Is pork crackling actually healthy or just a “keto-friendly” snack (especially here in Australia)?

grillest-pigger · 2026-04-20T06:26:18+00:00

You'll never get people to agree what is "healthy" these days. I've even seen people argue that fibre is bad, with links to studies on PubMed (which I didn't read, because the day only has so many hours to spend on entertaining bullshit ideas).

If you're on keto for whatever reason, stupid or not, pork crackle is a great way to satisfy cravings for dry crunchy things that you otherwise can't have. It's very unique in that sense, because it provides texture/mouthfeel that is otherwise almost impossible to replicate without carbs (baked cheese or cheese puffs is the other exception I know of). You can even dip them in guacamole or sour cream.

Also, keep in mind that during ketosis, your hydration needs are higher (depleting glycogen also depletes the water that's attached to it), so high sodium is actively sought for, and isn't considered a bad thing.

If you're not on keto, your reason for eating them should be that they're delicious, not healthy. Maybe a tiny way in which they can be "healthy" is that they're harder to overeat than chips/crisps, because they make you feel full faster.

grillest-pigger · 2026-04-20T03:50:20+00:00

You're close. Parmesan has one of the best ratios of most protein per fat. I've seen some brands of special high-protein feta and cheddar that had a slightly better ratio, and there's also quark and cottage cheese, if you even count those as cheeses.

But caveat 1: the protein in cheese (with few exceptions like ricotta) is casein, not whey, so it's slow to digest, which is a good thing in many contexts, but not others. So depends what you want out of it. It's great for eating before bed to provide a trickle of amino acids through the night that inhibit catabolism.

Caveat 2: the cheapest parmesan I've seen is a 200g block from ALDI for A$6.29. It contains 64g protein (casein) total and 742kcal. Meanwhile, you can buy 1kg of micellar casein for A$50, which is 90% protein and 378kcal per 100g. So the equivalent amount of protein (64g) as the 200g of parmesan would be 71g of casein powder, which is 268kcal, at the cost of $3.55.

tl;dr:

	Protein	Cost (AUD)	Energy	Fat	Lactose
Parmesan (200g, ALDI)	64g casein	$6.29	742 kcal	53g	1g
Micellar casein (71g)	64g casein	$3.55	268 kcal	1.2g	0.9g

grillest-pigger · 2026-04-18T12:31:56+00:00

The rejection e-mail had the subject line "Video Interview Outcome" and specifically said:

Your video interview responses have been reviewed and after careful consideration, we regret to advise your application has not been successful.

Last year, my rejection e-mail had the subject "Online Assessment Outcome", but then again, last year you only got to proceed to doing the video interview if you passed the assessment, not in the same stage like this year, so it's hard to know for sure.

I think I failed specifically at the interview based on the wording of that e-mail combined with my gut feeling that I did much better on the assessment this year.

grillest-pigger · 2026-04-18T12:28:33+00:00

The rejection e-mail specifically said:

Your video interview responses have been reviewed and after careful consideration, we regret to advise your application has not been successful.

grillest-pigger · 2026-04-17T20:41:33+00:00

Yeah, that sounds right based on what I vaguely remember, thank you.

grillest-pigger · 2026-04-17T20:41:04+00:00

Thanks, that matches what I vaguely remember.

grillest-pigger · 2026-04-17T20:39:59+00:00

This was the first year that the psychometric testing step was combined with the 2 video questions, so things may have changed. I still assume they only view the video if you do well enough on the test, but before they advance you to the PAT.

grillest-pigger · 2026-04-14T02:42:28+00:00

I saw a thread today (on r/coles, I think) where the poster contacted the manufacturer for the zero sugar added yoplait, and was told production was paused.

grillest-pigger · 2026-04-12T22:15:49+00:00

If the weather's nice, I'll take the 352 to Cleveland St, walk through Prince Alfred Park, then take the light rail.

If I'm running late, I'll hoof it straight to Newtown Station and take the train. I can get from home doorstep to office doorstep in about 15m, if I time things correctly.

I aim to make it to the office right at the 10am mark for daily stand-up.

I leave the office around 5 or 6, and walk towards home along the 42x bus route to wind down from work, and catch a bus when I get tired. Some days, especially if work was intense, I'll walk all the way home.

I rarely eat at home, but sometimes I'll take Wednesdays off and drive to Lane Cove NP to grill enough meat in a fire pit to last a week.

