Can we taste the difference in our mom’s food? – Let’s talk about that. (curious music) (liquid bubbling) (UFO whirring) (flames igniting) “Good Mythical Morning!” – We’re about to see if we can taste the difference between homemade meals that were made by our moms and ones that weren’t. – But first, this portion of today’s episode is sponsored by Hello Fresh, America’s number one meal kit. We’re setting our sights on fall, which always ends up being the busiest time of year for me – Yeah. I mean, you got hay rides, apple picking, pumpkin carving, avoiding haunted houses. And then I also have to do things with my family and friends. – Ah. – Ha. The point is there’s no time left to figure out meals. Thank goodness for Hello Fresh recipes, which include pre-portioned ingredients that mean less prep for you and less wasted food. – Getting back into the fall season, which includes one-man hay rides, apparently- – That’s right! – Can be busy. But, weeknights can be made so much easier with foolproof, step-by-step recipes ready in around 30 minutes or less. – You can also customize your favorite dishes with Hello Fresh’s new Hello Custom offerings by swapping out one protein or side for another, upgrading for more lux experience, or even adding protein to a veggie meal. That means more choices, more variety, and more meals truly tailored to you. I’m talking about things like this delicious bibimbap right here. – Let me get in on that bibimbap. ♪ I’ma get a little taste of it ♪ – It makes you wanna say bibimbap! – It makes me wanna say lux. – That’s good. So, take charge of your time and don’t let your busy schedule take over. Go to hellofresh.com, and use code GMM16 for 16 free meals across seven boxes and three free gifts! – That’s hellofresh.com, and use code GMM16 for up to 16 free meals and three surprise gifts. – Thanks again to Hello Fresh for sponsoring this portion of today’s episode. – Why do you think moms make everything better? I mean like, mama laundry smells better than when I do it. – Yeah. – And of course, mama meals tastes way more incredible than if I were to attempt the exact same recipe. – Well that’s just ’cause that’s you attempting a recipe- – Yeah, let’s just say, if it wasn’t me, that still holds true. – But, there is, there’s something about mom food! It’s got that love in it, it’s got that nostalgia. Or does it? Can we and some of the “Mythical” crew identify our mom’s cooking from the rest? It’s time for, “For Mama’s Cooking, The Lucky Stars we are Thinking! But if we Can’t Tell Which One’s Hers, We’re in for a Spanking.” (gentle music) – Alright, Chase, we’re startin’ out with you. – Alright. – And you got your mama involved in this. – I did, yeah. (laughing) – Right? – Slowly getting every single one of my family members. We’ve done my aunt, (laughing) my dad’s been watching from over there, we got mom. – Alright, she made a video to set this up, right? – I believe so. – Hi, I’m Chase’s mom. I made his favorite dish, which is sweet rice. And here’s a fun fact about Chase. When he was young and he’d get angry, he’d go over to the fireplace and bang his forehead on it. (everyone laughing) – That is a fun fact! – And you know what? I don’t think they asked for a fun fact. It’s just your mom wanted to throw you under the bus. – Just a little color, yeah. – She’s like, “You know what? I’m think I’m gonna throw in a fun fact!” – Is that why you bang your head over on our little prop fireplace from time to time? I never knew it was when you were angry. (laughing) – Yeah. (laughing) It’s just when I need to get out some aggression, I just go over there. – Okay, sweet rice, tell us about this, Chase. – Yeah, it’s also arroz con leche, and it’s a Mexican dessert. My mom was a little nervous about making this, she didn’t like the first batch she did, she told me. So, she did say she went out to a Mexican grocery store to see if they had any that she could just buy and say was hers. – Whoa, don’t break the rules! – They didn’t have any. (laughing) So, she had to go and make a second batch. – So are you then gonna… You’re supposed to pick the one your mom made. Are you gonna pick the one you like less? – Oh no, I know she made it… She always makes a good sweet rice. It’s based on my grandma’s