Mike said he paid £120 for water was EXCELLENT

[@Foderstat]

Euro, not pound.

[@GIBBO4182]

Ahhh a pretentious ingredients episode…Barry’s time to shine!😂

[@SortedFood]

He’s in his element right now 😆

[@janmay3901]

But pretentious Barry was a Bitter Barry today when Ben out-guessed him. Lol

[@johntaylor1189]

I love that Ben compares the purple potatoes to going to an art gallery before declaring them not pretentious.

[@jrbyers08]

I’ve never known miso to be used outside of food but just recently, I had a cocktail based in tequila that used miso and yuzu lime tonic water. It was just AMAZINGLY good. I definitely have to try using it more; it’s such a great ingredient 😊

[@Friend2FriendnMA]

Boston, MA here. GET OUT OF HERE!!! I just received TODAY my shipment of salts from Saltverk an hour ago. Six of them. In fact, it is my second order. I absolutely love them. What a coincidence! Oh, for you, my Barry, you should try Iceland's chocolate covered licorice. DELICIOUS ! 😁🤗

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Yes! More ingredients from barry's kitchen!

[@SortedFood]

👀 Prince of Pretension.

[@darlouthia5153]

@@SortedFood 😂😂😂

[@atpeterhayes]

I was fully expecting someone to make a "Ben's gone on a water tasting course" joke when he was deep into his "water sommelier" chat 😂

[@geektesse]

I didn't know the vitelotte potatoes are pretentious. We grow them in our garden. Used the rest of the season up with our normal ones in a potato mash (that turned out suprisingly grey)

[@ICBPenguin]

They way it was marketed is what did it for me. Really it's just a kind of potato they are trying to make it seem so fancy

[@pintpullinggeek]

They overpaid for them which doesn't help in judging pretentiousness. I can get a 1kg from a local farm shop for about £4.00.

[@angieswhim]

I was surprised too. I live outside Seattle and they are easy to find at the market or grow in the garden. It's not even the most interesting potato I've bought/grown. Ben should grow them in his allotment.

[@devsfan1830]

That's what confuses me. I can buy a bag if "medley potatoes" that feature red skin, yellow and purple potatoes. Not at all rare of that expensive

[@Piggelgesicht]

We have them at Christmas from Lidl for 3€ a Kilo

[@Johnny_Cameron]

Finally! I have one of the pretentious ingredients in my cupboard. Been in love with liquorice salt since going to Iceland on honeymoon. It's delicious, sprinkling a bit of buttered toast is amazing!!!

[@kbeemer7813]

I remember being in a really expensive grocery store in Paris with a friend joking about the massive wall of expensive waters. Then an older lady stood next to us and genuinely started comparing the different options (which were like 70€). I guess with money comes the need for ridiculously expensive water.

[@Herr_Flick_of_ze_Gestapo]

its all posing and pretence and done by dumb people. Look at stradivari violins. they sell for tens of millions of $'s. they did many blind tests comparing different priceless stradivaris with cheap modern $100 ones. result: basically all violinists prefered the sound and feel of the cheap modern violin above the stradivari's. The did the same with pretentious flutists, .... flutists all like to claim that the material used makes a HUGE difference in sound. and claim gold and platinum flutes sound the best. they used several flutes, 3 million$ platinum flutes, solid gold flute, gold plated, sterling silver, silver plated, cheaper ones and a flute made of concrete ... yes you heard it right... concrete. Result: NON of the flutists could notice ANY difference between ANY of the flutes. they could not tell the difference between the platinum flute and the concrete one and the cheap chinese mass produced one. The same goes for the world of art, wine etc. Its all swindling and con artists. They are all pretentious bastards. Look for instance at that "art work" of the banana stuck to a wall with a piece of duckt tape. And some pretentious art gallery bastard trying to peddle a shit story that usually begins with: "what the artist is trying to evoke here is...."

[@kbeemer7813]

@@Herr_Flick_of_ze_Gestapo what a passionate monologue! But yeah it's about the idea of status and the created value money adds to things

[@patriceestacio3650]

Always always love your videos guys! Entertaining and seriously high quality. You all have great personalities, you’re all incredibly creative in production. Thank you for all your work!

[@Josefsson9013]

Would love to see Sorted try different types of Swedish tube foods

[@rotties-rules]

Send them some.

[@peanutz09]

I like using the licorice salt on arctic char. It's extremely yummy!

