design: Sam Amonette
With the popularity of the app TikTok, there have been a lot of recipes that have emerged as viral sensations. Some of the recipe trends include pancake cereal, Dalgona Coffee and Cloud bread. But a more recent recipe sensation is feta pasta.
Apparently this pasta was actually sensationalized in 2019. The pasta recipe became so popular that Finland had a feta shortage. And recently this year, it became hugely popular in many other countries with the help of TikTok.
So naturally, this begs the question of is it really worth all the hype? After trying the recipe, the truth is that it is a little bit overrated. With such a simple ingredients and instructions though, it does live up to the reputation of being quick, easy and fairly delicious.
The recipe is super easy to make and great for beginners. The only reason behind it being overrated is the fact that no matter how simple and delicious it is, it’s still not flavorful enough to explain a national feta shortage.
For some people the taste was excellent. One person who really enjoyed the feta pasta is sophomore Kaleb Duarte.
“This pasta changed my outlook on life. Why did something so insignificant and so tasty find ME of all people? Am I special? Is this a sign? I believe this pasta is a symbol of something greater. It’s an under-hyped masterpiece of divine happiness and virtue. I feel like I am a better man because of this pasta. I want to do something with my life now. Be a change. Do better. Cheese tasted a little off though. 9 out of 10 (stars), I would recommend it,” Duarte said.
For some though the recipe wasn’t as life changing as it was for Duarte. The recipe was simple okay for sophomore Casey Fellows.
“It tastes good, however I’m not sure if this was worth the hype, however if it’s quick and easy to make I can understand why a lot of people make it. I think I would eat it again, I give it a 6 out of 10,” Fellows said.
I agree mostly with Fellows, I would make this recipe again; with the simplicity of the sweetness of the tomatoes and the tangyness of the feta, it can be quite nice when quality ingredients are used.
Overall, I give this recipe a 7 out of 10 stars, as it was simple and delicious however it did not earn the last star as it did not live to complete hype.
Another recent recipe obsession has been Vegan Chicken, or more commonly known as seitan. The reason why the recipe has taken TikTok by storm is because many were surprised that the two main ingredients are flour and water. Seiten is surprisingly filled with protein, as part of the recipe is literally washing the gluten out.
Making it was actually fun; the two main steps are initially kneading the dough and then kneading underwater. It does take time to let it rise and knead the dough however the process itself is fun and the texture of kneading underwater is similar to slime. However it does take around 3 hours to make as it requires to rest for two hours total and simmer for around 45 minutes.
But it doesn’t taste like chicken, but the spices make the tastes more similar. However, what makes seitan like chicken is the textures are so alike. With this in mind I would try again, it was fun to make, it tastes really good and is totally worth the recent hype. It scores a 6 out of 10 stars, the score is slightly lowered simply because of how much time it takes.
The chicken was fairly good for other people as well. The chicken is worth trying according to senior Emma Neff-Friel.
“It doesn’t really taste like chicken but it does look similar. I think if I was vegetarian I would definitely eat this a fair amount as a substitute for chicken, even though it doesn’t really taste like it I would probably give it a 8 out of 10 (stars),” Neff-Friel said.
This is a fairly shared opinion according to senior Rachel Cavote.
“It tastes pretty good, definitely not chicken but I think it could be good to eat instead of chicken, I’d give it a 7 out of 10 stars, the only reason why it’s not slightly higher is because when comparing it to chicken it doesn’t taste the same,” Cavote said.
Overall, I think it would be preferred to try this but I would recommend buying prepared seitan, as it takes some time to make. I think if one is planning to go vegan or vegetarian this is a great substitute.
