What are the three strangest things you've eaten in your lifetime?

[culinarian247]

Oddly enough. Krispy Kreme doughnuts are too sweet so I don't like them.

[Athenaeus]

Porcupine with red sauce ( as if it was with lemon sauce would make a difference)
Snake , which is delicious!!!!!

All the other things you have mentioned does not sound strange to me.
What's the matter with you guys and urchines???? I mean. I LOVE THEM!!!!!

[DaveB]

Wierd things?

Natto. Certainly the wierdest taste and texture.

Szechuan alligator (in Atlanta, Ga.). Pretty good if a bit rubbery.

Pilot whale (St. Lucia). Stringy, fishy-tasting pot roast. Not worth the 3 hour prep time.

Duck's feet. Definitely wierd but tasty.

Win a few, lose a few

[roon]

cchiu- the cow's tongue was yummy, but you're right about the texture being a bit- odd. Texture will do me in with certain foods. No nuts with my brownies, for example. But I didn't mind tongue.

I did eat the anchovy with some rice- didn't think to mention it, though! Most of the kimchee dishes are quite strong and/or spicy, so eating them with rice is wonderful...but it was still too salty for me- along with the aforementioned ick factor.

[shroomgirl]

not an issue, I quit trying to talk people into eating crawfish a long time ago....7-10# for an adult at a boil is pretty normal....

savory as I recall but it was really blue/grey and cylindrical....

chicken feet are ok, as are tendons....started eating them with Chinese friends...

Though the fermented soybeans used in sushi were rank....the sushi guy said that they were an acquired taste....not sure that's an acquisition I would want.

[ShawtyCat]

1. Circe Bush Tea (whenever the flu strikes we drink this and it goes away)
2. Aloe Vera Plant (the clear stuff in the stem)
3. Chicken Feet Soup
4. Fish Eye Soup(told you my grandmas can't cook)
5. Tripe
6. Oxtail Soup
7. Bran with Condensed milk (Hey I wanted something sweet and crunchy, plus my kids now LOVE bran)
8. Sorrell Punch
9. Soursop Punch (I think the Spanish call this Guanabana)
10. Gooseberry Jam

[thebighat]

I know some people are used to the dishes, but the first time I had cervelles de veau aux beurre noir at a long gone place in Boston called Dodin-Bouffant run by a couple named Pritzker who then moved to NYC, the first time I had a humongous platter of calamari aglio olio (sp?)in Little Italy in NYC with all the little tentacles sticking up (I'll eat any amount of it fried), and the first time the kitchen manager made me eat a raw scallop to check it's freshness are my three.

[Suzanne]

Hey, why do you guys not like chicken feet? I grew up eating them in my high chair, along with necks and gizzards (ok, stomachs). Of course, the key is: my mother would eat them, and feed them to me! She did not, however, eat sea urchins, which I also adore. In fact, she might not have known a lot of the "weird" things I've eaten even existed. But she probably would say, "Well, if it makes you happy..." Most foods do, except for natto!!!!!!!!! And, yes, Krispy Kreme which in addition to being too sweet are WAAAAAAAY too greasy. burp.

[momoreg]

My mother used to feed me chicken feet, calves' feet, brains, gizzards, hearts...

Yes, I still speak to her.

[Mezzaluna]

Culinarin247, I agree completely about the Krispy Kremes. Nasty! Lucky for me, too. Struck me as greasy cotton candy, if you can imagine such a thing.

I grew up eating beef tongue. When my mom cooked it, it'd be ready to peel by the time I got home from school. She left the job to me because, for some weird reason, I liked to do it. We ate gizzards and hearts from chickens and turkey, as they were boiled for soup. My grandmother bemoaned not being able to get chicken feet for soup, so I never got to try them. I'm guessing they're like the chicken equivalent of pig's feet (never tried them). We also ate fried beef heart slices. But no brains! And no beating cobra hearts, either.

French andouille sausage is made with tripe, as I found to my surprise, and bears no resemblance to the Cajun product. I have made tripe a la mode de Caen at home with honeycomb tripe; but when I tried it in Caen, it was inedible (tasted like bad breath smells). I have eaten a 1,000 year old egg (getting past the nose-ful of ammonia smell was quite a feat), and decided it wasn't worth it.

[ShawtyCat]

What kinda egg was it??

[mudbug]

ShawtyCat,

The following is taken from my post under the topic You Ate WHAT? Contest.: Gold Medal Winner

"Even though they are called "1000 Year Old Eggs" it only takes 100 days to cure them.