[@carpediem5232]

The vast majority of bottled water is distilled and then has minerals added back into it or filtered, when you taste it coming out of the ground nobody would really enjoy drinking it. Therefore the region has very little to do with it as it pretty much always is pure H2O at some point. The difference in taste comes from the minerals the company decides to put back into it or which ones they filtered out to what degree.

[@DarkPascual]

Luxury brand bottled water is to me the textbook example of a sucker tax...

[@chrissi7560]

Oh that's really interesting, where are you from? Because in Germany the laws for botteling water are very strict. It is not allowed to filter out or add any minerals or other stuff, the water basically has to be bottled straight from the ground at the area of extraction. So I guess pure/natural taste is the standard here...The only thing allowed is basically adding CO2 because after all, Germans love their carbonated Sprudelwasser.

[@andyleighton3616]

@@chrissi7560 Same in the UK.

[@carpediem5232]

@Chrissi I'm from Germany as well, and while there are restrictions on what you can add in (like CO2) and take out (like Iron, Sulfur, Fluoride, Manganese etc.) The bottled mineral water is still filtered and altered quite a bit. Those restrictions are tied to the name "Mineralwasser", if the water doesn't carry that name, then the company also doesn't have to abide by those rules. So for Mineralwasser you are not allowed to literally distill it and put back in any minerals you want but you still are allowed and even have to filter it to make it taste palatable. There are natural springs around many water companies and you can taste the water directly, but non of it tastes like the bottled water produced there.

[@carpediem5232]

@Andy Leighton In the UK it is also filtered just like in Germany.

[@safiremorningstar]

Thank you Jamie for clarifying for everybody that has been getting wrong for years about Miso, it was design for it's good bacteria it supposed to help digestion of food with the breakdown of food in your stomach and digestive tract having said that most people in the boiling or cooking in some other way by doing that you were actually destroying the debt period that is in the miso miso supposed to be served after you've made the soup in the soup has no longer been boiling you put it in once it's cold and a certain amount and then you know put it gently in taking a bowl of soup you put it first internet for soup and then after you put it in for the rest of the pot, which is immediately serve to everybody at the table...

[@oon-huing1729]

Who decides what to feature on these episodes? Does Mike really just go rogue with the company credit card?? 13:19 Lol at Ben's face (and Barry's and Jamie's to be fair) when Mike said the price of the premium water!

[@billmcdonald4335]

I had those purple potatoes, locally grown at a long-time family-owned farm. They charge only a couple bucks more per 2kg bag, too. Unique texture that roasts well.

[@emmonaghan5605]

In response to Baz asking who puts salt on ice cream, when I was a student and I couldn’t afford posh ice cream, I would take vanilla ice cream and add golden syrup and salt to make salted caramel 😂

[@erikkennedy]

Ha, that's quite clever, actually.

[@emmonaghan5605]

@@erikkennedy I was one industrious student for sure

[@TheBlackEternalWings]

With how fiesty Ben was in this episode, he clearly needs a cooking battle episode soon!

[@kennythefrog1]

3am down under = time for sorted. Who needs sleep when we got this.

[@SortedFood]

Thanks for watching so early!

[@richmanricho]

Nuh, it's midnight I should really go to bed

[@eelpop9]

I’m with you😅

[@kennythefrog1]

@@richmanricho 3am vic. Where you at?

[@richmanricho]

@@kennythefrog1 perth

[@kimbercustompro1911]

That water isn't just pretentious it's downright insulting

[@gauravshukla71]

Regarding the water, I remember a candid camera bit where they opened up a water bar to the public. They then had fake waiters tell the customers about the different properties of each type etc. In the background they were secretly filming the guests and how they agreed how each water had notes of this and that. At the end of the episode they took the guests to the back and revealed that all of the water was coming from a garden hose from the tap. :)

[@pattheplanter]

Like the study that found that if you tell someone a wine is very expensive, they will think it is better.

[@StephenJ95]

No water better than good old Peckham Spring Water.

[@dowfreak7]

Just a different spin on the "this pizza costs 20€/it's free at an all you can eat buffet" thing. Humans tend to think higher price, makes things taste better, because otherwise, why'd it be pricier, huh? Very simplistic, of course, but that's a small bit that "validates" terribly pretentious things. Thing is, if you're confronted with the item without the price, you can kinda uncover the truth and we see that happen with the purple potatoes. They're not worth the price. The story behind them creates the price. If they were truly, insanely good potatoes or offered something unique (like heirloom tomatoes), they'd have a place as a rare, expensive good. But they're literally just purple and potatoes. It's 100% pretentious. If someone told you "we're bringing this strain of wheat back, it tastes, looks and grows like normal wheat, but it's red, now pay me 5x the price", you'd rightly tell them to fuck off. Just "bringing it back" isn't enough to make it an item. Cultivate it for culture's sake, sure, but don't try to sell it for exorbitant amounts. That's the difference between pretentious and preserving.

