How Adventurous An Eater Are You?

[GoodbyeDave]

For most people outside the USA (or even in NY) it's odd to see things like liver being considered exotic.

As for blood-based food, blood-based sausages are common throughout Europe. Personally, I'm a bit squeamish. Out of curiosity, I once bought a couple of slices of the British version, black pudding, took them home, and started frying them. And I looked at the black pudding, and the black pudding looked at me. Then I carefully took it from the pan, wrapped it up, and put in in the waste bin.

 

[ChristineM]

I will eat most things offered to me (and have), bbq'd crickets, snails, raw puffin heart, smoked snake, fugu - each once and im still here. Raw meat and raw fish dishes on many occasions.

I draw the line at revoltingly stinky food

Century eggs are not that old, just a preserved a few weeks or months.

 

[ChristineM]

For most people outside the USA (or even in NY) it's odd to see things like liver being considered exotic.

As for blood-based food, blood-based sausages are common throughout Europe. Personally, I'm a bit squeamish. Out of curiosity, I once bought a couple of slices of the British version, black pudding, took them home, and started frying them. And I looked at the black pudding, and the black pudding looked at me. Then I carefully took it from the pan, wrapped it up, and put in in the waste bin.

Fried black pudding is really very tasty. A full english breakfast isn't full without black pudding

 

[Revoltingest]

For most people outside the USA (or even in NY) it's odd to see things like liver being considered exotic.

As for blood-based food, blood-based sausages are common throughout Europe. Personally, I'm a bit squeamish. Out of curiosity, I once bought a couple of slices of the British version, black pudding, took them home, and started frying them. And I looked at the black pudding, and the black pudding looked at me. Then I carefully took it from the pan, wrapped it up, and put in in the waste bin.

I would've put it outside for White Skunk, Gray Possum,
Black Skunk, Big Racoon, Little Racoon #1 & #2.

 

[Jainarayan]

I loves me some pig's feet. I like tripe, liver and kidneys, but being that they are largely from beef I don't eat them anymore. I've never had brains or heart (and take that any way you want ). Steak tartare or carpaccio would be out also. I have no sense of smell, so I could probably tolerate durian fruit. I like sashimi.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

I'll eat anything if I have to if it qualifies as food, that's about it. Despite what people think raw food is mostly fine in the USA, and certain things taste better that way. (Prime rib, roast beef, etc are way better rare. Lamb and pork roast, ditto.) Most of the contaminates are on the outside of the meat and a good hard washing eliminates any problems. In the USA, all meats are tested for parasites so this typically isn't something you have to worry about "cooking out". I've ate raw seafood and it was no big deal, either. I've never been hungry enough to eat a bug unless it was a lobster, shrimp, or crawdad, but I imagine it could happen, in a survival situation, and I wouldn't give it a second thought. If it's me or the bug, I'm gonna be around, lol.

Though, there are some I don't like. I'm pretty whatever on broccoli and canned spinach (I taste the can, fresh, I love), lol

I think raw fish is probably the least exotic thing on the list as, at least here on the West Coast, there are sushi places every couple miles. But I see less raw meats of other varieties like steak tartare (which is popular in most other countries) or veitnamese raw blood soup. Rare sure but raw not so much

 

[ADigitalArtist]

I would've put it outside for White Skunk, Gray Possum,
Black Skunk, Big Racoon, Little Racoon #1 & #2.

Speaking of, I thought about adding unusual meats like opossum or raccoon. Over here you'll only find it at these novelty restaurants which are called 'Roadkill Cafe.' Had bbq raccoon once.
Once was enough.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Speaking of, I thought about adding unusual meats like opossum or raccoon. Over here you'll only find it at these novelty restaurants which are called 'Roadkill Cafe.' Had bbq raccoon once.
Once was enough.

Things I tried and did not like:

• Rabbit
• Crab
• Frog
• Chicken liver
• Beef liver
• Okra
• Butternut squash
• Sweet'n Sour red sauce
• Beets
• Sweet potato pie
• Salted anchovy (the pizza topping)
• Radish
• Olives
• Drinks with olives in them
• Buttermilk
• Sweet pickles (except as relish)

 

[Subduction Zone]

Things I tried and did not like:

• Rabbit

Never had it myself. But since I used to hunt and eat squirrel I have feeling that I would not have any problem with it.

• Crab

But crab can be sooooooooooooooooooooo good. Do you like any shellfish? If you do the crab you ate may not have been prepared properly.

