# What does...raw brain taste like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 21, 2005, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157 "2005-06-21T03:21:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/1 "2005-06-21T03:21:07Z")
A bit of ghoulish curiosity has come over me recently, and I was wondering…can anyone here tell me what raw brain tastes like? And I find I’m making the assumption that all brains taste the same, which may or may not be the case. (For all I know, the flavor is different from species to species, or even from organism to organism. Or not.) I’m curious, but I don’t especially want to find out for myself. And I wouldn’t ask anyone to go out and try it just for my sake, but I’d be interested if you know the answer already. So…can anyone enlighten me? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/2 "2005-06-21T03:28:38Z")
I have no idea, but it’s going to really kill your cholesterol level. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/3 "2005-06-21T03:33:09Z")
It tastes horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/4 "2005-06-21T03:33:33Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > (For all I know, the flavor is different from species to species, or even from organism to organism. Or not.) Never having tasted brain, I would think that the former is true and the latter is false. Muscles from cows, pigs, and chickens taste different from each other but it doesn’t really vary from indivdual to individual. Also, eating brains and other parts of the nervous system is dangerous. Various diseases are associated with that, but I don’t know any specifically. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/5 "2005-06-21T04:15:10Z")
May I ask why you’re wondering specifically about _raw_ brain? I ate brains quite often, and like it a lot but it never occured to me to eat it raw. Actually, I’m not sure how I could describe the taste of brains, even cooked, anyway. The closest I can think is sweetbread, but I assume most people won’t be familiar with sweetbread’s taste, either… Maybe bone marrow for the texture? All I can say is that it doesn’t taste at all like meat. As for disease that can be transmitted by eating brains, the most well known is CJD, the human “version” of the mad cow disease. Which resulted in both calf and sheep brains being banned over here, and as a result it’s essentially impossible to eat brains anymore (theorically , pig’s brains can be sold, but they weren’t normally used before, and that added to the MCD scare made brains close to impossible to find). By the way I didn’t notice a very significant difference in the taste of pig, calf or sheep brains… ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/6 "2005-06-21T04:22:09Z")
> [@](#): > > Actually, I’m not sure how I could describe the taste of brains, even cooked, anyway. The closest I can think is sweetbread, but I assume most people won’t be familiar with sweetbread’s taste, either… Maybe bone marrow for the texture? All I can say is that it doesn’t taste at all like meat. They are very similar in texture and taste (at least the preparations I’ve had) to ackee fruit, which, alas, is uncommon enough that the comparison probably won’t help most people. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/7 "2005-06-21T04:52:36Z")
Oatmeal ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/8 "2005-06-21T04:56:59Z")
I just saw _tacos sesos_ on the menu at a Mexican eatery today. What type of brains are they using, I wonder? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/9 "2005-06-21T05:12:44Z")
I had \*cooked \*pig brains last fall and they tasted…well…like nothing. The Friendly German Guys[sup]TM[/sup] at the pig roast showed me how to smear it on bread and add a generous portion of salt. At that point, it tasted like salty bread with an odd creamy gelatinous texture. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/10 "2005-06-21T07:19:21Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > May I ask why you’re wondering specifically about _raw_ brain? I’ll tell, if you promise not to laugh. (Or back away in horror. 😃 ) Well, you know that old cliche about zombies wanting to eat human brains? Well, there was a preview for the new _Land of the Dead_ movie on the other day, and it just got me thinking…y’know… Oh, right, like _no one_ here ever wondered something similar after seeing _Alive_? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/11 "2005-06-21T11:48:06Z")
It tastes like chicken! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/12 "2005-06-21T11:57:26Z")
“Try it!” urged our host. “What is it?” We all asked, suspiciously. “Try it first,” said the host, “And tell me what you think.” I’m never going to do that again. We tried the pink-orange mousse-like preparation that had been spooned into oversized scallop shells. It was light and fropthy and had, if anything, a faintly fish-like taste, as the scallop-shell setting would support. "It’s OK, " we said, trying to balance accuracy and politeness. “What is it?” “Brains.” Nobody ate any more that night. And now I always get an answer before I eat unknown food. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/13 "2005-06-21T12:17:30Z")
You can always get a little can of “pork brains in milk gravy” to try it. They have it at the supermarket near the canned meats like Spam. No, I’ve never tried it, but I love sweetbreads. ---
**Author:** ![critter42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@critter42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/critter42)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/14 "2005-06-21T12:20:53Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > It tastes like chicken! - Dr. Harold Leacher, Loaded Weapon 1 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/15 "2005-06-21T12:23:37Z")
> [@](#): > > You can always get a little can of “pork brains in milk gravy” to try it. They have it at the supermarket near the canned meats like Spam. “You should always have a can of pig brains in milk gravy in your cupboard, because you’ll never eat it excet in an emergency, and ptrobably not even then.” – Dave Barry in **Dave Barry’s Gift Guide to End All Gift Guides** , in which this is one of the suggestede gifts. One of the cheapest, too, coming in well under a buck. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/16 "2005-06-21T13:08:09Z")
The first brain-transmitted disease I thought of is [_kuru_](http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic1248.htm), formerly found among a tribe of cannibals in New Guinea. The linked article says the disease first appeared not long before the tribe was found by outsiders, which I didn’t know. (I haven’t tasted brains and don’t want to.) ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/17 "2005-06-21T13:44:10Z")
I’ve had cow brain in Surabaya (_soto madura_, with brain - ask for _soto otak_ - I think you can only get it from the street vendors). I’m not entirely sure how the brain is prepared prior to cooking, but it’s rather soft, and a little powdery. Kind of a sickly white, with the slightest tinge of grey. Not much taste to it - might be all the cooking it’s subject to in the soup. Have never had raw brain, though. Will make a note to try it at next available opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/18 "2005-06-21T14:06:00Z")
The brain is a terrible thing to taste. ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/19 "2005-06-21T23:15:23Z")
Always serve it with a nice chianti. ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157/20 "2005-06-22T00:59:50Z")
kinda like prions, but creamier. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-raw-brain-taste-like/309157.md?page=2)