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Ray's List of Weird and Disgusting Foods
By Ray Bruman
I HAVE A THEORY that many (all?) cultures invent a food that is
weird or disgusting to non-initiates as a sort of a "marker." The kids start out
hating it, but at some point they cross over and perpetuate it (perpetrate it)
on the next generation. Then they nudge each other when foreigners gasp.
Many cultures pride themselves on their alcoholic drinks, as in
"white lightning," mai-tai, tequila, pulque, chong, vodka, schnapps, and so on.
You are accepted if you can match their prowess. There are too many similar
local drinks to warrant listing them here.
Sometimes one group disparages another for their eating habits, as
in the word "Eskimo" (eater of raw meat) resented by the people whose name for
themselves is "Inuit." I believe the food laws of Middle Eastern cultures have
more to do with distinguishing your group from the neighboring groups than with
health concerns or sacred scriptures, which adapted to the cultural norms.
Foods don't make it onto this list just because they are generally
unpopular. President Bush hated broccoli. So what? Foods on this list have some
status as a cultural marker. Sometimes it's a tough call. For example, "donuts"
(doughnuts, originally "oly cakes") are distinctly American, and I've met many
French people who despise them. Chacun a son gout (They gave my son gout) as
they say. Do they qualify as "weird-disgusting" or not? Peanut butter was
invented in America, widely reviled in Europe. What do you think? I think it
stands as a bit of Americana. Cary Grant once ordered a peanut butter sandwich
in New York's 21 club.
Thomas Hamilton comments that USers are actually unusual in eating
so *few* parts of an animal, so the fact that, say, the French eat brains isn't
really a cultural marker. The marker is that USers don't. From:
[email protected] (Thomas Hamilton)
Don't bother to respond "But lots of people like X"... that's
exactly the point. That's why "X" is ON the list, not off it. See also the entry
below for FRUITCAKE.
Don't bother to respond "But this food is also located in..." Yes,
important food immigrates even faster than language. Cool. Chile peppers and
potatoes are are nearly ubiquitous now.
Here's my list so far. What can you add? (It's arranged roughly
geographically, going east from longitude 0.)
| England: |
Warm Beer, Blood Pudding, Jellied Eels, Spotted Dick, Liver
and Lights, Kidney Pie, Brawn, Bubble and Squeak, Fried Bread, Crisps with
Flavors |
| Scotland: |
Haggis, Irn Bru, Blood (Black) Pudding, Herring Roe, Potted
Hough, Sheep's Head, Ox Tongue, Oxtail, White Puddings, Powsowdie |
| Wales: |
Laver Bread, Rook Pie, Lardy Cake |
| Sweden: |
Sylta (Head Cheese) |
| Norway: |
Lutefisk, Gravlax |
| Denmark: |
Oellebroed, Skipsol, Beer-Jelly, Sild, Gamle Ole, Gammel
Dansk, Nordsoe Olie, Rullepoelse, Flaeskesvaer, Skaerpekoed, Rastefisk,
Grind, Spaek |
| Netherlands: |
Salted Horsemeat Sandwiches, Raw Salted Herring, Peanut
Butter Sauce on French Fries, Hete Bliksem |
| France: |
Escargot, Tripe, Frog's Legs, Bleu Cheese, Roquefort, Steak
Tartare, Brains, Truffles, Camel's Feet, Boudin |
| Spain: |
Criadillas, Morcillas |
| European Jews: |
Schmaltz, Gefilte Fish, Kishke |
| Germany: |
Limburger, Bierkase, Blutwurst, Kuddeln, Ochsenmaul-Salat,
Schweinsmagen, Curry Wurst |
| Italy: |
Cynar and Campari liqueurs, Carpaccio, Cibreo, Song Birds,
Gorgonzola |
| Greece: |
Retsina |
| Sicily: |
Ricci di Mare |
| Sardinia: |
Maggot-Cheese |
| Mediterranean: |
Sheep's head. The whole thing, cooked and skinned. Includes
the eyeballs. Cheese (what a concept!) Octopus, Cicada, Octopus and Squid
in Ink |
| Russia: |
Borscht, Kvass, Caviar, Vesiga |
| Africa: |
Blood fresh from living livestock, Grasshoppers, Okra,
Fufu, Gari, Urine, Ugali, Clay, Goat's Head, Chitoum |
| Central Asia: |
Kumiss (Fermented Mare's Milk), Yogurt, Sheep Fat |
| China: |
Bird's Nest Soup, Sea Cucumber, Jellyfish, Rat, Snake,
Drunken Shrimp, Jelled Blood, Bear Paws, Cho Do Fu, Tiger Testicles, Owl
Soup, Thousand-Year Eggs, Sa Kuo Yu Toe, Fish Flotation Bladder, Bao Bing
(Shaved Ice), Pork Uterus, Camel (and Cow) Tendons, Oyster Sauce, Snake
Wine |
| Tibet: |
Yak Milk (Rancid), Tea with Yak Butter |
| India: |
Cow Urine, Human Urine |
| Southern India: |
Blazing Curry |
| Burma: |
a MAE oo, Ngapi-jaw |
| Hong Kong: |
Monkey Brains |
| Southeast Asia: |
Durian, Fermented Fish-Paste, Dog Meat, Snakes, Ngapi-Jaw,
Bull Penis, Sour Candies, Fish Eyes |
| Thailand: |
Kapi, Grasshoppers, Snake Blood, Water Bugs |
| Indonesia: |
Blachan, Dog-Meat Restaurants, Bats |
| Malaysia: |
Ice Kachang (Shaved Ice) Belachan |
| Philippines: |
Baalut, Bagong (fish paste), Diniguan |
| Australia: |
Vegemite, Marmite, Kangaroo, Witchety Grub, Beetroot, Honey
Ants |
| Papua-New Guinea: |
Sago Worms |
| Borneo: |
Monitor Lizard |
| Korea: |
Kim Chee, Silk Worm Grubs, Tiger Penis Soup |
| Japan: |
Fugu, Natto, Sashimi, Shiokara, Tofu, Miso, Uni, Mountain
Potato, Seaweed, Takosu, Takoyaki, Tempeh, Crickets, Unagi, Gingko Seeds,
Okra (Raw!) |
| Hawaii: |
Poi, Spam Musubi |
| Arctic Alaska: |
Blubber, Stinkheads |
| U.S. in general: |
Spam, Chewing Gum, Iceberg Lettuce, Bread, Beer, Peanut
Butter |
| U.S. Northwest: |
Geoduck Clams |
| U.S. West: |
Prairie Oysters, Fried Pork Rinds, Blood-Rare Steak,
Rattlesnake |
| U.S. Midwest: |
White Castle Sliders, Jell-O Salad, Fruitcake, American
Cheese Food Product, such as Velveeta, in Fried Cheese Balls, Cincinnati
Greek Chili |
| U.S. South: |
Grits, Crawfish, Hog Maws And Snouts, Etc Dropped Fowl,
Chicken Feet, Chitterlings, Iced Tea, Ramps, Turkey Deep-Fried Whole
(Fried Everything) Chicken-Fried Steak, Dill Pickles Fried |
| U.S. East: |
Souse, Pork Loaf |
| U.S. Northeast: |
Scrapple, Cod Liver Oil, Pumpkin Pie, Raw Oysters, Lobster,
Fiddlehead Ferns |
| Canada: |
Sugar Pie, Poutine, Oreilles De Christ, Cod Tongues, Cod
Cheeks, Pemmican, Cracklings, Seal Flipper Pie, Spruce Beer |
| Mexico: |
Tequila Worms, Menudo, Habanero & Jalapeno Peppers,
Mole, Chichirrones (Chitterlings), Ceviche, Grasshoppers |
| Brazil: |
Gari |
| Agentina: |
Morcillas |
| Iceland: |
Hakarl |
The following glossary of explanations is alphabetically arranged.
A MAE OO (Burma) see CHITTERLINGS. From: Michael Khaw
AMERICAN CHEESE (U.S. Midwest) often labeled FOOD PRODUCT as if
that were going to reassure you. Processed cheese, or "cheese food", is stuff which disappears if
grilled. Best used as gasket material for lo-temp applications.
Also: Cheez Whiz, cheese soup From: Robert Hughes
ANTS, Roasted: (Colombia). The ants are very large. These are fried or
roasted. These are often served in paper cones at movies. They have a
smokey taste, a bit like very good jerky. Nice and crunchy.
([email protected])
BAALUT (Philippines) How about that great delicacy of the
Philippines.....Baalut....You take a fertilized duck or chicken egg, bury
it in the ground for a few weeks and then enjoy. Also known as "the treat
with feet" or "the egg with legs". Best enjoyed after many, many, many
beers. From [email protected]. (Dick Francis)
...
This is a Filipino delicacy - a duck egg containing a half-formed
duckling, soft-boiled and eaten out of shell with a spoon. (Slurp!
Crunch-crunch! Yum!) No, I haven't gotten up the guts to try it yet.
From [email protected] (Elizabeth Allyn Ramirez)
BATS (Indonesia)
In the covered market in Jogjakarta they sell them, smoked. They're
only about three inches long, like skeletal brown mice. I ate
one, because I'm constitutionally unable to pass up things like
that, but for the next six months I woke up checking for symptoms
of something unimaginable. Never happened. Tasted like beef jerky.
From [email protected] (Carl A Pforzheimer)
BEER (U.S.) The ultimate degradation of one of the oldest prepared
foods in human history (see BREAD). The U.S. brewing industry uses the term
"lawnmower beer" for the largest segment of its market, with obvious
disdain for any texture or flavor properties.
BEER-JELLY (Denmark) We make a beer-jelly used as a "gross" contribution
to student gatherings. Just beer and gelatine, possibly with embedded
cheese pops. Urgh! From [email protected] (Katrine Kirk)
BELACHAN (Malaysia) see also BLACHAN, NGAPI-JAW
Paula Thompson ([email protected]) wrote:
: My Malaysian style cookbook calls for the ingrediant Belacan in several
: of its recipes. I gather belacan is dried shrimp paste but I cannot find
: it in any speciality food stores, nor has anyone in these shops ever heard
: of it. Does anyone know if belacan also goes by another name or if there is
: a more widely available substitute? Thanks.
There is not substitute. It is often sold in a retangular brick.
It has a very strong smell that might put off the untrained nose.
It is extremely nice. like blue cheese, it's an acquired taste.
A word of warning, make sure you are in a well ventilated room
when you open it. try to shut off the kitchen to other parts
of your house. Another few hints:
1. you want to make sure you seal off the kitchen from other parts
of the house. The smell is VERY potent.
2. try to open all windows,doors, etc in your kitchen to make sure
the smell goes out.
3. belachan can be stored in the fridge. just keep it wraped up
in the paper it came in, put a layer of plastic bag etc on top and shut
it tightly. a nice place would be an air tight container.
From [email protected] (Lin Nah)
BIERKASE (Germany) strong-smelling cheese made with beer yeast (?)
BIRD'S NEST SOUP (China) Made from the nest of a particular kind of
cave/cliff swallow. The swallow secretes a substance from a gland
(similar to a salivary gland) as an adhesive to bind twigs and leaves
and such together to make the nest. [email protected] (Mike Khaw)
and Jonathan Smith
...
A good way to gross out people is to tell them what bird's nest soup
is made from. Did that to my ex-sister in law, while we were having some.
She was going, "Hm, this isn't bad," so I filled her in. She immediately
dropped her spoon and refused to touch it afterwards.
From [email protected] (Stephanie da Silva
BLACHAN (Indonesia) see BELACHAN, NGAPI-JAW
BLOOD, FRESH (Africa) some tribes subsist largely on milk and the
fresh blood drawn from the neck veins of livestock.
BLOOD, JELLED (China) Duck or pig blood; looks like jello, but opaque
and salty.
BLOOD PUDDING (England) also called black pudding, made of blood, fat &
offal, tastes marvellous cut up and fried. From: Robert Hughes
BLOOD SAUSAGE (Germany and many others)
If you want to put your SO or flat mate off their meal, try putting
some blood pudding/sausage/polser in with some baked beans. Skin
the sausage first. The sausage should gradually disolve as the fat melts
leaving you with a dark brown crusty glop, with lumps in it. It tastes
great on buttered toast. I usually add a drop of milk, and a little
cheese at the end of cooking (15mins or so).
-- Alan Deacon (User Services) Email: [email protected]
...
While I am the first to swill down ANY blood left over from a roast, I
cannot bring myself to eat blood sausage....
Jeffrey Dahmers Cookbook: Shortcuts to becoming a Head Chef.
