Borrowed from moffette: 100 foods to try before you die.

[siani_hedgehog]

FYI, i am using this as a list of things i need to make an effort to try eating. :D

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich - Peanut butter = eww.
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle

Comments

[smogo]

If you're allergic to horses (as I am), you're allergic to their hair, or the oils in their hair, not their meat. I ate some horse (raw, no less) at a 3-star place in Belgium in 2010 and it was all good.

[siani_hedgehog]

that's not technically correct - what triggers allergy is certain proteins that are found in hair, skin, and secretions. you can be allergic to some or all of them. some of them are also present in the flesh, and some are destroyed by cooking. since i know i'm still TERRIFYINGLY allergic to a shirt which has been around a horse, and then boil-washed, i know that whichever protein i'm allergic to is not destroyed by heat. what i don't know is which protein i'm allergic to, and whether it is present in meat. or what reaction that will trigger if i eat it.

[siani_hedgehog]

this is also why the concept that poodles or hairless cats are "hypoallergenic" is COMPLETE AND TOTAL HORSESHIT.

[kest]

and to be clear...horseshit...you are or are not allergic?

[sarah_mum]

Your allergy would be to the outside of horse, its skin/hair/pheremones, wouldn't it? So its inside bits are a different thing altogether.

[siani_hedgehog]

see above. allergy is an innapropriate immune response to a protein. not that simple at all. i DID find some good research on it, which said it's usually safe, but not really advised.

[robo_toda]

On this topic, I'm allergic to penicillin...but not to blue cheese.
As it happens, I found horse to be very tasty. And good luck finding the brawn. My MiL is addicted to it, but it's rare to find a butcher that actually keeps it (or supermarket).
For catfish in the UK, I'd look for something marked *Panga* or *Pangasius*. It's a far Eastern catfish that's imported here, and not too difficult to get hold of.

[robo_toda]

Panga is also sometimes referred to as *Bassa*.

[siani_hedgehog]

i think i might try asking butchers about brawn. surely it must be possible to buy all the unpopular bits of animals somehow... I'll look for that fish, too, ta!

[robo_toda]

Funnily enough, we just found some brawn in Sainsburys at Durham, so the MiL has her fix :)

[krfsm]

#74, if I drop by the UK and meet someone who can forward it to you, I can totally bring some. It's quite sweet and slightly soft.

And re: horse, if you do try, make sure you have someone with a horse dose (if you'll forgive the pun) of antiallergens, like an inhaler of cortisone or something, I guess.

[robo_toda]

I also know somewhere I could just waltz in and buy it, but Penrith is quite a way from you....

[siani_hedgehog]

awesome! what IS it?

my plan with the horse thing is to not try it unless i'm with someone who has an epi-pen for peanut allergies or something :)

[krfsm]

It's a brown whey cheese (the word means "brown cheese").

[robo_toda]

Abalone is an interesting one. They do turn up in the Channel Islands, where they are referred to as *Ormers*.

[siani_hedgehog]

oooh, i have seen that on a menu somewhere i think! good tip. :)