I like “bizarre” foods. No, I’m not talking about the TV show, I’m referring to foods uncommon to my region and my culture. Although I do enjoy the TV show - it gives me ideas!
I’ve been eating “bizarre” foods since I was a child. I was the farthest thing from a picky eater - when most preschoolers wanted to bring brownies and chocolate milk for snack day, I wanted to bring New England clam chowder. My parents always let me try new foods, even if they suspected that I wouldn’t like them. The things I didn’t get to try were snack cakes, fast food, and sodas - well, I tried them, but only when my friends’ parents rained on my mom’s parade and fed me Little Debbie and Frito Lay. My mom always made sure I was eating healthy meals, and she put together some really excellent lunches for me. One of the best lunches she packed contained what she liked to call a “healthy” sandwich,” which was avocado slices, cheese, sliced tomato, and alfalfa sprouts on whole grain bread. Those sandwiches were delicious, although you must remember that this was the 80’s - whole grain bread had not gone mainstream yet, so naturally, some of my classmates looked at my lunches and asked me why I ate “weird” food. I usually replied, “It’s good, wanna try it?”
These days, I still eat “weird” food, mainly because I’m a curious person by nature, and I hate the idea that I could be missing out on something good. So, I try “weird” foods. I’ll try pretty much anything - I’ve had jellyfish, bottarga (air-dried mullet roe), sea urchin, pig’s feet, sweetbreads, liver, tripe, you name it. Most recently, I tried duck tongues. Yes, that’s the mystery food in the picture to the right - seasoned duck tongues. Is there a line I wouldn’t cross? Well, I’m hesitant to try any animal parts from the nervous system due to concern over mad cow and other prion diseases, I really have no desire to try insects, and I won't willfully eat trans-fats. But most other foods are fair game.
I’ve been eating “bizarre” foods since I was a child. I was the farthest thing from a picky eater - when most preschoolers wanted to bring brownies and chocolate milk for snack day, I wanted to bring New England clam chowder. My parents always let me try new foods, even if they suspected that I wouldn’t like them. The things I didn’t get to try were snack cakes, fast food, and sodas - well, I tried them, but only when my friends’ parents rained on my mom’s parade and fed me Little Debbie and Frito Lay. My mom always made sure I was eating healthy meals, and she put together some really excellent lunches for me. One of the best lunches she packed contained what she liked to call a “healthy” sandwich,” which was avocado slices, cheese, sliced tomato, and alfalfa sprouts on whole grain bread. Those sandwiches were delicious, although you must remember that this was the 80’s - whole grain bread had not gone mainstream yet, so naturally, some of my classmates looked at my lunches and asked me why I ate “weird” food. I usually replied, “It’s good, wanna try it?”
These days, I still eat “weird” food, mainly because I’m a curious person by nature, and I hate the idea that I could be missing out on something good. So, I try “weird” foods. I’ll try pretty much anything - I’ve had jellyfish, bottarga (air-dried mullet roe), sea urchin, pig’s feet, sweetbreads, liver, tripe, you name it. Most recently, I tried duck tongues. Yes, that’s the mystery food in the picture to the right - seasoned duck tongues. Is there a line I wouldn’t cross? Well, I’m hesitant to try any animal parts from the nervous system due to concern over mad cow and other prion diseases, I really have no desire to try insects, and I won't willfully eat trans-fats. But most other foods are fair game.
One thing that kills me is how American culture turns its collective nose up to organ meats, but barely thinks twice about eating packaged foods whose list of ingredients more closely resembles that of a shampoo bottle than a recipe (P.S. - if you want to know what you’re actually eating, I highly recommend Steve Ettlinger‘s 2007 book “Twinkie, Deconstructed”).
How is “partially hydrogenated soybean oil” perfectly normal, but chicken hearts are “weird?” How is it “normal” to eat an irradiated pork chop cut from a genetically modified hog and injected with something concocted in a test tube, but it’s “weird” to eat tripe? How do we determine what’s normal and what’s weird? I’m gonna go out on a limb here and put my money on classism and xenophobia, but another explanation could simply be that a lot of people in America don’t cook, they simply eat what’s fed to them (side note: I’m completely aware that that’s a loaded statement with many interpretations).
Back to the classism/xenophobia thing, I know I’m not the only foodie who sees the irony in the fact that some of the foods that were common among impoverished immigrant and ethnic groups are now served at pricey restaurants. Organ meats, meats from heritage livestock, and heirloom vegetable varieties are springing up left and right on the menus at some of the country’s best restaurants. TV shows like “Bizarre Foods” and “Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations” have certainly fueled the trend. Also adding to the acceptance of “weird" foods are cooking challenge TV shows, which often challenge contestants to cook dishes featuring uncommon ingredients or less popular cuts of meat. More power to everyone who tries to take the mystery, stigma, and fear away from food!
Other than sheer curiosity, one of my other reasons for seeking out and eating “weird” cuts of meat springs from the fact that I’m an animal lover. This sounds counterintuitive, I know, but I think it is insanely disrespectful to slaughter an animal only to discard its parts that won’t sell well in individually-wrapped Styrofoam packages at White Bread Mart in East Bumf***. Doing my part to make sure that the whole animal is used alleviates some of my conflicted feelings about eating meat.
In sum, I encourage everyone to try some of these “bizarre” foods - if you don’t like them, that‘s fine, but please don’t shy away from foods that don’t show up on the menu at your local dime-a-dozen-pieces-of-flair chain restaurant. If you’re unsure of how to prepare and cook some of these uncommon items, or if you don’t trust the freshness/turnover rate on such items at your local market, try them at a restaurant. And I’ll do my best to post recipes and instructions for cooking less-than-common foods. Open your minds and your mouths - a whole new world of flavors and textures awaits you!
Other than sheer curiosity, one of my other reasons for seeking out and eating “weird” cuts of meat springs from the fact that I’m an animal lover. This sounds counterintuitive, I know, but I think it is insanely disrespectful to slaughter an animal only to discard its parts that won’t sell well in individually-wrapped Styrofoam packages at White Bread Mart in East Bumf***. Doing my part to make sure that the whole animal is used alleviates some of my conflicted feelings about eating meat.
In sum, I encourage everyone to try some of these “bizarre” foods - if you don’t like them, that‘s fine, but please don’t shy away from foods that don’t show up on the menu at your local dime-a-dozen-pieces-of-flair chain restaurant. If you’re unsure of how to prepare and cook some of these uncommon items, or if you don’t trust the freshness/turnover rate on such items at your local market, try them at a restaurant. And I’ll do my best to post recipes and instructions for cooking less-than-common foods. Open your minds and your mouths - a whole new world of flavors and textures awaits you!
No comments:
Post a Comment