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[G-Flex]

But you miss the point. I'm not saying milk is strange, I'm saying cheese is. Cheese, yogurt, bread, alcohol...many things that we eat are the waste byproducts of microrganisms.

Yep! But keep in mind that it's human standards that call that "weird" to begin with, and I'd consider those standards wrong, not the food. The problem is that we like to lump everything together into broad categories like "waste" or "rotting" when its relative value is very dependent on circumstances. For instance, the reason you can freak people out about cheese by saying it's, for example, "rotten milk" is because of the association people have between "rotten" and other microbial action. Basically, you're tricking your brain into comparing apples and oranges.

The reason you think it's strange to eat something that some other organism has worked on first is strange is because the only time you do normally think about the microorganism activity is when it is harmful, like when something rots. Because we normally don't think about microorganisms when we think about food, we don't have it in our heads that microorganism activity can be a good thing, so we associate it with the bad when it is brought up.

Asian staple foods are generally exactly what I said they are: dead plant or animal. Rice, fish, bird, vegetables. Dead plants and animals. Breads and cheese are staple western foods, and again, these things are made by infesting something with microorganisms as part of the process of making it.

Fish sauce actually is a pretty staple thing in a lot of areas, as a seasoning and condiment and ingredient. Alcoholic beverages are also pretty common no matter where you go, soy sauce is fermented and extremely common, miso is fermented, and some other soy products. I'll give you that bread is definitely more of a huge staple than probably any fermented Asian product, sure, but fermented foods are still extremely common in Asian cuisine and still probably exist in most meals eaten, or at least a very large proportion.

[LordBucket]

Supposedly, tequila bottles don't actually contain worms§ Mezcal does

Tequila is mezcal.

After spending more time doing google searches on this than was probably warranted, it appears that there was some sort of regulatory action in Mexico that changed the legal definition of what could be marketed under the name "tequila." Kind of like how scotch is whiskey, but it order to call it scotch it has to be made in Scotland.

In any case, as of the last time I went to Mexico it was possible to ask for tequila and be handed a bottle of alcohol with a worm at the bottom.

Kind of like how if you go to staples and ask for a "Xerox copy" they'll point you to their copy machine without asking if it's really important that the machine be manufactured by Xerox corp.

Those in particular aren't true "worms" either; they're larval moths§

If I recall correctly, the ones I had did have legs, so yes, that would make them caterpillars, not worms. But they're called worms. The expression is "con gusano." And if you plug that into babelfish, you'll get "with worm."

[RedKing]

Isn't there like deep fried oil or butter or something in the South?

Yeah, I saw deep fried butter at the State Fair. No, I didn't try it. I have a wife and two children to support.


Oh boy....let's see:

Meats: Alligator, kangaroo, rattlesnake, elk, jellyfish, eel, sea urchin, various "meat" of dubious origin from street vendors in China
"Parts": Pork brains, chicken feet, chicken hearts, beef tongue, fish cheeks, duck tongue, every imaginable kind of roe
Other items: Grits (I don't find them strange, but many people are disgusted by grits), hot pickled sausage, snake wine

Things I've had the opportunity to eat and passed on: grilled dog paws, fried bull testicles, witchetty grub, chicken brain, lutefisk

[Neonivek]

Odd I thought dog meat was illegal in the US and not just Taboo.

[Akroma]

whale bacon


my grandmother from kansai brought me some when she visited.


needless to say, I don't understand why people keep eating whales. the "bacon" was just pure fat. no meat, no nothing, just white creamy fat.


well, that was the strangest one anyway. I've had shark, crocodile, an assortmend of bugs and snakes etc, but it seems the whole thread did, so how is that weird?




oh and flowers. many are edible

[RedKing]

Odd I thought dog meat was illegal in the US and not just Taboo.

Wasn't in the US. I was wandering around in a Beijing alleyway and came upon a guy with several little charcoal grills out on the street, cooking what appeared to be either Chow-Chow or St. Bernard paws. (both breeds are common for meat in the Dongbei region and Korea)

I thought about it for a minute or two, but I just couldn't do it. Besides, they looked pretty charred...not good eats. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the chuan (kabob thingies) I bought off the street vendors were dog, cat, mutant sewer rat, gods know what else. They were too delicious for me to care. 

[Hubris Incalculable]

Oh yes- I've also had deep-fried haggis and deep-fried mars-bar.

[TherosPherae]

I enjoy cheese dipped in ketchup

This reminds me - most people eat their ketchup with tomato sauce. Sometimes I'll do that, but sometimes I'll eat it with ketchup. It's about the same taste, but a lot more tangy. And messier.

[Blargityblarg]

This reminds me - most people eat their ketchup with tomato sauce.

-.^

[G-Flex]

needless to say, I don't understand why people keep eating whales. the "bacon" was just pure fat. no meat, no nothing, just white creamy fat.

Well, the only people I know of who keep eating whales are ones who live in areas where they traditionally needed to in order to survive, e.g. the Inuits.

What I don't understand is why they argue how they should be allowed to eat whales because it's part of their traditional culture, yet they still obviously indulge in aspects of modern culture like gas-powered vehicles, blue jeans, and so forth... at least from what I've seen, they do.

[LordBucket]

What I don't understand is why they argue how they should be
allowed to eat whales because it's part of their traditional culture

I think that's mostly an excuse for the international community. The real reason is that they want to eat whale because they like whale meat, and that makes it financially lucrative for people to hunt whales and sell the meat to people who want to eat it.

[Criptfeind]

Where do you live Lordbucket that you have not had deer?

[LordBucket]

Where do you live Lordbucket that you have not had deer?

Southern California. There are places where it's possible to find deer, but hunting is heavily regulated.

[Neonivek]

Where do you live Lordbucket that you have not had deer?

Southern California. There are places where it's possible to find deer, but hunting is heavily regulated.

Also I havn't eaten deer either... Is it more comment then I thought?

Then again I don't like Lamb, Rabit, or most sausage... so I am not missing much.

[RedKing]

Venison can be excellent if used correctly. Chili, stews, anything where you can mask (or complement) the gaminess of the meat.

I've had baked rabbit when I was a kid. Kinda similar to chicken, IIRC. I suppose that's a bit odd.

Lamb can be absolutely delicious, especially when spiced. Had some Taiwanese cumin lamb the other night that just melted in your mouth. And a lot of the Hui cuisine (Chinese Muslims) uses lamb, and I have mondo fond memories of those dishes.

And my family tree is of predominantly German extraction...love of sausage is kinda genetic. 



My grandfather occasionally ate squirrel, opossum and frog growing up. Of those, I've only had frog...and I'm not a fan.