# Weird Food **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 30, 2001, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194 "2001-11-30T20:37:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/41 "2001-12-03T08:23:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Goo \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Silentgoldfish \* > > \*\*Here’s one: Sago. You won’t find it outside PNG (that I know of). \*\* > > Sago is in many supermarkets in Sydney. Easy to find, but may be altered from the original PNG stuff… Any Aussies know how our sago is made ?\*\* Not an Aussie - lived there for a while - (but that’s not how I know) - “Sago Starch made from the sago palm used to make puddings.” Bleuchh. Weird things I have eaten, but tasty nonetheless: crocodile, emu, alligator, ostrich, wallaby, kangaroo, bugs (marine crustaceans, not insects. Taste like prawns). All in all I’m not keen on crocodile because I’ve only had it served rubbery, bland and tasteless. And I didn’t like emu much, it was to dark red/purple. Ostrich is great though, just like steak. Ditto roo. I believe I’ve eaten camel too, but I was very young, and can’t remember. ---
**Author:** ![fchick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/919ad9/32.png) [@fchick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fchick)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/42 "2001-12-03T08:28:52Z")
Hey, don’t knock Vegimite - it’s _great_ 😃 And so is that Dutch sprinkle stuff - great for breakfast, especially if you’re trying to put on weight! Finally, jellyfish is yum too! although it certainly does take some time to get into! One of my mates went to the US, and says you guys have _white_ gravy. Yeeeeeeuch! 😃 It’s all very subjective… Oh yeah, sago’s great too! ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/43 "2001-12-03T15:47:22Z")
And don’t forget balachan. When I first encountered it, my friend’s wife (from Borneo) was crumbling it into curry. When I asked what it was, there was a long pause and she just “Um, cheese. Go away.” Comes in blocks, smells…fragrant, black. Fermented shrimp paste. Yikes. Tastes great in curry, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/44 "2001-12-03T16:17:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zenster \* > **I think the problem most people have with okra is that they are foolish enough to eat the large pods (besides capers, okra is one of the few flower pods that is routinely eaten). Small okra rarely assumes the overly gelatinous texture that so many find revolting** 😕 - The only okra I’ve ever seen is the pods (about 5 to 8 cm long), but these are definitely the fruits - are you saying that the unopened flower buds are eaten in some places? ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/45 "2001-12-03T16:29:06Z")
I find it strange that no one has mentioned [durian](http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~durian/). ---
**Author:** ![GeorgeBushTheSecond](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ccd318/32.png) [@GeorgeBushTheSecond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GeorgeBushTheSecond)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/46 "2001-12-03T17:08:46Z")
I am convinced that my ancestors were raping and robbing their way along the coasts because they were in search of something to eat. Some restaurants in my part of the country, preferably the out of the way restaurants, make lutefisk, which is lye-drenched cod. Lutefisk is like the Dallas Cowboys. You either love it or hate it. I fall into the latter category on both. ---
**Author:** ![booklover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@booklover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booklover)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/47 "2001-12-03T18:09:37Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by TN_hippie \* > \*\ ***booklover,** your great uncle fell for the old African Eyeball Trick. Originating as a trader’s ploy to test the gullibility of a foreigner, it has degenerated into a common practical joke. Those ignorant Americans seem to eat it up just about every time, much to the amusement of their African hosts. Of course, dignity is maintained during the event…but for weeks afterward, the tale is told again and again, with increasing hilarity, the participants writhing in uncontrollable laughter, tears of hysteria streaming down their cheeks as they recount the look on the victim’s face as he actually _eats_ the wretched thing–and–(can you believe it?) tries to act like everything’s hunky-dory! \*\* Whoa! I always assumed that, if anything, my great-uncle was pulling my leg about it and passing on some urban-legend type of thing. Too bad he’s not alive for me to pass this on to him, poor guy. I’m sure the rest of the family will enjoy this, as we all heard the tale hundreds of times. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/48 "2001-12-03T19:10:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Floater \* > \*\*I find it strange that no one has mentioned [durian](http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~durian/). \*\* It is the longest section in “Ray’s List” (see above). Some of the comments he collected concerning it were quite amusing. (BTW, I believe that list is something he circulated on USENET after collecting comments many years ago. It has surfaced a couple of places on the web.) The comment I like on durian is “like eating custard in an outhouse”. I haven’t had the **pleasure?** myself, so I can’t make any first hand assessments. ---
**Author:** ![seawitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@seawitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seawitch)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/49 "2001-12-03T20:33:59Z")
I ate durian once. It isn’t at all like eating custard in an outhouse. It’s like eating vanilla pudding, into which some evil bastard has mixed a generous amount of earwax. Ick. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/50 "2001-12-03T21:12:31Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by TN_hippie \* > \*\* > Ever eaten tongue? I have and it’s okay. But right now I’m trying to pry my own tongue out of my cheek. > \*\* Bah. You haven’t lived until you’ve had a taste of tongue stew, as prepared by me. ---
