Posted on 06/10/2002 12:52:35 PM PDT by PJ-Comix
What is your favorite munchy food? I am always on the lookout for UNUSUAL munchies. You can list potato chips as long as it is an offbeat flavor or type. OK, so here are a few of my favorite munchies:
1. Chicharones---Similar to the fried pork rinds in the bags but much more flavorful. They tend to be long sticks of a softer texture. Very popular with Cubans and other Latins in South Florida.
2. Vegemite---You'll either hate or love this yeasty treat from Australia. Most Americans hate the stuff if they try it spread on crackers but I love it. Australians go absolutely ga-ga over it.
3. Kabanosi---A Russian or Hungarian dried sausage that is very garlicky. Goes great with beer.
4. Buffalo wings---Love the stuff but why are they called "Buffalo" wings?
5. Zweiback toast---A guilty pleasure. It's terrific when dipped in milk.
6. Garlic Rolls---The ones you pick up hot from an Italian Restaurant.
7. Swiss White Chocolate---I picked up some dirt cheap at the flea market. It was IMPORTED from Switzerland and was REAL chocolate, not the chocolate flavored candy so prevelant here.
ORIGINS AND DIFFUSION
Perhaps the simplest way to discuss the origin and diffusion of Buffalo wings is to stick to a chronology.
There are four legends about the origins of the first Buffalo wings: 1964
Most people who have even thought about the origin have heard and believe the first version of the legend . Teressa and Frank Bellisimo owned the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY. In this version, she invented Buffalo chicken wings in 1964 when her son Dominic and his friends came to the bar looking for a quick late night snack. "Mother Teressa" (Buffalonians take their wings very seriously) was preparing to make chicken stock with a bunch of wings and, improvising, stuck them under the broiler (later they switched to deep frying), sprinkled them with a hot sauce she concocted from a commercially available base (Frank's), took some celery sticks off the antipasto dishes, put some blue cheese dressing (the house dressing) in a small bowl and served them.
All the principals are now deceased, but Dominic, who took over the bar from his parents, told the story differently to Calvin Trillin (1980) of the New Yorker magazine. According to Dominic, it was Friday night in the bar and since people were buying a lot of drinks he wanted to do something nice for them at midnight when the mostly Catholic patrons would be able to eat meat again. So, according to this version, Dom did not stop by with his friends, he was trying to be the good host at the bar. It was still Terressa who came up with the idea.
Frank told a third story. It involved a mis-delivery of wings instead backs and necks for making the bar's spaghetti sauce. Faced with this unexpected resource, he says he asked Teressa to do something with them.
Although the details are a little different, none of the tellers ever seemed too upset about the other versions. After all, the bar was a family affair and so were the wings it has become famous for. It was Frank who was memorialized in the 1977 City of Buffalo proclamation of July 29 as Chicken Wing Day, though.
A fourth version of the legend was reported by Calvin Trillin of the New Yorker magazine in 1980 but it appears nowhere else in the published references to Buffalo wings. Trillin reported on an African-American named John Young who said he developed a special "mambo sauce." Chicken wings in mambo sauce became the specialty at his Buffalo restaurant in the mid-sixties. He registered the name of his restaurant, John Young's Wings 'n Things, at the county courthouse before leaving Buffalo in 1970. "If the Anchor Bar was selling chicken wings nobody in Buffalo knew about it then," according to Young. Trillin checked with a local poultry distributor and found that both John Young and Frank Bellissimo were buying a lot of chicken wings in the middle sixties but no sales receipts were saved. The wings Young sold, however, were prepared a little differently. They were not cut in half (the tip is removed first usually in Buffalo wings) and were served breaded with the sauce covering them rather than being tossed in the sauce. In 1980 they were still being served that way in John Young's Wings 'n Things (he had returned to Buffalo by then) and in a restaurant owned by his brother, Bird Land. No telephone listings for either restaurant could be found in 1997.
Nobody seems bothered about the variations in the stories of how things happened, though. What is clear that is was the early to mid-1960s (1964 according to the Bellissimos) and it was in Buffalo, New York.
I'll have to give this one a try. Check out that Zwieback Baby toast in milk. Soak it entirely in the milk so it is soft.
The prime rib sandwich at Danny's Slot Country in Las Vegas.
