Weird Food

[Spoonweaver]

Weirdest thing I ever ate was,

Potted meat food product

Which is basically generic spam.
Tasted worst then cat food smells.

[scalyfreak]

Dark greens are good with mayonaise, Aspargaus is the perfect plant form and needs not to be tampred with except basic cooking.

My opinion on asparagus is that it's best when oven roasted. With olive oil, fresh ground black pepper, and parmesan cheese.

Boiled asparagus sounds like something you should serve if your goal is to make your dinner guests hate asparagus.

[rooster707]

I've never gone anywhere farther than California, so the weirdest thing I've ever eaten is sushi. I refused to try it at first, but eventually I came to love it.

[Bohandas]

This is a like,not a dislike, but certainly weird. At college there was a food truck that served sandwiches with what would normally be the sides worked into the sandwiches itself. Like a foot long hotdog with cheese fries jammed into the bun with it, and some kind of hoagie or grinder with fried mozzarella sticks in it. I would eat there on the rare days when I didn't just cheap out and get soft pretzels from the truck that sold them three for a dollar.

[BWR]

My opinion on asparagus is that it's best when oven roasted. With olive oil, fresh ground black pepper, and parmesan cheese.

Boiled asparagus sounds like something you should serve if your goal is to make your dinner guests hate asparagus.

While oven asparagus is probably best, boiled asparagus is good too, just be careful to take it out in time so it doesn't get soggy and limp. I prefer tzatziki to hollandaise, however.

[scalyfreak]

While oven asparagus is probably best, boiled asparagus is good too, just be careful to take it out in time so it doesn't get soggy and limp. I prefer tzatziki to hollandaise, however.

I think that goes for any cooking method, when it comes to asparagus...

I have a convenient little contraption for steaming vegetables and other food stuffs, and it is very easy to over-cook asparagus when preparing it in this device, which is the main reason I prefer the oven instead.

I know someone who thinks asparagus is best when they are "not chewy", which is this person's way of saying they should be soft all the way through. Eew.

[8BitNinja]

My opinion on asparagus is that it's best when oven roasted. With olive oil, fresh ground black pepper, and parmesan cheese.

Boiled asparagus sounds like something you should serve if your goal is to make your dinner guests hate asparagus.

Have you ever tried grilled asparagus?

It's really good

[scalyfreak]

Have you ever tried grilled asparagus?

It's really good

Yes, actually, and I agree it is delicious. My oven recipe was originally for grilling, but when I moved and the grill didn't move with me, I adapted it for an oven with a broiler instead. :)

Hmmm. Perhaps I need to obtain something to grill on....

[Technaton]

A propos weird fish: Through a campaign I was DMing I learned about Lutefisk.

It is made from aged stockfish (air-dried whitefish) or dried/salted whitefish (klippfisk) and lye (lut). It is gelatinous in texture. Its name literally means "lye fish". [...] When cooking and eating lutefisk, it is important to clean the lutefisk and its residue off pans, plates, and utensils immediately. Lutefisk left overnight becomes nearly impossible to remove. Sterling silver should never be used in the cooking, serving or eating of lutefisk, which will permanently ruin silver. Stainless steel utensils are recommended instead.

I have sadly never tried it. With regards to cheese: Casu marzu, a cheese from Sicily:

Derived from Pecorino, casu marzu goes above and beyond typical fermentation to a stage of decomposition, brought about by the digestive action of the larvae of the cheese fly Piophila casei. These larvae are deliberately introduced to the cheese, promoting an advanced level of fermentation and breaking down of the cheese's fats. The texture of the cheese becomes very soft, with some liquid (called lagrima, Sardinian for "tears") seeping out. The larvae themselves appear as translucent white worms, about 8 mm (0.3 in) long.

For short, this kind of cheese needs flies and worms to properly ferment. Haven't tried a piece of it, either. I don't know whether I should add 'sadly' or not to the previous sentence. ;)

(Sorry, I am below 10 posts, so I cannot yet add the links to Wikipedia. The quotes are from the respective entries there.)