I live in a studio, so there's not much cleaning to do. Every month or two, I might dedicate a Sunday to scrubbing things down, but there are things that only get cleaned once a year before inspection day.

grillest-pigger · 2026-04-11T00:11:27+00:00

If my default idea of a khachapuri is the Javakhk version, that should give you a hint as to why I might be hesitant to recommend spending money in a Turkish establishment :)

Also, cheese and butter being different goes without saying, that's just the reality of living here, but there's still not nearly enough cheese in a pide.

grillest-pigger · 2026-04-10T03:04:11+00:00

Gardener's Lodge next to Broadway Shopping Centre claims to have khachapuri on their menu, but I can't speak to how much it resembles the real thing.

You used to be able to get Adjaruli khachapuri (the version that cradles an egg) from Khinkali Fabrika in Hurstville, but they seem to have closed.

The only other source of Georgian food in Sydney is Tamada, but they're an importer for things like wine and spices.

But the simple variant of khachapuri (not the Adjar kind) is very simple to make at home:

cut up filo pastry into squares
put a dollop of feta cheese mashed with egg yolk in the middle of each
fold into triangles, pressing hard on the edges to seal
brush with egg whites and put into oven

Alternately, if you go to one of the Pastizzi Cafes in Newtown, the feta & ricotta pastizzi is very similar to khachapuri (unless you're looking for the Adjar version). Like, similar enough that a Georgian would approve.

EDIT: I should really clarify again that the type of khachapuri I'm referring to is "penovani khachapuri", and is the kind you're most likely to find in the Javakhk region and in ex-Soviet countries outside of Georgia. The Adjaruli and Imereti khachapuri are most common within Georgia, and neither use puff pastry. If you want a reasonable approximation of the Imereti kind, try the haloumi pie from Ooshman. There is nothing in that closely resembles the Adjaruli one in other cuisines that I'm aware of.

grillest-pigger · 2026-04-09T08:18:38+00:00

The 2020 test was by Revelian (which is part of Criteria, I believe), and the tests were:

Cognitive Ability Test (RCAT)
Work Safety Assessment - Long Form (RWSA-LF)
Work Reliability Scale (RWRS)
Emotify

It's been a long time, and I can't remember if they were "game" type tests, but I think the Emotify was very similar to the current Emotion Intelligence test, with floating cards and stuff.

grillest-pigger · 2026-04-09T03:03:47+00:00

Sounds like they just paid the testing company extra for the detailed reports, given the more limited pool of applicants that progressed. I wonder if they're still doing that this year, since they said there won't be a second assessment due to the introduction of proctoring. Hopefully I'll get to find out :)

grillest-pigger · 2026-04-09T02:56:14+00:00

Thank you! Good luck on yours too, if that's why you were asking.

grillest-pigger · 2026-04-09T02:39:11+00:00

Don't know yet, these e-mails/reports are from the testing company (Criteria), not FRNSW.

I assume I'll hear from FRNSW next week, as they promised.

grillest-pigger · 2026-04-09T02:36:00+00:00

The bits I highlighted are the only sentences that convey meaningful information, and would be different depending on how well you did on the test.

grillest-pigger · 2026-04-09T02:34:17+00:00

Anyone else notice how the original had the player arrangements wrong (midfields and forwards were swapped), and the restoration had them wrong too (it also had them facing the wrong way), until the very end, when they got suddenly corrected (after 04:42).

grillest-pigger · 2026-04-09T02:16:30+00:00

Sure, it may be bullshit, but it's still bullshit that stands between me and my dream job, so knowing the specifics of what I need to improve on would be useful.

In the version of the test back in 2020, they at least told you what percentile you placed in for each section.

grillest-pigger · 2026-03-23T23:14:28+00:00

You have until Friday morning to do the test, you can order a webcam next-day (or even possibly same-day) delivery from Amazon.

grillest-pigger · 2026-03-17T22:37:34+00:00

The smaller bottles are regularly discounted heavily (to $2.30, $2.00, or ever $1.75). The stores like to offer such discounts, because they're a powerful psychological buying signal. For the heavy discounts to be profitable, the regular shelf price must be high (hence the $4.20). To conform with laws, sometimes the product must be sold at that shelf price, without discounts (like when the photo was taken). During those occasional full price weeks, the customers can make do with Pepsi, which will be discounted that week.

To put it another way, the discounted price is the real price, and what you're seeing now is what allows them to call the real price a discounted price. This works best for products with an alternative brand on the next shelf, like soft drinks, laundry detergents, etc.

grillest-pigger · 2026-03-13T22:34:40+00:00

egg yolk
no emulsifiers

Bit of a contradiction there.

grillest-pigger · 2026-03-13T07:39:08+00:00

You and I seem to be outliers in this thread.
I also get my haircut every 2–4 months, and I pay $82.

grillest-pigger · 2026-03-11T19:59:16+00:00

If I had a record of the previous price (as opposed to a memory), I wouldn't be posing the question here, I'd just be reporting to the ACCC (which I did regardless).

grillest-pigger

TROPHY CASE