[email protected]
BLUBBER (Arctic Alaska) raw fat from sea mammals
BLUTWURST (Germany) blood sausage
BORSCHT (Russia) soup, especially the one made from beets, often
served cold, with sour cream floating on it. Why is that weird?
BOUDIN (France) Blood sausage
BRAINS (France and many others) in many recipes
When I was a kid, the med student couple upstairs used to
make brains. First year, took it to the department picnic, everyone
ate it, asked what it was, they didn't say. Second year, ditto. Third
year they figured what the heck, told folks they'd been eating sauteed
brains in bread crumbs for two years already. No one ate a bite.
From [email protected] (Paul Wallich)
BRAWN (England) see Head Cheese
BREAD (U.S.) Is there any other country where such basic foods are
so fundamentally repulsive? Have a Velveeta on White with a Bud Lite!
BUBBLE AND SQUEAK (England). Fried-up leftovers, of variable composition,
normally should include at least 2 of the following: cabbage, carrots, onions,
mashed potato. Great stuff. Should be fried until a crisp layer forms on the
outside. From: Robert Hughes
...
Bubble and Squeak is a fried mixture of cabbage or similar and
mashed potato. There is no definitive recipe as it is a leftovers
dish depending on what is available.
This is the recipe from the Radiation New World Cookery Book
(Radiation New World were a British maker of gas stoves)
Colcannon (Bubble and Squeak)
Cold cooked cabbage
Cold cooked potatoes
Salt and pepper
Butter, margarine or bacon fat
Chop the cabbage, mash or sieve the potatoes and mix with the
cabbage, adding salt and pepper to taste. Heat the fat in a
frying pan, turn the vegetable mixture into this, smooth over
and flatten with a palette knife. Cook on the hotplate until
browned underneath. Cut across, turn over and brown on the
other side. Allow to heat through thoroughly and serve hot.
As you see from the recipe, the ratio of cabbage to potato
depends on the cook; also the cabbage can be replaced with
kale or brussels sprouts depending what is available.
From [email protected] (Harry Dodsworth)
BULL PENIS (Asia) A couple of years ago, I was
browsing the meat section of an Asian market. I found a cylindrical piece of
meat, about 1-1/2 feet long and 4 inches in diameter, with an uneven surface,
severed at only one end, folded in half and frozen solid. The package was
marked "Beef Pizzler." I thought, "Naw...it can't be!" But I always
wondered ... From: Elizabeth Allyn Ramirez
CAMEL'S FEET (France) It's not really fair to include this as French,
but my favorite recipe from the Larousse Gastronomique is _Pieds_de_chameau_
_a_la_vinaigrette_ (camel's feet). It begins "Soak the feet of a
young camel..." You'll find it just before the recipe for camel's hump.
CAMEL TENDONS (China) These are much better than those cow tendons, I was
assured by a chauvinistic northern Chinese friend.
From: [email protected] (Thomas Hamilton)
CAMPARI (Italy) bitter liqueur
CEVICHE (Mexico et al.) raw fish marinated in citrus juice overnight.
"Cebiche is the traditional dish of the Mexican
coastal towns, where it takes many different guises, the
ingredients being as varied as the people that prepare it.
Red snapper is the most popular fish used, but cod and
haddock can be used instead. " From [email protected] (Tony Day)
CHEESE (Mediterranean)
An ancient invention, but weird to many other cultures.
...
Some comedian did a _disgusting_ routine about cheese... "Cheese is made
out of the milk of mammals, right? Goat cheese, sheep's milk cheese. How
about dog cheese? Human cheese?" Gack! From: Andrew Lewis Tepper
CHEWING GUM (U.S.) Originally made from chicle, the sap of a
Central American tree. Now made with PVA (polyvinyl acetate)
plastic, sugar (or artificial sweetener), flavors and colors.
Some Europeans characterize Americans as dim-witted ruminants
because of this habit, which nonetheless spreads worldwide.
Should this even be in rec.food or should it, like betel-
chewing, be discussed elsewhere?
CHICKEN FEET (U.S. South and many others) in soup, pickled whole
CHICKEN-FRIED STEAK (U.S. South) Steak covered with a flour batter
and fried, like chicken. This region is famous for frying everything.
Journalist Bill Moyers, in his TV series "Healing and the Mind,"
interviewed a heart patient in Dr. Dean Ornish's radically low-fat
diet program, who said he was in complete denial for years after his
first heart attack. "I refused to even look at my cardiogram."
"What is your profession?" "I'm a cardiologist, but I'm a good ol'
Southern boy first! Grits 'n' gravy, chicken-fried steak..."
CHITOUM (Ivory Coast, Africa)
A couple of years ago, Montreal's Insectarium held a taste-test to which
I, as a reporter, was invited. I ate grasshoppers and crickets easily
enough, the only real problem was that their legs and wings kept getting
stuck between my teeth. But I was grossed out by a West African bug
called a chitoum. They were imported from Ivory Coast, were dry and black
and had all the charm of dessicated garden slugs. I thought they
tasted like a cross between dried twigs and green Chinese tea. It did
not help that I was told that to prepare them for drying people squeeze
their guts out. I ate half of one _ and went back to popping
chocolate-covered crickets. From: [email protected] (Daniel Drolet)
CHITTERLINGS ("Chitlins") (Southern U.S.) Classic ethnic dish, served
with hot pepper sauce. Can be either fried or boiled. True story: I
thought it would be funny to get an extremely picky friend to eat these.
We went to a soul food restaurant where I had specifically requested
them ahead of time. I wouldn't tell him what they were. A _very_ old
black man was sitting at the counter, enjoying a plate of chitterlings
himself. Conversation went like this:
Old man: Youns boys like chitlins' huh?
My friend: Never had them. They smell kind of strange.
Old man: Thems good food. Ain't _nothin_ wrong with hog intestine.
My friend: (Turns green).
From: Andrew Lewis Tepper
...
Amazing what Mexican street vendors will make into ice
cream. They even had some fried pork rind ice cream, one of the few
flavors I declined to sample.
From [email protected] (darren anderson)
CHO DO FU (China) see TOFU
CIBREO (Italy) Cock's combs
(the wattly stuff on a male chicken's head, not the plant):
reputedly a classic Tuscan dish. I looked for it in Florence (not real
hard), but didn't find it. I think it's "cibreo" in Italian.
From: [email protected] (Mike Khaw)
CICADA (Mediterranean) This is an OLD story, but irresistable...
The French entomologist Henri Fabre reports eating roasted cicada larvae,
caught as they were surfacing to morph. Apparently Aristotle said that this
was a delicacy. Although it did not taste too bad, Fabre concluded that
Aristotle, with his fantastic record on experimental science, was probably
tricked by some rural farmer's opinion.
From [email protected] (Shimpei Yamashita)
...
HOW TO BUG THE COOK
For the cook who has everything, consider "Entertaining
With Insects" by Ronald Taylor. Its 95 recipes include
cricket pot pie, mealworm chow mein, fudge hoppers and
beetle sausage. To order, call (800) 395-1351.
[San Francisco Chronicle, 1-18-95, Food section, p. 8]
From [email protected] (Anne Elizabeth Callery)
CINCINNATI GREEK CHILI (U.S. Midwest) also "Skyline Chili, Gold Star Chili"
Usually served over spaghetti or on very small hot dogs.
Basically, it resembles Tex-Mex or Mexican chili sauces in color
and consistency, but not much else. Active ingredients appear to
be cinnamon and cocoa powder. Milder, yet somehow more toxic.
Made White Castle seem palatable by comparison. After a week on
a business trip where the sales guys actually relished this stuff,
I thought I would require a stomach transplant...
From: [email protected] (Brent C. Williams)
CLAY (Africa) A special type of clay is eaten by some tribesmen in
Africa. The clay is very rich in minerals and is similar to a multimineral
tablet. From [email protected] (Bill Stuart)
...
Clay for eating is carefully dug and sold in the market-place. This
practice is found all over the world, as documented in a 30-minute film
made for British TV. The film-makers brought samples to each locale.
One woman in Britain liked to buy especially dirty potatoes in order to
lick the dirt off them. Many urban people eat laundry starch in place
of the clay they used to dig out in the countryside.
COD LIVER OIL (U.S. Northeast) more medicine than food, but eaten
for its huge vitamin A content. Polar bears absorb so much vitamin
A that their livers contain deadly concentrations, and indigenous
people know better than to eat the liver. It killed explorers.
COD TONGUES
Deep-fried cod tongues - or cheeks - are as common as hamburgers on
St. John's restaurant menus. Eaten plain they're a little
slippery, like oysters. From: [email protected] (Daniel Drolet)
CRACKLINGS (Canada, U.S.)
This recipe (which I have never prepared) is from _The Farmers' Market
Cookbook_ by Jo Marie Powers and Anita Stewart, Stoddart, 1984. The recipe
is from Larry Goertzen of the Aylmer Community Sales Barn, Aylmer, Ontario.
"Crackles" or Cracklings
========================
2 cups cracklings (available on request from meat vendors at markets)
Fresh rolls made from bread dough
Empty 1/2 cup of the cracklings into a frying pan and fry slowly until
brown. Squeeze out the fat (a potato ricer works well). Put back in the
pan. Add 1 tbsp. water, cover and cook a couple of minutes longer. Spread
on dinner rolls cut in half and sprinkle with salt. Makes 4 servings.
From: Brenda J. Sharpe -- [email protected]
CRIADILLAS (Spain) prairie oysters; the testicles of bull.
(If I remember correctly, the Spanish say "Como tu comes, tu eres" --
"You are what you eat." From: [email protected] (Risa D. Horowitz)
CRISPS WITH FLAVORS (England) [email protected] (Stan Horwitz)
writes:
"Last night, I arrived home from a week-long vacation in London, England. While
there, the friend who I went on this vacation with, and I had ocassion to
stop by a few grocery stores. We noticed that Londoners sure seem to have a
wide variety of potato chips (or crisps as Englanders call them). All sorts of
different flavors of potato chips are available including some ones which seem
strange to me. For example, they had ketchup flavored potato chips, prawn
flavored, turkey and stuffing, roast beef, tomato sauce, and lots of other
flavors of potato chips. We found this very amusing. Being a ketchup fan, I
tried some of the ketchup flavored chips. They tasted okay, but not as good as
plain potato chips or plain ones dipped in ketchup. My point is that I have
never seen this kind of variety of strange flavors of potato chips anywhere else.
Has anyone else? Is this just an English thing?"
..
And I always thought it was copying an American fad. Lamb and mint sauce
crisps are surprisingly good! (crisps = US chips, UK chips are french fries)
From [email protected] (Doug Weller)
...
Yes, we have them in Scotland (!= England) too.
What we have, that the English probably don't, is Haggis flavoured crisps
(haven't seen them for a few years though). I wouldn't recommend them -
they're pretty disgusting. In fact, the taste of these crisps is more
likely to put you off trying real Haggis than finding out what's *in* a
real Haggis (which, BTW, is pretty damn good).
From [email protected] (jim darroch)
CYNAR (Italy) bitter liqueur made from artichokes. Have you ever
left artichokes steaming so long that they go dry and burn the pan,
then you soak it desperately to clean it, creating a vile-smelling
brown liquid? Tastes, smells, and looks just like that.
CURRY (Southern Indian origin)
CURRY-WURST: Incredibly artificially-looking red sausages
fried, liberally sprinkled with readymix curry powder and
served with lots of ketchup. This item is ubiquitous
in Germany. It is sold from mobile stalls only, never
in a restaurant - at least not the authentic thing.
Considered a working-class snack, but all sorts of people
eat them. From: Patrick Mann
DILL PICKLES, FRIED (U.S. - South)
A down-home Southern treat is fried dill pickles. It's got
two of the major food groups - fat and salt. This just might be the
thing to serve to house guests who are overstaying their welcome.
Perhaps you could make it for a sick acquaintance who you really hate but
feel obliged to do something for. And, it could always be one of the
offerings at a repulsive food party. [email protected] (Susan Hattie Steinsapir)
DINIGUAN (Philippines) blood stew
There is a "Chocolate Pork" recipe, otherwise known as Dinuguan.
The "Chocolate Pork" name cracks me up, b/c it's a nice way to get
Filipino-American kids and non-Filipinos to eat what is basically a
blood stew made with pork stuff (i.e. pork head, liver, heart, blood).
You can find a recipe in "Galing Galing: Philippine Cuisine" by Nora Daza.
