What unusual foods have you just tried for the first time, and what did you think of them? Here are three reports from me:
Last week our local supermarket started selling kiwanos. This is a bizarre-looking fruit, about the size of a mango, hard like a gourd, covered with sharp spikes, and orange on the outside and kiwi-green on the inside. The fruit is locally grown (in Burgenland) but Wikipedia tells me it originates from Africa. I was predisposed not to like it when one of the spikes punctured my thumb as I was taking it out of the grocery bag. The paltry amount of seedy flesh inside tastes like a cross between cucumbers and unripe bananas. It’s not terrible but I wouldn’t buy it again. Rating: 2/5.
The same supermarket is now selling aloe vera–flavoured yogurt. We bought some and I was pleasantly surprised. There are lots of actual chunks of aloe vera in it, and the flavour pairs nicely with the yogurt. It’s not overly sweet. Already on the shopping list for next week. Rating: 4/5.
There’s a stall at our local market that sells Hungarian produce. (I assume the proprietor is from the Hungarian minority in Slovakia, since almost every customer speaks to him in some Slavic language. He speaks unaccented Hungarian with me, though.) Last week he was selling Hungarian donkey salami. I’ve never had donkey before, so I bought a piece. It was much softer and mushier than most salamis. The flavour was OK, but I couldn’t really distinguish it from similar salamis made from pork or horse. I’m not a huge salami fan in general so I probably won’t be buying it again. Rating: 2½/5.
A usual food with a new preparation. We do not each much bacon, but our neighbor sent pigs to slaughter and we helped out, so I got a package of thick cut bacon.
In the sous vide set at 147 F overnight (12 hours). In the morning I snipped a corner and poured off the bacon fat, then transferred the bacon to a ziplock gallon bag. Whenever we want bacon, a strip in the pan for a minute to warm it up is all that’s needed.
Some work colleagues returned from Australia and brought vegemite for everyone to try.
It tasted like soy sauce jelly but was not as horrible as its reputation.
We recently tried fresh Jackfruit, which is available at our local Asian market. They sell it in large chunks in plastic wrap, since the whole fruit weighs many pounds, and looks like something prehistoric. I had to consult youtube to learn how to butcher the thing, but the edible parts are tasty for sure (sort of like a milder pineapple with less juice). I read you can roast the large seeds for additional snacks, but I have not done that. The skin/husk to edible parts ratio seems pretty wasteful, IMHO, and there is a bit of work needed, so I am not sure it’s really worth it on a regular basis (unless you have access to a Jackfruit tree with lots of fruits, and lots of time).
I took one look at that post and proceeded to look up how to grow tamarillo.
Nope, won’t work here. It needs a year and a half to two years to start producing, and it’s not frost hardy. I’d need a heated greenhouse, and to heat it all winter.
Probably not unusual to all you foodies but definitely out of my comfort zone; beet and lemon hummus.
I’ve tried to like hummus but it is not getting any easier for me to choke down.
I can’t think of anything I’ve tried recently, but in Greece before the pandemic I tried pine flavored ice cream. Yes, pine, as in pine trees. I don’t remember what part of the pine tree the chef obtained the flavoring from; it may have been the pine nuts. But it definitely tasted piney. But it was actually really good, because I guess if you add enough sugar and cream to anything you can make it taste good.
Back in September I tried a venezuelan arepa, with pulled pork doused with hot sauce, topped with black beans and feta. I’d hoped for the plaintain topping instead of the beans, but they were out. It was all served in a sort of corn muffin and was pretty tasty.
I imagine there are parts of the US where kimchi is very much a workaday sort of thing, but in the UK it’s somewhat unusual. I like it; I gather that the South Korean leader has been quoted as saying that when he travels he misses kimchi more than his wife*. I didn’t like it that much.
We’ve been experimenting with Turkish breads - we have a nice new local shop and there’s a great stall on Shoreham Market. My favorite is gözleme, a stuffed unleavened bread. The wiki suggests that it could come stuffed with pretty much anything; the market stall version has spinach, potatoes, cheese and an allium - I would guess leek, maybe onion as well. Doesn’t sound too inspiring, but it’s particularly moreish.
And then there are medlars - an ancient fruit that you have to blet (rot, essentially) before you eat them. I started a thread about them. Once you get over the thing about eating rotten fruit, they’re delicious, like a citrus fig. I bought a tree, and (fingers crossed) should have nice little crop this year (year two).
Next time try the green jackfruit that is sold in tins. Saute or pan fry it with spices and the mouth feel is remarkably like pulled pork. Nothing like the ripe fruit at all.
Kvas- basically rye bread soda. I’ve avoided it for years. I finally tried a small bottle. Not really bad. Not good either. It foams like crazy when you add sugar. I won’t be buying it again.
I had these as jam (AKA aguaymanto) when visiting Peru in the before times - it was great on toast with coffee, and I bought a small jar of it to share when I got home. Did you come across these stateside?
Those can be grown where I am (they’re also frost tender, but they bear within one summer, like tomatoes.) I grew them for market for a couple of years, but I dropped them due to two problems: for one, while a number of people would buy one pint, very few people wanted to buy another – they liked them OK, but not as much as they liked, say, cherry tomatoes, or other fruit, so once their curiosity was satisfied they spent their money and stomach space on other things; and, for another, they were a bear to harvest. They need to be fully ripe, or they can make you sick; so it was necessary either to carefully inspect each one of a large number of very tiny fruit to make sure it wasn’t too green, or to let them fall off the plant and pick them up from underneath – which amounted to scooping a lot of tiny fruit off the ground, some of which would be overripe and split, and then carefully sorting out the good ones from the resulting mess.
If you can grow tomatoes, you can grow them yourself; including probably in a pot, if it’s a large pot. A number of USA seed companies have the seed. Just make sure you don’t eat them underripe (they’re unlikely to make you seriously ill, but the results will be unpleasant for a while.)
