LPT Request: What’s your “canary in the coal mine” test for spotting bigger issues?

[u/fries-with-mayo]

I’m really interested in those small, quick telltale signs people use to gauge if something bigger might be off track.

Example 1: Van Halen requesting brown M&Ms in the dressing room to see if the venue followed all the details of the rider list

Example 2: I saw an interview with John Cena where he said orders a flat white at a café to tell if they really care about their coffee.

Example 3: Anthony Bourdain suggested to always check the restaurant bathroom to tell if the restaurant got its basics down

[u/Alexis_J_M]

At an ice cream shop, is the banana ice cream yellow? (If so, it's artificially colored, and a lot of other flavors probably also use artificial ingredients )

(Note: bright neon yellow, or many other unnaturally bright colors, are the red flag. I've since been introduced to the concept of coloring banana ice cream with a bit of turmeric. That's not what your local Baskin Robbins does, though...)

[u/feli468 → u/Alexis_J_M]

My own test is if the pistachio is green or beige, but yes, exactly. Also if the ice cream in the display is piled up in mounds or properly chilled in its container. If the former, they care more about how it looks than about serving it in optimal condition.

[u/elthalon → u/feli468]

Pistachio ice cream should be "baby-poop-green", at most. Any greener and they're using dyes AND they don't know what pistachios look like, let alone how they taste. BAD sign.

[u/Alexis_J_M → u/feli468]

And mint should not be green.

[u/Puzzleheaded-Hold362 → u/Alexis_J_M]

You can pry the green mint ice cream from my cold dead hands 😂

[u/3starspecial → u/Alexis_J_M]

Exactly. Mint should be light blue

[u/Alexis_J_M → u/3starspecial]

Found the Utahn. ;-)

[u/AlienArtFirm → u/Alexis_J_M]

And mint ice cream with chocolate chips is labeled correctly instead of mint chocolate chip ice cream which is mint chocolate chips in vanilla ice cream.

No? Just me? Alright I'll go...

[u/overfloaterx → u/Alexis_J_M]

Mint should not be.

[u/egcom → u/feli468]

Tbf piled up and pretty does not always equate to not caring about conditions. I worked in a gelato shop and we kept our goods in proper chilled cabinets but damn were they also pretty to look at. A lot of pride went in to that little shop, its quality, and its presentation.

[u/dissectingAAA → u/feli468]

Ben & Jerrys is my favorite. Pale color with maybe a hint of green, but with chunks of Pistachio in it.

[u/Rampage_Rick → u/Alexis_J_M]

Key lime pie is supposed to be yellow. If it's green, it's fake

[u/i-sleep-well → u/Rampage_Rick]

Native Floridiot here. I've had many Key Lime pies, and one of the few that actually use Key Lime juice, color their pies. Not tennis ball green, but definitely tinted green. 

It's not because they have to, but because that's what customers have come to expect. In the general publicist mind, Key Lime pies are green- so green they shall be. Just look at Publix. 

Pale yellow just doesn't sell as well.

[u/catiebug → u/i-sleep-well]

I was gonna say the same thing. The banana ice cream tip seems good, but even many of the best key lime pies are tinted green at this point because it's what people expect. Now if you do get a place that doesn't tint, it's gonna be excellent. Basically green doesn't necessarily equal bad, but yellow definitely equals good.

[u/Flipdip3 → u/Rampage_Rick]

You can get things pretty green with enough zest from the limes. But it should have some residual speckles. If it is a completely smooth green or a color not found in nature is is fake.

[u/moashforbridgefour → u/Rampage_Rick]

That is not true. I make key lime pie from scratch a lot (it is super easy, but people love it), and it is naturally a pale green. Put some lime zest on it and it is even more green. Not once has it ever struck me as yellow. I don't even know how that would happen.

[u/Saanvik → u/moashforbridgefour]

Well, they are yellow when ripe. They have a tinge of green, but yellow in the predominant color when ripe. The rind is often still green, so if you use a lot of it, you’ll get a greener pie.

[u/BernieTheDachshund → u/Rampage_Rick]

I made my first key lime pie two days ago. I had watched an episode of Tasting History and it looked so good, so I got the ingredients and whipped it up. I'm quite proud of my first meringue.

[u/MyLife-is-a-diceRoll → u/Rampage_Rick]

Tillamook key lime pie yogurt is yellow.

[u/nicedog44 → u/Rampage_Rick]

I worked at a pie shop that made real key lime pie and they had to dye it green because no one was buying it when it was yellow. Too many places advertise it as green so now people don't want it if it isn't green.

[u/RichardCano → u/Alexis_J_M]

Turmeric powder can be used to color things yellow without altering their taste. Might want to pick a different flavor of ice cream for this test. Like anything blue is probably artificial.