From: [email protected] (Ninette R Enrique)
DOG MEAT (Southeast Asia)
Well, not a recipe, but a story: I was once at a party where I heard a
visiting Korean scholar say that at his university when dogs were used in
psych experiments (no drugs involved) the dog would be eaten at the
conclusion of the experiment by all involved. Apparently the dog, having
been taught behaviors which rendered it useless for other experiments, was
considered a perk of sorts. From [email protected] (Deborah A. Abbott)
DRIED FISH (China) Various kinds of dried, salted fish are popular
in East Asia. One particular Chinese
dish is made with ground pork and dried fish, steamed. Delicious, but
one of my Caucasian friends says it smells like dirty socks and won't go
near it. [email protected] (Mike Khaw)
DROPPED FOWL (U.S. Kentucky) Hang up a fowl by the neck to age until it's
ripe enough that the weight of the carcass makes it fall off the head.
(I've only read about this.) [email protected] (Mike Khaw)
DRUNKEN SHRIMP (China) Live shrimp swimming in a bowl of rice wine.
You capture them with your chopsticks and bite the head off. I think
you're also supposed to eat the head.
DULSE (Maritime Canada). Dried purple seaweed sold in Atlantic Canada at
convenience stores. Should have bits of green algae, small stones, flotsam,
etc, adhering. Eaten as is with relish by the locals. Grotequely disgusting.
Probably poisonous. Possibly could be used with caution as a garden fertilizer.
From: Robert Hughes
DURIAN (Southeast Asia)
Why is this the longest section in the document? Because I love the
whole idea of durians. More than anything else, they gave me the
idea, the motivation, and the strength to undertake this project.
-- Ray Bruman
A fruit as big as a football, covered with tough spiky skin. The pulp
is pale yellow, with shape and consistency of raw brains. Smell has been
compared to rotting flesh, old gym socks, or sewage. Yet the taste
has been called so exquisite that a
European explorer of the 1700's claimed it was worth the journey to
experience it; "the King of fruits." Many believe it aphrodisiac
and hold durian-eating parties. Most hotels, etc forbid it on the
premises. In Malaysia, a friend of mine witnessed someone on a bus
grab another person's durian and throw it out the window, after
another passenger threw up.
In U.S. cities with an Asian neighborhood, you can find
the entire bizarre fruit frozen, or you can pay considerably
more (I paid about $8.00 for a pound) and get a plastic box of durian
flesh removed from the husk. When thawed, the consistency is like
flan or custard -- in fact, it has the same pale yellow color --
surrounding large pits in the whole fruit. Eat it with a spoon or
follow recipes for various desserts. I think it resembles tapioca
pudding flavored with cooked onion. Weird but not nasty. There is
great variation with season, location, variety, individual fruits,
and, I hear, even individual lobes within some fruits.
Eating durian is like eating pesto or other garlic dishes; you do have
to plan the social occasion around its persistent odor. Don't create
a negative experience by neglecting this aspect. You wouldn't give a
first date a garlicky salad dressing, would you?
Asian markets often have cookies, crackers, candy, etc flavored with
durian, and I bought a small bottle of flavoring extract just for fun.
The cookies (like ice-cream-cone wafers sandwiched with durian-flavored
frosting) were amazingly smelly when I first got them, but the flavor
gradually faded away as they got stale.
...
In Malaysia they don't even allow you to carry one in a rental car.
Special stickers on the car, kinda like no smoking ones, tell you
you will be fined for having one in the car!
From [email protected] (Gudrun Achtenhagen)--
...
Durians - there are many many varieties. Some more pungent, others more
fragrant and others thoroughly insipid. BTW it is eaten fresh as a fruit,
with coconut rice (lemak) and also fermented as a side dish.
From [email protected] (Chong Angela)
...
The way I made myself to start eating durian was that I forced myself
to eat the whole good clove durian.
You will feel disgusting to eat it at the beginning.
But once you have tried the whole good clove, you will fond of it.
From [email protected] (Keith Lo)
...
Reading the past few
articles just reminded me of the way I reacted to certain _strong_
smelling cheese when I was visiting my friends in Europe... the
same way that some of you reacted to the smell of durian. :)
From [email protected] (Karen Khim Hwa Yeo)
...
Of all the durians you should try is the "sampa durian" or wild durian.
These are usually found growing in the wild and not in some plantation.
When I was serving with the army, the training areas are littered with
many sampa durian trees. These durians are smaller, more pungent and
sweeter. Durians cannot be plucked. You have to wait for them to fall of
the tree. When they fall, don't be under them :-)
The platoon usually hunt for fallen durians when they go to training
areas. First you smell their presence and try to locate them. Finally you
see them, pick them up and pry them open. There may be some maggots and
worms already eating it, but what the heck, we eat the non-infested pulp.
It is all worth it. When the military exercise ends, the training grounds
are littered with empty durian shells. A sure sign that the Singapore
Armed Forces have been here :-)
--
Jin Ngee, Chia Chemical Carcinogenesis Laboratory
(Genie, the OligoMan) Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology
[email protected] National University of Singapore
Tel: (065)772-3797 Kent Ridge Crescent
Fax: (065)779-1117 Singapore 0511
...
Durian is the King of Fruit. You should all be so lucky to have
access to Durian. If there are gods, the gods eat Durian. I would
rather eat Durian than pizza. However, to keep all in perspective,
I would rather have sex than eat Durian. But Durian is definitely
second on my list. From [email protected] (Alice Ramirez)
...
Ah, yes, the peculiar joy of durian candy.
After some months of reflection, I realized *EXACTLY* what it tastes like:
Imagine eating sweetened coconut while continuously inhaling natural gas...
From [email protected] (Dan Cohen)
...
When I lived in the Philippines, it was described to me as
"like eating pudding in an outhouse," and I never
heard a better description. [email protected] (Carl A Pforzheimer)
...
I always thought China Town in London had bad drains until I discovered the
durian! A group of us clubbed together and bought one once (too expensive for
one person), we had a whole tube compartment to ourselves on the way home and
our host made us store it in the garden overnight! We ate it the next day and
while it smelt disgusting the taste was pretty amazing - very rich and quite
yummy. Only problem was for the next few days all 'burps' tasted like old
drains (or what I imagine they'd taste like!]. [email protected]
(Linda Garthwaite)
...
Durians, When I lived in Singapore a bunch of people from work took me
out at the height of the fresh season (I'm thinking around May or so) and
between 8 of us we downed 13 of the beasts.
[...snip...]
They kept warning me about being careful to not get to "heaty". Never
did figure out what that meant. [email protected] (Jim Parent)
This is another interesting aspect of durians. Many people
believe them to be aphrodisiac, and this puts a certain edge
on the parties where people gather to indulge communally in
an "orgy" of durian-eating. This would also account for the
warning signs prohibiting durian in hotel rooms. -- Ray Bruman
...
Durians! January and July is durian season in Malaysia and Singapore! The
fruit is now found all over stalls in the markets and if you are in
Malaysia, makeshift stalls on the highway!
Here we never get it frozen. Goodness! I've never heard of frozen
durians. It's always fresh.
How to pick one? These are just general pointers:
* Always pick one up to shake. Yep! shake the fruit. Now if you hear
like rocks knocking inside, leave it. There might be maggots in there
that has gotten in there before you do.
* Ask the seller to pry one open for inspection. Just a glance would do.
flesh should be yellowish like custard with lots of milk. The smell
must be overpowering. Look for again tell-tale signs for maggot
infestation. That is black spots, certain larvae eggs and other un-
pleasant stuff.
BTW, some facts about durians
1. Sir Stamford Raffles who founded Singapore didn't like it a damn bit.
2. The nation that has banned durians is Singapore. It is only banned on
buses and the subway due to its overpowering odor.
3. Durians cannot be plucked from the tree. You have to wait for it to
drop from the tree. When it does, you better not be there. The fruit
usually drops at night for reasons no one knows.
4. Durians are fattening. So not all fruits are healthy. Anyway to SEA
peoples, eating durians is almost equivalent to eating meat.
5. Thai durians are the largest in size. They have more flesh and are the
most expensive.
6. Durian plantations are often robbed in Malaysia. During seasons such
as this current one, armed men often keep a vigil over their precious
investments dropping at night.
7. Wild durians are more tasty than plantation grown durians. There are
some pockets of rainforests in Singapore that grows durian trees. So it
is open season for enthusiasts who venture to these places for the hunt.
8. The durian is crowned as the King of Fruits by peoples of SEA.
9. After eating durians, your "durian breath" will linger for up to 6
hours. Durian breath is so bad, it ranked higher than garlic in terms of
unpleasantness.
10. Durian is made into many forms besides durian ice-cream. There is
durian candy which is called durian dodol, durian custard which is much
sweeter and durian cake, much highly sought after by durian enthusiasts.
Thats all folks.
PS. I hate durians.
--
Jin Ngee, Chia Chemical Carcinogenesis Laboratory
(Genie, the OligoMan) Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology
[email protected] National University of Singapore
Tel: (065)772-3797 Kent Ridge Crescent
Fax: (065)779-1117 Singapore 0511
__________________________________________________
EELS, JELLIED (England)
ESCARGOT (France) garden snails
FAT (Central Asia) The fat from the haunches of sheep bred especially for
the fat. Served cooked to honored guests. (Wasn't there also an episode
of "All Creatures Great & Small" in which an English farmer served a
breakfast featuring mostly sheep fat to express his gratitude to the
vet.?) [email protected] (Mike Khaw)
ESKIMO ICE CREAM. (Arctic Canada). If I remember rightly it consists of
caribou fat and seal oil pounded up with bog berries, such as cranberries or
partridge berries. From: Robert Hughes
FIDDLEHEAD FERNS (U.S. Northeast) These are the sprouting, curled tops
of new ferns, which resemble the head of a violin. They are eaten as
a springtime vegetable. Unusual, but is it so weird?
...
From [email protected]
Subject: Euell Gibbons Redux...
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
Date: Sat, 15 Oct 94 18:27:33 EST
I read today (10/15) the string starting up about cattails and Euell
Gibbons. Just by chance I found this article in the October 8, 1994
(vol. 146, no. 15) _Science News_.
FOUL FERNS
Just as undercooked meat or fowl can make a meal sickening, so, too,
raw or lightly cooked ostrich fern may cause nausea, vomiting, and
diarrhea. Though harvested commercially for years in the northeastern
United States and in western Canada as a seasonal delicacy, _Matteucia
struthiopteris_ seems to be the common element in several outbreaks of
food poisoning this past may, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta.
At one time time, native Americans in eastern North America considered
this fern a spring vegetable, one adopted by Canadian settlers in the
1700s, the CDC notes.
Nevertheless, in New York, one restaurant received complaints from 40
people who ate fiddleheads sauteed for 2 minutes, while no one who ate
siilarly harvested ferns cooked 10 minutes at another eatery experienced
symptoms. Likewise three outbreaks occurred in western Canada, two at
restaurants that also cooked the ferns just briefly.
Health department officials tested uncooked ferns for bacterial and
pesticide contaminatio but found neither. Nor did they track any other
possible causes, the CDC reports in the Step. 23 Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report. They conclude that the ferns may contain a toxin that
adequate cooking--steaming for 10 minutes or boiling for 15 minutes--
destroys.
**************
My note: (incredulous lift of eyebrow, the beginning of Lesser Frown
No. 2; --- After 200 years they're just finding this out?
--
****************
Via: Eye Contact BBS telnet: bbs.eyecon.com (204.94.37.2)
Modem:(415) 703-8200 Voice:(800) 949-2668 150 lines
****************
FISH EYES (Southeast Asia)
Fish eyes are a delicacy in the Philippines (and probably other parts of
Southeast Asia). Recently I went to a restaurant with my husband's extended
family, and my sister-in-law claimed "first dibs" on the eyes from the steamed
whole fish. (I, for one, was only too happy to oblige her!) She scooped out an
eyeball with her spoon, popped it into her mouth, ecstatically sucked down the
juices, and then spit out the cornea.
From: Elizabeth Allyn Ramirez, "Mark Ramirez"
FISH FLOTATION BLADDER (China) that fish use to control their
buoyancy. Chinese cooking uses this for a soup. It's pretty good,
actually: sort of spongy. From: [email protected] (Mike Khaw)
FISH PASTE, FERMENTED (Southeast Asia)
shrimp or anchovy paste. Traditionally, you piled up a mound
of the critters with salt mixed in and let it sit outdoors until it was
thick with flies. Modern production techniques are said to be much more
sanitary. [email protected] (Mike Khaw)
...
