Costco Sells Caskets?! Plus: Brunch on Trial & the Truth About Farmed Salmon

Karla Walsh: 00:00:00

I used to go to Dairy Queen and get a dipped cone, but instead of sprinkles, nerds I could see because.

George Duran: 00:00:04

Of the sourness of the.

Karla Walsh: 00:00:05

Exactly.

George Duran: 00:00:06

Yeah. Man, that must be a colorful poop. Welcome to the Always Hangry podcast, where we break down the way we eat.

The good, the bad, and the completely ridiculous. I'm George Duran. Today we're exploring the strangest things Costco sells in bulk.

Debating whether brunch is one big rip off putting Dubai chocolate on trial in trend or trash. And later, we're busting some of the biggest myths you've probably heard about farm salmon.

Joining me today, the delightfully funny, the dangerously opinionated and somewhat still invited to dinner parties, Carla Walsh.

Karla Walsh: 00:00:42

Dangerously opinionated. I love it.

George Duran: 00:00:44

Yeah, you're invited to dinner parties because you probably have a lot of great talking points when it comes to food.

Karla Walsh: 00:00:48

I love, like, a get to know you question about food or otherwise. It's just so much more fun than the small talk.

George Duran: 00:00:55

Are you still doing stories about Costco, by the way?

Karla Walsh: 00:00:57

Always. Yes. People have a voracious appetite for Costco.

George Duran: 00:01:00

Why? Why is Costco so. So popular?

Karla Walsh: 00:01:02

I feel like there's a little bit of something for everything, everybody. And like, you're a membership. You have a membership, so you feel like you. You're part of the family.

And everybody has, like, their hidden gem that you're just like you. You have to know about this. And it feels special to be able to share something that means something to you with someone else.

George Duran: 00:01:22

So Costco has a list of weird things that they've sold, and I found out that they sold sold things like arcade games. Wait, like, stand up, full blown pinball machine arcade games. Wow. Yeah, pretty interesting. Buckets of apocalypse food.

Karla Walsh: 00:01:40

I've seen those.

George Duran: 00:01:40

I've seen those. Have you ever purchased one?

Karla Walsh: 00:01:42

Absolutely not. I'm not a prepper, George.

George Duran: 00:01:45

Okay, fine. I wanna buy it. Just to taste it.

Karla Walsh: 00:01:48

By the way, I mean, I would read that story. Yeah, I think you need the world needs.

George Duran: 00:01:53

No, I would open it. If, like, I ran out of eggs, I'd be like, get the powdered eggs from the basement, kids. We're gonna have eggs here.

Even though there's no apocalypse for 120 days.

Karla Walsh: 00:02:01

Worth of eggs.

George Duran: 00:02:02

Yeah, and they expire too. That's the thing. Even after 10 years, people are just throwing them away. But I don't know what to expect. Even during COVID we didn't really.

Nobody pulled their buckets of dried eggs?

Karla Walsh: 00:02:12

No, they did not.

George Duran: 00:02:13

But Costco sells buckets of apocalypse food. Wow. Yeah. Giant nutcracker statues.

Karla Walsh: 00:02:19

Okay, holiday time. How big is giant?

George Duran: 00:02:21

Like this six foot tall, Human size. Massive.

Karla Walsh: 00:02:23

That would be kind of creepy.

George Duran: 00:02:24

Yeah. I wonder if they work.

Karla Walsh: 00:02:27

What kind of nuts would you need to crack in that nutcracker?

George Duran: 00:02:30

Coconuts. It's a nutcracker, obviously. Here's some of the weirder things that Costco has sold.

Karla Walsh: 00:02:37

Okay.

George Duran: 00:02:38

Gold bars.

Karla Walsh: 00:02:40

Okay.

George Duran: 00:02:40

Costco shoppers were buying 1oz gold bars so aggressively that analysts estimated hundreds of millions in monthly sales.

Karla Walsh: 00:02:49

Wow. That's wild.

George Duran: 00:02:51

Yeah. And it was huge. I remember when it first came out, everybody was rushing to get them, like Pokemon cards, but they were gold bars.

Karla Walsh: 00:02:56

This is so interesting to me.

George Duran: 00:02:58

Yeah. Diamond rings.

Karla Walsh: 00:03:00

I. I don't know how I'd feel being proposed to with a Costco ring. I mean, I do appreciate a good value, but I would be wanting to know where that diamond came from, I guess.

George Duran: 00:03:11

Do you think that somebody proposing someone with a Costco ring will tell them, like, oh, by the way, I bought this at Costco.

Karla Walsh: 00:03:15

I mean, there are some people who get married at Costco, so I bet some people would really appreciate that.

George Duran: 00:03:20

That's not bad.

Karla Walsh: 00:03:21

Yeah. I mean, a new definition of walking down the aisle. Right.

George Duran: 00:03:25

I told my wife we should maybe do one of those before we got married.

Karla Walsh: 00:03:28

Really?

George Duran: 00:03:29

Yeah. And she said she would also want to do the divorce there too. Do it for cheap.

Karla Walsh: 00:03:34

Did they give you a discount for being a member?

George Duran: 00:03:36

They give you free divorce, like a free divorce certificate whenever you want. Just fill it out.

Karla Walsh: 00:03:39

Wow.

George Duran: 00:03:40

I have no idea. Free, Free. Of course. You know, you buy something, get some.

Karla Walsh: 00:03:43

Legally binding and everything.

George Duran: 00:03:45

Buy one, get one free.

Karla Walsh: 00:03:46

Oh, no.

George Duran: 00:03:48

Costco has sold 72 pound wheels of Parmesan.