A large pulled-pork sandwich topped with coleslaw at Buddy's BBQ here in Oak Ridge.
By Staff Writer Mary Chao
A Gates Delicatessen is hoping Rochesterians’ love for white hots and the curiosity of people who have never heard of Zweigle’s will fuel the business for the next generation.
When Calebresella’s Delicatessen opened in 1975, people flocked from all over to the Rochester area for prosciutto ham, extra sharp provolone cheese, olive oils and other Italian delicacies.
At that time, olive oils couldn’t be found in the grocery stores, said deli owner Dominic Mammoliti.
But with the proliferation of gourmet cooking shows, interest in ethnic cooking has grown. The deli on Buffalo Road competes with Wegmans and Tops, which now carry imported foods, said Mammoliti, who took over the business nine years ago from his father William, an Italian immigrant.
Dominic Mammoliti wracked his brain to come up with an idea to keep his family business afloat.
He found his answer when he saw a national television ad for Omaha Steaks. He asked himself why wouldn’t that work for Rochester’s famous Zweigle’s white hots. ''I don’t see why it can’t be as popular as Omaha Steaks,'' he said.
Two years ago, Mammoliti negotiated an exclusive distributorship with Zweigle’s Inc. and began selling both red and white hots online. At first, business was lean. But it didn’t take long to pick up, he said.
Rochesterians would but the hot dogs to ship to friends as gifts, or people intrigued by the white hots purchased them to experience a new flavor, Mammoliti said. ''The first year, we were excited if we got one hit. Now we average 1,800 pounds of Zweigle’s every month,'' he said. And the new online business is helping to keep the deli and sub business on Buffalo Road open. Although Zweigle’s accounts for more than 90 percent of the online business, Mammoliti also sells Italian and Mediterranean foods, as well as other Rochester products on his site.
The online business is helped by the fact that white hots are a novelty in other areas of the country, said Warren Sackler, associate professor at Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Hospitality and Service Management. ''It’s a topic of discussion – people talk about white hot dogs,'' Sackler said.
But Mammoliti believes white hots are more than a fly-by-night trend. He said many of his orders are from repeat customers from across the country. ''This is not a fad,'' Mammoliti said. ''It’s like we send smiles to people.
Actually it is very sweet tasting. Let it soak thoroughly in the milk. One side benefit is that it makes the milk really sweet too.
Oh, I forgot to list another great munchy treat---Landjaeggers (sp?). I ate them at a flea market in Quackertown, PA. You PA folks are probably familiar with landjaeggers.
Don't know if this qualifies as off-the-wall, but I like proscuitto the way some people like chocolate.
Kimchee (Spicy pickled cabbage)
Raw oysters
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.
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 (USA 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 smoky taste, a bit like very good jerky. Nice and crunchy.
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: 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: 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: Carl A Pforzheimer.
BEER (USA) The ultimate degradation of one of the oldest prepared foods in human history (see BREAD.) The USA 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: Katrine Kirk.
BELACHAN (Malaysia) see also BLACHAN, NGAPI-JAW. Paula Thompson wrote: My Malaysian style cookbook calls for the ingredient 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 rectangular 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:
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. From: 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.
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 Jell-O, 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 dissolve 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 (15 mins or so.) Alan Deacon.
While I am the first to swill down ANY blood left over from a roast, I cannot bring myself to eat blood sausage. From Jeffrey Dahmer's Cookbook: Shortcuts to becoming a Head Chef. Robin Sattler.
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: Paul Wallich.
BRAWN (England) see Head Cheese
BREAD (USA) 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 was a British maker of gas stoves.)
Colcannon (Bubble and Squeak)
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: 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: 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 Tony Day
CHEESE (Mediterranean) An ancient invention, but weird to many other cultures, such as Asians. 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 (USA) 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 (USA South and many others) in soup, pickled whole
CHICKEN-FRIED STEAK (USA 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: Daniel Drolet.
CHITTERLINGS ("Chitlins") (Southern USA) 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:
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: 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: 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: 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. From: Anne Elizabeth Callery.
CINCINNATI GREEK CHILI (USA 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: 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 multi-mineral tablet. 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. From: Bill Stuart.
COD LIVER OIL (USA 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: Daniel Drolet.
