Help me prove that I will eat anything

Cafe Society
#1

If I wanted to prove that I will eat anything, what food products would you pick for me? The only requirement is that it must be food. Not rocks, poison, chemicals or anything else that would be considered inedible. It must also be something accepted by a culture or tribe as food. No fair saying “the gum on my shoe I stepped in last week” even though it may be technically edible. Historical foods such as peacock tounges are allowed but it may be more interesting to have food that is currently available that I have some chance of buying and consuming.

You may present up to 3.

#2

Pig ears.

Chitterlings.

#3

Bhut jokolia peppers.

#4

Natto

#5

I’ll give you foods from relatively normal food sources (in this case, fish, duck, and lamb/goat/beef), but unusual preparations:

  1. Surstromming, a Swedish fermented herring dish. I’ve mail ordered it to the US before, and it is every bit as nasty as advertised (and I like nasty food–this is the only one I’ve eaten that’s given me pause so far.) Words cannot describe how much this stuff reeks–and it’s the gift that keeps on giving, as you burp it up the rest of the day.

  2. Balut, of course. Depending on where you live, you may be able to find it at an Asian market.

  3. This one is a bit of a softball, but I’ll give you eyeball tacos.

I’ve had #1 & #3, still haven’t gotten around to #2.

#6

Since this is about food, it’s probably better suited to Cafe Society than GQ.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator

#7

Casu marzu, a cheese featuring live maggots.

#8

I was entertaining that one as my #3 choice, but wanted to throw something relatively easy in the mix. :slight_smile:

#9

May I suggest a can of kraut juice to wash the meal down?

#10

  1. Century Egg

  2. Durian

  3. Live Squid (video)

#11

Damn, pulykamell took two of mine. Surstromming and balut.

So I’ll add durian fruit. It’s fruit so you know it’s good for you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian

EDIT: double damn Enderw24 snuck my third option in their by the skin of his teeth.

#12

Vegemite.

#13

Don’t forget stinkheads an Alaskan specialty.

Wikipedia says that it’s fermented white fish, but every recipe I have seen has been King Salmon

#14

If you’re going to challenge yourself with Durian, try it in its preserved form - it looks like this:

And it is utterly foul. It tastes like (I imagine the taste of) burnt, diesel-soaked rotten shit. I only managed a bite, which I couldn’t bring myself to swallow and I could still taste it two days later.

#15

That’s what I came in to suggest. It’s the only thing I’ve ever seen Andrew Zimmern not be able to eat.

#16

Cod sperm

Rooster testicles

Hakarl

#17

i’m with the OP. i’m willing to TRY just about anything. i think i’d put the cutoff at… live things with legs. i could(have) eat(en) a(many) goldfish live, but probably not a toad.

i have had most of the things mentioned, except for the eyeball taco.

the blood pudding is kind of passe.

oh… and i have a bordain-esque disdain for zimmerman. that guy wouldn’t eat durian? what the heck is he doing with a show?!

#18

That’s kind of odd. I’ve had durian a couple of times (once fresh, once in a sticky rice concoction), and it was actually quite all right. Compared to the stuff Zimmern eats on that show, it should be child’s play for him. I wonder if I’ve just had some milder forms of the fruit, or if I simply lack the tastebuds to process the foul flavor.

#19

Fish sperm is also known as “milt” or “soft roe” (and usually includes the seminal sac or whatever you call it on a fish.) It’s actually tasty, especially deep-fried, but everything is tasty when deep fried.

#20

Monkey brains.