Karla Walsh: 00:03:51

Yes, I could see that. But how do you make it through that much unless you're a restaurant or.

George Duran: 00:03:56

Have a forklift in the back.

Karla Walsh: 00:03:57

Exactly. How do you get it out?

George Duran: 00:03:59

And what do you do with a 72 pound wheel of Parmesan if you don't have a restaurant?

Karla Walsh: 00:04:03

Yeah, exactly. I mean, I've seen them like mix the pasta dishes in the hollowed out Parmesan at restaurants. But you wouldn't be doing that on a Tuesday at home.

George Duran: 00:04:11

No.

Although you could, like just make any meal, like a chicken, you know, whatever it is, and just shove it inside the Parmesan wheel and just coat everything with Parmesan.

Karla Walsh: 00:04:18

Yeah.

George Duran: 00:04:19

Costco has sold coffins and caskets.

Karla Walsh: 00:04:22

Yeah, that's a lot.

George Duran: 00:04:24

These caskets reportedly became popular enough that funeral homes complained years ago because Costco undercut the traditional pricing.

Karla Walsh: 00:04:31

Wow. Oh, My gosh. Nothing like that to remind you how mortal we are.

George Duran: 00:04:37

Grandpa died. Kids, let's go to Costco.

Karla Walsh: 00:04:39

Oh my gosh. No, George.

George Duran: 00:04:45

I mean, who's doing.

Karla Walsh: 00:04:47

That's so wild. I know. Or do they buy it before they pass away?

George Duran: 00:04:52

No one buys a casket before they pass away. That's kind of more.

Karla Walsh: 00:04:54

Do they not. I don't know, like advanced funeral planning is a thing. I've written stories about this, George.

George Duran: 00:04:59

Okay, but you do your will. You kind of plan out the money on the side for the funeral and the memorial. But you don't just buy your casket. Like what are you gonna do?

Karla Walsh: 00:05:05

Go? I don't know. Some people like prepay for them because.

George Duran: 00:05:07

They go and they sleep inside and see if it's comfortable enough. I'm gonna go to Costco, shop for a casket.

Karla Walsh: 00:05:12

They just want to pick out the style that they want.

George Duran: 00:05:14

Honey, I'm going to Costco to try out my casket.

Karla Walsh: 00:05:16

That is quite morbid. But yeah, some people are planners.

George Duran: 00:05:21

Costco's also had giant teddy bears for sale. Yeah, I think a foot tall.

Karla Walsh: 00:05:27

The last time I was there, I saw a sauna. Like a full on, like walk inside two person sauna.

George Duran: 00:05:33

Did they have it for testing? Like people could walk in there.

Karla Walsh: 00:05:35

Yeah, exactly. It was like wooden walled, round, like beautiful. You'd see it in a magazine.

George Duran: 00:05:39

Was it on?

Karla Walsh: 00:05:40

$10,000. It was not on.

George Duran: 00:05:42

It was on.

Karla Walsh: 00:05:43

No, it was just like there for you to sit in. But if it was on, I should have brought my robe.

George Duran: 00:05:47

Yeah. They weren't like cooking lobster and meat. Costco lobster, meat and shrimp in there by any chance?

Karla Walsh: 00:05:51

The roast history chickens were just like spinning from the ceiling.

George Duran: 00:05:54

Two for one man. That works very good. Do you have a favorite meal of the day?

Karla Walsh: 00:05:59

There's merit to them all, but I would say probably dinner because you look forward to it. Lots of variety. Yeah.

George Duran: 00:06:04

Do you have a least favorite meal of the day?

Karla Walsh: 00:06:08

I wouldn't say least favorite, but lunch is the one I probably pay the least attention to.

George Duran: 00:06:12

Yeah. Mine has got to be brunch.

Karla Walsh: 00:06:14

Yeah. Oh, brunch is a definite yeah. That would be my answer if that qualifies.

George Duran: 00:06:18

Because obviously I don't brunch. I feel like it's a little too late for breakfast. Yeah, well, too early for lunch.

Karla Walsh: 00:06:23

Also, like, what is the timing for brunch? This has perplexed me since I lived in New York because brunch here starts at like one o'. Clock.

George Duran: 00:06:30

Insane.

Karla Walsh: 00:06:31

Where in Iowa People think I'm wild when I propose it for 11. They're like, why not 9:30?

George Duran: 00:06:37

I agree, I agree. Believe it or not, brunch started as an excuse to sleep in.

Back in: 1895

You fast forward 130 years later and restaurants began to realize that they could overcharge for cheap potatoes, eggs, pancakes, and oj. Honestly, for me, I think brunch is just an excuse for overpriced eggs.

Karla Walsh: 00:07:13

Yeah. Are you a sweet or savory?

George Duran: 00:07:15

I'm a savory person. Brunch person of every kind. I like savory.

But the idea that somebody's charging me 20 something dollars for a couple of eggs that I can make at home easily, it's absolutely crazy. And I wonder if people would pay the same price for these brunch foods for dinner.

So if you are to make an omelette for dinner or pancakes for dinner in a restaurant, do you think people would charge the same price?

Karla Walsh: 00:07:37

Yeah, it's interesting because you do see that at diners, but that's really the only place. And they're not expensive.

George Duran: 00:07:44

There's always a two hour wait for brunch.

Karla Walsh: 00:07:46

Yeah, I know. It's always like a long line. We have that too.

And it's like places that don't take reservations and your whole party has to be there and it's like a whole thing.

George Duran: 00:07:55

Here's why brunch is probably the worst meal to purchase.

