# People EAT This Stuff? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 13, 2007, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001 "2007-02-13T10:04:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/1 "2007-02-13T10:04:43Z")
That’s how it appears, anyway. We’ve got [fish balls](http://kookychow.com/kookychow/02/page/fishballs.htm) (I didn’t know fish had balls), [meat sticks](http://kookychow.com/kookychow/03/page/meatsticks.htm) (Meatstick get the honeys, see? Meatstick get the money, see?), [fiddleheads](http://kookychow.com/kookychow/03/page/fiddleheads.htm) (WTF is a “fiddlehead” 😕 ), [gatorchowder and instant jellyfish](http://kookychow.com/kookychow/06/page/gatorjellyfish.htm) (packaged seperately). There’s more on that site, but those were some of the really bizarre ones. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/2 "2007-02-13T10:15:46Z")
Fiddleheads are young fern leaf sprouts (curled and shaped like a fiddle head) and are supposed to taste like asparagus. I’ve never had them, but I’ll try them next time I see them. They sell them at Trader Joe’s when in season and I think you can harvest them in the wild in the Pacific Northwest. Fishballs are very similar to imitation crab, but shaped like ping pong balls and taste from fairly mild to kinda fishy. They’re kind of interesting in small quantities when thrown into shabu-shabu (hot pot). ---
**Author:** ![Silence\_of\_the\_clams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Silence\_of\_the\_clams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silence_of_the_clams)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/3 "2007-02-13T10:20:28Z")
Fishballs /snerk/. Someone seriously tripped over in the translation department :rolleyes: Seriously, thats the fish equivalent to meatballs. About the size of large eggs, served with white sauce, curry-powder, potates and grated raw carrots. Looks something like [this](http://www.matoppskrift.no/sider/artikkel604.asp) . ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/4 "2007-02-13T10:38:54Z")
Why are you such a picky eater? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/5 "2007-02-13T12:28:03Z")
[QUOTE=Darryl Lict] Fiddleheads are young fern leaf sprouts (curled and shaped like a fiddle head) and are supposed to taste like asparagus. I’ve never had them, but I’ll try them next time I see them. They sell them at Trader Joe’s when in season and I think you can harvest them in the wild in the Pacific Northwest. Fishballs are very similar to imitation crab, but shaped like ping pong balls and taste from fairly mild to kinda fishy. They’re kind of interesting in small quantities when thrown into shabu-shabu (hot pot). [/QUOTE] We have fiddleheads here in the spring. they taste a lot like asparagus-nothing special, just steamed with butter. They do tend to have a bit of grit insisde-so rinse well. oddly enough, once they mature (uncoil)they are quite poisonous. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/6 "2007-02-13T18:22:42Z")
One of the grossest is the [Prairie Belt canned “smoked sausage”](http://kookychow.com/kookychow/06/page/prairiebelt.htm) Among its ingredients: pork stomachs, pork skins, pork spleens, pork tongue trimmings, beef tripe… eewwwww!!! ---
**Author:** ![Mouse\_Maven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@Mouse\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mouse_Maven)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/7 "2007-02-13T18:29:06Z")
Squirrel brains. My paternal grandfather loved them. I’d be eating squirrel stew, find a skull, and Pop would snatch it from me and crack it open. ::Bleh:: ---
**Author:** ![guppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7feea3/32.png) [@guppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guppy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/8 "2007-02-13T18:36:47Z")
I think I would probably like the fish balls. I like all kinds of canned/pickled fish grossness. I would hesitate, however, before eating [cock flavored soup](http://store.amigofoods.com/grcoso17oz.html). ---
**Author:** ![Terrorcotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@Terrorcotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrorcotta)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/9 "2007-02-13T18:43:38Z")
My offspring is an Omnivorian and will chow down on almost anything but the mention of ‘salted fish balls’ always cracks him up. I figure it’s part teenager and part omnivore-looking-for-a-much-bigger-snack. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/10 "2007-02-13T18:48:12Z")
