Using this category for the purely non-word-related:
Helen has called herself "your basic omnivore". OK, omnivores, let's get serious:
What is the most "extreme" food you've ever eaten -- and would you do so again?
In my case: eels, and "yes, but I'm in no hurry".
Dear Ken: there is a Japanese delicacy, sliced smoked eel, that is so delicious I remember it sixty years later, never having been able since to find a place where it was on the menu. A classmate from LA brought it to Christmas party in Boston. Called "unagi"
wwh - "unagi" is just one of the many flavors of "sushi" available at a sushi bar. (I do remember your post on the dangers of raw seafood, etc...)
I have ate chocolate covered bees and ants... just a bit crunchier with lots of protein. I ate worm in Boy Scouts as a special initiation (special meaning "not sanctioned"), but we wandered around looking for a "left-handed smoke bender" as well.
I don't know what it was that I ate, and I don't want to know, either. All I know is that as soon as I started chewing, all my brother-in-laws were looking directly at me and laughing like they'd pulled something over on me. I'm thinking it was probably taco de sesos brain taco [still shuddering-e] It's not that it tasted bad, it's just the thought of it.
Fried chittlin's, mountain oysters, sweetbreads, eels and snails--all I've enjoyed--but I don't eat eyes.
Best regards,
WatchingherWaist
Sweet and sour snake (no idea what kind of snake it was and I didn't inquire). Tasty. When I was living in Surabaya, I was told that a certain restaurant served pangolin, but I don't know if it was true or not. At one wedding reception here in Jakarta I did eat something and no-one would tell me what it was, but I suspect it was dog. It was so heavily chillied it could have been anything.
Bingley
Fastidiousness in food can be illusory. Consider the guy who could bear to eat lambs tongue because it had been in an animals mouth, and requested an egg instead.
Fastidiousness in food can be illusory
A long time ago, I heard that Chinese were astonished about Europeans eating Insects' excretions - meaning honey...
yes, i heard but even more unappatizingly, "something made from regurgatated insect food"..
but i have eaten "birds nest soup" made from a gelatinous fish product. a sea swallow (or some such bird) regurgatates fish, in a a gel form. The gel lines the nest, so when it is off at sea, the fledging birds have food..
foragers come, and collect the nests, and use the gelatin to make a fish broth for soup. yummy! actually, it is!
i am sure some one has a link, or knows a site with all the details..
Dear wsieber: I never thought of it that I have never seen mention of Chinese eating honey. But I found a site which says one company exports 800 MT of beeswax each year. That represents a lot of honey. I have heard of Chinese being surprised us bignoses eat rotten milk. (cheese) Now I've got to look again, and see if Chinese export cheese!
Dear wsieber: I searched for Chinese dairy products and found a site with some horned cows that looked like poor quality beef animals, and advertised only casein glue!
Of troy,
I had to eat Bird's nest soup once at the home of a beloved friend who was Chinese. I could not get past the mental image of spitting birds, so I struggled with that soup and really had to choke it down without enjoying it--and this from one who genuinely enjoys chittlin's! Go figure.
There has to be a word for that mental blocking mechanism that keeps you from doing what you know is harmless...
Best regards,
WW
as for me, i can't get past the smell of chittlins..
my dad was an orphan, and shunted, foster care like, from family to family(cousing, aunt & uncles, etc).. once grown, he resolved never to eat "variety meats" as organ meats are sometimes called.. or meat loaf either..
My mother loved liver, so we did have liver.. but never tripe, or tongue, or chittlins.. Mom also like -- (hiding from rubrick-- because i do not know how to spell this in irish) Crue beans.. or in english, pigs trotters, or feet.
we kids thought she should only eat them in the kitchen.. never in the dining room. we ate all of our meals in the dining room -- we has a small kitchen, large dining room and a family of 7
Dear WW: "I don't eat eyes" My brother used to get my mother's goat by calling tapioca pudding "fish-eye pudding"
Apple Tapioca PuddingÊ(fish-eye puddin !)