Because the night before on a Saturday night, the main chef of that restaurant who's creating the real dishes is also out cooking, the drinking, having a good time. And there's no way that guy is waking up the next day, Sunday morning to cook. So he's letting his underlings cook the brunch.

Karla Walsh: 00:08:14

Well, I hear that a lot of people who work in the restaurant industry don't like working brunch. And so it's probably like their heart isn't maybe in it.

George Duran: 00:08:20

In the same way you're overpaying for eggs and potatoes for some other dude who's not the main chef of the restaurant to cook for it. Yeah, that's my theory. I hate brunch. Another thing that ruins brunch is mimosas. It's an American invention.

Karla Walsh: 00:08:35

I'm not a mimosa fan. If I get a mimosa, I get a glass of champagne and then I ask Them to put the juice on the side so I can add how much I want.

But as I said, I'm not much of a day drinker, so that would be like a once every five year occasion.

George Duran: 00:08:48

And you're ruining the champagne by adding orange juice to it. Yes.

Karla Walsh: 00:08:51

It's always too much. It's too sweet. And so I just want to add like a spoonful to be polite.

George Duran: 00:08:56

Yeah.

Karla Walsh: 00:08:57

Are you more of a Bloody Mary person or are you just coffee?

George Duran: 00:09:00

No, I like Bloody Marys. I like them spicy. And there's some really interesting, weird brunch mining items out there.

Karla Walsh: 00:09:06

Okay.

George Duran: 00:09:06

Including Bloody Mary's.

Karla Walsh: 00:09:07

Oh, gosh.

George Duran: 00:09:08

So here's a list of the weirdest brunch items to ever exist in the United States.

Karla Walsh: 00:09:12

I don't know if I'm ready.

George Duran: 00:09:14

Claudio's Waterfront in Long island, well, they serve a Bloody Mary with an entire lobster hanging out of it.

Karla Walsh: 00:09:20

That is a meal. That is not a drink.

George Duran: 00:09:23

It's insane. But a whole lobster.

Karla Walsh: 00:09:26

Right. How do you even eat that or.

George Duran: 00:09:28

Drink it when you're hungover? You're hungover, man.

Karla Walsh: 00:09:30

I guess you figure it out.

George Duran: 00:09:32

At Sobelman's in Milwaukee, they serve the chicken fried bloody beast. I can't even say that. It's a massive Bloody Mary served with an entire fried chicken on top.

Karla Walsh: 00:09:45

No, like the whole bird.

George Duran: 00:09:46

The entire bird.

Karla Walsh: 00:09:48

How does the glass not tip over?

George Duran: 00:09:50

It's almost like a pitcher.

Karla Walsh: 00:09:51

Yeah.

George Duran: 00:09:52

And they put this giant fried chicken. Chicken on top of it.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:09:55

Wow.

Karla Walsh: 00:09:55

I think this is all designed just for Instagram. This is not designed to be delicious. Right.

George Duran: 00:10:00

I'm telling you, the power of the hangover.

Karla Walsh: 00:10:02

Yeah.

George Duran: 00:10:03

Anything is possible. And people in Wisconsin are known for their Bloody Marys. I mean, they put things like bacon and crazy things on top of it.

Karla Walsh: 00:10:10

Yeah. I mean, it's gotta be part of the culture because it's before football games.

George Duran: 00:10:13

Gotta fuel up the whole fried chicken. I love it.

Karla Walsh: 00:10:17

That is inventive. So do you, like, dip it in the Bloody Mary or. Why is that a combo that people are.

George Duran: 00:10:23

I think, again, it's that chicken and waffles kind of mentality maybe. And then you have the Bloody Mary. And I think they just want to go over.

Karla Walsh: 00:10:30

They just want to serve them together. It's not designed to be consumed together.

George Duran: 00:10:33

It's like 65 bucks.

Karla Walsh: 00:10:35

You see, with the lobster, at least I could see you like making almost like a seafood soup situation.

George Duran: 00:10:40

Right.

Karla Walsh: 00:10:40

Give me a bowl and I'll deconstruct.

George Duran: 00:10:42

This, like grilled cheese dipping inside your tomato soup. But this time, lobster Exactly. But the fried chicken, that's a little bizarre.

Karla Walsh: 00:10:47

That's a little bit.

George Duran: 00:10:47

I prefer like a rotisserie chicken on it.

Karla Walsh: 00:10:49

Yeah, me too.

George Duran: 00:10:50

A little savory and just kind of let the drippings go inside the Bloody Mary.

Karla Walsh: 00:10:53

Yeah.

George Duran: 00:10:53

Oh, that's disgusting. La Parker Meridian. Here in New York City, they serve a $2,000 lobster frittata.

Karla Walsh: 00:11:02

Wow. What else is on there? Is it caviar?

George Duran: 00:11:05

It has six eggs, cream chives, an entire fresh lobster. Here we go again.

Karla Walsh: 00:11:10

Okay.

George Duran: 00:11:10

10 Ounces of sabruga caviar served on Yukon gold potatoes and topped with lobster sauce.

Karla Walsh: 00:11:16

Wow, that is a lot of seafood action.

George Duran: 00:11:18

That's a lot of money.

Karla Walsh: 00:11:19

Yeah. $2,000 If you've got it. I guess you get to choose what you value and if you would want that for. For your menu, great. But that's a lot of money.

George Duran: 00:11:28

But it's also not that big. Yeah, it's not that big. It's small. Like, you can just eat it in one sitting. It's fine.

Karla Walsh: 00:11:34

Right?

George Duran: 00:11:34

And then there's $2,000 right off the bat.