You should be able to find them at your local asian grocery store. They are usually duck eggs. They are extremly unique in appearance and smell. They look like black/grey jello with crystals (once you peel off the shell) and they have an extremely strong sulfuric aroma. (so don't be surprised by the smell) I find I have a craving for them once every few years. A tiny piece goes a long way when mixed with a mouthful of white rice. This would be one of those "acquired tastes".

This is a Chinese delicacy and the eggs are cured, well, not for a 1000 years, but only 100 days! Originally, duck eggs were used and are still being used in China but you may substitute chicken eggs. If you are on good terms with your Chinese take-away, forget about the cost and buy a dozen or so cured eggs. Otherwise, start preparing!

Lime: from your building supply store
Coarse salt: from your grocery or supermarket
Dry green tea leaves: you only drink coffee? Well buy a packet of tea or two
Ashes: you will have to ask a friendly guy in Ismailovo, making Shashlik, for any leftovers.
Charcoal: from the household section of your department store, you have to crush them into a fine powder. Depending on how many eggs you want to make, you need about 3 kg of the above mixture for 12 eggs.

Prepare an equal amount of all the ingredients in a bowl and mix them well. In an earthenware pot cover the bottom with the mixture and spread the eggs evenly upon it. Make sure they do not touch! Fill the spaces with the mixture and put another layer off eggs on top. You can press the coating down a little, but it is not recommended to age eggs that are cracked or completely broken. Cover the last layer of eggs completely and put a lid on your container. Store in a cool place for three months. Do not put in a Refrigerator, remember THIS was the main way the Chinese preserved their eggs in the old days. They did not have refrigerators then!. (The Chinese Chef, who gave me this recipe, also told me that if the temperature is too cold the mixture will not ‘work’ and the eggs will not be cured.)

How should they be eaten? Either shelled and sliced and then served cold, (uncooked of course). Or you might want to serve them steamed with your next Chinese take-away!

This from an article 1000 Year Old Eggs by Chef Morak"

Also called 100- or 1,000-year-old eggs, preserved duck eggs are a Chinese tradition during the New Year celebration. They are preserved in lime, pine ash, and salt for 50 to 100 days, then peeled, sliced, and served as an appetizer.

[monpetitchoux]

My mother, the special woman that she is, used to save the chicken heart for me, and only me, for helping her with domestic work so much. And I knew it was special because there is only one. She'd eat the liver and then slice up the gizzard to divide amongst the rest of the kids so that we wouldn't fight over it. I rate dimsum restaurants according to how well they prepare their chicken feet. Yep, organ meats are not too strange to me. Though I don't eat them as much anymore, I eaten tripe, stomach, liver, kidney, intestines, tongue you name it. And from various animal's too. I've also had bull's testicles, but they were not cut up into cubes for me. Istead, they were simply grilled with salt and pepper so I had the pleasure of eating it in it's full effect.

The weirdest things I ate:

1. In China, I ate these little black lumps the size of my thumb nail in rice wine. I don't know what they were but they looked like some sort of snail/slug that didn't have a shell. They were swaying so they were still alive, albeit, probably blessedly intoxicated in that pool of rice wine. Their interesting texture had me going back for more.

2. Dragonfruit. I couldn't resist the urge to try it when I was in Vancouver 2 years ago. It was flaming red with green tips. And when you cut into it, you get a semi-translucent white flesh that is speckled with black seeds that look like sesame. Despite its raging beauty, it tasted a little bland to me. Prior to dragonfruit, pomegranate was the only other fruit that has ever stirred so much anticipation in me (I was eight years old at that time).

3. The soup that Jose cooked up for family meal last week. It was like eating the scraps of everything on the menu only wet.

[Svadhisthana]

This is really sad, I've been trying to think of the strange things I've eaten and I don't have any. The only people who would think so are my family members who eat the same dozen or so meals over and over again. Pomegranite, strawberries with balsamic vinegar, seitan(like Risa said-not strange for a veggie), brie, leeks, tofu, asian pears, and other very normal things (normal to me) would make my mother and sisters wrinkle their noses. "What is that?" "Eeeew". I guess the only thing that would be strange is cheese curds-for those of you NOT in the midwest.

[Isa]

I too ate strange thing at dim sum, duck feet. It wasn't bad the texture just felt weird in the mouth.


I would never do eat this today and I still can't believe I actually ate that but in Finland I ate reindeer.