recipe, all of my aunts and my mom make it, and we’ve all got like a lot of fond memories of making it with my grandma. – So it’s like a creamy rice with raisins and like cinnamon? – Yeah, there’s a very similar profile to like horchata. – Ah. – And V? – [V] Yes? – You and the “Mythical” kitcheneers took Chase’s mom’s recipe and tried to make it to the best of your ability. – [V] Yes. – And how confident are you that you’re gonna fool Chase in front of his own mama watching? – [V] Very, very confident. He’s not gonna know. – Now, how confident are you that you know which one is your mama’s? – Not confident. – Oh, really? – Because the recipe is very much just based on like, even my grandma was just like, “Oh, this feels about right, that feels about right.” So, it was like a little different every single time- – That should give him the advantage though. – But, always tasty. But yeah- – That’s good. – It’s not like there’s one exact flavor profile. – Okay. – It’s like a little different every time. – Okay, I get that. I mean, that’s good. – Mmm, mm-hmm. – It’s sweet, it’s rice, it’s sweet rice. – Let’s go over here. – I’m gonna try to get a similar bite. – Not as sweet. – Wow- – (laughing) Yeah. – There is a difference. – It’s not as creamy as the other one. – I’m very nervous. (laughing) – [V] You should be, Chase. – So, to hedge my bets, my sister made pumpkin bread- – What? – You just keep it in your lap? – I got… Yeah. “To GMM, love Chase’s sister.” (laughing) – How does this make up for anything, Chase? – ‘Cause I know my sister made this, so maybe I can get just like a bonus point if I get this wrong. (laughing) – You don’t need to be sucking up to us, by giving us bread, you gonna be sucking up to your own mom if you’re gonna make her upset. – My mom doesn’t know how to search for our YouTube videos, so I think- – Okay, good. Okay, since Chase’s mom is not watching, I will say that I think that this one has more flavor. – It does. – Yeah, I like it. – And I don’t know if it’s not hers or not, I’m just saying one of ’em has more flavor. – Do you agree with that? – I do. (laughing) – [Stevie] Do you think you have a guess? – I need one more bite. – But, we’re just guessing not which one we like better, which one we think that Chase’s mom made. – [Stevie] Yeah, yeah. Which Chase has the most knowledge of, not to put any more pressure on you, Chase. I’m just saying. Okay, you ready? – I banged my head on the fireplace a lot as a kid, so… – [Stevie] Hand over Chase’s mom’s in three, two, one. – Chase’s mom made the better one, we already know that. – We gotta believe in Chase’s mom. – I mean, she’s such a sweet woman who makes such sweet rice. – I’m looking at V, just… (laughing) – Are we right? – [Stevie] Mmm, break out the pumpkin bread! – Oh no, you’re kidding! – [Stevie] ‘Cause Chase’s mom’s sweet rice is on Link’s side. (Stevie laughing) (negative buzzing) – It’s not bad. – No, this is- – You can’t win ’em all. It’s just kind of a side by side thing. – The rice texture in this one feels more like my mom’s. – Oh! – The raisins really threw me off. I don’t know, maybe she just used a different type of raisin. (laughing) – Oh, she’s using newfangled raisins? – Just a plumper raisin? Alright. So, you might need to apologize to her right now. – Just just say, “In case you’re watching, I’m sorry for everything, mom.” – Mama, I’m so sorry that this happened, but I’m just gonna skip ahead to like right after this and then say that they forgot to use our sweet rice. – Yeah, we’re editing this out. – Yeah, yeah. (gentle music returns) – Alright, Link, now your Mama Sue is… Let’s see what she sent in. – Hi, I’m Link’s mom, I’m Sue. I’m fixin’ Link’s favorite recipe today, it’s called Mama’s country-style steak. He always loves to layer it on top of each other and makin’ it look like a volcano. (laughing) I hope you enjoy it. – Oh, I’m gonna enjoy it, Mom. You know, when my family sends in a video, it’s gon’ be blurry. (“Mythical” crew laughing) – It’s interesting that you didn’t inherit… ‘Cause you got low-res video inclinations coming from both mom and dad. – (laughing) Right, right. Alright, so let’s bring these in. Yeah, this country-style steak… I mean, I wrote about this in the “Book of Mythicality,” when