Karla Walsh: 00:11:37

I know, for brunch. But I mean, hey, like, some people buy handbags for $2,000. Some people get fancy hotel rooms.

So I guess it's up for you to decide, but that would not be my choice. For $2,000, I could see myself carrying.

George Duran: 00:11:51

A frittata everywhere, just showing it to everybody. Check it out.

Karla Walsh: 00:11:55

I mean, you want to show it off? If you spent $2,000 on this, like,.

George Duran: 00:11:58

Little plastic case and just kind of be like, check it out. $2,000 Frittata.

Karla Walsh: 00:12:01

Exactly. Aren't you jealous?

George Duran: 00:12:02

Go to parties and just show it off.

Karla Walsh: 00:12:04

Yeah, it's like a pet.

George Duran: 00:12:06

Yeah, pet it and eat it. The Twisted Biscuit brunch company has the big cheese. It's an entire mozzarella log that's been breaded and deep fried.

Karla Walsh: 00:12:16

How big is the mozzarella? Oh, are we talking like it's a log? Wow.

George Duran: 00:12:21

It's huge.

Karla Walsh: 00:12:22

Okay, so this is a shareable item. I mean, hypothetically.

George Duran: 00:12:25

Hypothetically. And it comes with a dip next to it and people order it and you just kind of just rip it apart like a giant mozzarella stick.

Karla Walsh: 00:12:32

Wow.

George Duran: 00:12:32

Yeah. And finally, a restaurant in LA called Baltaire is known for their tableside cinnamon roll. It's a giant, about a foot wide cinnamon roll.

And they serve it with a massive amount of cream cheese frosting.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:12:45

Wow.

Karla Walsh: 00:12:45

I mean, I have seen those skillet cinnamon rolls where you, like slice them into wedges. Yes, I could see that.

George Duran: 00:12:50

But it's table side. It's table side. They come to you. Yeah. You know how they do the Caesar salad?

Karla Walsh: 00:12:55

Yeah.

George Duran: 00:12:55

They do this with cinnamon roll and they drizzle the.

Karla Walsh: 00:12:58

What part of it is table side?

George Duran: 00:12:59

I guess the frosting part.

Karla Walsh: 00:13:01

Okay.

George Duran: 00:13:01

What a scam. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Karla Walsh: 00:13:05

I'm just like, what part of this needs to be presented? I mean, if you're getting really creative with your marketing, Auntie Anne's is table side, isn't it? Cause you're, like, right up to the counter, so.

Or sharing a table.

George Duran: 00:13:15

Yes.

Karla Walsh: 00:13:16

And that costs, like, what, $4?

George Duran: 00:13:18

Yeah, but it's not Instagramable. I guess that's all it is.

Karla Walsh: 00:13:21

I mean, the best part of that experience is the smell. So if you can't Instagram, it's not worth it.

George Duran: 00:13:25

What are they pumping out of the cinnamon? Cinnabons at Cinnabuns in the malls.

Karla Walsh: 00:13:28

Cinnabon and Auntie Anne's. It's like, what is that smell? And why can I not resist it?

George Duran: 00:13:33

And why don't they sell that in a bottle that I can take home and spray it in my house?

Karla Walsh: 00:13:36

Or a candle?

George Duran: 00:13:37

Yeah. It's not real. Almost. It's, like, too cinnamony.

Karla Walsh: 00:13:40

Yes, exactly.

George Duran: 00:13:40

It's so freaking good.

Karla Walsh: 00:13:41

It's the volume turned up on cinnamon roll.

George Duran: 00:13:44

I'm like a cartoon character flying, you know? And then you see it, and it has, like, 18,000 calories, and you're like, do I do this or not?

Karla Walsh: 00:13:52

Do you do it?

George Duran: 00:13:53

I have.

Karla Walsh: 00:13:54

How do you feel about the Auntien?

George Duran: 00:13:56

Oh, man.

Karla Walsh: 00:13:57

Or a Cinnabon?

George Duran: 00:13:58

It's buttery and just. It's all carbs and it's so freaking good. And I get the lure. I understand it, but it's just. I can't imagine. It's real butter.

Karla Walsh: 00:14:08

No, I don't think so.

George Duran: 00:14:09

And I can't imagine it's like real cream cheese. Like, it's just too. It's too good to be real.

Karla Walsh: 00:14:13

Yeah.

George Duran: 00:14:14

We're so good at that in this country.

Karla Walsh: 00:14:15

We are.

George Duran: 00:14:16

We're the best. Best.

Karla Walsh: 00:14:17

It is a gift.

George Duran: 00:14:18

All right, let's take a quick break. When we come back, we're playing Trend or Trash.

And later on, we're answering every question you've ever had about farm salmon, even the ones you didn't know you had. Welcome back. We're going to do a little segment now called Trend or Trash?

Where we explore certain trends, and we see if it's trash or it's actually worthy of being called a trend. Can't wait and you see a lot of trends out there too.

Karla Walsh: 00:15:05

I do, yes. The latest one I'm seeing everywhere is the dot cake. Have you seen these?

George Duran: 00:15:10

What's this?

Karla Walsh: 00:15:10

It's like a cake that is in, like, a little cup, and it's covered edge to edge with, like, non pareils. Is that how you say that?

George Duran: 00:15:17

Yes, yes.

Karla Walsh: 00:15:18

The rainbow jimmies or sprinkles. Yes.

George Duran: 00:15:22

Oh, that's right. And they turn it upside, downside, down,.

Karla Walsh: 00:15:24

And it's, like, covered.

George Duran: 00:15:25

I have been seeing that. A lot of it. I hate sprinkles.

