# What foods make your mouth water, even though you've never tried them? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 2, 2005, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137 "2005-05-02T21:57:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rinni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@rinni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rinni)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/1 "2005-05-02T21:57:06Z")
And why haven’t you tried them? For me, it’s beef jerky and pork rinds. Beef jerky, because it looks like lean, dry, salty beef. And for some reason, that strongly appeals to me. I’ve never tried it because it’s so expensive. Pork rinds, because I read that they taste like bacon. I don’t know why I haven’t tried them. I guess I’m just chicken… afraid the texture is going to gross me out. For some reason, I expect them to be crispy if you bite them but melty in the mouth, and that they would coat my mouth with a fatty feeling. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/2 "2005-05-02T22:19:13Z")
You better get to the store and get one or both of those right now. They are both indeed as good as you imagine if not better. For me, it is some of the exotic and less exotic meats that I have never had. A good goat stew sounds great. Lion and shark meat sound like they would taste great too. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/3 "2005-05-02T22:49:17Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > For me, it is some of the exotic and less exotic meats that I have never had. A good goat stew sounds great. Lion and shark meat sound like they would taste great too. I believe the meat of carnivourous creatures is rarely good (though Salmon is a counterexample when it comes to carnivourous fish). Goat curry is common in the Indain restaurants arround here, goat meat is very like lamb, though it tends to be more boney for some reason. Swan is the meat that I would love to try but haven’t, I bet it is superb. ---
**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:** [May 2, 2005, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/4 "2005-05-02T23:04:24Z")
I’ve never had goat either, but I’d love to try it in Caribbean or Indian cuisine. That said, I’d love to experiment more with Caribbean and Indian food. I’ve had very little of both, but I really like exotic and spicy dishes that “challenge” my tastebuds. I’ve never had Vietnamese food, and I’m lucky enough to live in a city with a large Vietnamese population and a distinct neighborhood (Orlando’s Little Saigon) full of Vietnamese restaurants and cool Asian stores. The trouble is, nobody wants to go try it with me. I hear it is delicious. **rinni** is EXACTLY right about the texture and “mouth feel” of pork rinds, by the way. This is going to sound gross, but I love organ meats. I’m a huge fan of liver, and once I had the most delicious sweetbreads and blood sausage when I went to an Argentinian grill restaurant. I’d love to try more things like that, including kidneys. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/5 "2005-05-03T04:10:53Z")
Snake meat. I can’t tell you why but I always wanted to taste snake meat. Oh! And crocodile and turtle too. I’ve obviously something for the reptiles. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/6 "2005-05-03T04:13:06Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Swan is the meat that I would love to try but haven’t, I bet it is superb. Me too. And peacock. Why don’t we eat peacock anymore??? ---
**Author:** ![rinni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@rinni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rinni)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/7 "2005-05-03T09:06:07Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Snake meat. I can’t tell you why but I always wanted to taste snake meat. Ha, me too! Right after I posted the OP I thought, “Can’t believe I forgot snake meat!”, but didn’t want to post again right away. I know it stems from this story I read as a kid that described snake meat as “coils of white meat” which appealed to me right away. Then a girl on a message board posted that she’d tried it and it was good, and that cemented it for me. I want to try it. The 7-11 across the street sells pork rinds as well as beef jerky… maybe it’s time to take the plunge. Seeing beef jerky provokes an actual mouth-watering reaction in me, as in not just a figure of speech. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2005, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/8 "2005-05-03T09:20:38Z")
**rinni** , I’m told that Vancouver has a significant Chinese population. If you spend a little time poking around Chinatown you’ll probably find a restaurant that offers snake soup. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/9 "2005-05-03T12:14:22Z")
barbequed snake is much better than snake soup. I haven’t had lion or peacock, but everything else mentioned so far. Shark is great barebequed as well. The best goat I’ve ever had was in Tibet (had yak there too - not bad). Vietnamese food rocks. turtle has never thrilled me, but it’s a delicacy and the family get’s it on special occaisions when we go out. Swan is excellent and I prefer it to duck. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/10 "2005-05-03T19:28:24Z")
Take the texture and taste of chicken meat, with the fine bones of a fish. There’s your snake. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/11 "2005-05-03T20:21:03Z")