What’s so bizarre about any of these? Fish balls are like meatballs, except made from fish. I’d guess meat sticks are the other way around (similar to fish sticks). Fiddleheads are fern shoots. “Instant jellyfish” is probably just dried jellyfish, to be reconstituted before cooking. I’ve never had gator, but it’s just another kind of meat. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/11 "2007-02-13T18:50:29Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] We have fiddleheads here in the spring. they taste a lot like asparagus-nothing special, just steamed with butter. They do tend to have a bit of grit insisde-so rinse well. oddly enough, once they mature (uncoil)they are quite poisonous. [/QUOTE] Not so odd. Lots of plants are safe when young, but toxic when mature - poke being one of the more famous. For poke, it’s because the toxic chemicals are produced by the plant as it matures, so there’s very little in baby plants. Many ferns, on the other hand, are spectacular toxic waste cleaners, as they pull heavy metals and other hazardous waste out of the soil as they grow. These heavy metals, including mercury, are at a greater concentration in older plants because they’ve had longer to suck it out of the soil. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/12 "2007-02-13T19:01:23Z")
You know what’s better than fish balls? Deep-fried fish balls on a stick! Served as street food in Manila. Dipped in hot sauce, they’re delicious. And, yes, they’re balls made of fish in the sense that meat balls are balls made of meat. (Or did you really think you were eating meat testicles?) ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/13 "2007-02-13T19:16:08Z")
[QUOTE=Terminus Est] (Or did you really think you were eating meat testicles?) [/QUOTE] If you want that, you ask for [“milt”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milt). In Japan it’s called _Shirako_ and not all that uncommon, though I don’t think I’ve ever had it. Also IIRC, when you eat sea urchin, you’re eating the sexual organ. Male and female sea urchin look (and taste) identical. ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/14 "2007-02-13T19:23:40Z")
Fishballs usually have fish and flour, shaped in a ball. Some varieties have a bit of meat in the center, others have chunks of fish dispersed throughout. They’re quite good. ---
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/15 "2007-02-13T19:29:32Z")
Fish balls and instant jellyfish are good. The instant jellyfish had an unusual taste but I’d eat it again. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/16 "2007-02-13T19:58:45Z")
[QUOTE=Kotick] Looks something like [this](http://www.matoppskrift.no/sider/artikkel604.asp) . [/QUOTE] I ain’t eatin’ nothin’ with ‘muskat’ listed in the ingedients, no matter what language it’s in. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Terrorcotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@Terrorcotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrorcotta)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/17 "2007-02-13T20:09:53Z")
Offspring’s fav snack is dried squid. Nuthin’ wrong with that but we left him in the car with the heater running and a bag of them. We came out, got in the car and were overwhelmed by the eye watering stench. I thought a tuna had been left in the trunk for a week or so. The squid and kid have been quarentined to his room. ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/18 "2007-02-13T20:12:48Z")
[QUOTE=Mouse\_Maven] Squirrel brains. My paternal grandfather loved them. I’d be eating squirrel stew, find a skull, and Pop would snatch it from me and crack it open. ::Bleh:: [/QUOTE] I find your entire post rather disturbing… squirrel stew 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Mouse\_Maven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@Mouse\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mouse_Maven)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/19 "2007-02-13T20:51:23Z")
[QUOTE=Ludy] I find your entire post rather disturbing… squirrel stew 😕 [/QUOTE] Good ol’ Louisiana Cooking! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Silence\_of\_the\_clams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Silence\_of\_the\_clams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silence_of_the_clams)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001/20 "2007-02-13T21:24:55Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] I ain’t eatin’ nothin’ with ‘muskat’ listed in the ingedients, no matter what language it’s in. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Not muskrat, but nutmeg. Doesn’t sound any more delicious in english though :dubious: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-eat-this-stuff/392001.md?page=2)