New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

OMG organs, eeeew

post #1 of 8
12/4/06 at 8:31pm
Thread Starter 
right, this was basically a response from a classmate when i asked her what she thought about eating Foie Gras, so my question is, why is it some people are repulsed at eating offal but are fine with meat?

Why is it also that some dont mind the consumption of battery farmed chicken and other produces that are mass produced without care, but are horrified by force feeding technqiues?

anyone can shed any light, further on the foie gras debate?
Reply

Featured Stories on ChefTalk.com

The Making of a Chef Innovator, without the Pomp
Great product that allows you to manually adjust the sharpening angle for each knife
When Cooks Cook for Themselves
post #2 of 8
12/4/06 at 10:57pm
Most of it has to do with the environment in which the human was raised.

;)
Reply
post #3 of 8
12/5/06 at 6:55am
Chacun a son gout.

IMO, the foie gras "debate" is a battle between ignorance and taste+commerce. So you can see which side I'm on. :D
"Notorious stickler" -- The New York Times, January 4, 2004
Reply
post #4 of 8
12/7/06 at 8:47am
I personally will never prepare or eat Foie Gras. I also will never eat or prepare escargot because I can't get over what they are. Seems like most if not all cuisine stems from necessity and then is passed on through the years as tradition and just becomes an acquired taste. One person's "eww WHAT are you eating?" is another's haute cuisine.

Even though I can't get over what Foie Gras is made of I would still never support it's ban much like even though I feel terrible how little calfs are crated for veal to prevent the muscle from becoming too tough I still wouldn;t support it's ban.

Oddly enough the Alderman, Joe Moore, who started the whole issue here in Chicago is my ward's Alderman. Needless to say he has lost my vote because I have to wonder what naughty business he is trying to hide by pressing forward such a hot-button distraction measure.
Mike

“If there's anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now.” -- Zaphod Beeblebrox
Reply
post #5 of 8
12/8/06 at 6:51pm
The two questions I always have for folks who turn up their noses (or worse) at organ meats are: Do you eat eggs? Do you drink milk? :lol:
"Notorious stickler" -- The New York Times, January 4, 2004
Reply
post #6 of 8
12/11/06 at 6:57am
It isn't as much that it is an organ as much as it is mostly fat and the texture gets to me.
Mike

“If there's anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now.” -- Zaphod Beeblebrox
Reply
post #7 of 8
12/11/06 at 10:31am
It's a N. American thingee. Look around in a supermarket, not much in the way of offal, maybe some chicken livers or pork liver. Eggs are disgusting if you think about where they come from, or if you've ever mucked out a hen house....

Badly prepared offal is nasty and can turn someone off very quickly, and this can also have a negative effect on that person's family. Take my mother for instance, growing up in Switzerland during WW2, she never tried lamb. She worked for a family in England where she ate boiled mutton--every week, and for the rest of her entire life she would never go near mutton or lamb. This had an effect on me until I tried lamb for my first time at 18.

Problem is offal isn't meat, it has to be prepared carefully. Liver cooked just right is great, but a few seconds longer and it's shoe leather, ris de veau, or sweetbreads are wonderfull IF they're soaked to remove the blood, lightly poached, pressed and the membrane removed. Beef tongue is fantastic IF prepared correctly. But there are few cooks and even fewer places that prepare offal correctly.

Europe and Asia, that's a completley different story.
Reply
post #8 of 8
12/13/06 at 1:10pm
You make me glad I live in North America!! Kidding- I do respect that others eat things I would only feed to my cat. (but I do draw the line with the live monkey brains...)
Have you tried a butcher shop? I know there aren't many left around- but check your local phone book. I don't think you are going to find fresh organs in any grocery store. A butcher shop/ meat market would be your best bet. We have one here in Sacramento, CA that does wild game processing and also carries exotics (buffalo, ostrich, etc), they always have organ meats available.
Bon Vive' !
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Professional Chefs

Featured Stories on ChefTalk.com

The Making of a Chef Innovator, without the Pomp
Great product that allows you to manually adjust the sharpening angle for each knife
When Cooks Cook for Themselves