... Apple Tapioca PuddingÊ(fish-eye puddin !) 1 8oz. box pearl tapioca 1/2 tsp. salt
6 cups cold water 1 1/2 cups brown sugar 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 1 tsp. cinnamon 5 ...
http://www.grannys-coupons.com/recipes/cookies/appletapiocapuddingfisheye.html
More Results From: www.grannys-coupons.com
My brother used to get my mother's goat by calling tapioca pudding "fish-eye pudding"My father put my brother off tapioca pudding forever by calling the little tapioca thingies "octopus eyes."
It's not imaginary fish eyes that would bother me--it's the real things.
Sorry to be so chatty here.
So: To go to words...what do we call camel's eyes (Indiana Jones) and whale's eyes (Inuits). etc., for all eaten eyes?
Bloated regards,
WW
i've eaten fish eyes..whole little dried anchovies, all crunch, sun dried to dark tropical tan.heads, eyes, and backbones still in place, and then served in a chili sause.. indonesian style. my table mates were not happy when they finally noticed.. but i was almost done..
i think of my self as a picky eater.. but mostly i don't like smoked or salted meat.. (salted fish is ok) so no ham, or corned beef, or smoked salmon, or kippers .. but bacala is good.. and so are anchovies.. and gravolox, and mexican? spanish? style cevishie(?)-- fish cured in lime juice and salt? served cold? not cooked, but cured by acid. (please correct me.. i know the words in red are wrong.. but can't find them )
but almost nothing smoked--and for the most part, i'll try anything.. once.
Gravolox, gravalox, gravlox = filleted salmon marinaded in salt,sugar, a half dozen spices, orange juice, lemon juice and brandy. Sounds good. Nothing to be finicky about.
seviche
n.
a Latin American dish consisting of small pieces of raw fish or shellfish marinated in lime juice with chilies, chopped tomatoes, and herbs: it is served chilled, often as an appetizer
Although I've heard of the addition of lemon juice, I've never heard of orange juice and brandy on gravlox, but I suppose the possibilities are endless.
wwh - I had unagi the other day and it seemed the smoking and basting in soy sauce removed any of the distinct flavors of the eel, but I guess I wouldn't yet know.
"salmon roe" seems to be a bit too real as I chew them.
Dear musick: in searching for the possible spelling of gravlox, I found over a dozen recipes. I don't remember anything like it at Ola's, fifty years ago the only place in Boston for smörgåsbord.
Dear Dubya,
re:Sorry to be so chatty here.
for a long time, this tread was broken.. nothing posted here would ever show -- so for months, chatty folks like me were invited to post "that" kind of stuff in "words from German"
We were told, That way to the egress... go to the egress.. in effect.
One day, when i finally came here.. I found the thread broken. I fixed it (well, i sent an email to anu, explained the thread was broken and how, and asked him to fix it.. )
but it is established, you want to be chatty?Post that kind of stuff in Words from German!
so a food thread here is OK, and chattiness is too.
Meanwhile i don't know if there are specific names for eye balls as food. But sheep eye balls are edible. (not that i have eaten them.. its fish eyes only for me!)
sheep eye balls are edible
I've been told that among certain middle eastern peoples (Bedouins?) the sheep's eyeball is considered a delicacy, to be offered to the guest of honor at a feast.
Which in times past, around the 1920's, made for not-little difficulty when said guest of honor was a peace negotiator from a european country with rather different customs.
The astute and tactful negotiator would insist that the place of highest honor be accorded to his esteemed host.
"the most "extreme" food" Keiva asks. I'm not sure what extreme means in this context. I have eaten and enjoyed snails, frogs legs, horse, reindeer, grasshoppers coated in syrup and various unidentifiable things in the middle-east and India, BUT the one thing I tried but couldn't stomach, and still can't, is TRIPE!!! Ugh!!
dxb.
TRIPEThe
sine qua non of
menudo (q.v.,
http://www.vivacincodemayo.org/recipe.htm)
I can attest to its hangover curative properties but I generally had it for breakfast.
Yum!
Dear Faldage: My father like pickled tripe along with cold cuts for Sunday evening meal not requiring effort of preparation by my mother. I ate it, but have never since had any.Never have I had soup for breakfast.