Thai "fish sauce" is absolutely revolting - you take a barrel of fish
and salt and let it set in the sun. Now and then you press a board
down on the top and collect liquid dribbles out a hole in the bottom.
From: [email protected] (Joan Eslinger)
...
Southeast Asian fermented fish is more important than many realize.
Adding sugar, tamarind, and marketing savvy produced the deliberately
misnamed Worcester sauce. Adding sugar and tomato paste produced
the world conquering Ketjap/Catsup.
From: [email protected] (Thomas Hamilton)
...
And to put some (classical Western) historical perspective on it, the
Romans were known to be fond of "garum, an essence made from fermenting
salted fish" [from Pomp and Sustenance: 25 Centuries of Sicilian Food,
Mary Taylor Simeti, (c) 1991. Holt & Co., New York. ISBN 0-8050-1601-5].
The English are also supposed to have an anchovy paste called
"gentlemen's relish". I won't get into the bawdy derivation here.
Michael Khaw [email protected] (or khaw%[email protected])
FLAESKESVAER (Denmark) Pork roasts are baked with their rinds on, creating
a crispy, greasy topping of puffed pig's skin. I've seen
pork rinds sold like potato chips in the US lately, though.
But in Denmark it's an age old tradition, and it tastes
quite different from the commercial snacks sold in the US.
The dish is called "flaeskesteg" (= pork roast) but the
crispy rind is "flaeskesvaer" (= pork crust/sword)
From [email protected] (Katrine Kirk)
FRIED BREAD (England). Self-explanatory. Should be fried in bacon fat
until crispy and best eaten with fried tomatoes and fried eggs (and sausages).
From: Robert Hughes
FRIED CHEESE BALLS or CHEESE STICKS (U.S. Midwest) Don't forget the
dreaded deep fried cheese product. I was stunned the first time I saw
that on an Iowa menu. From: [email protected] (Thomas Hamilton)
FRUITCAKE (U.S. Midwest and Northeast) Building material with embedded
aggregate of bright green and scarlet transparent substances.
[email protected] (Peter MacLeod) writes:
> Joanne Spetz ([email protected]) wrote:
> : Curtis Jackson wrote:
> : >}U.S. Midwest: White Castle Sliders, Jell-O Salad, fruitcake,
> : >} American Cheese Food Product, such as Velveeta
> : >
> : >Fruitcake is not bizarre!
>
> : Oh, I think if you described this dark brown thing with fluorescent
> : fruit thingies in it to someone NOT from the U.S., they'd think it
> : was pretty gross. A lot of people in the U.S. think it's gross.
>
> No, no..you're describing BAD fruitcake.
>
> It's easy enough to make a disgusting version of anything--
> just eat at The Good Earth for a demonstration.
This illustrates one of the subtleties of weird or disgusting foods.
Some things make the list regardless of the skill and care with which
they were prepared. You wouldn't be convinced by this exchange:
"My God! They had live puppies in a cage, and we were supposed to.."
"Oh, that wasn't a good restaurant. You see, the cook should..."
"Oh, I see. Well, we'll give it another try when we go back there."
Other things make the list precisely because they are rendered so
poorly. For example, it has been suggested that American bread and
beer are hideously over-qualified for the list, although most cultures
don't find bread and beer disgusting. Au contraire.
Fruitcake may be a borderline substance. The "bad" version is
legendary in American culture, and mocking it is a Christmas
tradition in our journalism. Hence, I count it as a cultural marker.
---Ray
FUFU (Africa) Many West Africans have strong loyalty to their native
fufu. It is made from pounded yam and is eaten in slimy balls
without chewing, normally with a spicy peanut sauce. It is a strong
identity issue, notably in Ghana.
From: [email protected] (Thomas Hamilton)
FUGU (Japan) blowfish, with an organ containing a toxin so deadly that
only specially licensed chefs are allowed to prepare it. Supposedly it
is the delicious flavor, not the macho thrill, that draws consumers.
...
I noticed a little physical buzz, but that might easily have been
psychological rather than physiological. Certainly the danger is part of
the appeal. -- Jonathan Lundell [email protected]
...
I read that fugu poison kills by paralyzing the muscles (including
the lungs), but does not make the victim lose consciousness. Imagine
being wide awake but completely unable to move or speak as you count
off the seconds until you suffocate.
>From [email protected] (Dan Day)
Kills about 300 in Japan per year according to Mac Clancy in _Consuming
Culture_. But people keep eating it. -- Susan Hattie Steinsapir
GAMLE OLE (Denmark) Cheese so smelly that wrapping it in three heavy plastic
bags and putting it in a sealed tupperware box only just
removes the stench. You can _always_ tell whether a fridge
contains Gamle Ole (Gamle = Old), no matter how well it's
been wrapped.
From [email protected] (Katrine Kirk)
GAMMEL DANSK (Denmark) "Old Dane". A liquor flavoured with ginger, it's
passed around at special breakfast gatherings and drunk
in small amounts. Heady, throaty stuff. Similar to Ratze-
putz and the German "Jaegermeisster".
From [email protected] (Katrine Kirk)
GARI (West Africa and Brazil) Grated cassava root. Somewhat like poi.
GEFILTE FISH (European Jews) poached balls of ground fish, mixed with
ground onions and maybe ground carrots, salt, pepper, sugar
(depending on where yourfamily comes form), and then boiled.
Often in a fish broth, but not always.
The only disgustin gpart (in my opinion) is that some people (not me) like
to make a jelled broth, like with the bones. The ironic thing is that in
yiddish this jelled stuff is called yuch. Actually, that's the yiddish
word for broth, but it just always struck me funny in this particualr
context. Juli Shanblatt
GEODUCK CLAMS (U.S. Northwest) big clams with a huge long neck. Very
popular, just looks weird. Often called "Gooey Duck."
...
You forgot to mention their real charm -- the "huge long necks" bear
an uncanny resemblance to an obscenely oversized penis, including
the head and a hole at the end from which water oozes.
From [email protected] (Dan Day)
GINGKO SEEDS (Japan) The seeds of the gingko tree, native to China,
are a delicacy. I had them in a yakitori restaurant, where they were
threaded with a pine needle and roasted over charcoal. Very tasty.
What's weird is how people learned they were edible, because the ripe
fruit of the gingko smells pungently like vomit. This repulsive flesh
has to be stripped off the seeds, which are boiled before roasting.
GOAT'S HEAD (Africa)
Customs inspectors have lots of amazing stories, since visitors often
attempt to hide contraband foodstuffs in their luggage. At San
Francisco International Airport, a businessman's valise was found to
contain a partially decomposed goat's head, crawling with maggots.
He was quite indignant when it was confiscated -- that was his lunch!
GORGONZOLA (Italy) ripe stinky cheese
GRASSHOPPERS (Mexico)
Just came back from a trip to Mexico. In Oaxaca, they sell "chapulines"
(grasshoppers) as a specialty. They're not necessarily disgusting, but to
our northern palates they sure were weird--kind of like really, really
salty anchovies (if you can imagine anything saltier than anchovies).
From [email protected] (Louise Mateos)
...
(Africa, Thailand) fried in oil. Good and good for you.
From [email protected] (Po-Han Lin)
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
Subject: Insect recipes
Date: 21 Aug 1994 21:31:39 -0700
TASTY INSECT RECIPES
====================
Bug Blox
--------
2 large packages gelatin
2 1/2 cups boiling water (do not add cold water)
Stir boiling water into gelatin. Dissolve completely.
Stir in dry-roasted leafhoppers.
Pour mixture slowly into 13 x 9 inch pan. Chill at least 3 hours.
BLOX will be firm after 1 hour, but may be difficult to remove from
pan. Cutting blox: dip bottom pan in warm water 15 seconds to
loosen gelatin. Cut shapes with cookie cutters all the way through
gelatin. Lift with index finger or metal spatula. If blox stick, dip
pan again for a few seconds.
Banana Worm Bread
-----------------
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
2 bananas, mashed
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2 eggs
1/4 cup dry-roasted army worms
Mix together all ingredients. Bake in greased loaf pan at 350 for
about 1 hour.
Rootworm Beetle Dip
-------------------
2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons skim milk
1/2 cup reduced calorie mayonnaise
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. dill weed
1 1/2 tsp. Beau Monde
1 cup dry-roasted rootworm beetles
Blend first 3 ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and chill.
Chocolate Chirpie Chip Cookies
------------------------------
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 12-ounce chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup dry-roasted crickets
Preheat oven to 375. In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and
salt; set aside. In large bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar
and vanilla; beat until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour
mixture and insects, mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by
rounded measuring teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes.
-----------------------------------------------------
Recipes compliments of Kathy Gee and Julie Stephens.
---------------
Satoru Miyazaki K%_%7%,%s=#N)Bg3XH
Pesticide Research Center KG@Lt8&5f=jH
Michigan State University K5\:j3PH
U.S.A.
[email protected]
GRAVLAX (Norway) Sprinkle salmon with spices and bury it in the
backyard until the dogs don't try to dig it up any more. Serve. ;-)
From Cindy Kandolf, [email protected] (Trondheim, Norway)
GRIND (Denmark) (Also served in Norway, I believe). Small whales killed
by "herding" a flock of them into a shallow bay. Other men
wade into the water and stab the whales to death. Then
the meat is prepared in multifarious ways and the whole
bygd (town) can feast on the catch for months. I've had
it as a tournedos, and the flavour is like beef, but a
little more "gamey" than steak.
From [email protected] (Katrine Kirk)
GRITS (U.S. South) cereal made of hominy (blanched white corn meal)
HABANERO PEPPERS (Mexico - Yucatan Peninsula) green when unripe, bright
orange or red when ripe. Hottest pepper known, coming in at over 300,000
Scoville Units. The "Scotch Bonnet" is closely related, if not the same
pepper. They are both Capsicum Chinenses. [email protected] (Rick)
In response to a description "much hotter than jalapenos," Dan Day writes:
...
Sure, just like a forest fire is "much hotter" than a summer's day.
I have an habanero pepper plant, and they're best treated like
plutonium. From [email protected] (Dan Day)
...
HAGGIS (Scotland) sheep's stomach, stuffed with oatmeal and steamed
A more accurate definition would be:
"a highly spiced sausage made from offal meats with oatmeal filler,
traditionally in a casing made from a sheep's stomach."
From: Lyndon Watson
...
You can make your own. Just soak a shaved sheep in guiness, roll in a
mixture of oatmeal and onion. Perform a simple spatial inversion
transformation with the origin in the sheeps major stomach and then gently
Cook until done, discard hairy parts, hoofy parts, bony parts and voila!
Haggis a la americaine. Best done under the guise of a spatial relations
mathematician. From [email protected] (Al Knoll
...
scots suprize
get a haggis (7-11 stores all stock them in the frozen food case)
hold haggis in left hand
hold bottle of Glenfiddich single malt whiskey in right hand.
with left hand throw haggis over right shoulder
with right hand pour large portions of whiskey into everyones glass
From [email protected] (doggie)
HAKARL (Iceland)
Brian Leibowitz ([email protected]) wrote:
: And you forgot one that I have tried (and survived) - - - HAKARL !!!
: this is an old posting about it:
: -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
: Well the Icelandic delicacy is HAKARL (Somniosus microcephalus) Greenland
: shark. The hakarl is poisonious when it is fresh. The production process
: does not include any peeing, but the body fluids of this shark contain
: differnt compounds of ammonia and urea, the same that give your piss that
: special smell..... Actually the shark meat is put through a fermentation
: process. Earlier this was done by burying the meat deep in the ground
: (1,5-2 meters) wrapped up in something to cover it. Nowadays this is done
: by packing the meat in air-tight plastic. The meat is left to ferment for
: some weeks and is then hanged up in air (to dry and get a nice colour)
: for some more weeks. Hakarl is eaten without anything with it, like
: jerk-meat. It is only the tourists (and urbans) who get it served as tiny
: cubes on a toothpick. No UL.
: Greetings, Gunnar *no fancy middelname* Davidsson
: -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
HEAD CHEESE (Sweden) lunch meat made from boiled animal heads.
Many European nations make this. It's basically a jellied meat
product made by boiling a whole head, and other scraps of meat, then
chilling it into a loaf to be sliced. (I don't have a true recipe.)
The only reason I placed it in "Sweden" is a story of my mother's.
When she was a little girl there was a Swedish girl in her elementary
school whose sandwiches were so delicious that everyone wanted to
trade with her. No one knew what "head cheese" was. One day someone
went to her house when her mother was making head cheese. Everyone
changed their minds about head cheese. It was no longer delicious.
