Monthly Archives: August 2008

Photo courtesy of Erica Simone on flickr.

Yesterday I posted a list of 100 Things Omnivore’s should give a try (according to Very Good Taste) and with it the list of what I had tried, what I want to try and what I will give a pass to. I also mentioned that I’m fascinated with boundaries that people create with food and I think the reasons people choose not to eat certain things can be divided up into several categories:

Because it looks too much like a North American domestic animal.

This seems to be the biggest reason people can’t cross food boundaries – because what is food in one culture is often a pet or domestic animal in another. A lot of people are horrified at the thought of eating dog because they picture Fido instead of a nameless animal raised and bred for eating. Horse is another one. I have friends who keep Guinea Pigs and Chinchillas who shudder at the thought of Cuy on a plate in South America.

Somehow that doesn’t seem to be an issue for me. I wouldn’t eat them here, but were I in a culture that ate any of the above, I would not hesitate to dig in. And this is possibly a surprising revelation because when I was a kid we lived on a hobby farm and one of the reasons I became a vegetarian was because my friends the cows would disappear, followed by about 6 months of meatloaf. I also hated meatloaf, so it may have been a convenient excuse.

Because it’s gross.

This is another thing that swings wildly from culture to culture and (in my mind) can usually be overcome by some mental gymnastics. The reason we often use foreign or alternate words for food in place of a bald drescription, is to distance yourself from what you’re eating. A “dragon’s claw” sounds much better than chicken foot, “venison” sounds better than “Bambi”, and “foie gras” sounds much better than liver of geese force-fed through a tube in their stomachs.

But it all still tastes good.

I try to try everything once. I’ve eaten fish eggs and eyes, haggis, chicken feet and heart, blood sausage and black pudding, and some other things that my fellow diners have cringed at. That said, I don’t think I could eat Balut or a large eye (like a goat’s), and I haven’t had the courage to try brain yet. I’ve had head cheese and sweetbreads and I didn’t enjoy them, so won’t be having them again.

Because it is too cool for eating.

OK, this one is maybe mostly my own. I think many animals are just too awesome to eat, despite deliciousness. Fish and shellfish don’t bother me in the slightest (and in fact are a huge part of my diet) and I love squid, but octopus is a different matter. I won’t touch octopus with a fork (or chopstick for that matter), although I have had it in the past. The reason is because octopuses are amazing creatures. The great pacific octopus grows larger than me  and can take on a shark, but will release you from it’s grasp if you tickle it. They have both long and short term memory, can learn to open jars with their arms and will navigate through a tight maze not much bigger than themselves. They are one of my favorite creatures and I will not put them in my mouth because they are just far too cool for that.

Whale Sharks apparently they taste like tofu, but there is no way I’m going to be tasting one of these gentle giants. I’m fascinated with one and one of my life’s dreams is to swim alongside, not see it on my plate.

Because it’s endangered.

This section should be a no-brainer, but in fact it’s hard. Endangered means different things to different people. I won’t eat shark, eventhough it’s not technically on the endangered list.  Shark harvesting practices are brutal and wasteful and according to wikipedia, “some species have been depleted by over 90% over the past 20-30 years with a population decline of 70% not being unusual”

No shark for me. Which mean’s no shark fin soup either. I have a vague memory or ordering it with my friend’s parents in Chinatown when I was a kid, but I unforunately don’t remember the taste of it at all and it’s going to have to stay that way unfortunately, because I can’t conscienciously eat one.

But, I have eaten Abalone. Abalone is endangered and delicious. I’m sorry.

Also, no whales or any kind of African bush meat (Elephant, Lion, Hippo, Rhino, etc.).

Because it’s rotten or poisonous.

Self-explanatory, except I wouldn’t normally eat anything rotten or poisonous either and Fugu could easily be considered poisonous. Similarly, some fermented dishes could be considered rotten, so I’ll have to be careful about saying never. 

Because it tastes bad.

Well there’s no accounting for taste, as they say, and if you don’t like the way something tastes, you definitely do not need to eat it, but the caveat is that you will have had to try it at least once to know you don’t like it.

I think that’s it. There is obviously a huge list of things out there that fall under the above categories, but don’t normally show up on the menu. Chameleons are too cool for eating, but I’m pretty sure they are also inedible. Hopefully most things on the endangered list are not readily available in restaurants, but that’s something that’s bound to be different depending on where you are. Etc.

What about you? What’s on or off your list?