**Author:** ![phartizan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba8739/32.png) [@phartizan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phartizan)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/51 "2001-12-03T23:41:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by seawitch \* > **I ate durian once. It isn’t at all like eating custard in an outhouse. It’s like eating vanilla pudding, into which some evil bastard has mixed a generous amount of earwax.** Whose earwax tastes that good? ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/52 "2001-12-04T04:29:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > > > [@](#): > > > > _Originally posted by Zenster \* > > I think the problem most people have with okra is that they are foolish enough to eat the large pods (besides capers, okra is one of the few flower pods that is routinely eaten). Small okra rarely assumes the overly gelatinous texture that so many find revolting_\* > > 😕 - The only okra I’ve ever seen is the pods (about 5 to 8 cm long), but these are definitely the fruits - are you saying that the unopened flower buds are eaten in some places? \*\* Ooh, this is the perfect time to ask you about your screen name, **Mangetout**. Are you in fact named after a sugar pea or merely a rather well traveled gourmand? (Enquiring minds want to know!) As to the okra. While most fruits typically are the fleshly result of a previously flowering plant, okra are the unopened flower pod of _Abelmoschus esculentus_. Along with capers (_Capparis spinosa_), these are some of the only flower buds eaten on a regular basis. Please look for okra that are only 1-2 cm or ~1" in length. Remove the fiberous stem without opening the interior of the pod. Steam or boil just long enough for them to become tender and serve with melted butter. You will experience none of the mucilaginous texture and all of the wonderful yummy okra goodness that this delicious plant is justly known for. ---
**Author:** ![royjwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@royjwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/royjwood)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/53 "2001-12-04T04:53:51Z")
I have never been brave enough to get past that horribly smell. I actually got sick from the smell alone. Dried salty fish (Indonesia), when being fried also makes me vomit. How anyone can actually eat that stuff is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![Rutabegger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9de0a6/32.png) [@Rutabegger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rutabegger)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/54 "2001-12-04T16:28:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Along with capers (_Capparis spinosa_), these are some of the only flower buds eaten on a regular basis. Not to hijack my own topic, but this is the second post that has said something like this. Without even thinking too hard about it: What about artichokes? Broccoli? Cauliflower? Asparagas? Brussel sprouts? Seems to me there are lots of flower buds eaten on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![phartizan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba8739/32.png) [@phartizan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phartizan)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/55 "2001-12-04T19:45:15Z")
I have to admit I never got up the courage to eat it when I lived in Singapore. It wasn’t until decades later when it had become a popular _import_ in Taiwan that I learned to like it after my Chinese wife’s family had discovered it. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/56 "2001-12-04T23:30:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rutabegger \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Along with capers (_Capparis spinosa_), these are some of the only flower buds eaten on a regular basis. > > Not to hijack my own topic, but this is the second post that has said something like this. Without even thinking too hard about it: What about artichokes? Broccoli? Cauliflower? Asparagas? Brussel sprouts? > > Seems to me there are lots of flower buds eaten on a regular basis. \*\* Excellent question. Without being able to research this right now, I would venture that the artichoke and Brussels sprouts are not buds _per se_. They have an open structure that indeed conceals the flower but may not necessarily count as a “bud” due to their unsealed nature. As to asparagus, it is not a flower pod at all but the shoot of a fern related type frond (IIRC). Cauliflower and brocolli are large aggregate flowers that could be construed as a giant cluster of micro-buds but are somewhat different than the structures of capers or okra. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/57 "2001-12-04T23:36:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JThunder \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > _Originally posted by TN_hippie \* > > \*\* > > Ever eaten tongue? I have and it’s okay. But right now I’m trying to pry my own tongue out of my cheek. > > \*\* > > Bah. You haven’t lived until you’ve had a taste of tongue stew, as prepared by me. \*\* As a matter of fact, I ordered a beef tongue burrito the other day and it was exceptionally tasty. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2001, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/58 "2001-12-05T00:04:09Z")
I’ve never tried the fruit itself but I had a durian flavored ice cream bar before. It tasted remarkably like a fishsicle. ---
**Author:** ![zzt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/f6c823/32.png) [@zzt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zzt)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2001, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/59 "2001-12-05T00:50:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Syzygy \* > **Vegemite comes to mind.** Don’t remind me. That stuff is terrible. Sure, it LOOKS normal, but that is only a ‘marketing gimmick’. Sort of like Circus Peanuts (the orange things. okay, bad example.) It is truly awful. ---
**Author:** ![phartizan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba8739/32.png) [@phartizan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phartizan)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2001, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194/60 "2001-12-05T02:08:44Z")
Here are a couple weird, though not disgusting Chinese things: watermelon seeds (actually a special kind of particularly large seed that’s nearly as big as a sunflower seed) and bitter melon (it’s really bitter, but maybe Americans could take in raw in a salad). I’ve heard Chinese people in the market dismiss it saying “that’s for southern Chinese.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-food/96194.md?page=4)