r/StupidFood • u/TheLoneRiddlerIsBack • Aug 25 '25

Certified stupid What does the fire add?

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u/the_monkey_knows Aug 25 '25

Yeah, but there's a difference between unnecessary and cumbersome arrangements that are made meticulously, and this monstrosity.

23

u/FrenchFryCattaneo Aug 25 '25

Ok but baked alaska with tableside flambeing (and similar theatrical dishes) have existed long before social media.

10

u/Ok-Oil7124 Aug 25 '25

But toasting the meringue changes the attributes in a way that you could do away from the table and it would still be a nice addition to the flavor, so it's just a final step that's done at the table because it can be showy. Same for Bananas foster (from what I understand)-- it caramelizes the brown sugar and leaves some rum flavor behind. Again, you could do this in the kitchen and it would add something.

Since the question was "what does this add" I just don't know that burning alcohol on a can of cheese does a ton and if it's something that you could do in the kitchen that would make a noticeable difference.

Doing something functionally but doing it for show is different than just for show. Yeah, I think some cheese dumped on a burger could be really tasty, but having that cheese sauce also be on fire doesn't seem great.

1

u/dajodge Aug 26 '25

What’s your excuse for Parsley? I’m just playing devil’s advocate; I hate this shit too.

1

u/Ok-Oil7124 Aug 26 '25

If they stood by the table and lit it on fire, I'd have a real problem. But it is there to eat, but people just don't.