[@catzkeet4860]

@@dowfreak7 Why is a purple potato not as "heirloom" as a tomato? If its a Peruvian variety it's almost certainly "heirloom" And why does it become "pretentious" if it doesn't have that "heirloom" tag attached? I'd say that several of the "heirloom tomatoes" are pretentious due to difficulty with propagation. They're just trading on rarity value. Most potatoes are easily grown.... in fact I'm willing to bet that if Ben snaffled a few of those purple spuds and planted em in his allotment, they'd grow. Free purple spuds aren't very "pretentious"

[@dowfreak7]

@@catzkeet4860 You're assigning way too much importance to the "heirloom tag". The reason heirloom tomatoes are different, are the main point I'm complaining about: ACTUAL difference. Heirloom tomatoes actually taste more intense than normal tomatoes. That's the point. They're not just colorful and deformed tomatoes, they actually taste different. The "these potatoes shouldn't be this expensive" point I already made. And "free" potatoes you grow over a long period of time, with a tiny harvest vs the ability to buy something from the store is far removed from the topic of pretentiousness, that I don't even know why you brought it up. In terms of "diy", that's not an avenue open to many people and not one that's very useful, either. It's one thing to oven-dry miso in a few hours, it's another to plant potatoes in a plot of land and wait literal weeks for harvest.

[@justikki]

Love Ben and Barry trying these together. The most pretentious normal and a chef make a great paring for testing these products!

[@vallinobblitt3977]

I love how creamy blue potatoes are on their own! Just a little bit of salt.….yum! 🙏

[@emeliefunke8245]

Ben when he looks at the camera “where’s the cloche?”. 😂 9:53

[@Silentgrace11]

Finally, the content we’ve all been waiting for: chef and boujee normal trying the pretentious ingredients they probably both have in their refrigerator 😂

[@maryholden3136]

Nobu seasoning does work great with cheese on toast..... also perfect on a baked potato. It adds a real zing to a packet of microwave rice and a can of sardines when you're broke and downhearted. Better still if you get it as a present. Makes you feel loved on a horrid day

[@kateh7484]

Premium water they tried a different brand of this on Jolly and I found it ridiculous then too 😂

[@SortedFood]

It’s SO ridiculous.

[@alistairbolden6340]

@@SortedFood Whats super disgusting about this is any cheap brand of spring water you can buy in the UK, will have been filtered through rocks and must come from a real spring and thus have more mineral contentthan a bunch of chopped up ice. This stuff is not even very healthy for you outside the basic H2O. In fact I'm willing to be that an adverage glass of UK tap water is better for you than this stuff is, A it would be extreamly easy to forge/counter fit, around 10% of all goods sold within traded out of the Americas is fake, and B the food standards in the place its produced at may as well not exist. I think this would be a hard product for our own food standards agency to test and confirm that the entire content of the bottle really is were the lable says its from. A huge problem for expensive brands of liquor and olive oil.

[@KimAndrewsbykimbo]

And totally could not tell them all apart!

[@rosehill9537]

@@SortedFood mike's only saving grace on this is it helped a community.

[@serenetiv]

I mainly drink sparkling water and I can confirm that, yes, there are differences in taste! I'm kinda picky, too. Some water tastes a bit metal-y and I hate those. Some are more salty than others. Every time I can't get the water I drink anymore, it's a struggle to find a new one. (Like when the company is closed or the supermarket changes suppliers and can't order that brand anymore.) But it's also really pretentious to buy water for that much money xD I would never even buy one for 10€ a bottle, though.

[@jaskajokunen3716]

If i want sparkling water i use tap water and put it into a sodastream 🤔

[@serenetiv]

@@jaskajokunen3716 That only works if you like the taste of your tap water (and live in a country where that's okay to drink) And yes, tap water tastes different in different regions and sometimes even houses as well.

[@jaskajokunen3716]

@@serenetiv I'm lucky i live in a country where tap water is better than bottled water. Also i havent noticed difference here from region to region.

[@geektesse]

When I was university, I always trank a particular brand of water and refused to drink other brands. My fellow students laughed at me and said water doesn't have a taste, and did a blind testing with me. I could easily identify and differentiate tap water, volvic, vittel, evian and s. pellegrino. Water has different amounts of natrium, calcum and magnesium in it, no wonder it tastes different.

