TV broadens our horizons, especially when nobody wins any money
I was watching National Geographic just now- tonight's "Taboo" program was on food.
Naturally, fugu was on it. It's kind of an "eh." thing for me- I wouldn't eat fugu, and only partly because of the fact that it's poisonous. There's farm-raised fugu with a much, much lower level of toxicity, but even then. Listening to everyone describe it... it doesn't taste like anything. At all. It's tough as old leather (which is the real reason why it's sliced tissue-thin) and very, very bland. Here's a hint. "Delicate flavor" when referring to fish is food-speak for "tastes like nothing." I have a feeling squid has a stronger flavor than fugu, and I don't like squid, raw, cooked, or otherwise. I'll eat it, especially if 1. it's free and 2. I'm hungry, but unless you deep-fry it in bisquick and cayenne, it's about as exciting as drinking a glass of water.
...which, by the way, I like the taste of.
So fugu... it's just not worth it to me. The expense, the whole "poisonous" thing, the fact that it doesn't really taste like much.... Nah.
The other things on there were interesting. I learned that while intellectually I could handle the idea of roasted dog, as a concept, without images... seeing grimacing barbecued dog heads was shocking. I can't really complain about it, though, because the meat markets follow all my stipulations for something being acceptible food:
1. The animal is raised as food, not as a pet, companion, or worker. FOOD. And is treated accordingly throughout its life. (There is only one kind of dog bred for food in Asia. One. They're all the same size, shape, color, etc. Nobody in Cambodia looks at a German Shepherd and things "Oh hey, teriaki!" Nobody eats pets. Stories of a lab puppy on the grill are urban legends.)
2. Farming/hunting practices are sustainable and as humane as possible given the economic conditions. (I don't approve of shark fin soup because of the most common fishing practice, not because I think sharks are beautiful beautiful creatures. I think sharks are beautiful beautiful delicious creatures, and I'll happily eat shark meat- but not shark fin anything.)
3. Critters are killed as quickly OR as painlessly as possible. (Whacking off a fish head isn't painless, but it is quick. Sticking that fish in the freezer is relatively painless, but it's NOT quick.) Preference is given to speed.
4. As much of the animal as is possible is used. (...this being my beef with shark fins.)
That's it, really. I came up with these during high school, when I was trying to decide if I wanted to be a vegetarian or not. Hypocrisy was pretty heavy on my mind at the time, which is why there isn't anything species-specific. I don't think a kitten has more right to live than a duckling. I like kittens better, but when it comes right down to it I don't feel right using personal bias to build a school of thought about food. So.
Dogs were hard to see... snakes not really, I've seen that on TV a couple of times. I don't really AGREE completely with the practice, but only because some traditions skin the snake alive, or bleed it at the table, or otherwise violate #3. (Beheaded and still writhing is not alive, btw. It's creepy, but the head is on the other side of the kitchen, snake is dead, we're cool.) Now, snapping that sucker's neck at the table and proceeding as planned is fine. Again, CREEPY, but fine. I'd eat the snake. I'd definitely give the bile-in-a-glass funny looks, but I'd drink it, because there are WITNESSES one can't wuss out in front of witnesses.
What really, REALLY got me though was the teriaki Madagascar hissing cockroaches in the Explorer's Club annual banquet in New York... because they were skewered through the head alive. That made me all sadface. They were CRAWLING AROUND with bamboo skewers through them the long way. THAT made me go o_O. Stephanie was all "...at least put 'em in the freezer or get 'em trashed like you did the tarantulas!"
The tempura tarantulas were soaked in brandy to stun (or outright kill) them, flambe'd (because tarantula hair is a powerful irritant), THEN skewered. Those suckers were DEAD. And very, very jolly in their last moments, too. XD
Just about everyone on the show said tarantula tastes like soft-shell crab, so now I'm curious to try them, and also curious if shellfish-allergies apply to insects. .-.
Some other bug was supposed to taste like shrimp, but the Madagasgar hissers (..they're big, children. Very LARGE cockroaches) were supposed to be kinda bland, which was why a turkey injector of teriaki sauce was employed.
I also thought of "weird" or "exotic" food that I've eaten (slightly dubious at the time, because hey, we're all shy trying something that might not taste good) while watching that show.
shark (sweet, mild, kind of like scallops. NOM NOM TASTY)
rattlesnake (good. it's white meat. No, it doesn't taste like chicken.)
alligator (same as above- white meat, and tasty, but not chicken)
frog (anyone who tells you this tastes like chicken is having you on. Frog legs are BUILT like hot wings, but they taste like fish.)
durian (...durian is funny. It's sweet, with a nice, custard texture, but you love it or you hate it, and there's really no middle ground. This is because it smells like your refrigerator after you come back from a two-week vacation and the power went out twenty minutes after you locked the door.)
roses (...taste is highly dependent on color. Pink is tastiest, red is bitter, etc)
lavender (tastes how it smells, and it's good in fruit salad, tea, or anywhere where it's used so as to be subtle instead of obvious.)
nasturtium (peppery. nectar-sweet and peppery)
Stuff I'd like to try, exotic or not:
candied ants (I hear they're good on salads. But I have also been stung by ants, so I want to try, but feelings are mixed.)
cockroaches
tarantula
turtle (with the caveat that I need to know where it came from- see #2)
lotus root, seed, etc
rabbit
goat
game birds (I've tried duck, and I don't usually care for it. It really depends on how it's cooked)
There's other things I'd not want to try (thank you, Andrew Zimmern X3), but you'd have to go abroad for them. Oh, and I've never tried crickets, but I'm dubious as to how anything that smells like THAT can taste good.
Oh, and I scavenged cardboard today. Big pieces. ^^ Dumpster-diving (well, recycle-bin diving) is fun, and having to jerk boxes free of the ice was kind of funny.