CRACKLINGS (Canada, USA) 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
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: Risa D. Horowitz.
CRISPS WITH FLAVORS (England) 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 = USA chips, UK chips are French fries) From: Doug Weller.
Yes, we have them in Scotland and England too. What we have, that the English probably don't, is Haggis flavored 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: 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 (USA--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. From: 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 (in other words, pork head, liver, heart, blood.) You can find a recipe in "Galing Galing: Philippine Cuisine" by Nora Daza. From: 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: 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. From: Mike Khaw.
DROPPED FOWL (USA 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.) From: 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, and so on, 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, and so on, 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 USA 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, and so on, 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 will be fined for having one in the car! From: 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: 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: 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: 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.
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: 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: 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. From: 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!]. From: Linda Garthwaite.
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.
They kept warning me about being careful to not get to "heaty". Never did figure out what that meant. From: 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 unpleasant stuff.
BTW, some facts about durians:
That's all folks. PS. I hate durians. From: Jin Ngee, Chia.
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.?) From: 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 (USA 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? Here's an 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 similarly 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 contamination 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?
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
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: 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. From: 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: 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: 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.
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 USA lately, though. But in Denmark it's an age old tradition, and it tastes quite different from the commercial snacks sold in the USA. The dish is called "flaeskesteg" (pork roast) but the crispy rind is "flaeskesvaer" (pork crust/sword) From: 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 (USA Midwest) Don't forget the dreaded deep fried cheese product. I was stunned the first time I saw that on an Iowa menu. From: Thomas Hamilton.
FRUITCAKE (USA Midwest and Northeast) Building material with embedded aggregate of bright green and scarlet transparent substances.
(Peter MacLeod) writes: Fruitcake is not bizarre!
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: 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.
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: Dan Day.
Kills about 300 in Japan per year according to Mac Clancy in Consuming Culture . But people keep eating it. From: 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: Katrine Kirk.
GAMMEL DANSK (Denmark) "Old Dane". A liquor flavored 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: 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 your family comes form,) and then boiled. Often in a fish broth, but not always. The only disgusting part (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 particular context. From: Juli Shanblatt.
GEODUCK CLAMS (USA 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: 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: Louise Mateos.
In Africa and Thailand, grasshoppers are fried in oil. Good for you. From: Po-Han Lin.
TASTY INSECT RECIPES
Bug Blox
Banana Worm Bread
Rootworm Beetle Dip
Chocolate Cricket Chip Cookies
Recipes compliments of Kathy Gee and Julie Stephens.
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, (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 flavor is like beef, but a little more "gamy" than steak. From: Katrine Kirk.
GRITS (USA 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. (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: 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 sheep's 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: Al Knoll
Scots Suprize
HAKARL (Iceland) Brian Leibowitz wrote: And you forgot one that I have tried (and survived) HAKARL !!! Well the Icelandic delicacy is HAKARL (Somniosus microcephalus) Greenland shark. The hakarl is poisonous when it is fresh. The production process does not include any peeing, but the body fluids of this shark contain different 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 color) 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. From: 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, and so on, please post it here.
Headcheese! Nasty greasy gristly 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.
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.
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: Debra Fran Baker.
HEAD (Mediterranean) Sheep's head. The whole thing, cooked and skinned. Includes the eyeballs. From: 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: Irina Rempt.
HOG MAWS (USA 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: Bill Stuart.
HOUGH--see POTTED HOUGH
ICEBERG LETTUCE (USA) 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 (USA 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: 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, "Pheasant Farm" restaurant in Nuriootpa claimed kangaroo was particularly popular with visiting Japanese. From: Thomas Hamilton) "Most people won't have ever tasted kangaroo. It is a sweet, strong-tasting meat, it's texture and taste described as somewhere 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: Sir Redhawk.
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: Janice Gelb.
Kishke is to sausage as head cheese is to sausage. From: Aahz.
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.
KUDDELN: A stew consisting mainly of tripe, usually flavored 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 USA People who saw the destination painted on junked cars corrupted the word to "jalopy."
JELL-O (USA 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 Jell-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: Anne Bourget.
JELL-O SALAD (USA 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 (USA 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.
"I've never had lutefisk, and I'm so grateful to my Norwegian parents" 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! From: 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 UK. 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 color and flavor, 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: 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 USA-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: 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: 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: 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: 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 secretes 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: Mike Khaw.