• Frog

I think I have had them only once, maybe twice. The frogs' legs that I had varied. Some were quite good some were a bit tough. When it comes to new foods one taste is often not enough.

• Chicken liver

Never had it.

• Beef liver

It can be quite tasty if prepared correctly. If you just fry it it can be terrible. Soak it in milk. Dredge it in flour. Salt and pepper. Fry up some onions in a pan and when they are almost done cook the liver. Do NOT overcook. Overcooked liver is like shoe leather.

• Okra

Try some gumbo. It is usually a key ingredient. I have a gumbo that takes about five hours to prepare and it is also really really good.

• Butternut squash

Bake with butter and brown sugar. Preparation makes a difference.

• Sweet'n Sour red sauce

Well you don't eat that straight. Go to a good quality Chinese restaurant and you might change your mind. They can be hard to find. I was spoiled with a fairly authentic one at the university I went to. None has measured up since. The university was a large one with a fair population of foreign students. More than half of the customers tended to be Chinese students. A very good sign.

• Beets

Again preparation can make all the difference. A good quality Russian borscht is hard to beet (pun intended).

• Sweet potato pie

I am not sure if I have had any. I know I have never had a homemade one and when it comes to pies a properly homemade pie beats anything that I have ever gotten from a bakery or other source. <sigh, I miss my mother now>

• Salted anchovy (the pizza topping)

I split a pizza once with a person that did half anchovies. That taste travels. But as an ingredient in a Caesar salad they are a must. So again, application. They should be treated more as a spice than as a protein. In other words a little can be great, a lot can be a disaster.

• Radish

REally?

• Olives
• Drinks with olives in them

Love good olives. If you can find garlic stuffed olives they can be quite the treat. I do not recommend them on a date night.

• Buttermilk

Ice cold buttermilk on a hot summer day is quite the treat. Try with a little fresh ground black pepper. And again makes very good cooking ingredient. Both in pancakes and as an ingredient in batters for frying.

• Sweet pickles (except as relish)

A few sweet pickles on the side of some barbecue is not bad. Eating them straight out of the jar, not so much.

You are quite the picky eater. One suggestion. Keep your mind open to trying these foods later in your life. As you get older you will find that your tastes change. Some things that you love now you will find not nearly so later in your life. Some foods that you hate now you may love in the future. When I was a kid I hated buttermilk too. Now I love it during the summer. At other times of the year I still like it, but I do not crave it.

 

[Jainarayan]

Speaking of, I thought about adding unusual meats like opossum or raccoon. Over here you'll only find it at these novelty restaurants which are called 'Roadkill Cafe.' Had bbq raccoon once.
Once was enough.

I had 'gator in Nawlins. It was in a spicy tomato sauce (the 'gator, not the city). It was really good. It did not taste like chicken. I stopped in a cafe-saloon-luncheonette in Manitou Springs. On the menu was rattlesnake eggs. I'm assuming it was Colorado humor for chicken eggs, but my curiosity wasn't piqued enough to find out first hand.

 

[Jainarayan]

Okra

Okra is disgusting. It's right up there with raw garden slugs. I keep hearing that if it's breaded and fried -- okra, not slugs -- it's very good... crispy and not at all slimy. I think those people are trying to trick me and have a good laugh at my expense.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Speaking of, I thought about adding unusual meats like opossum or raccoon. Over here you'll only find it at these novelty restaurants which are called 'Roadkill Cafe.' Had bbq raccoon once.
Once was enough.

Kind of reminds me of The Beverly Hillbillies and Granny's fine cooking. *Grin*

 

[Orbit]

I have to admit that after some travel and deep diving into international recipe books for a while leaves me feeling that American food is, in a way, incredibly limited on ingredients and preparation types.
Even most Western countries outside of the US commonly use things like pig feet, beef knuckles, organ meat, and a wide variety of fermented foods outside of just fermented grains.

What are some unusual foods you've tried or positive experiences with food outside your comfort zone?

For me, I buy chicken feet fairly regularly because it's an inexpensive way to make really, really good chicken stock with lots of collagen and bone minerals.

I once tried "chapulinas", a Mexican delicacy (fried grasshoppers). They tasted like wood bark.
Otherwise, I've tried raw fish (sashimi/sushi); raw beef (carpaccio); blood sausage (it was ok, nothing to write home about); and liver and kidneys. All of them were fine.