I guess that's the moral of the weird-disgusting food list, if any...
"Don't WORRY about it."
Now, if readers have the name in Swedish, German, French, etc please
post it here.
...
Headcheese! Nasty greasy gristley stuff. I hated it when we made it at
hog butchering time in Wisconsin 40 years ago; despised it when it
masqueraded as "souse" in Delaware; loathed it when it appeared on a cold
meat platter in southern France. Yuk, Yuk, Yuk.
From: Rosemary using the account of [email protected] (E Dale Thompson)
...
The Time-Life series, the volume on "Pork" should have a recipe.
There's also an account of making head cheese (and scrapple) in James
Michener's book, "Centennial." I found it fascinating.
From [email protected]
...
I remember the scrapple account ( I also found it fascinating), but I
think the making of headcheese came in the Little House series -
specifically Farmer Boy. Levi Zendt of _Centennial_ made souse - boiled
pig's feet meat and pickles in a sour aspic made from the feet
themselves. It was indeed fascinating. Gross, but fascinating.
From [email protected] (Debra Fran Baker)
HEAD (Mediterranean) Sheep's head. The whole thing, cooked and skinned.
Includes the eyeballs. [email protected] (Mike Khaw)
HETE BLIKSEM (Netherlands)
Hete Bliksem, literally "hot lightning" is a mix of mashed potato and
apples. It's a traditional Dutch winter dish. I don't understand how
anyone can eat it (but then I'm not your traditional Dutch eater - I
like Thai fish sauce, for instance). From [email protected] (Irina Rempt)
HOG MAWS (U.S. South)
HONEY ANTS (Australia, Italy)-
Honey ants are ants with abdomens swollen up with large amounts of
honey, until the abdomen is transparent and twice the size of the
original ant. These are considered gourmet treats by those who eat them.
From [email protected] (Bill Stuart)
HOUGH -- see POTTED HOUGH
ICEBERG LETTUCE (U.S.) Carefully bred and most popular variety sold in
stores... but why? It is STILL the most popular variety of lettuce
seed sold for USA home gardening, which boggles the mind even more!
ICED TEA (U.S. South) This is the most common summer beverage. A travel
handbook for New Zealand reassures Americans: "Don't feel self conscious
about ordering iced tea. We don't find it any stranger than you would
if we ordered hot Coca Cola."
IRN BRU (Scotland)
Mustn't forget Irn Bru. Scotland's answer to the rest of the world's
disgusting soft drinks. It's flourescent orange, tastes vaguely of
bubble gum, and has the best non-beer adverts on the TV.
From [email protected] (Richard Caley)
KANGAROO (Australia) Ten years ago it was considered weird to eat kangaroo
in Oz, but nationalistic chefs have popularized it. The chef of the late,
lamented, "Pheasent Farm" restaurant in Nuriootpa claimed kangaroo was
particularly popular with visiting Japanese.
From: [email protected] (Thomas Hamilton)
"Most people won't have ever tasted kangaroo. It is a sweet,
strong-tasting meat, it's texture and taste described as somwhere between
venison and liver...To eat kangaroo, you have to like game; you have to
like offal and you have to be a red meat eater...It's a very big, very
strong-tasting meat." From [email protected] (SirRedhawk)
KAPI (Thailand) see NGAPI-JAW
KIDNEY PIE (England)
KIM CHEE (Korea) fermented mixture of vegetables, meat or fish, and very
strong chili peppers, pickeled and aged. Legend has it that people bury
it for extended periods of time, THEN eat it.
KISHKE (European Jews) Intestines stuffed with very finely chopped
meat and a bunch of other stuff. From [email protected] (Janice Gelb)
...
Kishke is to sausage as head cheese is to sausage. --- Aahz (@netcom.com)
...
Except that kishke usually has no meat except for the
casing (bovine intestine) and, perhaps, beef or chicken
suet. The filling is almost entirely bread crumbs, salt,
pepper, paprika. Much better with a little farfel and gravy.
That's kiske (Jewish style). Kiska (Russian) and kiszka (Polish) may vary.
From: Gary Sloane [email protected] (415) 813-6767
"Let's Eat Rat to Keep Fat" --Adele Davis
KUDDELN: A stew consisting mainly of tripe, usually flavoured
with vinegar. This is actually confined to the area
called "Schwaben" in southern Germany.
From: Patrick Mann
KUMISS (central Asia) fermented mare's milk. It tastes like thin
buttermilk mixed with sparkling white wine.
JALAPENO PEPPERS (Mexico) peppers from the town of Jalapa, which once
had a large industry scrapping automobiles from the U.S. People who
saw the destination painted on junked cars corrupted the word to
"jalopy."
JELL-O (U.S. in general)
I just came upon this little blurb in the Sept. issue of the magazine
"Food Arts" and thought some of you might enjoy it:
WATCH ME WIGGLE
Charles Shamoon, a businessman with an entrepreneurial eye, has
challenged the old notion of jiggly, cafeteria Jello-O with an upbeat
dessert shop call HELLO...I'M GELLATIN in the Market Square Mall, just
outside Atlanta in Decatur. That Kraft General Foods legally nixed the
idea of his original name, HELLO...I'M JELL-O, has failed to dampen
Shamoon's outlook or success. Serving such fare as Jell-O pizza (a sugar
cookie crust topped with a layer of Jell-O, fresh strawberries, and
bananas), raspberry trifle, and mandarin orange parfait from his file of
400 recipes, the shop has pleased thousands of customers since its
opening six months ago. Modestly, Shamoon credits the product itself for
all his success. "Everyone loves Jell-O," he says. "It's part of the
American culture." From [email protected] (Anne Bourget)
JELL-O SALAD (U.S. Midwest) filled with tiny marshmallows and lurid fruit.
KVASS (Russia) beer-like beverage made by fermenting old bread in water.
It's sold from tank-trailers on the street during the summer.
LARDY CAKE (Wales). Round bready thing containing 2 currants and approx.
50% lard, which should be visible coating the outside and filling all the
cracks. Imitation found in English supermarkets has somewhat less lard and
more currants. Best eaten split, toasted...and with lots of butter.
From: Robert Hughes
LAVER BREAD (Wales) Another Welsh bread concoction, this one is made with
seaweed. From: Robert Hughes
LIGHTS (England) lungs
LIMBURGER (Germany) strong-smelling cheese
LOBSTER (U.S. Northeast, among many) In Steve McQueen's last movie,
Tom Horn, he plays a cowboy at a banquet, confronted with his first lobster.
Trying to look unperturbed, he says, "Well, I will say that's the BIGGEST
bug I ever ate!")
LUTEFISK (Norway) cod fish soaked in lye
+++As an alternative to prison for non-violent offenders,the latest trend in
penology is to make the consumption of lutefisk a condition for parole.
Apropos lutefisk, I understand that the pizzeria in Grand Marais MN (called
Sven & Ole's Pickled Herring Club) will make a lutefisk pizza --- if you
give them $1,000,000 to compensate them for the smell. (Just imagine if
Elvis were a "square-head." :)) --- Elvis double-chinned smiley face.)
-- Ed "I've never had lutefisk, and II'm so grateful to my Norwegian parents"
Unneland From: Edmund Unneland
MAGGOT CHEESE (?Sardinia): What is the cheese called that they make in ?Sardinia?
The one where they leave the cheese out covered with cheesecloth
so flies will lay their eggs in it, let the maggots hatch, then
spread it on bread (including live maggots) and eat it? Now *that*
is a bizarre food! [email protected] (Curtis Jackson)
MARMITE (see also VEGEMITE) (Australia/New Zealand, UK) sandwich spread
made of yeast extract, pungently smelly and salty.
This topic seems to cycle round quite frequently. Best to look at the FAQ's
of both soc.culture Australian and New Zealand groups for the detailed
answers. But in vague summary:
The grand prototype is Marmite from the U.K. that has been produced since
way back when... (Marmite is from the French...meaning a small pot).
Brit expatriates took their love of this stuff to the Antipodes and local
versions were made there (after imports were affected.... by war I think)
Australia invented a new name for their product, whereas the NZ product
kept the British name (but made by a different company...Sanitarium NZ).
They are all somewhat similar in colour and flavour, made of yeast extract
culled from brewery wastes, and quite salty. To my taste UK Marmite (the
original) tastes sharp, Vegemite has earthy undertones (it is also less
"glistening" and more satiny in texture), perhaps because of vegetable
extracts added, and the NZ Marmite has a perceptible sweet edge to it.
Masterfoods Promite is even sweeter. Each product has its adherents,
usually comprising a fair percentage of the population of the nation of
origin.
Finally, the best and most popular usage is with lashings of butter on
bread, toast and biscuits. My Mum took it as a hot beverage to help
combat morning sickness. From [email protected] (Andrew Healey)
...
Be very, very careful what you say about Marmite where a Brit might hear
you. Real British men can spread Marmite like peanut butter and still
enjoy it. In fact, some of us spread Marmite AND peanut butter in equal
quantities on the same slice, but we may be the exception. Marmite and jam
(jelly in US-speak) is more common.
The best use for Marmite is on Marmite Soldiers. Take a slice of toast,
thinly spread with butter then Marmite and cut up in to strips. The strips
must be narrow enough to be dipped into a decapitated soft boiled (2.5
minute) egg. Breakfast of Champions. Tastes much better if your mother
makes the soldiers and boils the egg for you. It ain't called The Growing
Up Spread for nothing. Opinions, even within the Isles, are divided.
You either love it or loathe it. From [email protected] (Hugh Messenger)
MENUDO (Mexico) soup of boiled tripe (stomach lining of a cow) Supposedly
a hangover cure.
MISO (Japan) Japanese travellers get very homesick for their familiar
food -- even more than most other nationalities. And this (fermented bean goo)
soup is one of the principal foods that makes them sentimental.
MOLE (Mexico)
A mole is a preparation that is ground (molido). These include
mole poblano, a chocolate and chile sauce usually put on
chicken or enchiladas, and mole verde, made from tomatillos and
chiles. From [email protected] (Joshua Rubin)
MONITOR LIZARD (Borneo)
A big lizard, about three-four feet long, living in the jungle. I was
once travelling on a bus between Sarawak and Brunei when one of these
crossed the road in front of the bus. The other passengers were all for
stopping the bus and chasing after it, but the moment passed.
From [email protected] (Martin Adamson)
MONKEY BRAINS (Hong Kong?) Some people delight in experiencing
weird or horrifying food. This takes the cake, according to most.
The brains must be eaten from the open skull of a live monkey, in a
VERY expensive restaurant. In another context, Woody Allen said:
"I want my food dead. Not wounded, not sick. Dead."
MORCILLAS (Argentina)
Blood sausages, "morcillas", are an integral part of an Argentine asado.
Many people swear by them, though I personally don't like them. In any
case, they are not weird. From [email protected] (Margarita Lacabe)
MOUNTAIN POTATO (Japan) A root that is eaten raw and grated, often with
raw tuna and a raw quail egg. When a mountain potato is grated, it
secreets a translucent slime that is the _exact_ consistancy of mucus,
yet is totally without flavor. From: Andrew Lewis Tepper
NATTO (Japan) fermented beans. Even many Japanese dislike it.
The guidebook warned about it. But it was served with breakfast at the
Youth Hostel in Tokyo, of all places. A strange honey-like syrup forms
on the beans, so faint threads of it dangle from your chopsticks. Vile.
NGAPI-JAW (SE Asia) see also BELACHAN
This one has various names in different countries and is a
stir fried concoction containing chiles, garlic, onions, dried shrimp
and some of the previously mentioned fermented shrimp/anchovy paste.
It's known as ngapi-jaw in Burma, kapi(?) in Thailand, and blachan in
Indonesia. While you're making it, your house reeks of dead fish.
From: [email protected] (Mike Khaw)
NORDSOE OLIE (Denmark) "North Sea Oil". Black, thick, oily-looking liquor
flavoured heavily with liquorice or anis. Yuck!
From [email protected] (Katrine Kirk)
OCHSENMAUL-SALAT: A Salad made from the cartilage of cows'
jaws. It's sliced paper-thin and has a rubbery
texture. The taste is pretty bland but the texture
is unusual. From: Patrick Mann
OELLEBROED (Denmark) = "Beer-bread" This made a striking appearance
in the film _Babette's Feast_ as the staple food of some dreary religious colonists.
...
Oellebroed is a thick soup, almost a porridge, made from soaking stale
"Rugbroed" (=Danish-style rye bread) in water and boiling it in beer with
some sugar. This is served hot with whipped or heavy cream. My mother once
forced me to finish my oellebroed after I had told her I didn't like it.