[@catherine_404]

My aunt got a bucket of purple potatoes from her neighbour the last year and planted them this year. So this summer I tried them too. She was told the variety is Negrita or something like that. It's almost black outside, purple with a light rim on the inside. It's roundish, barely elongated, smaller than common varieties (about egg-sized), it seems to yield less of a harvest, and it keeps worse (more demanding to its storage conditions). So, as a variety to grow it's slightly worse than average for the price of being rare and different. It tastes like a very good potato. We simply boiled it to taste it in its simplest form. I prefer waxier potatoes, but this one is still good, it tastes like one of the best of potatoes. It is blue when cooked. The blue leeches into the water, so you get some sea-coloured potato stock. But it doesn't add anything to the taste, I agree with the guys completely. We tasted different varieties, but my experience was the same. It's just a potato, it could be grown commercially, there are no natural constraints to that. You can grow out in your own garden just like any other spud. So I think it's only for its odd looks and rarity that a pretentious price is put on it, it's not a pretentious product. Commercial growers may never start growing such varieties of they think too few would want these weird tubers, at the same time, they may decide there is a market for them just like they recently decided yellow and "black" tomatoes are good for me market - and now these are everywhere, costing marginally more than your common red varieties. I wish there were more different varieties of common vegetables, fruit etc. grown for the mass market. I understand why there are not that many, but I also see how there can be more.

[@SciJae1]

The reaction to the water was perfect!!! Also, if Jamie is up to it. Should do a pass it on where he wears Enchroma glasses and everyone has to wear colleeed lenses.

[@Kate-qq3ez]

I use very often purple potatoes (vitelotte) they are not much expensive than regular potatoes and as a side dish it is always nice with this beautiful color. Nice also in purée .

[@mrow7598]

A local chip/crisp maker (UTZ), had purple potato chips. It was in their Gourmet Medley with sweet, russet, regular and of course purple. Loved them, however I think they stopped making them.

[@SortedFood]

They sound good!

[@dawnchesbro4189]

Terra Chips have their "Blues" bag, which are the purple potatoes. I love their chips using different tubers, like taro and parsnip chips

[@mrow7598]

@@dawnchesbro4189 I'll have to give them a try

[@anniebieb]

@@mrow7598 I get them at Publix in Florida.

[@mrow7598]

@@anniebieb Wrong end of RT1 for me.

[@anna9072]

On the potatoes, I’ve never tried the Vitelo, but I really like the purple potatoes that I have tried. They do have a different flavor, though still unequivocally potato. But my inclination, if I liked them, would be to buy a few and pop them in some soil and grow my own. Potatoes are ridiculously easy to grow, even in a pot on a balcony, and while the growers would probably have a meltdown, I feel that the best way to preserve rare species is to grow them as widely as possible.

[@celticecho]

That bottle of water has made me angry!!! It’s rare I see such a pretentious thing and get enraged, normally I’d laugh!

[@SortedFood]

It’s insanity isn’t it?

[@harvestmoon_autumnsky]

But if it's for the reason that Ben stated, as a scam to help put money into the hands of people who need it, then more power to the company.

[@Karma-qt4ji]

@@harvestmoon_autumnsky I am going to disagree, based solely on the carbon footprint of the water to get it to its destination. Some things are worth getting money into the hands of local people who need it, but not when you consider what you are taking away environmentally. That's my two cents anyway.

[@cathyburke6003]

Also, you need to investigate where the money is going, and most importantly, how much. Some companies say they are donating money but it's a miniscule amount.

[@Ishlacorrin]

@@SortedFood There is a Jolly video where they compare several types of water including some even more expensive than this one. From memory one was Icelandic Glacial Melt and was in the several hundreds of pounds range.

[@MichaelSarko]

In the Pacific Northwest of the United States we often see purple potatoes (not sure if they're this variety) in farmer's markets. They're not especially expensive (just farmer's market prices) and are good because they're fresh and local. We mostly get them for the color.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

‘Prince of Pretentious’ sounds like a great video game but instead of a Princess, it’s Manuka that has to be saved.

[@lauriepenner350]

I'm sorry Barry. Your honey is in another Whole Foods.

[@dEntz88]

Actually bought that salt on our vacation in Iceland, after having tasted it in a restaurant. It also goes really well with butter and as finishing salt, as Ben mentioned.

