Someone mentioning balut & lutefisk in a NAF discussion made me look for an existing thread, but I couldn’t find one. That may well be on me, and if it does, plz feel free to lock this one.
As for me, I have no interest in trying horse meat, having spent most of my youth on horseback. Don’t care how delicious horse sashimi may be (our HK friend described it as “sweet sashimi,” which makes it sound even less appealing than I already find it from a purely personal, psychological standpoint. I also have never been tempted to try the dried and cured version that is readily available on pizza at one of our favorite Neapolitan places in Berlin.
I also don’t eat shark fin soup, or the aforementioned balut & lutefisk, and I have zero interest in trying Casu Martzu.
We all have personal reasons (taste, upbringing, preferences) for our food choices, and I am hopeful that we can be respectful in our conversation.
For starters, on moral/ethical/philosophical grounds: dog, cat, horse, shark fin (at least not any more), live animals of any kind (eg ‘odori’, ikizukuri, baby octopus, etc).
On ick factor: I don’t see (heh!) the appeal of fish eyes. Once was enough for papaitan, a Filipino soup that tastes mostly of bile. Ibid for pork bung (although it was actually three times).
I’m game to try lutefisk, but I think I’d have to be in the right mood. I’ve never been offered it, and I don’t tend to run in circles where I’m likely to see it.
I don’t want to debate my moral/ethical/philosophical stands, but I’d be happy to discuss them. I’m well aware that there’s more than just a little bit of hypocrisy and rationalization involved.
5 Likes
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
3
I can’t think of any new food that I wouldnt try at least once. Although I can think of several that would be without any enthusiasm.
I do have a “once was enough”, which I’ve mentioned on the forum before. And that’s Andouillette de Cambrai. Cambrai is a town in Northern France and a major tank battle was fought there in 1917. I was in the area taking photos of graves of men , from the battalion Grandad served with, who were killed locally. In due course, we decided to go into town in search of coffee and a toilet. Found both at a supermarket on the edge of town. We had a quick look round and found a section of local foods. Saw the sausage and thought - there’s something named after the place, gotta buy that. Major error. It smells like shit and tastes what I guess shit must taste like. Never again. Ever.
By the by, I’ve eaten donkey in Northern Italy. It came as a ragu for pasta. They also did horse in the same way. Thought it was OK . In very small print at the bottom of the menu, it had (in Italian) something to the effect that “This is our food and we don’t give a fuck what tourists say about it on Tripadvisor.”
A lot of what you’d never eat (or do eat) is about culture, childhood and how and where you grew up. Most biases are cultural, then become moral when ingrained.
There’s plenty of weird American things (or even regional) that we don’t question but others might think of as weird AF. If you’ve eaten a hot dog….there you go, pig snouts, pig anus, random hoofs, FDA regs on bug parts and rat dropping….and who knows what. Or root beer, American cheese, Cheez Whiz. Or all the ultra-processed food.
I know I have biases and plenty of things I won’t eat. Thing is I usually don’t remember them (don’t keep a list) until it’s in front, near or mentioned for dinner. My blanket excuse is I didn’t grow up with it, but I’ll try it…until I know it’s not for me.
I’d be willing to try horse/donkey. I will politely pass on the maggot cheese, balut, lutefisk, and that fermented shark that Scandinavians seem to continue to manufacture solely for the “hey, bet we can get a tourist to eat it!” game.
I’ve never had shark fin soup, and thankfully, it would now be almost impossible to get it in any place I’m likely to travel to.
I have eaten amaebi that were pulled live from the tank, chopped, and served to me with the heads still twitching. After I’d eaten the tails raw, the heads were taken and deep fried. I probably would have them again. I will pass on live octopus. I’d still consider eating them, but def not alive.
Once was enough for Thai boat-noodle soup. A dining companion ordered it. Suffice it to say, not for me. I’ll also take a pass on fish-maw as an ingredient. Can’t handle that texture.
Was my initial thought when I read the topic title. Reason - Texture & taste (as described by others) and smell. Surrounded here by Norwegian heritage culture in MN and Iowa, this dish is featured at yearly Christmas time dinners, and people actually PAY to attend them.
Unless we’ve finally reached the zombie apocalypse or something similarly cataclysmic, human meat is a no go. I also don’t think I would be willing to try the maggot cheese. There’s enough weird, funky, stinky cheese out there without that. I would try the lutefisk and fermented shark if offered, but probably wouldn’t seek it out. I would try horse, if offered, or donkey, but have no interest in trying dog or cat meat (because those are the pets I grew up with). On the topic of most land insects or invertebrates like earth worms, I’m not interested. That being said, I have tried grasshoppers as a bar snack with mezcal and they were pretty good, so I’m not fully ruling that out either.
Feet, gizzards, and other offal - fine. Not always my favorite, and I haven’t had all of it yet (ex. - not sure how I would feel about uterus, which can be part of yaki tori in some places).
I’m not taking a position on whether it’s important or not. I’m just reporting information.
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
18
Frito Mallorquin ( frit mallorqui or frit de matances in the local dialect of Catalan) is a traditional dish on the Spanish island of Mallorca. You often see it as a starter on restaurant menus. It’s basically a fry-up of lambs liver, onion, red peppers, potatoes (and anything else that might be lurking around in the kitchen), flavoured with fennel. I’m a big fan.
My Sil is married to a Mallorquin and, many years back, we went to his family home for dinner, where his mother cooked frito. It was generally delish, except there was something oddly and unpleasantly chewy running through it. Of course, being a guest, you chew, swallow, smile and get on with it. Afterwards, we asked the Sil what it was. She replies that she couldnt tell us before, as it would put us off and that might be awkward with the mother, who prized making the addition to her frito. It was lamb lungs.
Haven’t had the occasion to try lungs yet. I’ve heard them described as “spongy” (and I think the US prohibits their sale). Chicken and calf liver often made an appearance on our table when I was growing up, as did lamb and veal kidney (mom would broil with tomato for mixed grill nights). My grandmother would make tripe, but I didn’t develop an appreciation until later in life. My mother surprised us with a stroganoff that contained chicken liver and hearts. While I like both just fine, as a nine or ten year old it mostly tasted liked betrayal.
