# Things that should be removed from food before serving **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 13, 2006, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577 "2006-06-13T16:03:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/41 "2006-06-14T02:23:38Z")
[QUOTE=lizardling] Ginger slices. _shudder_ Regarding the live fish, that sounds a bit like an UL. Cite? [/QUOTE] [Cite.](http://www.zanthan.com/japan/archives/001014.html) ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/42 "2006-06-14T02:44:04Z")
[Video](http://www.liaoyusheng.com/archives/food_drink/20041116_video_of_live_octopus_dish.php) of Live Octopus Dish. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Adoptamom\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Adoptamom\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adoptamom_II)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/43 "2006-06-14T03:13:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Lemme guess, you also put pennies in cupcakes as a good luck game? Hey - you been talking to my kids? šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/44 "2006-06-14T03:23:47Z")
The little plastic cover on graham cracker pie crusts. The pieā€™s a lot better if you take that off before you put the filling inā€“a friend of mine found that out the hard way. This is what happens when you make pies really late at night. That pumpkin pie wasnā€™t so good with a layer of plastic in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/45 "2006-06-14T03:34:42Z")
**MagicEyes** reminded meā€“ The little paper cup from cupcakes. Please trust me that it does not taste good. (It is okay, however, to lick the remaining cupcakey goodness _from_ the paper cup. Thatā€™s tradition.) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/46 "2006-06-14T04:25:13Z")
Nutshells. Small stones from bags of beans. Oysters and any other mucous. Eggplant. Beets. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/47 "2006-06-14T04:38:38Z")
The corn husks of a tamale, while served with the dish, are not to be eaten. In 1976, Gerald Ford was campaigning for the Republican Texas primary and was served a tamale inside a corn husk. [He ate the tamale without removing the husk.](http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/presidents/gerald-ford/gerald_ford_tamale_shrunk.jpg) Gerald Ford lost the 1976 GOP Texas primary. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/48 "2006-06-14T05:03:18Z")
[QUOTE=Kythereia] The little paper cup from cupcakes. Please trust me that it does not taste good. (It is okay, however, to lick the remaining cupcakey goodness _from_ the paper cup. Thatā€™s tradition.) [/QUOTE] I always chew but donā€™t swallow the paper after eating a cupcake. ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/49 "2006-06-14T05:21:27Z")
Several years ago, in a small town in France, GrizzWife and I ordered cured-meat sandwiches. You know, the kind of meat that is stuffed into a hard-as-leather casing and is hung in a smokehouse for god-knows-how-long? It realy was _quite_ tasty and left no ill effectsā€¦ but they failed to remove that damn casing before slicing up the meat. Trying to actually take a bite of that sandwich was liken to a Three Stooges scene. On that same trip, in another small town in France (Paris, I think they call it), I was sent out to get something to eat whilst GrizzWife took a rest in the hotel. I found a small sandwich shop and purchased two sandwiches; one grilled chicken and one grilled vegetables. Both with fries. Arriving back in the room, I discover that the fries are an integral part of the sandwiches. Additionally, the grilled chicken was still ON THE BONE! Oh, I donā€™t mean ā€œoh look, a bit of boneā€. I mean ā€œHey! Hereā€™s the ribsā€¦ and a wing boneā€¦ and I think this is part of the thigh because I think this is dark meat!ā€ [parisian] _touriste idiote! merde la teteā€™!_ [/parisian] ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/50 "2006-06-14T06:13:30Z")
[QUOTE=lizardling] Ginger slices. _shudder_ Regarding the live fish, that sounds a bit like an UL. Cite? [/QUOTE] The pieces themselves donā€™t move, but the fish they were cut out of is placed on the table in front of you, still squirming and gasping for breath. Octopus tentacles, though, those babiesā€™ll keep kicking long after you cut them off. Chew thoroughly. As for the OP, a few times Iā€™ve found what looks to be a very inedible slab of bark in my curry. Anyone know what that is? ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/51 "2006-06-14T06:25:08Z")
[QUOTE=Sublight] As for the OP, a few times Iā€™ve found what looks to be a very inedible slab of bark in my curry. Anyone know what that is? [/QUOTE] Probably [cassia](http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/cassia.html), the bastard older brother of cinnamon. Nice flavour, but a good idea to remove before serving. I ALWAYS peel the sticker off my apple before taking the first bite, after a choking incident once in my distant past. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/52 "2006-06-14T11:32:27Z")
[QUOTE=Adoptamom\_II] Quit picking on the pitiful bayleaf! In our home, itā€™s tradition to leave it in the dish and whoever finds it is automatically excused from dishes duty that night. See? Nice tradition started from one of my earlier screwups. You folks have got to learn to WORK these mistakes to your advantage! šŸ™‚ [/QUOTE] I think Iā€™ll pass. I came close to dying from choking on a bayleaf left in a cafeteria meal. I had to self heimlich and the damn thing cut my throat. Let me add the strings around roasts and the pins in cordon blue. ---
**Author:** ![Marconi\_Schmeese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Marconi\_Schmeese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marconi_Schmeese)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/53 "2006-06-14T12:52:15Z")
Toothpicks - in sandwiches or chicken or scallops! TOOTHPICKS! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/54 "2006-06-14T12:52:46Z")
Whole allspice. While it imparts a wonderful flavor to soups and stews, thereā€™s nothing worse than the awful taste of actually biting one open. ::shudder:: I just shove the allspice and bayleaf and peppercorns into a large tea ball. Lets the flavor out, but itā€™s much easier to remove from the soup before serving. Anyone know what that strange oval piece of soft wood in Tom Yum soup is? Itā€™s yummy to suck on, but it canā€™t be actually edible, can it? ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/55 "2006-06-14T13:31:17Z")
The ā€œporkā€ in pork and beans. Who eats that nasty fat? Blech. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Logan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Don\_Logan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Logan)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/56 "2006-06-14T13:50:01Z")
The red peppers in General Tsoā€™s chicken! They are hot!! Anyone wanting more video of live octopus eating, rent **Oldboy** (unless Oldboy is in the previous video link- if so, ā€œnever mindā€) šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/57 "2006-06-14T14:43:38Z")
**ALL** of the shrimpā€™s exoskeleton. I guess theyā€™re marginally acceptable with a shrimp cocktail, but when you have a dish with sauce all over it, having to make a mess of yourself removing all or part of the thing just sucks. And you always miss some, which then ends up in your mouth. Yuck! ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/58 "2006-06-14T16:11:00Z")
[QUOTE=JohnBckWLD] ā€¦ If I wanted the sensation of having long fine hairs in my mouth, Iā€™d perform oral on an East Asian. [/QUOTE] This sounds like something Groucho Marx would have said if he were a young man in the 21st century. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/59 "2006-06-14T16:34:21Z")
[QUOTE=GrizzRich] Several years ago, in a small town in France, GrizzWife and I ordered cured-meat sandwiches. You know, the kind of meat that is stuffed into a hard-as-leather casing and is hung in a smokehouse for god-knows-how-long? It realy was _quite_ tasty and left no ill effectsā€¦ but they failed to remove that damn casing before slicing up the meat. Trying to actually take a bite of that sandwich was liken to a Three Stooges scene. [/QUOTE] Are you sure that was meat stuffed into a casing, and not just a ham left to ā€œcureā€ for a long time? The outside of a good old ham can be pretty toughā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2006, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577/60 "2006-06-14T16:39:17Z")
The venom sac. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-be-removed-from-food-before-serving/360577.md?page=4)