Tomato sandwich. I’ve never been a big fan of tomatoes, it took me until my adulthood to even eat one as part of a sandwich and I still dont eat big tomato wedges in salad. Recently, though, I’ve gotten a hankerin’ for sliced tomato on toast with mayo, salt and pepper. Might give it a go if I can find some nice ripe tomatoes. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/12 "2005-05-04T00:12:43Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > I’ve never had goat either, but I’d love to try it in Caribbean or Indian cuisine. That said, I’d love to experiment more with Caribbean and Indian food. I’ve had very little of both, but I really like exotic and spicy dishes that “challenge” my tastebuds. Hmm. Well, I lived in the Caribbean for a while, and I didn’t find the food spicy or exotic, except for the fruits. Mostly people ate “ground provisions,” as Naipaul called it, usually boiled or fried, with little flavor. The was meat was also cooked without imagination, though I don’t remember ever having goat meat. Now Indian food, on the other hand, is sublime, but there weren’t any Indians were I was. I’m not sure if they eat much goat or not. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/13 "2005-05-04T00:34:07Z")
I want to try horse meat. I have heard is has better flavor than beef. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/14 "2005-05-04T03:02:19Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > I’ve never had Vietnamese food, and I’m lucky enough to live in a city with a large Vietnamese population and a distinct neighborhood (Orlando’s Little Saigon) full of Vietnamese restaurants and cool Asian stores. The trouble is, nobody wants to go try it with me. I hear it is delicious. I had Vietnamese for the first time recently. Ymmuy noodles. I keep wanting to try authentic, freshly made Japanese ramen but I don’t know anywhere in town that has it. Next time I’m in a bigger city tho’… ---
**Author:** ![False\_God](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee7513/32.png) [@False\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/False_God)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/15 "2005-05-04T06:47:25Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > I want to try horse meat. I have heard is has better flavor than beef. Not exactly better, but similar to prime rib crossed with smoked turkey. The texture is very different from beef, with a sort of sticky chewiness kind of like beef tendon or chicken skin, which, if you’re a fan of textures, is quite enjoyable IMHO. (And before the horselovers do a dogpile; 1) I was in France, which should excuse all kinds of dodgy behaviour, 2) the horses were raised and slaughtered humanely from what I was told, or at least as far as that can be done and 3) it came with really good pommes frites and garlic sauce. I’d eat Cheney with frites and garlic sauce.) ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/16 "2005-05-04T16:36:43Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Tomato sandwich. I’ve never been a big fan of tomatoes, it took me until my adulthood to even eat one as part of a sandwich and I still dont eat big tomato wedges in salad. Recently, though, I’ve gotten a hankerin’ for sliced tomato on toast with mayo, salt and pepper. Might give it a go if I can find some nice ripe tomatoes. If you are at all like me, it’s the seeds that spoil tomatoes. Also good blue cheese goes very well with tomato, so if you like blue cheese, try it with slces of tomato where you have discarded the pulpy seeds. Heirloom tomatoes are also good to try, they have better taste and texture than mass market tomatoes. Good call on the peacock meat, that would be a great thing to try, also I have never had freshly cooked whole suckling pig which must be worth a try. If you haven’t tried marrowbone try a good ossobucco it is great stuff, like a smoothe beef pate. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/17 "2005-05-04T17:17:32Z")
I’ve eaten goat in a West Indian restaurant and, while I was able to finish it, I wouldn’t order it again. It has a strong, gamey flavor that no amount of spice could cover up. Other “exotics” that I’ve eaten: bear, muskrat, dove, and oppossum. The dove was great - the others were not great. In fact, the others were nasty (very oily and gamey). ---
**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:** [May 4, 2005, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/18 "2005-05-04T17:46:35Z")
I’ve had alligator (in gumbo, as deep-fried, breaded, bite-sized pieces, and as smoked sausage), and it has always been good. I’ve also eaten buffalo and ostrich in burger form, and both were tasty–a little more bland than ground beef, but much leaner. Of course, all of those are more common than snake and bear! ---
**Author:** ![stargazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@stargazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stargazer)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/19 "2005-05-04T19:57:34Z")
Dove is yummy – like chicken, but gamier (in a good way). I don’t really have anything specific to add, but all the food listed in Brian Jacques’ _Redwall_ series always makes me hungry. Even if I stop and think, “Wait… I don’t like half those ingredients!” he makes them sound so good that I wish I was at every feast they have. ---
**Author:** ![MissGypsy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@MissGypsy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissGypsy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137/20 "2005-05-04T20:15:13Z")
I’ve never tried sushi, but it looks so good to me. Even the weird kinds, with raw fish and all that. Just looks so yummy! Unfortunately, nobody I know has adventurous tastes in food, and I doubt I could find sushi in my little rinky-dink town. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-make-your-mouth-water-even-though-youve-never-tried-them/302137.md?page=2)