I was talking to someone the other day and we got talking about weird foods, snake, rabbit, twinkies, you know weird things we eat or don't eat. The whole conversation got me thinking about things that I don't like to eat, and I decided that I am a little picky when it comes to foods I'll stuff in my mouth.
I used to teach (go ahead giggle a little, I still do) a lot of Korean students English and we would always talk about foods and their favourites. The one thing that they all wanted me to try was canine meat and I confess to having wondered if it was as good as the Koreans told me it was, but I have never had the opportunity to find out for myself. What really worries me is that it will be so good that I'll be heading off to the local SPCA and looking for the lean large breed dogs. This got me to thinking about why we don't eat dogs?
I understand implicitly why we don't eat cats, because they would be stringy, a little like a wild rabbit and I wouldn't live long if I suggested we butcher one up for super. But Dogs, why not? Is it because, like cats, they wouldn't taste good? I suspect it has more to do with the fact that cats and dogs live in our homes and we consider them our pets, not many "Normal" people keep pigs, cows or sheep in their houses. I think a lot of people think of it as a sort of moral issue, something passed down from parent, grandparents etc. I used to think that anyone that would eat a dog was an evil person, but really what's the difference between a goat and a dog? Oh yeah, I learned something new recently, mutton isn't sheep, its bloody goat meat!
I don't like lamb but I have eaten it a few times, well no more, because in Malaysia when it says lamb, there's a good chance it might be mutton! Why would this bother me, really, it's not like it was old Mr. Jenkins from down the road, it was just some anonymous goat. Another thing that really surprised me was that the local beef tastes better then the Australian beef, we won't even talk about the Indian buffalo meat, just nasty. But its again my personal tastes just because I don't like it doesn't make it bad. Head-cheese! My father loves the stuff, but the thought of putting jellied meat in my mouth makes me gag! My gagging doesn't make it bad though.
There are so many animals and parts of animals that we as Westerners don't normally eat, for instance, we don't eat organ meat, Ok when I say we I really mean me. I guess I have always been a picky eater.
I was fortunate that the worst thing we had to eat was brussel sprouts or fruit cake while growing up. I remember one of my relatives telling me that he had to eat lard sandwiches because they didn't have money for anything better and the thought of spreading lard on toast makes me want to be seriously ill, I can't stand when you have cold chicken soup and there's that nasty white stuff floating on top. These are examples of how we eat what we can get or afford, but there are foods that people eat for nothing more than the pleasure of eating it, taste notwithstanding.
I have eaten a few things I didn't think were to bad, alligator was quite yummy, the texture but not the taste was rather like turkey, I thought. Snake that really doesn't taste like chicken, but tastes exactly how you think it will if you think about it a little. Tequila worms, nuff said? In Thailand fried grasshoppers with a spicy sauce is rather tasty and here in Malaysia Durian is considered the "King of Fruit", but I'll pass on both unless I am asked to by someone I don't want to offend.
Some things I haven't eaten but would try if I was there, in Ecuador fried Guinea Pig. Baked bats and rats are popular in India. In France, Pieds de chameau a la vinaigrette, or Camels feet in English. Sago worms in Papua-New Guinea, they are roasted like sausages on a spit. Kangaroo in Australia, I have been told it is better than wild deer meat, possum is supposed to be good down under as well. The list goes on, I guess I really have changed my habits and will try anything once, twice if I thought I was drunk the first time, unless there's that nasty congealed fat floating on top.
This all brings up the question, why are some animals ok to eat and others not?
When I fist came to Malaysia I was told that the Malays won't eat pork, the Indians won't eat beef and the Chinese will eat anything they can catch. Those choices are mainly for religious reasons or in the case of the Chinese, they really will eat anything. A few years ago there was a story of a tiger cub being saved right from the pot, seriously, the tiger was about to be butchered as the police arrived, they also found a couple of other tigers and the remains of several. In the case of tigers I understand, they are endangered and I really don't think they would taste that good, but taste isn't an issue for the Chinese.
The Chinese people believe that you literally are what you eat, so if you want to be strong you eat tiger paws, if you have a little problem when the little solder refuses to stand at attention, then ground up tiger penis. There are also some plain weird things, birds nest soup, I have seen birds nests and you couldn't make me eat those crap filled things, but the Chinese will pay a fortune for them. The Chinese eat everything, this I suspect comes from not having much food, but what reason could there possibly be for tofu, that's something I can't understand, sorta like the first person to eat an oyster, how bloody hungry were they?
There are a lot of things I wonder about, haggis, what would posses someone to stuff a sheep's stomach with anything let alone grains and then boil it, but then again they did invent the bagpipes, so who was the first Scottish shepherd boy that stuck a pipe up a sheep's ass and decided this would make an instrument? Then there's the English who gave us spotted dick, blood sausage, tripe and my favourite: fruit cake! In Canada there are some that a lot of other cultures don't get, there is poutine, which is one of the best foods around if you want a coronary, how about maple syrup, make a cut in a tree, collect the sap and then boil it for a week, who the hell thought of that?
Sorry if I ruined any dinners, cheers.
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