NORDSOE OLIE (Denmark) "North Sea Oil". Black, thick, oily-looking liquor flavored heavily with liquorice or anis. Yuck! From: 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: Katrine Kirk.
OKRA (Africa, USA 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: 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-vegetably 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 spoonfuls 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. From: Dan Wright.
OREILLES DE CHRIST (Canada--Quebec) Pig skin and lard cut up in strips and deep fried, preferably in lard. It has the same appearance, texture and taste as overdone cheap generic brand bacon. Yellow, so crunchy they qualify as brittle, smell something like burnt bakelite (in other words, electrical fire,) taste like burnt bacon. very salty. It used to be a poor farmer's food used to make it till the next spring when all the salted and cured meats (in other words, ham, sausages, and so on, ...) had been consumed. It's 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, and so on, ., 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 and fresh maple toffee. 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.
OWL SOUP (China) An acquaintance, Hong Kong Chinese, relates a banquet story from the PRC hinterlands (he was traveling on business.) What had appeared to be something like chicken soup turned out to be owl! His hosts produced the owl's head from the pot as proof. From: Jonathan Lundell.
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 "Jell-O" 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 Jell-O. From: 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)
PICKLED PIG'S FEET (USA 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 (USA Pennsylvania) A food item consumed by those residents of eastern Pennsylvania for whom scrapple is not disgusting enough. Ingredients: Pork and pork by-products, cornmeal (bread in some cases,) active cultures From: Lenny Raymond.
PORK RINDS (USA 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 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: 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 (restaurant) 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: 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 (probably 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: James Canning.
In a previous posting, Tom Legrady 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 meat 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. 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 USA 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: Daniel Drolet.
POWSOWDIE (Scotland.) A whole boiled sheep's head served in its broth, containing the brains and so on, . Popular with Mary Queen of Scots. From: Robert Hughes.
PRAIRIE OYSTERS (USA 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. Mmm. Nothing like smelling burning hair and flesh From: Dave Wolney.
RAMPS (USA 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 develops flavor, the Faroese claim. (They lie!) From: 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. From: Michael Khaw.
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 flavor. 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
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."
Tennessee Campfire Roasted Snake
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. From: 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: 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: 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: Angela Chong.
SASHIMI (Japan) raw fish
SCHMALTZ (European Jews) chicken fat
SCRAPPLE (USA 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 pancakes. 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: 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... also, mom does NOT make it from scratch! From: Chris.
SEA CUCUMBER (beche de mer): a delicacy in Chinese cuisine. Perhaps also in French? (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: 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: Daniel Drolet.
Seal Flipper Pie
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 chopped 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: 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: Curtz Lam and 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 colored 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: 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. From: 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 color 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: 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: Herbs WA.
Andrew Lewis Tepper 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: 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 color, and is eaten mostly as a sandwich topping. The first bite I had overwhelmed me with its sweet, slightly smoky flavor, 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: 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: 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 $USA 200. 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." See also RATTLESNAKE.
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: 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" and so on, --a boiled sweet coated in a very sour or very hot powder." From: Cath Lawrence.
SOUSE (Delaware in USA) 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: 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: Katrine Kirk.
SPAM (USA) 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 USA. 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: 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: 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: 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 school kids. 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: Daniel Drolet.
STEAK, BLOODY RARE (USA 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.
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: Josee Guenette.
SUSHI (Japan) a variety of exquisite morsels, often including raw fish. Woman To Have Sushi In Space 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.
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.
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 slimy to 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.
TEA WITH YAK BUTTER (Tibet, northern India.
TEMPEH (Japan et al) deliberately moldy TOFU (in other words, 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 Administration as an explictly listed ingredient, what the hell's in the stuff that the FDA rejects? From: 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: 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 (for example, Fetra Desti.) Lyndon Watson. Tripe is also a main ingredient in Philadephia Pepper Pot (soup/stew.) From: 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: 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: 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: 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 (such as Gandhi, who drank his urine every morning.) 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: 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: 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!! GRIN From: Pad Gajajiva.
WHITE CASTLE SLIDERS (USA 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: 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: 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 background 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: 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?
Write to Ray Bruman and tell him about your food experiences!
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