October 17, 2008

"Some foods just make you wonder who ate them first"

Did you ever look at a food and wonder how someone may have decided that it would be good to eat. I’m not talking here about foods that you personally might find disgusting or unappetizing; I’m talking about things so vile looking that you would wonder who would stick that in their mouth the first time. Just how hungry did they have to be?

I’m not talking about something like snails or insects here. Lots of peoples eat insects as a viable source of protein and when you really think about it how different is an insect than a small bird or the like. If you consider it carefully, how different is a snail than a crab or clam or mussel or other sea creature.

No I’m talking about weird looking things that stretch the imagination of eating. Like artichoke for example. I know millions of people love this vegetable. They roast it, they stuff it, they braise it, they dip it, they mix it in spreads. It tastes good too. I've eaten it myself. But have you ever looked closely at one? The food network has all sorts of shows that explain how you prepare it. But the fact remains that it seems like an awful lot of work to get to the heart and who was the first person to pick one, strip all the leaves, avoid the choke and start to eat this vegetable. It would not have been me, that’s for sure.

Who looked at animal intestines and said oh, that would make a good covering for sausage?

Who looked at fish eggs and said, what a great snack, I think I’ll l call it caviar.

Who looked at bull testicles and said I think I’ll call them Rocky Mountain oysters? Nope, not making it into my mouth.

Eskimos make a wine out of seagulls fermented in the sun; in the Philippines, they eat half hatched chicken eggs, and the Chinese eat duck and chicken feet. No, no and a big no on those delicacies.

Sorry, just give me some fries or onion rings, maybe a burger with some good old cheese on it and let me wash it down with a beer.

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