Karla Walsh: 00:15:28

Do you?

George Duran: 00:15:29

Oh, my God. Cause it tastes like sand. Like, it's just, like, crunchy, and it's, like, in your mouth and it's already sweet, whatever you're eating.

And why just add even more sugar? You might as well put sugar crystals on and chew on sugar, right? I can't stand it. But what is it with kids who love anything with sprinkles?

Karla Walsh: 00:15:41

I love anything as a kid, that was me. Or like, I used to go to Dairy Queen and get a dipped cone, but instead of sprinkles. Nerds.

George Duran: 00:15:49

Oh, man.

Karla Walsh: 00:15:49

Don't knock it till you try it.

George Duran: 00:15:51

Oh, my God. You must have a rich dentist.

Karla Walsh: 00:15:53

So much. Oh, I do. So much sugar, but delicious. Try it next time. Instead of sprinkles.

George Duran: 00:16:00

I could see because of the sourness of the.

Karla Walsh: 00:16:02

Exactly. That can be really crunchy smooth. Yeah, it hits.

George Duran: 00:16:06

Yeah. Man, that must be a colorful poop.

Karla Walsh: 00:16:10

Oh, gosh.

George Duran: 00:16:11

All right, trend or trash? We're talking today about Dubai Chocolate.

Karla Walsh: 00:16:15

Oh, yes. This has been around for a couple years. It's everywhere.

George Duran: 00:16:19

Dubai Chocolate was invented by Sarah Hamouda, a British Egyptian chocolatier based in Dubai.

In: 2021

And again, once TikTok took over, man, everywhere. It's still around.

Karla Walsh: 00:16:44

It is, yes.

George Duran: 00:16:45

What do you think about Dubai Chocolate?

Karla Walsh: 00:16:47

I think that it, like, lost its appeal to me about one month into the trend. It was just everywhere. And I also, like, never purchased any of the actual bars because I. They were, like, $20 crazy. And that's not worth it to me.

George Duran: 00:17:00

No. I made Dubai Chocolate.

Karla Walsh: 00:17:02

Have you?

George Duran: 00:17:02

Yeah.

Karla Walsh: 00:17:03

How'd it go?

George Duran: 00:17:04

It came out great. It was for a client, and you opened it up and you have that amazing, you know, and it had a lot of views. Like, it just. It looks Good. It sounds good.

I don't think it tastes that good.

Karla Walsh: 00:17:14

It's not my favorite kind of dessert, but I see the appeal and I like seeing all the creativity of all the remixes, but that's. It's kind of like everywhere so much that you're just like, okay, we're ready for the next thing.

George Duran: 00:17:27

Well, it tastes like. It feels like you're chewing sand or some sort of crunchy thing in there. And the Conifea, the filo dough, it's a nice idea, right? It just.

Karla Walsh: 00:17:35

And delicious in other uses. Like, it's in lots of, like, honey desserts.

George Duran: 00:17:39

So we're going to play a little game here.

Karla Walsh: 00:17:40

Okay.

George Duran: 00:17:41

This game is called Dubai or AI, where I'll give you some of the things made for Dubai Chocolate. And you have to tell me if it's a real thing that someone's made or if I just had AI and makeup.

Karla Walsh: 00:17:51

Oh, wow. This is going to be difficult. Okay, I'm ready.

George Duran: 00:17:53

We're playing Dubai or AI. Is this real Dubai Chocolate or is it AI? Dubai Chocolate Burger.

Karla Walsh: 00:18:00

Oh, no, that has to be AI.

George Duran: 00:18:03

It's Dubai. No, it's real.

Karla Walsh: 00:18:05

Ah. How do they do this? Wait, is the bun Dubai Chocolate?

George Duran: 00:18:08

Well, they made kind of like a sweet bun, brioche bun kind of thing, and they layered it with a chocolate and then the kunefia and then the. So they kind of layered.

Karla Walsh: 00:18:14

So there's not beef in this.

George Duran: 00:18:15

No beef in it, though. But it's still called a Dubai Chocolate Burger. Yeah, yeah, I got you there. Dubai Chocolate chicken wings.

Karla Walsh: 00:18:24

I'm gonna say that's AI.

George Duran: 00:18:25

No, it's real.

Karla Walsh: 00:18:27

Come on.

George Duran: 00:18:28

At the Southington Wing Fest, somebody actually made Dubai Chocolate wings. They've taken wings and they've put. With pistachio cream. They put the kunafi in the. Drizzle it with chocolate.

And I don't think there was one person who said that it tasted good.

Karla Walsh: 00:18:42

No, I could not see that. No.

George Duran: 00:18:44

What are people doing here? Dubai chocolate tuna melt.

Karla Walsh: 00:18:48

I mean, at this point, I have to say that's real, but that cannot be. No, there is no chocolate with tuna. Hard pass AI.

George Duran: 00:18:54

It's AI.

Karla Walsh: 00:18:56

Thank God. I finally got one.

George Duran: 00:18:58

Dubai chocolate steak tartare.

Karla Walsh: 00:19:00

I'm gonna say that's Dubai. Yeah, that's real.

George Duran: 00:19:05

That is not real. Who's gonna eat steak tartare?

Karla Walsh: 00:19:08

I think they've done crazier things, as we've heard.

George Duran: 00:19:12

Maybe we're gonna have to do that too.

Karla Walsh: 00:19:14

I know somebody will.

George Duran: 00:19:15

Dubai Chocolate deviled eggs.

