Posted on 07/16/2015 8:28:52 AM PDT by Red Badger
While we're taught that food that smells rotten should be thrown away, there are actually many foods that you eat whenever they've just started rotting.
Of course, it's not pleasant to call these foods rotten, so we refer to them in different ways instead.
Cheese
Making cheese comes down to your ability to control rot. This is because milk is treated with bacteria and enzymes causing it to curdle. The curdles are then cut, formed and ripened into cheese.
Stinkheads
Another native Alaskan delicacy is what's known as stinkheads. These are King Salmon heads that have either been buried in fermentation pits in the ground or placed inside of a barrel or plastic bag where they're left for weeks. Once removed, they're mashed and eaten.
Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is a type of fermented cabbage. It’s made by mixing shredded cabbage with salt then letting it sit for a bit. Many people say that this is good for your digestion.
Aged Beef
In order for beef to be dry-aged it must sit in a temperature and humidity controlled room for 3 weeks. This allows it to develop a moldy crust that’s cut away so that you have a tender steak that’s full of flavor.
Of course, it’s also full of minerals as well.
Kimchi
Korean cuisine is known for its kimchi. This is made by covering cabbage with a mixture that's both salty and spicy. It's then allowed to sit in an air tight jar for a couple of days.
Miso
This is a staple in Japanese cuisine, being found in sauces, spreads and marinades. In the US, it's commonly found in soup. It's made by fermenting soybeans then adding barley, wheat and rice.
Hákarl
While hákarl is a delicacy in Iceland, it’s a very divisive food elsewhere. This is because it’s rotten shark that’s made by putting a gutted shark into a hole in the sand for 6-12 weeks.
It’s then dug up and left hanging for several months before being eaten.
Tempeh
In Indonesia, tempeh is a staple. It's made by soaking whole soybeans in vinegar and allowing them to ferment. All of this is then bound together with mycelium, which is a sticky fungus.
Fesikh
This is a very popular dish throughout the Sham-el-Nessim festival in Egypt. It is made by sun-drying mullet then preserving it in salt. Fesikh poisonings are common because the recipes are passed down through generations, making it difficult to get right.
Igunaq
The Inuits in Alaska preserve their meat by cutting it into big steaks then burying it in the ground for months where it ferments in the autumn then freezes in the fall. They then eat this prized delicacy. However, since these recipes are also passed down through the generations, botulism is also quite common here as well.
Pickles
Pickles are cucumbers that have been soaked in vinegar or a brine solution and left to ferment for a very long time. So next time you pick up a pickle, just think, you're about to eat a rotten cucumber.
Coconut yogurt
Coconut yogurt is a healthy source of non-dairy bacteria. You can make you own by heating coconut milk, adding probiotics, and allowing it to sit on your counter until sour.
I would add LUTEFISK as well....................
Lutefisk (Norwegian) or lutfisk (Swedish) pronounced [lʉːtfesk] in Northern and Central Norway, [lʉːtəfɪsk] in Southern Norway, [lʉːtfɪsk] in Sweden and in Finland (Finnish: lipeäkala)) is a traditional dish of some Nordic countries.
It is made from aged stockfish (air-dried whitefish) or dried/salted whitefish (klippfisk) and lye (lut). It is gelatinous in texture. Its name literally means "lye fish".
And HAGGIS while we're at it...................
Haggis is a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, traditionally encased in the animal's stomach[1] though now often in an artificial casing instead. According to the 2001 English edition of the Larousse Gastronomique: "Although its description is not immediately appealing, haggis has an excellent nutty texture and delicious savoury flavour".[2]
It is believed that food similar to haggis (though not so named), perishable offal quickly cooked inside an animal's stomach, all conveniently available after a hunt, was eaten from ancient times.[3][4][5]
Apart from cheese I don’t eat any of this stuff.
Moving on to next thread, thank you.
I don’t think that pickles are “rotted cucumbers”. ? Seems like canned items (not including uncooked meat or fish) should not be included as “rotten”, but that is JMHO, and I am not some type of food scientist (nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express any time lately).
Pickles aren’t really rotten. Sour pickles are brined in salt water brine at about 70 degrees F for about 5 days. Dill pickles that are traditionally bought in jars in the grocery store are hot water canned in vinegar brine and are ready in just a couple days.
Just in time for lunch! Your timing is impeccable! LOL!
Poor titling for the article. Over half these foods aren’t rotten/going bad, they’re fermented or use salt as a preservative. Rotting is way different from that.
Next ten (or twelve) course meal at The Keep?
(I’m rushing to pack as we speak.)
They forgot Natto, Natto is yummy!
I think the article is misleading, since lacto-fermentation is actually a way to preserve food. Rotten food has undergone putrefaction, which is a different process altogether (different bacteria).
Fermented food doesn’t necessarily smell bad, but really rotten food does smell really bad (some cheeses notwithstanding) and shouldn’t be eaten.
Lunchtime! Now I’m really hungry!
Or FLOTUS lunches for the children....
“Rotten” is the key word. Rotten equates to spoiled, but if its edible, its not really spoiled.
These are foods items that have been allowed to breakdown or be colonized and transformed by bacteria in some fashion.
Although I would gladly label many of those items as “spoiled”.
Natto!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf4egUzD2ZQ
With rice and a raw egg it’s a common breakfast in Japan.
Try these b4 you go:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_(food)
I have not seen Limburger Cheese for years.
Years ago the Germans aged their beef until it turned green and maggots began to crawl. Scrapped away the remainder was quite tender and tasty.
Never tried Haggis but I would. I eat scrapple... so I can’t really be snooty about it. :)
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