Big mistake! All over the table, the chairs and the floor, too. Served her right.
[ Obviously, I ] didn't like it at all. I can eat it now, but only
homemade. It's available as a powder you stir into hot water,
a la powdered mashed potatoes, and I suspect this was what my
mother tried to get into me.
I don't think it is disgusting at all, but a) you have to like
the taste of beer (I don't), and b) it's rich from the cream,
warm and sweet, and this combination tends to make me nauseous.
However, the dish was perfect for the fishermen in Babette's
Feast because it was frugal (a word I learned here), nutritious
and very easy to make. But filmmakers are what filmmakers always
were: it was the presentation and the sloppy way it was eaten
that provided such a yucky appearance of oellebroed, especially
when juxtaposed with Babette's haute cuisine.
From [email protected] (Katrine Kirk)
OKRA (Africa, U.S. South) a strong contender for Least Favorite
Vegetable or Ropiest Mucus (vegetable division)
...
Okra is the source of many jokes. We used to call them "slime pods".
Saturday Night Live even had an "Okra Cola" parody.
To me, they resemble something left over from a rather ugly chest cold.
From [email protected] (Barry Fowler)
...
Guess how the Japanese eat okra?
They don't cook it. They eat it raw and slimy. That figures.
My Japanese wife buys frozen whole okra, about 8 ounces I guess, thaws the
pods under cold running water and chops them into bite-sized pieces, then
plops them into a bowl and stirs in hefty amounts of lemon juice and soy
sauce till it "looks right" (3 or 4 tbsp each I guess). She also stirs in
a lot of chopped green onions (about 6 or 8).
Using chopsticks she whips this into the most glistening frothing blob of
goo you can imagine. Then she refrigerates it for several hours to let the
flavors mix, and eventually serves it cold as a side dish.
The flavor is fresh and green-garden-vegetablly with a lemon bite. The
pods are still crunchy like wholesome raw veggies, and they make an
intriguing contrast to the slime. I like them so much I just eat them
slime and all.
Rather than trying to gulp quivering spoonfulls of the stuff, I delicately
grasp each pod-piece with chopsticks and stretch out the slime till it gets
thin and breaks, kind of like hot pizza cheese. Then I've got a mini-bite
package that pops into my mouth with no mess and chews up individually
instead of seeming like it's still connected to the rest of the stuff in
the bowl.
The slimy texture is similar to other Japanese foods such as raw seafood,
but most notably reminiscent of "natto", which is fermented soy beans. Natto
is brown, is just as slimy as okra, and smells raunchy from the yeast-beasts
who already romped in it. To make it even more gruesome, perhaps so it
reminds her of oysters slithering down her throat, she cracks a raw egg on
top. I won't go near the stuff myself.
There's no accounting for taste. -- Dan Wright [email protected]
OREILLES DE CHRIST (Canada - Quebec)
1)- pig skin and lard cut up in strips and deep fried, preferably in lard
2)- same appearance, texture and taste as overdone cheap generic brand
bacon -> yellow, so crunchy they qualify as brittle, smell something
like burnt bakelite (i.e. electrical fire), taste like burnt bacon ...
very salty
3)- used to be a poor farmer's food used to make it till the next spring
when all the salted and cured meats (i.e. ham, sausages, etc...) had
been consumed
4)- now reserved for that time honored tradition called cabane a sucre
(literally : sugar shack) where everyone eats a lot of rich foods with
plenty of maple syrup and lots of fortified wine or beer to wash it all
down. The typical menu is :
split pea soup with fresh bread
pickled beets, cabbage, etc...
creton (a peasant's version of pate)
eggs poached in maple syrup, maple cured ham, oreille de christ, potatoes
more of same ... until one feels like any belch would be a wet mess
maple syrup pie
fresh maple toffee
5)- nowadays, most everyone crunches on one oreille de Christ, makes a face,
spits it out and promptly empties a pint of beer - I'm told though that
oreille de Christ are an essential ingredient for brewing the wickedest
farts the next day ... something to keep in mind if you have a wedding to
go to.
From: [email protected]
OWL SOUP (China) An acquaintance, Hong Kong Chinese, relates a banquet
story from the PRC hinterlands (he was traveling on business).
What had appeared tobe something like chicken soup turned out to be owl!
His hosts produced theowl's head from the pot as proof.
Jonathan Lundell [email protected]
OYSTER SAUCE (China and others) This is fermented, not braised!
PEANUT BUTTER (U.S)
As a Canadian living in New Zealand (for the past six years) I can tell
you why New Zealanders and Australians gag when North Americans talk
fondly of peanut butter and jelly (preferably Welches Grape Jelly)
sandwiches - "jelly" in New Zealand and Australia means "jello" and they
call "jelly" jam - there's no distinction between jam with seeds and the
strained, set variety - it's all jam to them. They eat "jam" doughnuts
(they're not good at doughnuts down here) instead of jelly doughnuts. So
whatever you do, never order anything with jelly in the southern
hemisphere, unless you want jello. From [email protected] (Dyan Campbell)
PEMMICAN (Canada, Arctic). A mixture of pounded dried meat (buffalo or
caribou plus lots of fat, and some berries. Used to be an important food for
the early explorers who toted it around in 90 lb bags. Nowadays some outdoors
types synthesize a kind of pemmican for hiking trips, but I bet it ain't like
it used to be. Picture the aroma and consistency after weeks of travel in
summer with no refrigeration. From: Robert Hughes
...
PEMMICAN (CHIPPEWA)
1 lb dried beef or smoked venison
3/4 lb dried crushed choke-cherries (or dried currants)
1/2 lb fresh beef suet, chopped fine
1/2 cup light brown or natural sugar
Pass all through meat grinder, except the sugar. Add the sugar. Mix
thoroughly. Pack in a bowl and keep covered and refrigerated. Serve with
sourdough bread. Dried currants can replace the chokecherries.
From [email protected] (Jacqueline Dinsmore)
PICKLED PIG'S FEET (U.S. and many others)
POI (Hawaii) pounded taro root. Not many outsiders take to it; they
usually characterize it as "library paste without the flavor."
...
Poi is actually very filling and nutritious--and easy for babies with
severe lactose allergies to eat. It's got a kind of light lavender
color to its gray. Usually eaten with other Hawaiian food. Some people
like to add sugar in it; I don't. I usually stick bites of kalua pork
into the pork, twirl it around with a fork and eat it all mushed
together like that.
There's FRESH poi, then there's "Day Old" poi. Day old poi is actually
SOLD like that because once it's not fresh, it tastes SOUR. I like
fresh poi myself.
Poi is made from the taro root (starch). But the taro must first be
cooked because it has razor-sharp crystals of oxalic acid in there
(they're microscopic) that will pierce into your throat if not cooked
thoroughly. Cooking softens these crystals.
From: Lani Teshima-Miller
PORK LOAF (U.S. Pennsylvania) A food item consumed by those
residents of eastern Pennsylvania for whom scrapple is not disgusting
enought. Ingredients: Pork and pork by-products, cornmeal (bread in
some cases), _active cultures_ From [email protected] (Lenny Raymond)
PORK RINDS (U.S. West) pig skin, deep-fried
POTTED HOUGH (Scotland) - similar to head cheese but starts at the other
end of the animal. Boil an oxtail and a shin of beef in a little hot
water (just to cover) until the meat falls off the bones. Chop meat and
return to broth. Season heavily with pepper. Put in small pots and
chill. A layer of white fat will rise to seal the container. Usually
remove before serving. Serve with boiled potatoes
From: "henry (h.w.) troup"
POUTINE (France, Quebec)
My vote for the most unsavoury dish is a concoction they
call 'Poutine' which is grease-impregnated french fries (called Frites or
Chip) by the locals, soaked with fat-laden gravy topped by cheddar curd
cheese which melts from the heat of the french fries and gravy into a
sticky and stringy mess. From [email protected] (Michael Crestohl)
...
Gentlemen and Ladies: I am responding to comments about The most disgusting
fast food place. You are obviously not acquainted with Quebec's venture into
TMDFFP - poutineries - a unique perversion of the humble chip shop. As far as
I can tell, they exist only in la belle province (we are not talking south of
France). Simple recipe:
French fries, very greasy, topped with generic brown gravy which might be
served in a proto-bbq chicken resto where they don't know the difference
between grilling and bbq. Add to this fresh cheese curds.
The curds melt over the gravy and fries producing a greasy gooey mess which,
I am aware, sounds absolutely delightful. For something truly exotic add a
dollop of a meat based tomato spaghetti sauce. Voila - Michigan poutine. (Why
Michigan? I do not know - elucidation on this point will be much
appreciated). From [email protected] (Barry J. Lazar)
...
Traditional poutine "real poutine" is actually (what I have been told by my
acaidian teachers), is potatoes, hollowed out a bit and stuffed with cheese
and meat (hamburger I think), and deep fried until it turns grey.Tasty! Even
better I live in New Brunswick and they have CANNED poutine at my local
grocery store. EEEEWWW! You are talking about Fast Food poutine that they make
at Mc Donalds and Burger King in french areas of N.B. and in Quebec. It is
just gravy (probobly made from beef from the hamburgers, fries and cheese
curds) I made it once it turned out fine but add the fries and cheese curds to
the gravy so they won't get too soggy. From [email protected] (James Canning)
...
In a previous posting, Tom Legrady ([email protected]) writes:
> Apparently poutine used to be a meat and cheese pie in a mashed potatoe
> crust. It simply degenerated into what we see today : The mashed potato
> crust turned into french fries, the game / meeat by instant gravy, and
> the cheese by curd. Just goes to show what can happen to real food. Of
> course, this might be an urban legend.
TOM:
I don't think poutine used to be anything else. I'm a reporter who has
investigated poutine, and I once actively went looking for its origins.
There are several theories, but the most likely have the dish originating
in the area around Arthabaska, Quebec, in the heart of a dairy region.
Cheese curds are produced in quantity, and potatoes are a staple. The dish
has been around for about 25 years and has spread across Canada and into
the U.S. Quebec poutine is not to be confused with an Acadian dish called
Poutine Rapee, which is made with grated potatoes shaped into a ball
around some meat and boiled I think (I've never eaten it, so I can't be sure.)
From: [email protected] (Daniel Drolet)
POWSOWDIE (Scotland). A whole boiled sheep's head served in its broth,
containing the brains etc. Popular with Mary Queen of Scots.
From: Robert Hughes
PRAIRIE OYSTERS (U.S. West) testicles from cattle, more commonly called
ROCKY MOUNTAIN OYSTERS.
You people don't know a good thing when you cut it off the calf.
Here in Wyoming, when the calves are branded (six months old is
considered late), the testicles are cut off and thrown in a bucket.
Then they're peeled, washed, rolled in flour and pepper and fried
in a pan. All this happens in the field, of course. The Rocky Mountain
Oysters are bite size and IMHO, the best beef that can be eaten.
I love branding season. Mmmmm. Nothing like smelling burning
hair and flesh From [email protected] (Dave Wolney)
RAMPS (U.S. South) A very strongly flavored member of the onion
family. The first fresh green vegetable to appear after the winter
in Appalachia, it is gathered and ceremonially eaten. This can
leave such a powerful flavor on the breath that kids do it in order
to be sent home from school. Wonderful ramp stories are told in the
American folklore collection called "Pissing in the Snow," edited
by Vance Randolph.
RASTEFISK (Denmark) fish left at room temperature for about 3 days, then
boiled. Letting the fish begin to rot makes it tender
and developes flavour, the Faroese claim. (They lie!)
>From [email protected] (Katrine Kirk)
RATS (China) In July 1994 the Weekly World News, known for its
accurate and conscientious reporting (NOT) claimed that many
restaurants in China were taking rat items off the menu because rats
were becoming difficult to find in sufficient quantity. The reason
for eating rats is in the first place in dispute. Naturally, starving
people always eat what they have to, regardless of nationality.
...
As far as I've ever read, the only time Chinese have resorted to
eating rat is during famine or when the vermin are so out of control
that the authorities try to persuade the populace to regard them as
sources of meat in an attempt to reduce their numbers. Fair is fair.
Michael Khaw [email protected] (or khaw%[email protected])
...
I have it from a reliable Chinese friend that she and others
regularly consumed rats, and that the rats were often the first item to be
finished up at social gatherings due to their excellent flavour. Many of these
were lab rats (but not the ones pickled in formalin).