[@melsyoutube]

barry looks SO good 😩 i loved the long hair but this is really working for him too 🔥

[@SortedFood]

He will love this comment 😂

[@glockenrein]

I vote for the long hair, I feel like men should make the most of their hair before they start losing it. 😂

[@debs5039]

@@glockenrein Absolutely agree. Not all men can carry off long hair but Barry definitely does. Grow it Barry, you look 10x younger, more attractive and less ordinary with long hair.

[@AWest-en5ee]

Well, Barry's lucky like that, he usually looks good no matter the hairstyle!

[@AQuickBite]

Salt on ice-cream is fantastic! I always do this with caramel ice-cream.

[@jackoghost]

that water has to be a massive satire thing with its over the top story.

[@saintsfan39475]

I love "pretentious ingredients"! It's so much fun. Every item is a surprise and sometimes an absolute shock. Good job, gents!

[@cyranojohnson8771]

The glacier water thing is... horrific. I mean, it's nice that they were savvy enough to know they'd need to justify it with charitable donations, but I don't see how anything could possibly offset the carbon footprint on that whole endeavor, it must be insane.

[@vvsandgaming4648]

I love the Saltverk salt products and yes the liquorice one is excellent on roasted lamb. Pair it with finely ground white pepper and season the skin of a leg of lamb and you get an exquisite tasting crackling along with the meat... I'm actually salivating as I type this

[@aseasyash]

Thanks to the editor for cutting back to Mike briefly at 15:14 for the cute shared celebration with Ben. Much appreciated!

[@shortlilrope]

OK OK… I LOVE Saltwerk salts! I use them on seared scallops - add a bur blanc and then finish with just a pinch of either the Saltwerk Lava Salt or Purple Bamboo Salt and it just looks pretty and tastes pretty too!

[@Dinostra]

Quick tip from an absolute pillock: Don't make mash from these taters, or Blue Congo/Blue Swedes, they might all be the same for all i know. But do NOT make mash with them! I made mash with this for a friend and her partner once They'd just become parents and hadn't had time for anything but resting and getting accustomed to the new dynamic. So they finally got some time over for a late lunch one day and i served buttery blue congo mash with black garlic marinated pork tenderloin filets and asparagus in duck fat, calamata olive side salad with a pomegranate vinaigrette (I know it's a mess of a composition, I have already told you i'm a pillock, move along) It was all going great and the food turned out amazing, it all tasted like i wanted and it was a worldy imo, So i started plating up and it all was looking good, but i noticed the mash was changing color after a little bit, it started to become a little bit pale and darker in areas, spotty. But hey, it wasn't so bad. So i continue to plate and make everything else look as special as an utter neanderthal can. And now it's time to serve! Hooray! So i start walking their plates and put them infront of our guests and they say thank you, and turn quiet.... I was all wrapped up in getting it all out there so we could just enjoy some good food and discussions. I hear a faint ruckus for a bit, i think someone just knocked something over or hit their foot on our Quasimodo of a dining room table. When i return with my own plate and the salads, drinks and everything, the guests are gone?! My wife i pale as a ghost and visibly distressed, I ask what happened and where our guests were. In the restroom she tells me, why i ask, is everyone ok?! And then she points at the mash.. There was now this oily looking skin, shimmering iridescent with those spotty blue and purple miscolorings from the first start of it's journey of becoming sentient. And i panic for a bit and take back the plates and await the guests return. And upon their return i apologize for the unsightly mess i tried to serve them, to which their reply was: "No we're sorry, stuff like that doesn't really bother us generally, but since we saw the afterbirth..." I have never ever in my life cringed so hard, everything in my being receded in apart from my will to live tried to make its way out of every orifice that i had. So heed my advice, or at the very least try it out by yourself first and do it right.. I still have nightmares about it. And with good friends like mine, i don't need nightmares to remind me...

[@richardeaston2768]

The dried miso powder I use in compound butter and its great for steak,fish and chicken and is great for pasta

[@cheyenneoliver5184]

If I wasn't too busy laughing at watching them convulse at the price of the water, I'd be cringing too

[@rikkelarsen9761]

As a Dane I’ve been waiting excitedly for the Danish cuisine video from the food from around the world, when is it going to come out???

[@melsyoutube]

“put him down- i mean, put him out of his misery” 😂 i love mike

[@jennthya6982]

Thank you!!! 😁Just bought several of Saltverk's delightful salts. I cannot wait to try them out! In addition to the Licorice Salt, I also ordered the Seaweed Salt, Artic Thyme Salt, and Birch Smoked Salt.

