Foods Never Eaten/Tasted

[mich64]

I have never tried caviar but have always wanted to.

Absolutely love clams! Many wonderful memories of when we lived in PEI being at the cottage going clamming!

I have never known anyone who cooked gopher or squirrel. I am assuming because there are not many gophers in this area. However, I do know people that eat bear meat, there are many of those around here.

[htmb]

I thought there could be some confusion about the gopher tortoise. This is what I'm talking about, not the rodent with which many of you are familiar.

[tod2]

I've tasted caviar in a small blob on top of canape`s but it didn't do it for me. Thank goodness I haven't acquired a taste for the expensive Russian stuff which I think is called Blugar, Bulgar??
Clams, if they are those white shells you dig out of the beach sand, were tried only once and I never want to go through that again. Probably because they were simply boiled and tasted like nothing and chewy like rubber

I think the clams you are talking about Mich must be done differently or are a different thing altogether.

[onlymark]

My gag reflex goes into overdrive whenever I chew 'bouncy' food like a lot of sea food.

[Deleted]

Tod2, you mean Beluga.

[Deleted]

Dec 2, 2012 0:05:36 GMT htmb said:

I thought there could be some confusion about the gopher tortoise. This is what I'm talking about, not the rodent with which many of you are familiar.

I was confused when I saw the word tortoise HTMB. Thanks for the clarification.
Turtle soup is quite a popular delicacy here.

I'm sure that squirrel, raccoon and perhaps opossum were incorporated into some of the Thanksgiving dinner offerings I ate many years ago when I went to a college friends home who lived deep in the heart of Cajun country. There were a couple of sauce picquantes and bisques that contained some meat I couldn't readily identify. It wasn't until afterward that someone told me it was likely one or all of the 3 aforementioned rodents.

There are many varieties of clams. Depending on their freshness and how they are prepared (from the small cherry stones, preferrably eaten raw, to the giant cohog chowder clam and several others in between ) can one IMHO formulate an opinion on their culinary merits.
One of my fondest childhood memories is of being with my father standing in the shallow waters of a bay on Long Island raking for clams. We had just happed on a fair sized bed of cherry stone clams. my father pulled out a small pocket knife and opened some of the freshly dug clams and ate some before offering me one, telling me," taste this C., surely there is nothing finer." I remember how wonderful it tasted,, cold and salty, fresh from the sea.

[anshjain97]

Theoretically I'm a vegetarian...so there are a LOT of things I've not eaten. I've tried to lose this "vegetarian" tag but my palate leaves a lot to be desired...

[Deleted]

I have never known anyone well who was 'born' a vegetarian, but I have known quite a few European and American vegetarians who thought it was a good idea for health or let's-not-kill-any-animals reasons. And you know what? Not a single one remained a vegetarian. I find that rather strange as well -- I guess our cravings are burned into us at birth and it's hard to ever permanently change, even if you want to.

[lagatta]

I do have a Scottish friend who has remained a vegetarian (but not a vegan - he loves fine cheeses!) since I've known him. I've also met a vegetarian Argentinean, of all things. He was a refugee, and other friends from the Cono sur countries (those meaty places at the south of S. America) quip that he had to flee because of his food preferences, not persecution by the dictatorship.

Haven't seen him in several years, though. Perhaps he has returned home and is gorging himself on grass-fed beef.

[Deleted]

Well, I'm about to try out lamb liver this evening for the first time. We got it at the farmer's market this a.m.
I adore liver, and lamb so, I don't think I'll be disappointed.

[Deleted]

Some livers are better than others, but if you like liver, you will almost certainly like the liver of any other mammal -- or fowl.

[lagatta]

I don't particularly like beef liver. Strong, almost metallic taste.

I love lamb's liver. My trusty Moroccan butcher almost always has it, and it is alway good, and fresh.

[nutraxfornerves]

Of things I'm likely to run into in my lifetime--

Balut. Not sure I could force myself to even try it.

Brains and kidneys. I've eaten most other offal, but not these. I'd be willing to try them, but haven't been interested in cooking them for myself.

Haggis. No one ever invites me to a Burns Dinner.

Poutine. Just haven't encountered it.

Alligator. I've eaten a lot of odd meats, including rattlesnake, mountain lion and dog, but have never tried alligator.

Natto. Not sure I can do this one either.

---

Nutrax

The plural of anecdote is not data.

[lagatta]

For sentimental feline/canine reasons, I'd have to be starving to eat either cougar or dog. I'd probably eat you first.

[htmb]

Feb 27, 2013 1:39:04 GMT lagatta said:

For sentimental feline/canine reasons, I'd have to be starving to eat either cougar or dog. I'd probably eat you first.

;D


I've had fried alligator, and remember it tasting a lot like gamey chicken.

[Deleted]

The lambs liver was exceptionally tasty. Braised in a Madeira wine with shallots and crimini mushrooms. Garlic mashed potatoes accompanying.
Far more delicate and tender than calves liver.
And, it was fresh, right from the farmer who raised them.
My friend had wanted to get a lamb belly and make pancetta but after eying it he thought there wasn't adequate enough meat to work with and go to all the trouble. Not at all like a pork belly. The lamb was much too lean.

Alligator meat very much resembles chicken in taste. Much depends on what part of the alligator you use. The belly is the best. Most of what is served in restaurants here is the tail, which if not cooked properly (ideally marinated), tends to be very chewy and tough.
My husband makes a killer alligator ettouffe. He marinates the tail in beer overnight.