From: Robert Hughes
RATTLESNAKE (American West)
Knew I'd have it somewhere in my collection of offbeat cookbooks. From
"Cookin' In Rebel Country," c. 1972, no author or publisher information
given:
TEXAS RATTLESNAKE
1. Find and capture a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake.
2. Kill, skin and remove entrails.
3. Cut into edible portions.
4. Make a batter of flour, cracker meal, salt, pepper and garlic.
5. Roll your snake portions in the batter.
6. Fry in deep fat, heated to a temperature that will ignite a floating
wooden match.
7. Fry until meat is a golden brown.
8. Eat it!!
The above recipe was sent to us by the Sweetwater, Texas, Chamber of
Commerce. The Sweetwater Jaycee's 'World's Largest Rattlesnake
Roundup' is held each year in March and hundreds of pounds of
rattlesnake meat is cooked and served by Chief Chef Corky Frazier."
>From [email protected]
Tennessee Campfire Roasted Snake
Catch, kill, clean, and skin a snake. To clean it, cut around at the neck
(in the same place where it would wear a necktie) and then cut down along
the belly all the way to the end.
Peel the skin off. (You can spread the skin, scale
side down, onto the side of the house or on a long plank. Secure it
with thumbtacks. Spread a thin layer of salt over it. After a week of
sun, it'll be dry.)
Cut along into the belly and remove the innards.
Cut off the head.
Clean and wash.
Take a green branch, peel the bark off, and sharpen the tip.
Poke the neck onto the sharpened tip.
Wrap the snake loosely around the stick.
Shake on a bit of salt and pepper.
Roast it over a fire.
Tastes "just like chicken..."
RETSINA (Greece) white wine with pine resin added. Legend has it that
this was started by religious authorities trying to discourage
drinking. Taxes were levied on wine that wasn't altered. Then
people developed a taste for the cheap stuff with the resin in it.
...
The original retsinas had less than 1/10th the amount of pine
resin as do the retsinas today. A politically influential (and
doubtless slightly insane) wine maker in northern Greece got
the legislature to mandate his high level of resin in order for
a wine to call itself retsina for export, and that is why we are
stuck with resin plus a few fermented grapes instead of a wine
with a very delicate hint of pine. [email protected] (Curtis Jackson)
...
In fact, it's because barrels sealed with pine tar (which imparted the
flavor, regardless of the kind of wood) were used to store wines.
>From [email protected] (Ted Taylor)
RICCI DI MARE (Sicily) see UNI
ROCKY MOUNTAIN OYSTERS -- see PRAIRIE OYSTERS
ROOK PIE (Wales). Self-explanatory. A rook is a large black bird in the
crow family, a bit smaller than a common crow. From: Robert Hughes
RULLEPOELSE (Denmark) Boiled meat and fat surrounding pig's stomach, which
is rolled around spices and pressed to form a "sausage"
for slicing as a sandwich topping.
>From [email protected] (Katrine Kirk)
SA KUO YU TOE (China) Fish head soup
SAGO WORMS (Papua-New Guinea) The sago palm is the host of a worm
that feeds on downed wood. They are roasted like sausages on a spit.
...
Sago worms (actually big fat beetle larvae) are also eaten in Borneo.
These larvae are creamy white and are usually fried so that they are
crispy outside and creamy soft inside. From [email protected]
(Angela Chong)
SASHIMI (Japan) raw fish
SCHMALTZ (European Jews) chicken fat
SCRAPPLE (U.S. Northeast) meat scraps cooked with corn meal
...
I always thought that there was a large measure of brains in scrapple.
Along with the other stuff too vile for hotdogs. I love it fried up
and maple syrupped along with eggs and/or panackes. The Pa Dutch don't
waste a thing and I think that this is their invention. The French
Canadians make a *meat* product called *creton* that is not, I believe,
a breakfast treat like this. But what could match scrapple??
Maybe even those brains will make you smarter.
>From [email protected] (Robert Domine Noyes)
...
****Just an aside...my Dad grew up in Kingston, PA, loves scrapple(no
questioning taste...)and sings this song:
"Scraplle-oley-ole-I-ay, comes from Philadelphi-ay....
for a nickel or a dime, you can have it any time!"
He has eaten scrapple from a can...alsa, mom does NOT make it from scratch!
>From [email protected] (Chris)
SEA CUCUMBER (beche de mer): a delicacy in Chinese cuisine. Perhaps
also in French? [email protected] (Mike Khaw)
...
+ I always thought that "beche de mer" was sea cucumber (an echinoderm),
not sea slug (a mollusk). At least that what my Chinese cookbooks
indicate, not that it makes the dish any more appealing to me.
>From Steve Loring
SEAL FLIPPER PIE (Canada) Here's a news clipping about it:
PDATE Wed 28 Oct 87
HEADLINE Newfoundland cuisine catching on
ST. JOHN'S, Nfld. (CP) - Move over brie and quiche. Bring on the
bang belly and damper dogs. And leave room for seal flipper pie.
Newfoundland cuisine has come into its own.
Once restricted to the kitchens of the island's outport folk, food
like brewis and figged duff is finding its way to Toronto or any
big centre in Canada where transplanted Newfoundlanders are found.
The only thing that might be tricky to obtain nowadays is seal
flipper pie. With the collapse of the seal hunt due to lobbying by
environmentalists, there are fewer flippers to be had, but
independent sealers still steam into St. John's Harbor every
spring and sell flippers off the wharf.
In April, community clubs all over the city hold flipper pie
dinners. The flippers are tender and tasty but it's said few
mainlanders acquire a taste for them.
(... article continues) From: [email protected] (Daniel Drolet)
...
Seal Flipper Pie
__________________
4 Seal flippers
1/2 Cup diced pork fat
1 tsp flour
cold water
2 onions, chopped
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp worcester sauce
-----------------------------------------
Soak flippers in water and soda for 1/2 an hour. Trim excess fat. Dip the
flippers in seasoned flour and pan fry in the pork fat until browned. Add the
chooped onion.
Make a gravy of flour, 1 cup water, and worcester sauce. Pour over the
flippers.
Cover and Bake in a moderate oven (350f) until tender.. which should be two to
three hours. Cover with pastry and bake at 400f for 1/2 an hour.
From: [email protected] (Rachel M. Brodie)
SEAWEED (Japan and others) All forms of seaweed are edible and many
are tasty and nutritious. But, many people are repulsed by the idea.
SHAVED ICE (China)
The dish is served in a bowl/plate. They ask if you want some milk on it
(sounds strange, and it is, but it adds to the texture). And then you get
to pick a couple toppings. toppings range from strawberry to the bizzare.
Usually topped with red beans. Pretty good, but definitely weird.
>From [email protected] (Curtz Lam) and [email protected] (Jon Ziegler)
...
Here in Singapore and Malaysia, it's known as "ice kachang" (I've got
virtually no knowledge of the Malay language, but I believe that means
ice with nuts and little bitsy things.) It's delicious - sweet and cool -
wonderful for our tropical climate. Commonly, the shaved ice is topped
with various coloured sugar syrups a dash of evaporated milk and some
corn kernels on top. Under the mound of ice, it's common to find red
beans, small pieces of jelly and sometimes fruit cocktail and "attapchee"
(a crunchy fruit (?) which looks like a peeled longan).
>From [email protected] (Wong Wai San Mary)
SHIOKARA (Japan) Fresh raw fish (usually squid) served in
a sauce made of fermented fish/squid guts. Truly awful. I'd
sooner eat a quart of natto than down more than 1/2 cup of
this stuff. [email protected] (Curtis Jackson)
SILD (Denmark) Salted, pickled herrings. They are cured outdoors in barrels
for about three months, then marinated raw in vinegar and
spices. If the herring aren't gutted before salting, they
turn a deep red colour and have a musty taste. It's unusual
to meet an American that will eat "Roede sild" (red herring)
_especially_ if they are told about how it's made. Similar
foods are found all over Scandinavia.
>From [email protected] (Katrine Kirk)
SILK WORM GRUBS (Korea) Steaming, grey silk worm grubs can
be found in vendor's carts on the back streets of Seoul, Korea.
>From [email protected] (Herbs WA)
...
Andrew Lewis Tepper ([email protected]) wrote:
: There's this one oriental grocery store near me that I've been going
: to for several years. At first, as expected, when I asked what strange
: things were I get the standard "You won't like that." I soon got past
: that stage with the owner. It's probably been over a year since I've got
: the you-won't-like-it explanation. Today I got it again! The food in
: question? "Chrysalis." It's a can of bugs.
: Of course I bought it, but I don't know what to do with it. I opened
: the can, and it certainly smelled strange. I was assured that it was
: delicious and very healthy. Do I just heat it and enjoy? Would fresh
: chrysalis bugs be better than canned? Thanks for the help.
Guess:
A caterpillar spins a cocoon around itself when it is ready to mutate
into a butterfly or moth. At this stage it is known as a "chrysalis"
or "pupa". Perhaps they're silkworm pupae, since the orient produces a lot of
silk. From [email protected] (Snoopy II)
SKAERPEKOED (Denmark) Leg of sheep hung outdoors to dry for about a month,
then moved into the basement for another 2-3 months. A
bit like raw-cured ham, the meat is a dark, translucent
red colour, and is eaten mostly as a sandwich topping.
The first bite I had overwhelmed me with its sweet,
slightly smoky flavour, but the second bite made me
gag. The day after, I was invited to a lunch, and some-
one pressed me to have some Skaerpekoed. I declined, but
he put some on my plate. Being a very eager-to-please
well-behaved girl of 15, I dutifully tried it and was
immediately sick. (I like parma ham and proscuitto, so
it's not the concept of dried meat I abhor.) Definitely
an acquired taste, this. From [email protected] (Katrine Kirk)
SKIPSOL (Denmark) In Denmark, there's a popular low-alcohol
beer called "skipsol," or "ship's beer," which is flavored
with resin-flavor, originally imparted the same way as the
retsina got its flavor.
>From [email protected] (Ted Taylor)
SNAKE BLOOD (Thailand) According to a recent TV documentary
this is served freshly-harvested from King cobras, either as a
straight cocktail or a mixed drink, for prices ranging up to
$US200. The blood is supposed to have medicinal and sexual powers.
SNAKE MEAT (Southeast Asia) in early July 1994, Chinese authorities
announced the seizure of five tons of snakes, including many rare
and endangered species, destined for restaurant use. They asked
that consumers "When you look at the menu, remember the balance of
nature."
SNAKE WINE (China)
A bottle of chinese wine. With a snake in it. Quite a small snake, obviously,
about 6 inches to a foot long. Not a boa or an anaconda or anything like
that. Never tried it myself (knowingly) but some friends of mine did with
no ill effects. They didn't eat the snake though, which I think you're
supposed to do. From [email protected] (Martin Adamson)
SONG BIRDS (Italy) roasted and eaten whole. Hunters have nearly
eliminated many of the migratory species.
SOUR CANDIES (Asia) as featured in the short film "Sour Balls,"
these are unbelievably sour. Cath calls them "those marvellous Asian lollies
"super-lemon", "hot grape", "mega warheads" etc - a boiled sweet coated in a
very sour or very hot powder."
>From [email protected] (Cath Lawrence)
SOUSE (Delaware in U.S.) see HEAD CHEESE
Neese's Souse trucks have their slogan emblazoned on the
sides -- "Everything But the Oink". Imagine the results of an
entire pig being thrown into a Bass-O-Matic on Puree setting
for five hours and you'll have a good idea of what souse is.
>From [email protected] (Lenny Raymond)
SPAEK (Denmark) Whale fat. Boiled without spices and eaten with plain
boiled potatoes. I've had the opportunity frequently,
but I _still_ haven't tried it.
>From [email protected] (Katrine Kirk)
SPAM (U.S.) Recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. "SPiced hAM" tinned
meat from the Hormel company was named in a contest in 1924. The handy
meat-in-tins became an item of trade prized around the world, while
boring and ultimately disgusting U.S. military personnel in WWII.
...
Spam is Hawaii's state food (more Spam eaten here per capita than
anywhere else in the country).
Spam Musubi is a favorite finger food here. You slice up Spam, stir
fry it in teriyaki sauce (or marinate it), stick it on a block of
squished rice and wrap a piece of nori around it, like a giant sushi.
From: Lani Teshima-Miller
...
When I entered one of the original spam cookoffs
in the 70s (hear bones creak), I made Spampenadas, pretty much
regular old meat empanadas, with spam, of course.
The woman next to me made Spampi, and cut the spam slices into little
shrimp shapes before making her standard recipe. We were both
there with our recipes only ... no showmanship. Turns out showmanship
was everything. Spampenadas and Spampi were both good. We lost.