Karla Walsh: 00:19:18

Oh, yes. I've seen a Dessert. Deviled egg trend happening. Somebody did like a. What is that cake with the cherries and chocolate? Black forest cake.

George Duran: 00:19:27

Oh, black forest cake.

Karla Walsh: 00:19:27

Somebody did a deviled egg with that. So I'm gonna say that's Dubai.

George Duran: 00:19:31

It's AI. I couldn't find it anywhere. Yeah. Yes.

Karla Walsh: 00:19:34

People are doing dessert, deviled eggs because they're like. Well, an egg white doesn't taste like much anyway, so why not put something sweet in the middle?

George Duran: 00:19:39

Boy, Chatgpt is onto something here.

Karla Walsh: 00:19:41

I know.

George Duran: 00:19:42

Maybe we should invent it.

Karla Walsh: 00:19:43

I feel like that could be a thing. I mean, it's protein.

George Duran: 00:19:46

Right.

Karla Walsh: 00:19:46

People would eat that.

George Duran: 00:19:47

Right. And you already eat eggs with desserts, so why not?

Karla Walsh: 00:19:49

Exactly.

George Duran: 00:19:50

Dubai chocolate Ramen.

Karla Walsh: 00:19:52

I'm going to say that's AI.

George Duran: 00:19:55

It's real. The company Bulldog, created a Dubai chocolate ramen.

Karla Walsh: 00:20:00

Is it dessert flavored, then?

George Duran: 00:20:02

I don't know. I think it's chocolatey and it has the kunafi in it. Perhaps.

Karla Walsh: 00:20:05

But what is a broth?

George Duran: 00:20:07

I think it's just, like, the spicy kind of thing on it. So it's a spicy Dubai chocolate.

Karla Walsh: 00:20:12

Interesting.

George Duran: 00:20:12

It's real Dubai chocolate lasagna.

Karla Walsh: 00:20:15

That is definitely a. Yes, that's a dessert Dubai for sure.

George Duran: 00:20:18

Yeah, that's a real thing. Dubai chocolate mashed potatoes.

Karla Walsh: 00:20:24

I'm going to say that's AI.

George Duran: 00:20:26

That's AI. Yeah. But I would be very curious what that looks like.

Karla Walsh: 00:20:30

I know. I feel like that's not the weirdest one of the bunch.

George Duran: 00:20:33

Yeah, yeah. Dubai chocolate pickles.

Karla Walsh: 00:20:37

No, that can AI.

George Duran: 00:20:40

Somebody made.

Karla Walsh: 00:20:41

What haven't they done with pickles at this point? I should have known better.

George Duran: 00:20:45

They've covered it in some sort of, like, pistachio cream.

Karla Walsh: 00:20:48

But the chocolate. I guess they do do chocolate covered pickles.

George Duran: 00:20:52

Yeah.

Karla Walsh: 00:20:53

Gosh, I should have known.

George Duran: 00:20:54

But it was just pregnant women eating it.

Karla Walsh: 00:20:56

They had that craving of, hey, that's a pretty large market, honestly.

George Duran: 00:21:00

Yeah. Dubai chocolate popcorn.

Karla Walsh: 00:21:03

Yes, that is definitely for sure.

George Duran: 00:21:05

That's an easy one. And finally, Dubai chocolate Caesar salad.

Karla Walsh: 00:21:08

Oh, no.

George Duran: 00:21:10

Why not?

Karla Walsh: 00:21:10

Tell me it's not a thing.

George Duran: 00:21:12

It's not a thing.

Karla Walsh: 00:21:12

Okay. Why not? Because anchovies. I don't know.

George Duran: 00:21:15

Yeah, but you put the croutons on. Caesar salad are already crunchy and crispy and whatever.

Karla Walsh: 00:21:19

I get that. But the chocolate is just a step too far.

George Duran: 00:21:22

Yeah, Lettuce and chocolate.

Karla Walsh: 00:21:23

I don't need lettuce with chocolate.

George Duran: 00:21:25

Nobody does. No, nobody does. All right, well, thank you again for being on the show.

Karla Walsh: 00:21:29

Such a delight, George.

George Duran: 00:21:30

So much fun. We'll keep exploring different Trends. Cause they're constantly happening.

There's a lot of food shows throughout the year also where I exploring you go as well. Yeah, so we'll go visit those shows and kind of see what else is trending and talk about them and trash them if we have to.

Karla Walsh: 00:21:43

I'd be delighted.

George Duran: 00:21:44

Thanks, Carla Walsh, everyone. And up next, we're talking farmed salmon. The myths, the misconceptions, and what's actually true. Stay tuned. Welcome back.

If you've ever wondered whether farmed salmon is healthy, sustainable, or secretly planned plotting to ruin civilization, we're about to get some answers. Joining us is Dr. Stephanie Colombo, Associate professor at Dalhousie University and an expert in aquaculture nutrition.

She studies what fish eat, how they're raised, and why so many of the things we think we know about farm salmon may not actually be true. Dr. Colombo, thanks for being on. Always hangry.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:22:41

Yeah, thanks for inviting me.

George Duran: 00:22:42

I was at Whole Foods the other day at the fish counter, and I watched this lady approach the quote, unquote fishmonger. That's what I'm gonna call him, a fishmonger. I mean, I don't know how much Whole Foods really has fishmongers. And she said, I want to get salmon.

I just don't know which one. And this fishmonger literally pushed this wild salmon piece that I swear was probably dead for months now.

It was the saddest piece of salmon I've seen in my life. And I approached her afterwards, I said, why? What are you doing? What are you doing, lady? Why the wild salmon?

And she said, I would never buy farmed salmon. What is this negative stigma we have on. On farm salmon?