Never had soup for breakfast, Bill? Why, it's a great way to wake up--and stew is even better! Put it in a big ol' mug and sip away while you're looking over the paper or reading through the new posts on AWAD! And the best of all soups in this gustibus of mine (did I spell gustibus right?) is oyster stew. Now there's a great stew for breakfast! Just remember to put the oysters in at the end so they won't shrivel up too much.
Best regards,
Wordwind
I ate it, but have never since had any.Never have I had soup for breakfast.
You bragging or complaining?
Dear WW: 'gustibus' is a dative (or ablative) plural. Not sure what nominative would be. I'd look it up, but Faldage will beat me to it.
Dear Faldage: I'd much rather have New England breakfast - apple pie and coffee.
Dear WW: I do rember once having a mug of fish chowder at Cape Cod Canal east entrance on a bitter cold day.
Faldage will beat me to it.You got you about an hour and a half Dr. Bill. I ain' got nothin here at work. No, wait... looks like it's
gustus.
That'd be:
Sing Plural
Nom gustus gustes
Gen gustus gustium
Dat gusti gustibus
Acc gustem gustes
Abl guste gustibus
That's *if it's third declension but I have this feeling it's fourth declension.
Dative or ablative?
If I mo eat me some soup it's gone be accusative.
oh, dear doG, is tripe *always in menudo?? i've eaten menudo several times [belated gag reflex].
dr bill, you really need to get to a sushi joint ~ as kev suggested, unagi is readily available (and a favorite for those who like the social aspects of sushi but hate the thought of consuming raw fish). i'm not a huge unagi fan; the 'eel sauce' that they put on top is a bit too sweet for me. besides, stuff like california rolls, ebi (shrimp) and unagi (eel) defeat the purpose of sushi, since they don't have that wonderful raw texture and taste.
the weirdest thing i've eaten (besides reindeer, in dusseldorf (blech!)) is probably
uni. uni is served in most sushi bars, and looks a bit like orange caviar ~ but what most folks don't know is that it's actually the gonads/ovaries of hermaphroditic sea urchins. yumyum! to make it worse, the first time i tried it we didn't even get them at the sushi bar ~ we just walked down and harvested the urchins from the tidepools. we even fed the prepared uni (prepared by cutting up the urchin, scooping out the roe and squeezing on a bit of lime) to the neighborhood kids. they all seemed to think it was neat =)
oh, i almost forgot the other gross thing. the first time i ever tried sushi: when i was still a teenager, my husband took me to a sushi bar and ordered me giant clam. it looks just like a chunk of gelatinous white stuff, but here's the rub: the shokunin (sushi chef) slams it down in front of you to show that it's "Fresh". the proof? it wiggles on its own. bottoms up!!!
caradea, my recall is that uni is typically the most expensive item in a sushi bar, and is considered the greatest delicacy. Can you confirm?
...are these wiggles (or hulas) peformed by our Gallant Ted on a sushi bar? These I'd like to see! And certainly these live wiggles of our bear would be the most expensive item on the menu! Goldilocks knows a good thing when she sees it!
re uni is served in most sushi bars, and looks a bit like orange caviar ~
oh, i've had that--i think.. the beads are larger than cavier, about the size of the very smallest petite pois (peas) But i have only eaten it in japan. My brother in law likes it for breakfast, and my neice loved it too!
it was fun watching her with her training chop sticks (they have little ridges, similar to noodle chop sticks) gently picking up one bead at at time. it was okay, but i prefered toast and hens eggs for breakfast.
In reply to:
i've eaten fish eyes..whole little dried anchovies, all crunch, sun dried to dark tropical tan.heads, eyes, and backbones still in place, and then served in a chili sause..
of troy, this is one of my favourites here. Usually served fried together with peanuts. It never occurred to me anybody would think it weird.
Bingley
Dear Bingley,
Would this be the same as whitebait, which is (are?) small fish deep fried whole, and served in large numbers - quite delicious. If so I had never appreciated that they were anchovies, nor have I had them with peanuts - usually just lemon juice.
dxb
To be honest, I have no idea what the fish are called in Indonesian or English. I'll try and find out. They are tiny, about the size of a standard paperclip.
Bingley
Oh, my dear Mr Bingley, i look forward to coming to see you, and dining with you!
and yes, the fishes are small, and crunchy, and listed on the menu (here in NY area) as anchovies.. but who know what kind of fish they are! and yes, here, the dish was considered very weird!