There were a lot of interesting things like spam chip cookies (absolutely
disgusting) and tequila spamrises (served by the spamdinistas, of course).
Your jalapeno idea sounds good ... go with it and work out a good act.
>From [email protected] (Thomas Fenske)
...
Just one thing I want to add here. When my husband's brother fed Spam to
his venus fly trap, it died. :) From [email protected] (Suzette Petty)
SPOTTED DICK (England)
While "spotted dick" sounds like an extraordinarily impolite phrase for mixed
company in America, it's a real English dessert. I was served some at
someone's home, and I have seen it on a menu in Newcastle Upon Tyne.
I can't say I liked it, though it was actually made in honor of my arrival at my
host's house as a special treat. I must admit I was rather shocked when my
hosts joyfully exclaimed that they had made a spotted dick in my honor.
I thanked them and said, oh how very nice. And by the way, what is it? I couldn't
tell if they were pulling my leg or not. Later on I mentioned that this name
would cause comment in America and explained why.
>From [email protected] (Jessica Bernhardt)
...
Terrible name, but really quite tasty. This is a basic steamed suet sponge
pudding with currants mixed in, giving the spots. One of the staples of
English school meals served with lashings of custard. Often dubbed "dead
fly pie" by impolite schoolkids. A single 2" square of spotted dick has been
known to fill up at least 100 children. For authenticity, has to be made
from beef suet. From Karl Greenow
SPRUCE BEER (Canada) This is made from the boiled boughs of black spruce.
The beer is made with yeast, molasses and raisins and takes less
than three days to brew. From: [email protected] (Daniel Drolet)
STEAK, BLOODY RARE (U.S. West) Popular in other cultures too. In
French it is ordered "bleu" (blue) which puts a slightly ghastly
touch on the name.
STEAK TARTARE (France) completely raw beef (avoid the porc tartare!)
Also popular in Japan (sesame beef) and many other parts of the world
SCHWEINSMAGEN: A pig's stomach filled with potatoes and
various other vegetables and spices. It is stewed
and served in slices. From: Patrick Mann
STINKHEADS (Alaska) A fish delicacy invented by the Yup'ik Eskimos.
Just cut the heads off several fish (traditionally salmon), bury them
in the ground for the summer, then dig them up and have a chewy treat!
Getting it past your nose is a serious problem, but the result is
reportedly somewhat hallucinogenic. Given that there are no natural
substances that grow in the northerly parts of Alaska that can be made
to produce alcohol or other mind-altering substances, it was the best
they could do.
Stinkheads are often used as a rite of passage to test "gussaks"
(foreigners) who claim to want know more about native culture. Few
pass the test, but the natives have a lot of fun administering it.
From: Les Earnest ([email protected]) [email protected]
SUGAR PIE (Canada)
I am Quebecoise, but work in Ontario. My co-workers tend to find
traditional Quebecois dishes rather repulsive. A favorite meal of mine
is ragout de pattes (stewed pig hocks, in a flour-thickened gravy - real
stick-to-your-ribs stuff) followed by sugar pie. And no, "sugar" pie is
not a nickname. The ingredients are brown sugar, table cream, and 2 pie
crusts. Period. Yumm, yumm!!! From [email protected] (JOSEE GUENETTE)
SUSHI (Japan) a variety of exquisite morsels, often including raw fish
Date: 10 Jul 1994 09:05:18 GMT
Subject: Woman To Have Sushi In Space
Copyright: 1994 by The Associated Press, R
TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's first female astronaut is looking forward
to marking another milestone -- being the first in space to dine on
sushi. Dr. Chaiki Mukai rocketed into space Friday aboard the shuttle
Colombia on a two-week laboratory research mission.
The 42-year-old heart surgeon from Tokyo told Japanese Foreign
Minister Yohei Kono and Makiko Tanaka, director general of the
science and technology Agency, on Sunday that she was looking
forward to eating sushi and octopus cakes and other traditional
Japanese foods.
[....]
The mission is packed with experiments on the effects of
weightlessness on fish, newts, jellyfish, frog eggs, sea urchins,
fruit flies and worms.
From: Shimpei Yamashita, Stanford University [email protected]
...
Many sushi places (especially in the local regions where the items are
actually caught fresh) pride themselves on serving VERY FRESH foods,
which usually means that the food is usually still alive and kicking until you
order it. This includes fish that are filetted while alive, tiny fish that
are swallowed whole and alive, AND the worst one I just saw on TV the
other week--in Hokkaido, they had a sushi place that had LIVE OCTOPUS.
the sushi master pulled the live tako out of the tank, cut a piece of
its appendage off and served it to the show's host. The bugger was
still wriggling on the chopsticks. One little tako leg. Bleaugh. She
waited until it stopped spazzing--but she said when she put it in her
mouth, it suckered onto the inside of her mouth and wriggled around.
From: Lani Teshima-Miller
TAKO (Japan) Octopus. see SUSHI
TAKOSU (Japan) A bit fancier than takoyaki, this is a simple dish
in which slices of boiled octopus are soaked in rice
vinegar. Vinegar softens the octopus flesh and adds the distinctive sour
flavor. My mother always put sliced cucumbers or wakame (kelp-like
seaweed) with the octopus; I don't know if this is a common practice.
From: Shimpei Yamashita, Stanford University [email protected]
TAKOYAKI (Japan) Little balls (1-2in diameter) made primarily of
flour/eggs, with a piece of boiled octopus in the center.
(*Uncooked* octopus is way too slimyto be eaten.) Most people add other
ingredients as well; I usually put shreds of raw ginger that are dyed
red using sour plums, called beni-shouga.
Typically served with generous toppings of Worcestershire sauce and
seaweed bits (aonori). Takoyaki is a traditionally sold by roadside vendors,
particularly at festivities.
From: Shimpei Yamashita, Stanford University [email protected]
TEA WITH YAK BUTTER (Tibet, northern India)
TEMPEH (Japan et al) deliberately moldy TOFU (i.e. ROTTEN bean crud)
TEQUILA WORMS (Mexico) the little worm (gusano) that lives on the
agave plant gets stuck in the bottle. Mmmm. There is even a special
brand sold in 2-ounce bottles called "Dos Gusanos" (two worms) for
those who can't get enough.
...
Locally, which is to say in North America, a not too uncommon confection is
the tequila sucker -- a tequila flavored lollipop, complete with worm.
The first two ingredients are listed as "High fructose corn syrup, insect
larva...".
My question is this: if an insect larva can pass the Food and Drug Admin-
istration as an explictly listed ingredient, what the hell's in the stuff
that the FDA rejects? From [email protected] (Dan Cohen)
THOUSAND-YEAR-OLD EGGS (China) Not really. Just look like it.
TIGER PENIS SOUP. (Korea, I think). No prizes for guessing what this is
supposed to be good for. To serve 12 takes 3 penises and each serving costs
approx $2000. Not a very conservation-minded dish.
From: Robert Hughes
TOFU (Japan and many cultures) soybean curd, sometimes called
"bean crud." Bland, innocuous, healthful and politically correct,
it still nauseates a lot of suspicious customers.
...
Chinese: don't know the English name, but the Chinese name CHO DO FU
or TSO DO FU literally translates as "smelly tofu". Fermented tofu.
Smells like an outhouse. From: [email protected] (Mike Khaw)
TRIPE (France, many others) lining of cow's stomach. Famous recipe from Caen.
...
Not particularly French. Tripe and onions is a traditional British
dish, and tripe is an important ingredient in much of the cuisine of
Africa (e.g. Fetra Desti).Lyndon Watson
Tripe is also a main ingredient in Philadephia Pepper Pot (soup/stew).
From: [email protected] (Joan Eslinger)
TURKEY, DEEP-FRIED WHOLE
Justin Wilson ("Cooking Cajun") did this on one of his TV shows. He
did the cooking outside using a large, portable gas burner and a very
large stock pot, the kind they use for fish fries down south. The bird
actually looked pretty good when done, although I wince at the calories.
>From [email protected] (Hal Render)
...
Paul Prudhomme has this recipe in his book _Prudhomme Family Cookbook_.
Justin Wilson later picked up on it and greatly simplified it. Justin's
results aren't quite as flavorful as Paul's, IMHO. The bird is injected
with a garlic/onion/pepper spice mix the day before cooking, and then
deep fried for 3 minutes per pound. The skin comes out very crispy,
while the meat is moist and tender. From [email protected] (Rick)
UGALI (Africa, Kenya). White, opaque, almost tasteless substance served in
a slice or lump. Similar to solidified wallpaper paste. Best enjoyed if almost
starving. Probably similar to POI. From: Robert Hughes
UNI (Japan) Raw sea urchin roe. The Sicilians also eat it as "ricci
di mare". It can taste either like thick cream or low tide, depending on
whether it's really fresh or not. From: [email protected] (Mike Khaw)
UNAGI (Japan) Fresh-water eel
URINE. 1. Bovine urine (Africa, Kenya, Tanzania) , reputedly used by the
Masai (see BLOOD). 2. India. Bovine urine, used as a sedative and
3. Human Urine, drunk by yogis/meditators. From: Robert Hughes
VEGEMITE (see also MARMITE) (Australia/New Zealand, UK) sandwich spread
made of yeast extract, pungently smelly and salty. Oddly, it's an American
company's product but a true national symbol of Australia.
...
I used to work for the company that makes Marmite and the yeast used to make
the yeast extract was obtained from the local breweries. The makers of Marmite
try to remove the "beery" taste from their product, whereas,the makers of
Vegemite don't. This is what makes the greatest difference in the tastes of
the two products. From [email protected] (Graeme Lindbeck, Aussie in exile)
VESIGA (Russia) the spinal cord of sturgeon fish.
I can't tell you where to get it, but it may help to know that it is
called _vesiga_ and used to be available here and there in NYC fish
markets. Craig Claiborne suggests substituting clear or transparent
noodles which will have the same texture, more or less, if not the same
taste. (This in his recipe for an elaborate salmon and dill wrapped in
brioche pastry, a Russian fish dish called coulibiak).
>From [email protected] (Ben A. Fairbank)
WALRUS (Arctic Canada). Recipe: slit open walrus and remove most of the
insides. Net some migrating birds and gulls. Use these to stuff the walrus.
Bury the walrus in the permafrost for 2-3 years, then invite everyone for a
feast. From: Robert Hughes
WATER BUGS (Thailand) This thing looks like a giant black cockroach,
but with harder shell. It's highly priced for the aroma, and it's used in
cooking. Good stuff!! <> From: [email protected] (Pad Gajajiva)
WHITE CASTLE SLIDERS (U.S. Midwest) Tiny hamburgers so greasy you don't
have to chew them; just gulp and swallow. Very popular for decades. The
company solicits recipes using them. One was published for a casserole
with a layer of sliders covered with frozen spinach, canned mushroom soup,
and (I think) potato chip crumbs or Cheese-Like Product, then baked.
...
I have heard them called "rectal reamers" in St. Louis.
>From [email protected] (David Ploch)
WHITE PUDDINGS (Scotland) A traditional accompaniment to haggis.
Bloated, whitish sausagy things, filled with soft whitish sludge which does not
change upon cooking. See if the dog will eat it. Haggis is infinitely superior.
From: Robert Hughes
WITCHETY GRUB (Australia) In Oz now it is considered patriotic to eat
Witchety Grub, a plump insect which has become the symbol of Aboriginal
cuisine. It is served in fancy restaurants, but I don't think many Oz have
actually screwed up the courage to sample it.
From: [email protected] (Thomas Hamilton)
...
On the subject of witchety grubs, I had been to Ayres Rock on my
first trip to Australia (my Mum is a former Aussie...we were visiting
family mostly), and the tour guide was honest enough to tell us WHAT
the grubs were and something about their backround before trying to
talk us into trying it.
About 10 years later, I went back to catch up on the family and discovered
(in a newspaper ad) that there is a resort near Ayres Rock now.......
and on their list of exotic resort fare are WITCHETY GRUBS!
>From a weird oddity only eaten by Aborigines and desperate bushmen to
resort food in only ten years! From [email protected] (Lauretta Nagel)
YAK MILK, RANCID (Tibet)
YOGURT (central Asia, Berkeley) Famous quote: "Anyone who doubts
the power of advertising should remember that 23 million Americans
are convinced that yogurt tastes good." How can you tell if it
spoils?
footnotes...
- Visit Andreas' Main Web
Site for more on food and cats.
- Write to Ray Bruman and tell
him about your food experiences!