Naturally, fugu was on it. It's kind of an "eh." thing for me- I wouldn't eat fugu, and only partly because of the fact that it's poisonous. There's farm-raised fugu with a much, much lower level of toxicity, but even then. Listening to everyone describe it... it doesn't taste like anything. At all. It's tough as old leather (which is the real reason why it's sliced tissue-thin) and very, very bland. Here's a hint. "Delicate flavor" when referring to fish is food-speak for "tastes like nothing." I have a feeling squid has a stronger flavor than fugu, and I don't like squid, raw, cooked, or otherwise. I'll eat it, especially if 1. it's free and 2. I'm hungry, but unless you deep-fry it in bisquick and cayenne, it's about as exciting as drinking a glass of water.
...which, by the way, I like the taste of.
So fugu... it's just not worth it to me. The expense, the whole "poisonous" thing, the fact that it doesn't really taste like much.... Nah.
The other things on there were interesting. I learned that while intellectually I could handle the idea of roasted dog, as a concept, without images... seeing grimacing barbecued dog heads was shocking. I can't really complain about it, though, because the meat markets follow all my stipulations for something being acceptible food:
1. The animal is raised as food, not as a pet, companion, or worker. FOOD. And is treated accordingly throughout its life. (There is only one kind of dog bred for food in Asia. One. They're all the same size, shape, color, etc. Nobody in Cambodia looks at a German Shepherd and things "Oh hey, teriaki!" Nobody eats pets. Stories of a lab puppy on the grill are urban legends.)
2. Farming/hunting practices are sustainable and as humane as possible given the economic conditions. (I don't approve of shark fin soup because of the most common fishing practice, not because I think sharks are beautiful beautiful creatures. I think sharks are beautiful beautiful delicious creatures, and I'll happily eat shark meat- but not shark fin anything.)
3. Critters are killed as quickly OR as painlessly as possible. (Whacking off a fish head isn't painless, but it is quick. Sticking that fish in the freezer is relatively painless, but it's NOT quick.) Preference is given to speed.
4. As much of the animal as is possible is used. (...this being my beef with shark fins.)
That's it, really. I came up with these during high school, when I was trying to decide if I wanted to be a vegetarian or not. Hypocrisy was pretty heavy on my mind at the time, which is why there isn't anything species-specific. I don't think a kitten has more right to live than a duckling. I like kittens better, but when it comes right down to it I don't feel right using personal bias to build a school of thought about food. So.
Dogs were hard to see... snakes not really, I've seen that on TV a couple of times. I don't really AGREE completely with the practice, but only because some traditions skin the snake alive, or bleed it at the table, or otherwise violate #3. (Beheaded and still writhing is not alive, btw. It's creepy, but the head is on the other side of the kitchen, snake is dead, we're cool.) Now, snapping that sucker's neck at the table and proceeding as planned is fine. Again, CREEPY, but fine. I'd eat the snake. I'd definitely give the bile-in-a-glass funny looks, but I'd drink it, because there are WITNESSES one can't wuss out in front of witnesses.
What really, REALLY got me though was the teriaki Madagascar hissing cockroaches in the Explorer's Club annual banquet in New York... because they were skewered through the head alive. That made me all sadface. They were CRAWLING AROUND with bamboo skewers through them the long way. THAT made me go o_O. Stephanie was all "...at least put 'em in the freezer or get 'em trashed like you did the tarantulas!"
The tempura tarantulas were soaked in brandy to stun (or outright kill) them, flambe'd (because tarantula hair is a powerful irritant), THEN skewered. Those suckers were DEAD. And very, very jolly in their last moments, too. XD
Just about everyone on the show said tarantula tastes like soft-shell crab, so now I'm curious to try them, and also curious if shellfish-allergies apply to insects. .-.
Some other bug was supposed to taste like shrimp, but the Madagasgar hissers (..they're big, children. Very LARGE cockroaches) were supposed to be kinda bland, which was why a turkey injector of teriaki sauce was employed.
I also thought of "weird" or "exotic" food that I've eaten (slightly dubious at the time, because hey, we're all shy trying something that might not taste good) while watching that show.
shark (sweet, mild, kind of like scallops. NOM NOM TASTY)
rattlesnake (good. it's white meat. No, it doesn't taste like chicken.)
alligator (same as above- white meat, and tasty, but not chicken)
frog (anyone who tells you this tastes like chicken is having you on. Frog legs are BUILT like hot wings, but they taste like fish.)
durian (...durian is funny. It's sweet, with a nice, custard texture, but you love it or you hate it, and there's really no middle ground. This is because it smells like your refrigerator after you come back from a two-week vacation and the power went out twenty minutes after you locked the door.)
roses (...taste is highly dependent on color. Pink is tastiest, red is bitter, etc)
lavender (tastes how it smells, and it's good in fruit salad, tea, or anywhere where it's used so as to be subtle instead of obvious.)
nasturtium (peppery. nectar-sweet and peppery)
Stuff I'd like to try, exotic or not:
candied ants (I hear they're good on salads. But I have also been stung by ants, so I want to try, but feelings are mixed.)
cockroaches
tarantula
turtle (with the caveat that I need to know where it came from- see #2)
lotus root, seed, etc
rabbit
goat
game birds (I've tried duck, and I don't usually care for it. It really depends on how it's cooked)
There's other things I'd not want to try (thank you, Andrew Zimmern X3), but you'd have to go abroad for them. Oh, and I've never tried crickets, but I'm dubious as to how anything that smells like THAT can taste good.
Oh, and I scavenged cardboard today. Big pieces. ^^ Dumpster-diving (well, recycle-bin diving) is fun, and having to jerk boxes free of the ice was kind of funny.