[Aedilred]

I have sadly never tried it. With regards to cheese: Casu marzu, a cheese from Sicily:

For short, this kind of cheese needs flies and worms to properly ferment. Haven't tried a piece of it, either. I don't know whether I should add 'sadly' or not to the previous sentence. ;)

(Sorry, I am below 10 posts, so I cannot yet add the links to Wikipedia. The quotes are from the respective entries there.)

Casu marzu is one of those foods on the list that I have no real intention ever to try, even if the opportunity arises. From the descriptions I've heard, it seems it doesn't even taste particularly good - "ammonia" comes up often.

[scalyfreak]

A propos weird fish: Through a campaign I was DMing I learned about Lutefisk.



I have sadly never tried it.

Take this from someone who grew up eating it: You haven't missed very much. It's unusual for most non-Scandinavians, but not in the "oh, this is awesome and I must eat more!" kind of way.

[Technaton]

This is sad. I'll be traveling to Denmark next week and thought I'd finally try to get some. But then again… perhaps not.

[scalyfreak]

You're going to deprive yourself of the right to tell people, "oh, I've tried that", the next time lutefisk comes up in conversation?

Shame on you!

[Beleriphon]

Interesting.

What the...

Because you can't make it directly, you can't make it???

American cheese is just cheese with emulsifiers in it that allow it melt evenly and not separate the dairy solids and fats from each other.

[Kalmageddon]

Casu marzu is one of those foods on the list that I have no real intention ever to try, even if the opportunity arises. From the descriptions I've heard, it seems it doesn't even taste particularly good - "ammonia" comes up often.

Yeah, it's even illegal here in Italy.
The problem aren't so much the maggots but what they leave behind. In theory, that's what gives the cheese its flavour, you don't eat it while the maggots are still in there, you wait for them to fly off after growing into flies and you eat the remaining cheese after it has dried up, now spiced with maggot crap and moulting byproducts.
Honestly, I would probably be fine trying insect larvae and cheese, it's eating what basically amount to a maggot litter box that disgusts me.

[Technaton]

You're going to deprive yourself of the right to tell people, "oh, I've tried that", the next time lutefisk comes up in conversation?

Shame on you!

Okay, I guess now you've got me. Perhaps I should try to explain why exactly Lutefisk is of interest to me.

This campaign was called 'The Sky must be free', and it centered around a beginning-20th-century-world where the æther theory was true, and there were skyships. How far did your land property extend upwards? And who controlled the skyships? What made them float? There is a whole 200-page story behind it, all set in TeX, I just need to translate it - but I disgress.

There was this character, Hølger Øxbein, of course, a Viking. They were in a Quasi-Italian world in a military camp, with lots of backstabbing and a secret message being delivered. It was very much of a John-le-Carré-like spy novel. They discovered that the camp commander was very much involved into the routing of the message, but weren't clear until the last moment exactly *how* he was involved, and whether he was a spy, a double-agent, or just some standard military guy. So they decided to simply snatch the message, be there what might. But instead of a commando-type operation, they staged a banquet - with lutefisk, lots of lutefisk, supplied by this one character, Hølger Øxbein.

So, imagine Rossini's Tell Overture being played in the background while a whole camp of Italian soldiers is served to… immobility by… Lutefisk. :D

[Gnomvid]

Okay, I guess now you've got me. Perhaps I should try to explain why exactly Lutefisk is of interest to me.

This campaign was called 'The Sky must be free', and it centered around a beginning-20th-century-world where the æther theory was true, and there were skyships. How far did your land property extend upwards? And who controlled the skyships? What made them float? There is a whole 200-page story behind it, all set in TeX, I just need to translate it - but I disgress.

There was this character, Hølger Øxbein, of course, a Viking. They were in a Quasi-Italian world in a military camp, with lots of backstabbing and a secret message being delivered. It was very much of a John-le-Carré-like spy novel. They discovered that the camp commander was very much involved into the routing of the message, but weren't clear until the last moment exactly *how* he was involved, and whether he was a spy, a double-agent, or just some standard military guy. So they decided to simply snatch the message, be there what might. But instead of a commando-type operation, they staged a banquet - with lutefisk, lots of lutefisk, supplied by this one character, Hølger Øxbein.