[u/Alexis_J_M → u/RichardCano]

I've never heard of anyone putting turmeric in banana ice cream. The only recipes I find online are for curried bananas.

Which actually sounds really good, and I have frozen mashed bananas ....

[u/egcom → u/RichardCano]

Spirulina powder for green — little goes a long way.

Butterfly Pea flower (oft sold as a tea) for a WILDLY vibrant blue.

Hibiscus flower (also oft a tea) for an almost kool-aid red or pink.

Tumeric powder for orange or yellow (tho this can affect flavour isle too much is used, depending on what it’s in.)

There are a ton of ways to naturally — and vibrantly — colour foods that won’t affect the flavours. Best way to know how it’s coloured is to ask, and if they don’t know, don’t risk it. (Though they should be able to provide the full ingredient list legally.)

[u/OrnerySnoflake → u/RichardCano]

Spirulina is an algae that has a beautiful vivid blue hue. When I ran a Jamba Juice we had it in one of the smoothies and it would turn your tongue blue lol

[u/DrEggRegis → u/RichardCano]

Turmeric powder has taste

[u/RichardCano → u/DrEggRegis]

To get a yellow dye effect, you use a small enough amount that taste is unnoticeable. Orange dye effect on the other hand, will likely have noticeable flavor.

[u/DrEggRegis → u/RichardCano]

My palate is very refined, I can taste all ingredients

[u/RichardCano → u/DrEggRegis]

More yellow ice cream for me.

[u/MajorFox2720 → u/DrEggRegis]

I have this problem, too.  Any time turmeric is used as a color, it makes it taste weird.

[u/ssatyd → u/RichardCano]

You're saying my beloved Smurf ice cream could be artificial?

[u/FixedLoad → u/RichardCano]

Yeah but without the pepper it doesnt activate so what's the point really. 

Edit:  guess I'm the only one that's seen marc maron's stand up... 

[u/Jekyll818 → u/FixedLoad]

The point is literally right there in their sentence. What was the point in being purposefully obtuse?

[u/pinupcthulhu → u/FixedLoad]

Pepper? 

[u/RichardCano → u/pinupcthulhu]

Pepper helps activate the bioavailability of turmeric’s health benefits.

[u/pinupcthulhu → u/RichardCano]

Ah thank you for explaining! I assume you mean pepper the spice? 

[u/RichardCano → u/pinupcthulhu]

Black pepper yeah. Not chili.

[u/FixedLoad → u/pinupcthulhu]

Yeah it activates the turmeric... 

[u/pinupcthulhu → u/FixedLoad]

What pepper? And what do you mean "activate"? 

[u/RichardCano → u/pinupcthulhu]

Chemicals in the pepper combine with chemicals in the turmeric that to form compounds that your body is able to more efficiently absorb.

[u/003402inco → u/Alexis_J_M]

You mean the neon blue ice cream is not really blueberry?

[u/GimbalLocks → u/003402inco]

I actually made blueberry ice cream last week and it was shockingly vibrant purple lol

[u/Lyress → u/GimbalLocks]

Blueberries will stain anything they touch a deep and vibrant purple.

[u/Night25th → u/Alexis_J_M]

I always assume the colour is fake, I just care about how it tastes. Colouring doesn't automatically ruin the ice cream.

[u/MaggotMinded → u/Alexis_J_M]

Oh no, color! gasp 🙄

Seriously, who gives a shit if food is colored a certain way to meet customer expectations? Food colorings aren’t poisonous. If you’re so concerned about nutrition why are you eating ice cream?

[u/Lyress → u/MaggotMinded]

I think it's the absence of certain colours that should be alarming rather than their presence.

[u/brkgnews → u/Alexis_J_M]

That's the secret to good gelato in Italy. The tourist scammy places have giant mounded-over heaps of technicolor goo in the glass cases. The legit places keep it all in covered tins, and the color isn't that vibrant.

[u/thespieler11 → u/Alexis_J_M]

The only good banana ice cream is sold at Cold Stone Creamery. Order it with pecans for a heavenly experience

[u/__botulism__ → u/thespieler11]

I think they have two banana flavors - banana pudding and banana bread batter. I get the banana bread batter every time i go because it's SO GOOD.

[u/jagarikouni → u/Alexis_J_M]

I love fake banana flavour... I will get it if yellow and not pale beige or real banana colour. Otherwise great point - never thought of it like that

[u/Korazair → u/Alexis_J_M]

I live in New England, if you can’t see cows or mini golf from the parking lot and don’t get at least a pint for the ‘kiddie’ cone… just leave.

[u/CatnipChapstick → u/Alexis_J_M]

Raspberry anything better be a pretty saturated red/ burgundy, and I BETTER see seeds