The Off Topic Topic

[The Larch]

Ketchup with pasta?!

I actually saw it done in a restaurant in Lithuania. I was in a big group that featured some Sicilians, and they were absolutely flabbergasted. One of the girls was still rambling about that several days afterwards. 

[Josquius]

What's wrong with meatballs?

[The Larch]

What's wrong with meatballs?

Nothing really, it's one of the things that Italians agree it's ok to do.

I guess it has to do with the American stereotype of "spaghetti with meatballs" as the epytome of Italian traditional cuisine, while in reality it's only typical of a few regions in Italy.

[Eddie Teach]

If I don't snap it, it won't fit in the pot.

[The Larch]

If I don't snap it, it won't fit in the pot.

1) Get a larger pot.

2) Put the spaghetti in and wait a bit, and once it starts to soften you can push it all down into the water.

[The Brain]

0) Don't worry about what Italians think of you.

[The Larch]

0) Don't worry about what Italians think of you.

Spoken like somebody who thinks that it's ok to put ketchup on pasta. 

[The Brain]

0) Don't worry about what Italians think of you.

Spoken like somebody who thinks that it's ok to put ketchup on pasta. 

I'm a free spirit.

[Maladict]

What's wrong with meatballs?

Nothing really, it's one of the things that Italians agree it's ok to do.

I guess it has to do with the American stereotype of "spaghetti with meatballs" as the epytome of Italian traditional cuisine, while in reality it's only typical of a few regions in Italy.

Meatballs are generally eaten as a separate course from pasta, and if they are put together they would be fairly small ones. Ground beef excepted, meat with pasta is a no-no.

[Josquius]

0) Don't worry about what Italians think of you.

Considering they say hawaiian pizza is bad they can't be trusted on anything

[The Larch]

0) Don't worry about what Italians think of you.

Considering they say hawaiian pizza is bad they can't be trusted on anything

[The Larch]

And now for somehow good news for a change:

Iceland to end whaling in 2024 as demand dwindles
Japan's return to commercial whaling in 2019 has left few buyers for Iceland's meat

Iceland, one of the only countries that still hunts whales commercially, along with Norway and Japan, plans to end whaling from 2024 as demand dwindles, the fisheries minister has said.

"There are few justifications to authorise the whale hunt beyond 2024," when current quotas expire, Svandis Svavarsdóttir, a member of the Left Green party, wrote in Morgunblaðið newspaper.

"There is little proof that there is any economic advantage to this activity," she said.

Iceland's annual quotas for 2019-23 allow for the hunting of 209 fin whales – the planet's second-largest species after the blue whale – and 217 minke whales, one of the smallest species.

But for the past three years, the two main licence holders have suspended their whale hunts, and one of them hung up its harpoons for good in 2020.

Only one whale has been killed in the past three years, a Minke whale in 2021.

Demand for Icelandic whale meat has decreased dramatically since Japan – the main market for whale meat – returned to commercial whaling in 2019 after withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

The hunt had also become too expensive after a no-fishing coastal zone was extended, requiring whalers to go even farther offshore.

Additionally, safety requirements for imported meat were more stringent than for local products, rendering Icelandic exports more difficult.

Social distancing restrictions to combat the coronavirus pandemic also meant Icelandic whale meat processing plants were unable to operate as normal.

In Iceland's last full season in 2018, 146 fin whales and six Minke whales were killed.

Iceland resumed commercial whaling in 2006 despite a 1986 IWC moratorium, which it had opposed.

[The Brain]

0) Don't worry about what Italians think of you.

Considering they say hawaiian pizza is bad they can't be trusted on anything

Swedes aren't mad at people who eat surströmming, even though we'd never touch the stuff ourselves.

[Duque de Bragança]

0) Don't worry about what Italians think of you.

Considering they say hawaiian pizza is bad they can't be trusted on anything

Swedes aren't mad at people who eat surströmming, even though we'd never touch the stuff ourselves.

But then noboby but few Swedes eat surströmming. 

[Zanza]

I have never seen a Swedish cuisine restaurant except for Ikea.