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23 October 2015
Friday question not from the book's of questions What is the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?
I don't think I've ever eaten anything truly "weird." It felt peculiar to be offered swan one Christmas, but I don't know that I'd call that weird. I did gross out my niece and nephew once by eating Brussels sprouts, so there's that. :)
Well, weird is of course relative. I grew up in rural New Zealand, so it would have been weird if I had never eaten huhu grubs. So I have.
I've eaten horse. Lots of ppl think that's weird. Ummmm?
I don't think I'd turn too much down from a taste point of view, but nowadays I won't eat certain foods for various reasons that are no doubt inconsistent and hypocritical to some point, but so it goes.
I ate a yellow jacket once....it flew into my mouth and it stung the inside of my mouth as I was eating a sandwich - I guess it was big fish eating little fish. Sometimes it hurts on the way down.
I guess the oddest thing I've eaten intentionally is chitlins.
My friend gave me a Cameroonian warm cornmeal beverage once without telling me what it was, to replicate the experience she had in Cameroon while doing service work there. It was a little weird because I didn't know what it was and because I'm not used to drinking cornmeal, at least not in beverage form, but it wasn't that weird, really.
Other than that, I haven't got much. Boudin blanc?
I guess it would be brains.
My grandmother would make fried brain sandwiches for my grandfather and my dad, and, one day, I asked for a taste. It was actually quite good. Next time, I had a sandwich all to myself.
Other than that...groundhog?
I used to work summers on a farm, and, every once in awhile, the owner would shoot a groundhog and we'd have pan-fried groundhog for dinner. It's quite good.
I tried sweetbreads for the first time when we were in New Orleans last summer. They were good, deepfried and mild, but didn't taste like much. Foie Gras, on the other hand, is one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted (stuff those geese, dammit, stuff 'em). Bite of rare seared steak and Foie Gras and I'm in heaven. Not so weird, though.
People think gribnis is weird when I describe it. Little fried bits of chicken skin, leftover from when my mom rendered chicken fat, cooked down with onion and salted. So yummy. My brother and I used to fight over it. Like jewish chicharrones.
Mightshould beat me to it. In my case though, it was a fly that flew into my mouth as I was talking to someone inside the house, through a screen door. Otherwise, I'm pretty routine with food. I was offered Prairie Oysters when I was a teen, but I refused to eat them because no one would tell me what they were. And when they did tell me, I still refused. I would try them now, though, just because. I've had frog legs, but that's not truly weird, is it.
Lamb testicles, at a Lebanese restaurant. They had kind of a spongy texture. I've also eaten crocodile, which was pretty good. It was white meat, a bit like pork or maybe veal.
Gator bites (deep fried chunks of alligator) were pretty common fare in Miami, too. Served with a spicy aioli. I had kangaroo once, too (a little chewy).
Probably hutatlecoche for me. It's not really that weird but the name plus its English description as "corn smut" makes it weird enough for most people. Unsurprisingly, it tastes like mushroom.
The internet has kind of made most "weird" foods seem pedestrian now. Among the few things that really freak me out are balut and ortolan.
The internet has kind of made most "weird" foods seem pedestrian now
Yup. I've eaten a pretty broad range of things, including many items mentioned upthread, but they didn't really feel "weird". "Weird" to me is something that calls into question whether it's actually edible...maybe a Hachiya persimmon?
Maybe for you, sir. For me it had the texture of cold phlegm. I react very strongly to texture. You might say, violently, sometimes. I'm sure that it has to do with something that I have repressed from my childhood. And I have found that I can learn to like some things. For instance raw clams and oysters. But uni hit me in such a way that I almost had to run to the bathroom. I won't take that chance again. I might embarrass myself or a companion.
I have heard that it is indeed the essence of sea foam and butter. For you and yours. Not for me. Enjoy and be happy.
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