I requested and got a small jar of Russian caviar for my birthday a few years ago. I thought it was okay, but couldn’t hold a candle to ikura and tobiko (salmon roe and flying fish roe) from a good sushi bar.
Durian is on my list of things that I should try sometime. I’ve seen them for sale at various exotic markets here in Seattle, but what would be the point? How would you know if you’re getting a good one, or a bad one? The only way it could possibly work is if I went to SE Asia sometime, and got a local to vouch that yes, this is a good durian that tastes the way durian is supposed to taste.
The buttermilk you get at the local supermarket isn’t really buttermilk. It’s thick cultured skim or lowfat milk. The old-skool buttermilk was the thin stuff left over after you churned butter. And it was sour because if you cultured the cream a bit before churning it would churn more easily.
Anyway, the good part about modern buttermilk is that it’s what yogurt is supposed to be, cultured dairy with an intense sour kick. I actually like taking a few sips when using it to make pancakes or whatever, but I’m not gonna drink a glass of it or anything.
To do that, get some canned mango pulp. At about 1/3 pulp, 2/3 buttermilk, toss in a few ice cubes, and that’s a great mango lassi. I have no idea what they drink in India, but that’s how Indian restaurants in America make mango lassi.
I’ve seen recipes where they say if you don’t have buttermilk, you just put some vinegar in normal milk.
Re: Turkish Delight, context is everything. The story is set in England in World War II during a time of severe rationing. Sweets of any sort were in very short supply. Edmund probably hadn’t had any sweets at all in months. It would seem wonderful to him.
Measure some skim milk to just below the quantity you need, add a spoon or two of sour cream, and whisk.
I do that all the time if I want to make skillet cornbread, and don’t want to go out for the necessary buttermilk.
A glass of plain ice-cold buttermilk is refreshing on a hot summer day. Sprinkle a little salt on the surface, kinda like with a margarita. Wakes up the taste buds.
This is what I came in to say. As I’ve written these Boards before, I bought one for a party and took it because a.) It was the kind of crowd that always looked for new things, and b.) I’d never tried one. I, too, had heard that it smelled absolutely disgusting but tasted wonderful. As it turned out, both statements are false. It didn’t smell anywhere as bad as advertised (although the host insisted that I set up the table with the durian downwind of the party), nor did it taste anywhere as good as advertised.
What nobody mentioned was the texture, which was like runny pudding. Yech.
(After the party, the host told me that a.) he was glad I brought it, and b.) to Never Do It Again. Fortunately, I found someone insane enough to haul away the uneaten portion. He liked it.)
Similarly, I was disappointed in Breadfruit. After reading the description of it in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea I was insatiably curious about it. He describes Ned Land, the harpooner, finding some on an island and preparing it for his companions.
A co-worker heard me talking about it, and somehow procured one. for me. I eagerly took it home to try it out.
I looked up Breadfruit Preparation on the internet. It turns out you don’t prepare it the way Verne said. The end product was filled with unexpected fiber and tougher than expected, with negligible taste. Another childhood image shattered.
I’ll also second Truffles. After all the buildup over the years I expected these fungi to be the epitome of tastiness. When I finally tried them it was nothing at all as I imagined. And I hated the taste.
I suspect if I ever try Caviar my reaction will be the same.
You should cook the Breadfruit by the Captain Bligh method!
To all you caviar haters: try red salmon caviar. The eggs are relatively large, it’s fairly cheap, and you should spread a Carr’s water cracker with a spoonful of the best available thick sour cream, then spoon the red caviar over it, and pop the whole thing into your mouth. Follow with a healthy swig of Champagne or Chablis or Pabst Blue Ribbon.
I bet you would like caviar THEN.
Canned smoked oysters are also very good this way.
I recently had a Culver’s butterburger for the first time. Maybe my expectations were too high, but it was nothing to write to the folks about.
But I absolutely love buttermilk. I don’t buy it because I’ll finish the container off in a day (quart, half gallon, whatever).
mmm
I had Dragonfruit (and Dragonfruit Fanta!) while I was in Serbia recently. For such an exotic looking fruit, the taste ended up being really bland 
(ditto the Fanta)
Figs were disappointing. They didn’t taste bad, they just tasted sweet. I was expecting some sort of fruity flavor.
Grits, cheese straws, pimento cheese- edible, but what’s the point? I was hoping for so much more from them.
I started hearing about cilantro on all the foodie shows and started seeing it in stores. I wondered what the attraction was and tried it, hoping for a wonderful taste enlightenment! Too bad the evil weed tastes like rotten citrus with hints of kerosene and soap, overwhelming anything it’s in.
My daughter moved to the Midwest and told me about the butter burger. I have to say, as someone who does not eat fast food burgers, that this is is AN AMAZING FAST FOOD BURGER. Get the cheese nugget things, too.
About 25% of the population has some kind of genetic mutation that makes cilantro taste bad. I am not one of them.
My niece spent the summer in Indonesia as an exchange student. Durian was one of the things she wanted to try, but I haven’t seen her, online or IRL, and haven’t had a chance to ask her. I’m guessing she didn’t or she would have blogged about it.
I had always heard about poi being a staple of Hawaiian cuising, and thought I would like to try it until I found out that it’s basically baked, flavored starch.
Durian smells pretty impressively bad to me. My old local Asian supermarket used to have them in every now and again, and I could tell if there had been one in the store, refrigerated, in the last few weeks as soon as I opened the door.
Never tried a real fruit of one, but I did try an Indonesian Krispy Kreme durian filled donut. Eating it it just tasted like sugary custard with a bit of a weird element, not vile, but not very pleasant, but every time I burped for the rest of the day I just got the taste of the weird bit back, getting nastier and nastier. Sadly I was on a train with only a water bottle with me (bought it at the train station), and couldn’t drown out the taste with anything else for hours.
My SO and I have this same argument about In N Out. Its a perfect burger- just wonderful. There is probably a little nostalgia for me because family trips to Southern California always included a stop at In N Out. We all even had the t-shirts. Its still a road trip thing for me- we have several franchises in Vegas now but it is just better when it’s part of a trip.
For me, I’m not crazy about lobster. I’ve had had decent lobster a few times but it just doesn’t compare to crab which is usually cheaper and much better tasting.
There are some places that take the whole “butter burger” thing to a whole new level. I’m talking about Solly’s in Milwaukee (well, next door in Glendale). That’s what, like three or so tablespoons of butter on that puppy? It’s silly.
Culver’s is solid (but somewhat variable. I especially like their walleye sandwich that shows up during Lent.) For chains, there’s also Kopp’s in the Milwaukee area. All good stuff.
Add me to the list of people underwhelmed by lobster. It didn’t taste bad, just unremarkable and not worth the expense.