I’m a big fan of all the usual cephalopods on the menu: octopus, squid, and cuttlefish. A thing which they all seem to have in common is, that to be cooked so they’re tender and not tough; it requires “one extreme or the other” – very quick cooking on high heat, or long slow stewing / simmering.
I remembered the first time I ate calamari. I was with my parents and they ordered some, I ate a ton of it because it was great. My dad then told me that it was fried squid, which made me want to stop eating it. But later on in life I started eating it again and had I known what it was, I maybe never would have tried it.
Having said that, I’ve seem several episodes of a TV show called monsters inside me about people infected with parasites. A few of the people caught parasites from eating improperly cooked or raw seafood, including a few who did so at restaurants. That had kind of scared me off a bit from being too adventurous.
Bingo! That was my experience with it, as well.
On the other hand, I found squid pretty easy to eat, probably because the stuff I had didn’t have the suckers. spiced, breaded, and fried squid is the only thing I’ve had that fits the description “tastes like chicken” that wasn’t actually chicken.
I love octopus. I’m sure there are a lot of people who hate it. Okay.
But what I don’t get is why this experience means that the OP is through trying new things for the rest of the year, or whatever.
You found out you didn’t like octopus. You didn’t lose anything by trying it and you gained knowledge. So it all happened at no detriment to you. So why then avoid trying new things in the future?
I’ve never had octopus, but I have had squid. Squid is a very high-risk food: Prepared properly, and it’s absolutely amazing. Prepared improperly, and it’s rubber. And there appears to be very little middle ground: You’ll almost never get squid that’s just OK. And don’t ask me what “prepared properly” entails; I know it when I taste it, but I have no idea how to do it myself.
It seems plausible that octopus might be the same way, in which case you probably just had it done wrong, and it’s still quite plausible that you’d love it done right.
CalMeacham, I’ve never heard of squid “tasting like chicken”. Eel does, though.
I feel the same way about octopus. Anytime I’ve had that, it was like eating rubber bands. Just, variously spiced and presented. Not a fan.
Squid is one of those things that, once you know how to cook it, you can do a far better job than any restaurant can ever do. The trick is to cook it in less than a minute and get to eating it as soon as humanly possible. Like scrambled eggs, any delay in getting them to your mouth destroys their texture. When I do calamari rings I serve them at the table from the wok. If I’m alone I eat them out of the wok.
Oooooooo! The tentacles are the BEST PART of a dish of calamari! Kin I have yours?
Octopus is now slotted in the “intelligent animals” box in my brain, and I can’t bring myself to eat them. For some reason every time I think about it, it is akin to thinking about eating gorilla, or chimpanzee, which is akin to cannibalism in my mind.
My daughter, on the other hand, loves the stuff!
I tried octopus seven times, but didn’t like it. Maybe the eighth time is a charm.
I respectfully disagree. While I’ve had the fried rings many times and liked them when they’re not like rubber, a filet is much better and more tender. The best I ever had was in Budapest, where it was lightly poached and had a garlic/oil drizzle.
Conversely, I’ve never had octopus that I liked. It’s a texture thing, I guess.
So that how it goes. Non-adventurous eaters go out on a limb (lterally this time) and try something new. They decide they don’t like it and get told, you just didn’t have the right one! I’m with you, WOOKINPANUB; there are plenty of things you like, why take another risk with something you tried and didn’t like.
My mother always told me that whatever I didn’t eat of anything was always “the best part”.
One year I made up a laboriously calligraphic quotation from Einhard’s Life of Charlemagne, where the king, enjoying the hospitality of a monastery, carefully cut the rind from his cheese before eating it. The chief of the order respectfully crept close to the King and said “My Lord, that is the Best Part!”
So Charlemagne made him eat it.
Sure, you’re welcome to the rind from my octopus.
CalMeacham: And how do you know…I’m NOT…your Mom…?
yes, i am happy you tried it. i think trying new things is the most important part of eating for pleasure (as opposed to sustenance). youre not gonna like everything, but if you keep trying you will discover something wonderful!
mc
Lots of evidence from your years on the Dope Board, and from me listening to Mom, strongly suggests otherwise.
Although I’ll concede that you might have parallel views about The Best Part.
I take his word that he didn’t like it, but in still confused about what he was risking. What’s the actual risk of trying something and not liking it? It’s negligible, or at least dwarfed by the benefit of new information.
Let’s say your favorite dish is creme brulee. I offer you a fresh cup of creme brulee from your favorite restaurant, or being hit in the head with a hammer. I offer that you’ve never been hit in the head with a hammer before - even lightly. Which do you choose? The OP went through an unpleasant experience, and doesn’t wish to repeat that in the near future.
Me? I’m an adventurous eater - I don’t really care about eating something that tastes bad. The OP clearly does. shrug
A meal, wasted.
Don’t get me wrong - I’m all for trying new things within reason. But there is nothing quite like the disappointment of ordering some interesting-looking bit of food and realizing that you hate it. I was at a fairly authentic Szechuan place a few months ago with someone and we got adventurous. Unfortunately only one of the three dishes we ordered was ultimately enjoyable for either of us - we were sad :(.
Great. No more turnips for me, I guess.