So, imagine Rossini's Tell Overture being played in the background while a whole camp of Italian soldiers is served to… immobility by… Lutefisk. :D

Fun fact: there is more lutfisk (Swedish spelling) consumed in America then there is in the nordic countries combined these days. Indeed many cities in the States have annual lutfisk dinners.

Edit: I think the immobility would be due to the Akvavit consumption rather than the lutfisk though, just saying.

[Thurbane]

On my recent honeymoon, I ate wallaby parmigiana...

I've previously eaten crocodile steaks and emu sausages.

I love my local fauna.

[Kalmageddon]

I've previously eaten crocodile steaks and emu sausages.:

Crocodile and alligator are both meats I've been itching to try for years but in Italy you can't find them at all.
Also, I've yet to be described their taste in a way that doesn't involve chicken. Come on, that can't be all there is to them!

[Gnomvid]

Crocodile and alligator are both meats I've been itching to try for years but in Italy you can't find them at all.
Also, I've yet to be described their taste in a way that doesn't involve chicken. Come on, that can't be all there is to them!

Well I don't know about Alligator but Croc does not taste like Chicken unless it's a very weird tasting chicken, it is hard to describe though, kind of a mix of chicken and pork with a slight hint of game.

I was fortunate that Iceland (fresh and frozen food grocer) here in Scotland had a range of "exotic" meats and seafood, so I got to try Croc burgers, kangaroo fillet, Ostrich fillet, boar and apple sausages and waygu burgers. not much for seafood so I avoided the Denizen's of the deep otherwise there was plenty of unusual choice there too.

Edit: I do regret not trying rattler when it was available at a supermarket in Luleå (northern Sweden) back in the day.

[Thurbane]

Crocodile and alligator are both meats I've been itching to try for years but in Italy you can't find them at all.
Also, I've yet to be described their taste in a way that doesn't involve chicken. Come on, that can't be all there is to them!

I would actually describe crocodile as closer to pork, with a slight fishy texture.

[rooster707]

Crocodile and alligator are both meats I've been itching to try for years but in Italy you can't find them at all.
Also, I've yet to be described their taste in a way that doesn't involve chicken. Come on, that can't be all there is to them!

I had alligator years ago, and... it tasted like chicken. Nothing else to say, honestly.

[Bohandas]

Has anybody mentioned Kopi Luwak yet? That's coffee that's made of **** like that scane in Austim Powers 2 (coarse language in second link)

[Kalmageddon]

Once again, when it comes to weird food, I draw the line at feces. Even super-expensive feces.

[Beleriphon]

Once again, when it comes to weird food, I draw the line at feces. Even super-expensive feces.

Its not poop. It is passed through the digestive tract of a civet, in fact it comes out largely whole. And its really good coffee.

[Bohandas]

po-tay-to po-tah-to

[Honest Tiefling]

On my recent honeymoon, I ate wallaby parmigiana...

Well, congrats. Did the other party also partake in strange food?

Crocodile and alligator are both meats I've been itching to try for years but in Italy you can't find them at all.

Well, as a trade off you don't have alligators napping on your porch or running rampant on your golf courses.

As for the coffee, while I have never had it...Everyone here does realize that the FDA does approve of listing Castoreum, which is from beaver butts (not poop, but secreted from a gland for scent marking) as natural flavors, right?

[scalyfreak]

Fun fact: there is more lutfisk (Swedish spelling) consumed in America then there is in the nordic countries combined these days. Indeed many cities in the States have annual lutfisk dinners.

Which begs the question... WHYYYY????

Edit: I think the immobility would be due to the Akvavit consumption rather than the lutfisk though, just saying.

Oh, right.

Though you can just as easily get that from surströmming or kräftskiva, either one of which provides considerably better food than a lutfisk dinner would. (Personal opinion)

[Bohandas]

Which begs the question... WHYYYY????

It's a matter of numbers. There are simply more people in the states.

[Honest Tiefling]

It's a matter of numbers. There are simply more people in the states.

That and a LOT of Americans like to explore their heritage. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if claddagh rings weren't a thing in actual Ireland.