[@enoughofyourbile]

This is the best duo for pretentious ingredients 😂

[@jessekahz]

YESSSSSS the actual opening/introductions are back! So very happy for intros again.

[@AngryAlfonse]

I wasn't aware that you guys did an episode where you made miso from chickpeas. It'd be super interesting to have an episode where you apply the techniques used to produce foreign ingredients to produce more British varieties. This comes to mind because that made me think... what if you made miso but from mushy peas? 😄

[@TheZefarg]

Just a heads up, i did a bit of math on the potential what if scenario of the water being sold in 1l bottle, not 750ml. If I add 4€ on top due to bigger bottle, then round it up by adding 10€, cause they would do it 100%. 1l costs 200 € (186,66). *200* €

[@xenamychan7780]

I had no idea vitelotte potatoes were a delicacy, they’re my favourite potatoes and I could find them easily in my supermarket in France. They’re just a bit more expensive than normal but nothing crazy. But 6£ a kilo? That’s crazy, they’re like half that price here

[@jakx2ob]

They are 3€ for 1.5kg here in Austria.

[@chrysanthosvice4867]

that's that import cost. its why artichokes can be like 12$ a pound in american cities but in rural italy theyre maybe 1€ per kilo (exaggerated but you get it)

[@permafrostprod1]

Not to be pedantic but in the first photograph of potatoes in Peru, their is no potatoes. They are all sorts of Oca, a root vegetable that belong to the Oxalis familly, Potatoes are from the Nightshade familly like tomatoes (solanum). Oca was somewhat popular in high-end restaurants and amongst chefs in the second half of the 2010's. Fun fact: the oxalis leave (wood sorel) is theorised to be the origine of the Irish clover instead of real clover as many early drawing of it and the one most depicted with St-Patrick resemble more of it heart shaped leaves than the drop shaped leaves of the clover's familly.

[@Getpojke]

One of the farms I used to live on had the sweetest, most wonderful water I've ever drunk, loved it. Luckily here in Scotland most of the water is pretty good quality. I now live in a village that has a bottling plant for a very famous Scottish water. But Ben is right, water is different everywhere, i remember being up in the mountain abroad & drinking ice cold water straight from a glacier; it probably fell from the sky hundreds or thousands of years ago & had been locked up in ice ever since. It certainly made the whisky I had in my hip flask taste very different. Do feel sorry for the lads down in London though, I lived in the South for a couple of years & the chalky water in the likes of Kent was atrocious. Couldn't drink it straight & it made a rotten cup of tea too.

[@nat3007]

Ive gotten used to it but the limescale is a nightmare.

[@annaskov5723]

You don't have water softeners when that happens?

[@nat3007]

I mean it furs up the kettle, the washing machine. I haven't found a water softener that works yet.

[@aphexhanna9225]

London water tastes like the water you get in public pools to me. I can’t drink the stuff. Whenever I visit husbands family there I just drink bottled water.

[@annaskov5723]

@nat3007 Do you not have whole house water softeners? They look kind of like a weird trash can attached to a commercial helium cannister

[@PhillipTheBrandon]

I'm so glad you mentioned Dan Saladino's Eating to Extinction, it's a really compelling book.

[@vaishali_prakash11]

I wish James was there to see the water bottle's price....... He definitely would have gone insane 🤣🤣🤣 !!!!!!!

[@AJvsEverything]

Barry being salty about someone putting salt on ice cream, while being totally oblivious in the moment that ice cream is made using salt if you make it from scratch...*chef's kiss*

[@AlexiconPrime]

I love that Ben is like 'It's not pretentious in the same way that looking at art isn't pretentious' Ben that's pretty damn pretentious!

[@dawnchesbro4189]

Art is only pretentious if you make it pretentious. Art only has the value someone is willing to pay for it.

[@conormurphy4328]

@@dawnchesbro4189 pretty sure to the Everyman going to an art gallery is pretentious

[@nat3007]

Except most art galleries are free here.

[@paulinemegson8519]

@@conormurphy4328 why? I’m poor, and I go to art galleries. Your income doesn’t dictate taste, exposure to various types of art does.

[@bobblelooble3530]

I actually have some of the liquorice salt, a gift my father in law brought back from his trip to Iceland (can't believe I own something from a pretentious ingredients video, what have I become?!!). It's SO good on roast carrots, parsnips, celeriac, and mushrooms. I'll definitely try putting it on some ice cream soon. I'd love it if you did a few more recipes with it because after that, I'm stumped.