we were exploring like our eating habits growing up. And my mom had just a set series of signature dishes. – And this is one of them. – And this is my favorite one. – So, I have to assume that you know which one it is just by lookin’ at it. – Country-style steak. – ‘Cause they look different. Even though I had this meal at your house many times, it’s been a long time. – Yeah, you put it over… When she’s talking about the volcano, she’s talking about you put it over rice and then you take garden peas as like two sides, and then I would just like clump that all together into one big mound and eat it as one thing. – Well, I’m sorry you can’t do that today ’cause we just have the steak. – I’m a little disappointed in that. – But, this whole round is in low-res though, so people won’t see the disappointment on your face. – Okay. See, of course you got the cube steak, battered and fried I think, with… Right? – [V] Yes. – Within onions and gravy. – Wow, that is really good. – I’m pretty much 99% confident just by lookin’ at these, which one is my mom’s, but that was very good. – I don’t know, man, I don’t know which one is which, but that was good. – And then, this one… See, the onions in this one are smaller, but they’re there. – They’re both very good. There’s a distinct difference, not just in look and texture, but seasoning too. – Yeah, like this one over here is saltier. – Mm-hmm. – Which I think might be a technique that V used to trick me because- – Well, this is wild because- – When you get really salty, it covers up the other flavors. – One of them… Here’s the thing, one of them seems to look like what I would remember eating at your house, one of them tastes like what I would remember eating at your house, and they’re not the same. – Yeah. – What is happening? (Link tasting) – [Stevie] You think, you know? – I know, I know. If I’m wrong about this, my mom can disown me. – [Stevie] Okay, a lot on the line. – That’s how confident I am. – [Stevie] Let’s guess in three, two, one. – It’s gotta be this one. – Okay. – The actually less salty one, but just the- – That’s the one that tastes what I remember. – Oh, really? – That tastes like your mom’s, this looks like what I remember. – Nope, nope, nope. This looks like and tastes… This is it. – Okay, alright. – This has gotta be it. – You’ve gotta be right. – If this isn’t it, like I don’t have a mom anymore, she’s disowned. (“Mythical” crew laughing) – [Stevie] The country-style steak made by Link’s mom is on Link’s side. – Yes! – Alright. – But, I’ll tell ya, when I tasted this one, V, first, I got scared for a second. I shook in my boots because I mean, that is actually good. Have you ever made this dish before? – [V] No, I had no idea what she was talking about- – You don’t know what a country-style steak is? – [V] I’ve never had one. – Do you like it? – [V] Well, you gonna be mad if I say no? (laughing) – It’s not for you, huh? – V No, it’s not my favorite. – [Stevie] What was the dead giveaway? Was it the onion size, or was it the slight difference in color? Like, how did you automatically know before tasting it, which one it was? – I mean, every single thing is like so specific. Like the type of gravy, how it’s like puffy gravy. – Puffy gravy. – And then, it’s not flattened. See how this one’s like more flattened and rounded? She don’t care about the flat and roundness of it. Man. – It’s really good. – And you throw in them garden peas, whoo! I love my mama. And not just because of this, but boy, this certainly sweetens the deal. (gentle music returns) Alright, “Mythical Kitchen” crew member, Annaliese, is sitting between us. – Hello. – You have a mom, huh? – I do. – That’s cool. – Grateful to have one. – That’s great. Because you work with the “Mythical Kitchen,” I wonder if there’s some sort of advantage that you have here. – Right, like I was going to be tasting the love in the dish to try and find it, but like “Mythical Kitchen,” we’re like family- – Aw! – So it’s like, there’s gonna be love there too. – You’re gonna have to differentiate the love! – Yeah, what kinda love is in there? – Which love is more pure? – I don’t know. – Alright, your mom made a video. – Hi, I’m Annaliese’s mom, and I have made for her Cuban black beans and rice. It’s