I had an awesome dessert from a restaurant called Uchi here in Austin. The cream was infused with the smoke of tobacco, lemme tell you, it was delicious!
Odd, Strange, Or Exotic Things You Have Eaten Plus Tobacco...
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A fun reread. Damn if this group did not save me from my depression caused by being out of work as long as I was. Generous folks that have led interesting lives!
The best bear that I've ever had was from a black bear that was gorging itself in apple and peach orchards all summer. Rocky mountain oysters here are called "prairie oysters" and are not bad breaded and crispy fried, served with an accompanying drink called a "prairie fire" which is half rye whiskey and half Tabasco sauce.
I was brought up on Black Pudding; Brawn (a sort of pressed meat loaf made from the head of a pig; Haggis, Pigs Trotters and Cow Tongues. As well as having the at home I would often take them in sandwiches to school for my lunch. Nothing too weird (well, not compared to all those who've done survival training); but it still used to freak out some of my fellow students. Also in childhood had Pigs Ears and Prairie Oysters a few times.
As an adult, Feijoada which is essentially a pork and bean stew; some variations have some interesting and instantly recognisable bits of pig that you don't normally see in butchers shops. When I was in Tokyo my colleagues took me to a little restaurant where the only sign in English said 'we only serve tongue'; yup, everything on the menu was some form of an animal tongue.
Pickled Baby Octopus and Fish Heads in Greece.
A colleague in Detroit once explained how she and her husband made traditional Greek (her parents were Greek and she spent her summer holidays as a child in Greece with her Grandmother) BBQ to celebrate their sons baptism. Essentially kill a lamb and use all of it, making sausages with all the messy bits. They said the hardest part was finding a butcher who would let them have ALL of a lamb and not just the usual joints of meat. Apparently the sausages went down very well with the neighbours but they were reluctant to explain some of the stuff that went in to them.
As an adult, Feijoada which is essentially a pork and bean stew; some variations have some interesting and instantly recognisable bits of pig that you don't normally see in butchers shops. When I was in Tokyo my colleagues took me to a little restaurant where the only sign in English said 'we only serve tongue'; yup, everything on the menu was some form of an animal tongue.
Pickled Baby Octopus and Fish Heads in Greece.
A colleague in Detroit once explained how she and her husband made traditional Greek (her parents were Greek and she spent her summer holidays as a child in Greece with her Grandmother) BBQ to celebrate their sons baptism. Essentially kill a lamb and use all of it, making sausages with all the messy bits. They said the hardest part was finding a butcher who would let them have ALL of a lamb and not just the usual joints of meat. Apparently the sausages went down very well with the neighbours but they were reluctant to explain some of the stuff that went in to them.
In Belgium I grew up with the usual 'country side food', which might be odd for some people here apparently so I will list them:
Headcheese(the soured version) which is mostly eaten with mustard and brown bread for lunch, smoked horsemeat (also with bread), horse steak, fried brain, beef tongue, raw minced meat(mostly mix of pork and beef) on a piece of bread for lunch, real buttermilk(Not the american kind, it is basically soured milk of which the fat is removed to make butter), boiled brains mixed with mayonnaise and eaten with headcheese, blood sausage in pig intestines, tons of different liver pates, frog legs.
In other countries I had my fair share of crickets, roasted maggots, dried caterpillars, goat hooves, chicken comb and feet, all sorts of intestines.
But in Europe, all of this is quite common. I more surprised to hear people in America eat Bear, squirrels , possums and what not. I do know in the past, people in Belgium used to catch tiny birds (e.g. sparrows) and used to eat them fried with bones and everything.
Headcheese(the soured version) which is mostly eaten with mustard and brown bread for lunch, smoked horsemeat (also with bread), horse steak, fried brain, beef tongue, raw minced meat(mostly mix of pork and beef) on a piece of bread for lunch, real buttermilk(Not the american kind, it is basically soured milk of which the fat is removed to make butter), boiled brains mixed with mayonnaise and eaten with headcheese, blood sausage in pig intestines, tons of different liver pates, frog legs.
In other countries I had my fair share of crickets, roasted maggots, dried caterpillars, goat hooves, chicken comb and feet, all sorts of intestines.
But in Europe, all of this is quite common. I more surprised to hear people in America eat Bear, squirrels , possums and what not. I do know in the past, people in Belgium used to catch tiny birds (e.g. sparrows) and used to eat them fried with bones and everything.
Someone mentioned scorpion above. It's not bad, somewhere between cricket and soft-shell crab. Not sure if it has the protein concentration of crickets, but I'd eat it again if I was hungry.
And, Cosmic, that story about the pig rectum calamari was a joke of sorts. I don't think there's any evidence that it is true. Although it would be funny....
And, Cosmic, that story about the pig rectum calamari was a joke of sorts. I don't think there's any evidence that it is true. Although it would be funny....
Restaurant in Bucharest in 2010 had Bear on the menu; I didn't try it.
@Bazungu Buttermilk. Wonderful stuff. My dad grew up on a working dairy farm (1920's & 30's) where they made their own butter and cheese for sale at the farm. I used to drink buttermilk as a kid (still do) but dad always said it was not as good as the stuff his mum made (well, he would wouldn't he!). Actually, most of your childhood diet sounds pretty similar to mine (not a common one for someone in the English home counties but my dad was brought up on an Irish farm so) - with the exception of the frogs legs (I've only had those in France and Spain).
I forgot to mention snails earlier; love them.
@Bazungu Buttermilk. Wonderful stuff. My dad grew up on a working dairy farm (1920's & 30's) where they made their own butter and cheese for sale at the farm. I used to drink buttermilk as a kid (still do) but dad always said it was not as good as the stuff his mum made (well, he would wouldn't he!). Actually, most of your childhood diet sounds pretty similar to mine (not a common one for someone in the English home counties but my dad was brought up on an Irish farm so) - with the exception of the frogs legs (I've only had those in France and Spain).
I forgot to mention snails earlier; love them.
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