Saturday, March 10, 2007

Am I allowed to say "ew"?

I'm all for adventure when it comes to eating. As a kid, I ate tripe, fish eyes, squid tentacles, marrow, and head cheese, without giving it much thought. I was one of few people I knew when I first started college, before it became trendy, who had eaten raw fish and actually enjoyed it. I've had frogs' legs, sea urchin, eel (what is it about creatures from the ocean that make most people squrim?), haggis, black pudding (not to be confused with the sort found in D&D), and dinuguan, which is pork stewed in its own blood. More recently, I tried sea cucumber for the first time.

But when I read this post, I wondered: How far is too far? Is there such a thing as being "too adventurous" — and by that I mean, when does it become less about eating and more about being able to say you've eaten something out of the ordinary? And then the real question: Would I eat it if someone placed a bowl of risotto topped with cockscomb and duck tongue? Maybe, just to say I had. But there are certain foods that I do truly find disgusting, like poultry heads and feet, so that dish, in particular, pretty much grosses me out.

What about you? Are there any foods you just won't eat? (Which is different from foods you can't, like ones which you are allergic to or don't eat as a matter of principle — yeah, I'm talking to you, vegetarians.)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I feel singled out. =)

Most foods I don't eat (that aren't meat or things I'm allergic to) I just don't eat because I don't care for them - green peppers, olives, and coconut all come to mind (though prepared correctly or in differnt forms - olive oil, most specifically - i like them).

While I love pickled cucumbers, Asian style pickled veggies don't thrill me (the actually scare me a bit) so I haven't had many experiences with them. Otherwise, nothing vegetarian really grosses me out. Of course, I'm trying Vegemite for the first time next week, so I'll let you know what's up =)

Julie said...

I love tripe, snails, blood pudding, sweet breads the list goes on and on. I love so many foods from so many cultures and am always open to try new things.
But I do draw the line at rotted foods(which are a regular staple of some cultures) nor will I put anything that is still alive and wiggling down my throat(quite trendy in many asian countries).

Teresa said...

Mike - Vegemite (and its cousin, Marmite) are, well, pretty gross. In my opinion. Which isn't to say I wouldn't eat it again to make an attempt to like it. But the English kids I knew said you either love it or you hate it, and I'm definitely one of the latter.

Julie - I have not yet attempted to try snails. I'm open to it, but I also think they're kind of gross. If I already think it's disgusting when it's still alive, I think I would have a hard time eating it as a food. Rodents, for example.

Anonymous said...

How about Brooklyn Squirrel? Or Sparrow? Check this NY Times article out: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/04/dining/04rine.html?_r=1&ref=dining&oref=slogin