one of her favorites. A fun fact about Annaliese is that she has loved making movies ever since she was 10 years old, when her dad let her borrow the family camcorder for the first time. (everyone laughing) – She was so nervous. (laughing) – Your mom’s sweet. – [Stevie] Your mom’s fun fact is like so sweet, and Chase’s mom’s… (laughing) – Yeah, Chase’s mom… Are you living your dream here at “Mythical”? – I am! – Since 10 years old. – Okay, so tell us the history of this particular dish. – Yeah, so Cuban black beans and rice, arroz con frijoles negros. This was like the dish for events. I graduated, we ate black beans and rice. My sister’s wedding, they even made a bunch of black beans and rice. – Oh. – So, this is just like the thing. I even brought a visual aid because one of my earliest memories is with my grandma as like a little kid, and prepping the beans, she’ll go through like a whole bag of beans and take out any split ones. – Really? – Whoa! – Like prepping for the beans. And I remember as a little kid, being like, “Here, help Etha with this, like prep the beans.” And so, I would like sift through the beans like that. – Wow, okay. – Start over here, huh? – There’s obviously a visual difference- – Yeah. – You don’t have to tell us, but do you know which one you think it is just by looking at it? – I think I do? – Okay. – I think I do. – But, you don’t sound that confident. Oh, that’s juicy. – Wow. – Mmm, that’s so good. – Oh! – That’s so good. – I love rice and beans. – We can’t double fork, huh? – Yeah, you can, just- – You can do whatever. – This is my zone. – Go back into your zone. – This is like the way… Like, I love that we made sure to mix it together ’cause all of it together is the way to do it. – That was really good, it’s juicy. – Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. – This one looks drier. – Yeah, this is a super saucy version. – We’ll find out. – Well, there’s some wetness down in here. – Yeah. – Okay. Oh yeah, oh, okay. – I found the wetness. – We found the wetness. (laughing) – There’s a sweetness to this one. – It’s much sweeter, I’m not tasting the peppers as much. – A little less salty, but that one I feel like I taste the salt more. – Yeah, and that I think that’s V’s trickery. I’m just gonna give you a hint. That’s what she did with my mama’s country-style steak. – No, she just followed the directions, man. She wasn’t allowed to veer off of what the directions said, right? Right, V? – [V] Very right. (laughing) – So, you’re throwing my mom under the bus. You’re saying my mom lied about her own recipe- – [V] How? It just wasn’t detailed. – So that she could win. – Okay. – Do you know? – I don’t wanna say anything. Like I said, there’s love in both these dishes. – Well, you’re gonna have to vote. – I’m gonna vote. – So, how confident are you gonna be in your vote? – Really confident. – 100%? – I think so. – Alright, well- – [Stevie] Let’s see. – I believe in your mom, I’m voting for the one I liked better. – As I am. – [Stevie] Three, two, one. – Okay, just like with Chase’s mom, were we right or wrong? – [Stevie] Phew, you picked correctly this time. (laughing) – Yes! – Whoo! – You don’t have to apologize to your mom, but could you apologize to Chase’s mom on Chase’s behalf? ‘Cause I didn’t think his apology is gonna work. – Chase’s mom, we’re really sorry. Chase loves you and is grateful that you cooked rice not once but twice, and also tried to maybe buy rice. – (laughing) Right. – We’re sorry. – We are all very sorry for Chase. (everyone laughing) (gentle music returns) – Okay, last, but certainly not least- – Time for Mama Di. – Mama Diane. Let’s see what she did. – Hi, I’m Rhett’s mom. I’m making his favorite dish, tortilla stacks. Do you wanna know a fun fact about Rhett? He was all-conference basketball player in high school. – Hey! And I never banged my head against anything. – And you never constantly tell me about it. – I guess my mom’s using the same internet providers- – Yeah, she’s pretty fuzzy! – As your mom. (laughing) – Listen, yeah, I forgot to tell you. At every step of this process, my mom would call me and tell me, it’s like, “They asked me to do this,” and then she’d call me back and say, “Well, I gotta make a video, and now I’m making