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:23:19

I don't know. It confuses me too, honestly. But I think it's because salmon farming is new. And I think for people, it's a bit of a black box because it's new.

You know, we're used to for other farm products, we have dairy cows, we have poultry. That's already ingrained. That's. Beef farming has been happening for 10,000 years. But that's like saying 50 years. It's like, you know, that's so new.

George Duran: 00:23:43

It's crazy because that's like saying for Thanksgiving, I want Wild Turkey.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:23:47

Right?

George Duran: 00:23:48

I'd rather have Wild Turkey. And those gobble like those. There's no meat on Wild Turkey. And it probably tastes awful, right? Nobody wants wild Turkey for Thanksgiving.

We all want the farm, plump, fat turkeys.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:23:59

That's right.

George Duran: 00:24:00

And the same thing goes with, like you said, beef, poultry. We're farming the good stuff. And don't get me wrong, there's for wild elk and all these people hunting.

And again, I don't like the wild flavors and the gamey flavors. So that's why farm salmon has got to taste better, at least in my opinion. It tastes much better. It has that marbling to it.

Why is farm salmon so fatty and so marbled and delicious?

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:24:26

I mean, the marbling is because of the species. So that's a natural genetic trait that they have.

George Duran: 00:24:32

Wait, what is a species called salmo salar?

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:24:35

That is the species name of Atlantic salmon.

But, you know, the woman at the counter you were just talking about, she was probably looking having a wild sockeye or a wild chinook compared to a farmed Atlantic. You're not comparing the same thing.

So the marbling that all of the description that you just described of a farmed salmon is because of salmo salar, the species Atlantic salmon.

George Duran: 00:24:58

I understand. So what you're saying is Atlantic salmon doesn't mean it comes from the Atlantic necessarily. It's just. That's the species.

That's the name of the species. It's called Atlantic salmon.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:25:07

Yes, but it is from the Atlantic Ocean.

George Duran: 00:25:09

Oh, it is. Okay. Originally.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:25:10

Originally.

George Duran: 00:25:11

And we've chosen Atlantic salmon to farm Atlantic salmon because it. It works best. Right?

I mean, these are like giant pens of water up in the Atlantic region in Norway and Scotland, and they're happily living their lives and they're easier to grow.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:25:25

Yep, yep.

George Duran: 00:25:26

Yeah. It's like almost like the type of chicken you raise.

There are certain breeds of chicken that grow better for rotisserie chicken than, you know, the wild chickens are.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:25:34

That's true. I mean, that's interesting that you said that because, you know, for poultry, we've been farming for 8,000 years. But first.

And you have different breeds. You have lots of different breeds. That's still the same species. Oh, you're just seeing different breeds now. Salmon.

Farm salmon are only at their 12th generation. It's only been 12 generations.

George Duran: 00:25:54

That's it.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:25:54

So you don't have breeds. Maybe in 100 years we might have salmon breeds. Wouldn't that be cool? But not yet. It's too new.

George Duran: 00:26:02

Yeah. And the chickens are related to the dinosaur anyway, so.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:26:04

Yeah, we're going way back now.

George Duran: 00:26:06

Yeah, way, way back. Oh, that's so interesting. Tell me. Okay, so someone who doesn't understand what farmed salmon. Farmed salmon is coming from.

So it's not like there's this, like, factory and this, you know, kind of closed environment that the salmon are all squished in together. That's kind of a misnomer, people. They are actually in the ocean. Tell us what these pens are like out in the cold oceans.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:26:29

Yeah, they're very large pens, and there's usually, from a top view, they're circles, they're round, and they go really deep. And the nets, I mean, the net technology has even changed. I mean, the nets are very strong.

They're very strong against anything that could possibly break them. Sharks, currents, everything.

So imagine, you know, it's a big kind of a cone and it ties up at the bottom, and the nets are cleaned, period, and things like that. So. And there's usually several of them in one area because they're not right. They're usually not right on the coast.

They're maybe even a kilometer away. Right. And so that's the offshore technology. And the offshore aquaculture is becoming more popular. It's away from the coast.

So you go out there with a boat, a very large boat, and you bring their feed to them.

You do their welfare assessment, Just check on how they're doing, periodically check doing weights and moving them into different parts of the farm and things like that.

George Duran: 00:27:32

So how do you monitor them? Like, is there a camera underneath?

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:27:35

There's underwater cameras. Yeah.

George Duran: 00:27:36

Wait, there's like, really? There's cameras inside?

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:27:39

Oh, yeah.

George Duran: 00:27:40

That's crazy. How do you. Is it lit? I mean, how do you even see them?

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:27:43

Yeah. Oh, you can see them. That's a technology. Yeah.

George Duran: 00:27:47

What are you looking at? Like, how they're growing and their size?

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:27:49

There's a couple different things.

And the technology, like I said, aquaculture, is really good at quickly adopting technology that will help the farming process for efficiency, sustainability, welfare.

So the main reason why the underwater cameras, Maybe this was 10 or 15 years ago, they've been doing this for a while even, is to monitor the feeding behavior. So the feeding behavior will tell you, are they full? Should I stop feeding them? Because we don't want to waste the feed.

The feed is expensive, and we also don't want to pollute the environment. So someone is operating the feed vessel. It's a big ship that has all the feed on it. The feed is administered to the fish.

And meanwhile underwater, you can see the fish eating. And there's an operator on shore back at the farm that's watching this happening.

We kind of know you can estimate how much they're going to eat that day based on their size and how many fish you have. But sometimes whatever, you know, they need to be, they. They're like, we're Done. We're full right now.