How did I just
know you would like this thread, Helen?
I looked up a reference to whitebait (they are about 1.5", or 40mm, long from nose to tail), and it suggests that they are the fry of herring or sprat, so I guess they use more than one fish, perhaps in different parts of the world.
If they are fry then that does'nt do much to help reduce the overfishing problem, does it. Maybe I should stop eating them on principle.....mmmm.....maybe not.
dxb
The small fish eaten fried with peanuts are called
teri in Indonesian.
Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia defines teri as "A very small edible sea fish classified into the genus
Stolephorus".
Googling teri and stolephorus led me to this site:
http://makeashorterlink.com/?P333514C, which gives different names for the fish in different languages. The home page for the site, which seems to be devoted to ichthyological nomenclature in different languages is
http://www.fishbase.org/search.cfm.
The dish is called
teri kacang, googling which will lead you to recipes for those so inclined.
Bingley
My daughter and I went to a Korean buffet where tiny, somewhat salty, crunchy fish were served. It reminded me of eating friend shrimp tails. Have no idea what they were called, but they were very good in small quantity.
eating friend shrimp tails
Eewww! Is that legal?
Sounds like a way to lose friends.
eating friend shrimp tails
Edit: Read: fried That's a classic typo up there, huh?
Eewww! Is that legal?
My dad has raised me in a strange way. It has been his delight to introduce me to all kinds of things I would never have tried on my own. And he started this when I was still a babe in arms--not shrimp tails then, but sardines and fried oysters. We worked up--or down--to shrimp tails. Actually, friend shrimp tails have more intense flavor by far than the shrimp itself. There's a succulence in them combined with a bit of sweetness that makes them interesting. They're at least as good--if not better flavor-wise--as those tiny fried Korean fried fish, which I still wish I knew the name of. Please excuse the preposition at the end of the sentence that preceded this one.
Beast regards,
Wordwisp
PS: My dad, who is a big joker, said he acquired his taste for all unusual food when a child. He says that the family was so big that all he got from the chicken were the bones. Faulkner would have understood.
That's a classic typo up there, huh?
And repeated later in the post?
friend shrimp tails have more intense flavor
One might think you have some "issues" to resolve here, Dub' Dub.
You know I usually leave these typos alone; sometimes I just can't resist.
I usually find shrimp tasteless. I avoid sushi, having seen cases of nasty parasitic disease from raw fish.
But when out scalloping in Buzzards Bay the raw scallop muscle on buttered bread used to be delicious, pleasantly sweet, with just the right amount of salt from the sea water, and an enjoyable texture.
Faldage can't resist:
That's a classic typo up there, huh?
And repeated later in the post?
friend shrimp tails have more intense flavor
...I will stay in from recess and type one thousand times:
fried shrimp tails
fried shrimp tails
fried shrimp tails
fried shrimp tails...
...and hope that we won't have a speed test today in typing class that includes the phrase fried shrimp tails!!!!
Bemoaning regrets,
WordWrecker
fried shrimp tails
Local movie theater that had a paucity of certain letters for its marquee used to just leave a little space between letters to represent an i. Some of us took to referring to the movie as Fred Green Tomatoes.
I had cereal with orange juice on it once. I would have used soda but there wasn't any.
My roommate from France used to have Froot Loops cereal in tea!
I dunno, Max. I think vegimite and honey has us all beat.
Bingley
I taught at a school a few years back that had a high percentage of southeast Asian students--Cambodians, Vietnamese, Laotians...
Many of these children had breakfast at our school where I sometimes helped supervise the cafeteria. I was highly amused to see them pouring cartons of chocolate milk on their Fruit Loops, and then adding sweetened berries or peaches to the whole concoction. Some of these kids would eat that sugary sweet mess all year long--and still had bodies of ecotomorphs.
One of the cooks I worked with once ate a raw chicken heart on a dare. I've eaten fish eyeballs (cooked), which weren't that bad. It was from a salmon that we had cooked in wine.
While it isn't that outlandish, I am most proud of having first eaten sweetbreads in Japan while I had a raging hangover. And I kept 'em down!