this, and I gotta figure out how to ship it.” Like every step of the process, she was like- – She contacted you? My mom never told me about this. I mean like, there was one initial thing where they were like, “Tell your mom that somebody’s going to call her to get her to do something. Just give her heads up.” And I was like, “Hey Mom, somebody from “Mythical” is gonna call you and ask you to do something.” I haven’t talked to her since. – My mom was like doing the phone call version of live tweeting her entire experience. – (laughing) Well, it seems like you would’ve had an advantage. You did get it right. Okay, tortilla- – [Stevie] Well, this round has a little extra. So your mom also sent a photo of like her actual recipe card that she uses. And it has one particular detail that I especially love, but I just wanted to show it to you ’cause it’s very mom. – You mean that this was… Okay, obviously, this was given to her by somebody named Wendy Kappen who gave her this recipe in Jesus’ love. – Stevie Yeah. – Yeah. – The best way to convey love is through food. I mean, if it’s your mom. – Now, I feel like I need to acknowledge something. Of course we had Chase and his family with the Mexican heritage, and we had Annaliese with her family, with the Cuban heritage. – And me with my country-style heritage. – My mom is Scotch-Irish. But, there’s a little region in Scott-Ireland (laughing) where they really love tortilla stacks. So, this is not appropriation! We ate this all the time growing up, by the way. And I think I can tell which one it is by looking at it. But, ooo, doggy! – I think I remember eating this at your house. I’m sure if I did, I was served a big glass of milk to drink with it. – Nothing like milk to make this go down. – I mean, and this was one McLaughlin serving here? – She would put two of these in a casserole dish and then she would cut ’em into a quadrant. – Mmm, that’s good. – It’s very tasty, it’s very tasty. Very good. – [Stevie] Visually, this round is like pretty darn close. – It’s hard to tell the difference. – Yeah. – It’s stacked. I mean, these olives are more in the middle and they’re more just kind of haphazardly thrown. – Okay. – But, they’re kind of baked in. – I think I know. – Mmm. – I think I know, but I have to confirm. They’re both very good. – It’s tough for me to say which one I like better. They really taste almost the same to me. – On one of them, there is a way that the flavor comes together and hits like a nostalgic part of my brain. And I hope, I really hope I’m not wrong ’cause I’m gonna look horrible if I’m wrong. But, I think I am ready. – [Stevie] Three, two, one. – Okay. – That’s mama Di’s tortilla stacks. – I was kinda guessing blindly, so- – They’re both very good. V, you did a great job. They’re both very good, but there’s just something that feels more nostalgic about this in the flavor part of my brain. Am I right or wrong? – [Stevie] Rhett’s mom’s dish is on Link’s side. – Yes! – What a relief, right? You don’t have to apologize. – Yes. Nailed it, mom! – I mean, as many times as she made this and my mom made the country-style steak, it’s like there’s no way we could have missed, right? – It’s ingrained. – It’s ingrained, it’s like a part of your being when your mom has that signature dish, and you can go back to it. I just feel so comforted right now. And I feel kinda bad for Chase. – I got pumpkin bread. (“Mythical” crew laughing) My sister made it. – Yup. You know, Chase, I still don’t understand how the pumpkin bread makes up for what happened. But you know what, Chase’s mom, Chase has pumpkin bread. – My mom likes it. (laughing) I feel so bad. (everyone laughing) – Alright, thanks for subscribing and clicking that bell. – You know what time it is. – Hey, I’m Luke. I’m from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. And right now, I’m in Venice Beach, California. And it’s time to spend the Wheel of Mythicality. – I thought it was gonna be a pumpkin. (everyone laughing) – Okay. – Click the top link to watch us rank the most momish wall decor in “Good Mythical More.” – And to find out where the Wheel of Mythicality’s gonna land. To get the GMM woven blanket, join Third Degree quarterly or annual by September 30th. Mythicalsociety.com for details.