The operator can see that they're kind of not interested in the feed and like stop, stop feeding. But then also the technology is moving towards what we call biometrics.

So it's like, it's the same thing as like facial recognition on your phone that lets you in your iPhone. The fish can be recognized at the individual level.

Fish, the salmon actually they kind of have, if you look at their faces, their heads, they have kind of like freckles. And those are individual. They're all unique on every single, like our fingerprint. Just like a fingerprint. So the camera will identify who's who.

It can also identify.

George Duran: 00:29:20

Wait, wait, wait.

There's thousands of fish and there are hundreds of fish in the pen and there's a camera that can actually like face detection can identify the salmon.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:29:27

That's what it's going towards.

George Duran: 00:29:29

That's crazy.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:29:30

Yeah.

And this is helpful because there's certain behaviors that might alert a farmer that, oh, this one, they're not feeling so well or something like that, which would allow the farmer to make decisions about how the fish are being treated or handled or you know, what they need to do that day. Call the vet or something like that. The early detection is important because that behavior would signal potentially there's something wrong.

It just alerts the farmer earlier. So all of this data that the farmer collects is really important for the day to day operations.

It makes it easier for the farmer and way better for the fish because they're being monitored and if they need help, they will get it immediately.

George Duran: 00:30:11

It's interesting because again, the people who are buying the wild salmon, first of all, it's more expensive.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:30:15

Yeah.

George Duran: 00:30:16

And it's not necessarily better for you. Necessarily better. We have to feed the world.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:30:22

And that's just, it is like it's not, it's not farm versus wild. It's farmed and wild.

George Duran: 00:30:27

Yes.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:30:27

We can't, we don't have the availability. We don't want. We want to protect the wild sockeye. We don't want to over harvest their fishery and have a problem there.

So not everyone, and you know, myself included, I'm not buying wild sockeye. I mean, I do pretty well, but I'm not buying that every week. You know, it's very expensive. It's also not available everywhere.

I live on the east coast, wild sockeye is on the west coast. Imagine you think about the carbon footprint of bringing that over from the west coast to the east coast every week.

For me to get wild sockeye, it's not sustainable. So it's farmed and wild. Sometimes I will have wild, you know, for whatever I feel like having. But, like, as a staple, farmed is more available.

It's less expensive and has a very similar nutrient profile.

George Duran: 00:31:15

Like, excellent nutrient profile, too. I mean, salmon is like the perfect food. It's like the superfood. It's a superfood with all the great fats inside of it. It's delicious.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:31:24

I just want people to eat more seafood. You know, we don't eat enough seafood in North America. And, you know, that comes into play about getting more omega 3s and 6s.

The Western diet is very high in omega 6. You still need some omega 6, but the ratio is way off balance. Like, people just need to be eating more seafood and more of the Omega 3s.

George Duran: 00:31:43

And not necessarily battered and deep fried.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:31:45

No, I mean, sure, once in a while, but there's so many different ways to eat seafood that, you know, that's why I say it's farmed and wild, not. Or.

George Duran: 00:31:54

Yeah. It's funny because I got my kids to start eating salmon because they would not touch salmon with the sashimi, with sushi.

I mean, they love the raw flavor. And it was something about the marbling and the flavor. And from there kind of just went into, like, the cooked salmon.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:32:10

You just gotta try different things and see what you like.

George Duran: 00:32:12

Yeah. I've said this before. My wife didn't like salmon until she met me.

Karla Walsh: 00:32:16

Oh.

George Duran: 00:32:17

It's all about the way you cook it.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:32:18

It totally is, period.

George Duran: 00:32:20

If you overcook salmon, it's gonna taste like canned tuna.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:32:22

Right?

George Duran: 00:32:23

You know, that's.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:32:23

Some people like that, though.

George Duran: 00:32:25

No, if you put mayo and celery and spices maybe, but, like, dried. Who wants dried salmon? You want moist salmon, almost like al dente. You know how pasta can be al dente, Perfectly cooked. You want to cook the salmon.

I don't know if it's called al dente for salmon. Medium, rare, medium, whatever you want to call it, but juicy on the inside and just, you know, crusted on the outside.

And obviously the best way to cook salmon is with.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:32:48

I like using the air fryer.

George Duran: 00:32:49

Yeah, it's got to be there.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:32:50

So you cannot do. You can't go wrong. You can't screw that up.

George Duran: 00:32:54

No, no.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:32:55

Well, you can overcook it, I guess, but.

George Duran: 00:32:56

Yeah, that's true. But yeah, I mean, it just. It cooks quicker. You don't need any to spray any oil on it either because there's already fat in there.

So easy just pop it into the air fryer and the skin crisps up, which is like, excellent. All right, so we're gonna start eating farm salmon. It's safe to eat. It's delicious.

It's grown sustainably as well this day and age, and it's found pretty much everywhere at a reasonable price as well. So we're not gonna be overpaying for it.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:33:22

Absolutely.

George Duran: 00:33:23

That's the one lesson we've Learned today. So, Dr. Stephanie Colombo, thank you so much for being on the show. Come on over someday so I can cook you my salmon as well. Oh, awesome.

I have a great recipe.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:33:33

Thanks so much, George.

George Duran: 00:33:33

Thanks for being on the show.

Dr. Stefanie Colombo: 00:33:34

Thanks.

George Duran: 00:33:35

And for all our listeners out there, thanks for hanging with us. Follow the Always Hangry podcast wherever you get your podcast and visit alwayshangrypodcast.com for more episodes, updates and a lot more.

I'm George Duran. Until next time, stay hungry.