[tod2]

I only look for lambs fry, we call it. Unfortunately no supermarket keeps it and I have to go into the Casbah area of our city to get it fresh. I sautee` it with bacon and onions, served with mash and green peas.

Ox liver - No thanks
I have eaten pigs liver - not too bad.
Chicken liver is nice but very rich and not good for dogs or cats in large quantities as they can't get rid of the Vit A.( so I've read...)

Casimira - just today we had a discussion about crocodile meat. Did you know, or have ever read, that some communities in north Africa who eat a lot of crocodile find the men have become sterile and can no longer father children. What a natural birth control that is

[Deleted]

My mother wouldn't touch beef liver because she thought it was horrible, so I avoided it for years. However, the huge difference in price between calf's liver and beef liver finally pushed me to buy the beef liver one day, and it really wasn't bad. I think that the main difference from the old days is that even adult cows do not live all that long, so their livers are much better than what used to be sold in that category. In any case with beef liver going for 4-5€ a kilo and calf's liver starting at 16€, it is not too hard for me to lower my standards a little.

[Deleted]

Feb 27, 2013 14:34:44 GMT tod2 said:

I only look for lambs fry, we call it. Unfortunately no supermarket keeps it and I have to go into the Casbah area of our city to get it fresh. I sautee` it with bacon and onions, served with mash and green peas.

Ox liver - No thanks
I have eaten pigs liver - not too bad.
Chicken liver is nice but very rich and not good for dogs or cats in large quantities as they can't get rid of the Vit A.( so I've read...)

Casimira - just today we had a discussion about crocodile meat. Did you know, or have ever read, that some communities in north Africa who eat a lot of crocodile find the men have become sterile and can no longer father children. What a natural birth control that is ;)

No, I never knew or heard that. How odd. I wonder what it is that causes that?
Bizarre.

I've never had pig or ox liver but wouldn't be opposed to trying it. Availability being an issue here.

[Deleted]

I forgot to post this last night. Lo and behold as synchronicity would have it, there was a feature in yesterday's local paper food section on alligator meat.
It appears that the Catholic church has deemed alligator meat as seafood, therefore, acceptable to eat during the Lenten season.
Go figure!!!

[Deleted]

Well, it is a cold-blooded reptile rather than a mammal or fowl, so that makes sense. What does not make sense is that the Catholic church is still making decisions about such simple matters.

[lugg]

I love to try new foods so would taste alligator at a push but I cannot say that I want to race out and buy some. I really dislike liver , except for chicken liver in a pate or similar.

I wondered has anyone tried buckwheat ? I am going to see if I can get some this weekend after reading this article. I suspect i can because of the large number of Polish people living here we have a few shops and shelves dedicated to Polish foods.

www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/mar/15/buckwheat-recipes-yotam-ottolenghi

[Don Cuevas]

Buckwheat groats are tasty as kasha pilaf. Even better as kasha varnishkes: kasha pilaf with egg bow tie noodles with lashings of onions fried to golden in oil and a little chicken fat.

I have not liked my sourdough bread experiments that included buckwheat flour.

[bjd]

I have eaten buckwheat -- it's okay, nothing special. I suppose it was a filler as a change from potatoes, since rice didn't grow in northern Europe.

In Brittany (France) they make savoury pancakes with it called galettes de sarrasin.

[fumobici]

And in Italy buckwheat is grano saraceno. Seems a saracen thing.

[Deleted]

On another website where people often talk about the same things, somebody was claiming the other day that due to menu ignorance, one day in France a friend thought he was ordering a fish dish (the restaurant being on a lake) and he ended up with a plate of raw calf's liver.

I confess that I challenged this, saying that to my knowledge raw calf's liver is not something that is eaten in France. The person later admitted that he had been mistaken and that this actually happened in Italy along Lake Lugano.

So, does anybody know about this raw calf's liver dish? I admit that the idea doesn't even appeal to me, and that's saying something because I'll eat anything.

[Don Cuevas]

K2, maybe that liver idea should be moved to the Abominable Foods thread.

[joanne28]

I can't bear lamb. The smell of it cooking, particularly lamb chops, literally makes me gag. I once had to flee a friend's apartment when I walked in shortly after they had fried lamb chops.

I have tried it four times and two were involuntary - dinner at relatives' homes that I couldn't do anything about. I slathered the lamb in Branston pickle to cut the smell and taste. Once at a restaurant in Old Montréal and I quite enjoyed it - no smell. Once I ordered lamb's liver and again I had to choke it down because of the residual smell and taste.

The smell makes me think that it would be the same smell of human flesh cooking. Don't ask me where that image came from.

It was readily available growing up but I think we never ate it because of the cost.

[Deleted]

My main peeve with lamb these days is that the odour and taste have been bred out of those poor creatures -- because of people like you! Most of them time it just tastes like beef, and it shouldn't!

But I do understand that certain aromas are repulsive for reasons that we do not understand.

[lagatta]

I love lamb. Can get decent lamb at quite reasonable prices as a Moroccan butcher's nearby. Don't eat it often; it is rather rich in "bad" cholesterol. The best Québec lamb, pré-salé from the Lower St-Lawrence region, is pricy though.

I know these food repulsions are deep-seated and make eating such foods, if one must for reasons of courtesy, quite the ordeal.