# You gave in to the food temptation and regretted it forever **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 30, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900 "2005-04-30T22:53:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kaiwik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaiwik/32/3978_2.png) [@kaiwik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiwik)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/61 "2005-05-02T05:21:45Z")
I am adventurous, I like food, so I am fairly open to trying new foods. While I was visiting in Hawai’i I tried a lot of really yummy foods, I even ate poi with no problem. I heard about crack seed. “Crack seed?” I asked myself. “Hmm, better check it out.” So my mom and I went to an asian market and bought a bunch of different “crack seed” which is, apparently, slang for “nasty snacks”. There were a couple of varieties which were tasty, but most of it was really **really** nasty. Properly prepared jambalaya is heaven in a bowl. I also use shrimp in my version. The key is to not stir too often, as that is what causes the okra to go slimy. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/62 "2005-05-02T05:44:12Z")
I like some British dishes – e.g., shepherd’s pie and Cornish pasty – so sometimes I drop in on “British pubs.” Once I was feeling adventurous and ordered the steak and kidney pie. Big mistake! The “steak” wasn’t bad, but the kidneys tasted like liver to the tenth power! I was still tasting it the next day! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/63 "2005-05-02T05:48:32Z")
> [@kaiwik](#): > > Properly prepared jambalaya is heaven in a bowl. I also use shrimp in my version. The key is to not stir too often, as that is what causes the okra to go slimy. For methods of de-sliming okra prior to cooking, see this thread: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=312591](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=312591) ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/64 "2005-05-02T06:13:46Z")
> [@kaiwik](#): > > Properly prepared jambalaya is heaven in a bowl. I also use shrimp in my version. The key is to not stir too often, as that is what causes the okra to go slimy. You’re thinking of gumbo. Jambalaya usually doesn’t contain okra. I believe the word “gumbo” comes from the Swahili word for okra. Another way to avoid sliminess in gumbo is to cook filé gumbo, which is made with powdered sassafras leaf instead of okra. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/65 "2005-05-02T06:20:12Z")
> [@Jeff Lichtman](#): > > I believe the word “gumbo” comes from the Swahili word for okra. Or some African language, anyway. See this thread: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=312522](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=312522) ---
**Author:** ![kaiwik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaiwik/32/3978_2.png) [@kaiwik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiwik)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/66 "2005-05-02T12:26:51Z")
**Jeff Lichtman** and **BrainGlutton** you are most assuredly correct, I am such a Northerner! My paternal family ties come from The South, and so there are recipies which have been passed down, with untold alterations, so what I call jambalaya probably in no way resembles yours! As for using fresh okra…we don’t have access to that sort of exotic produce on this Big Rock I live on! Mine comes from a can or frozen. Blasphemy, I am certain, to the purists! ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@matt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/67 "2005-05-02T14:26:00Z")
> [@Hello Again](#): > > I also like Turkish Delight, the kind you get at a Lebanese market in Dearborn, MI or NYC. It’s a big coil all covered in powdered sugar and the lady hacks off a chunk for you. Flavored with rosewater and lots of pistachios! Nummy. Please note however, that the packaged British kind is gross. That’s the regular packaged British kind. For the really evil stuff, you want **Fry’s Turkish Delight** (allegedly full of Eastern promise) which is a fine blend of vaseline, sugar and purple dye. Covered in chocolate. Proper Turkish Delight is pretty good, IMO. It’s not nougat, which is quite different. And it’s only hypnotic if you add magic potion, which you’d know if you’d seen the cartoon. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/68 "2005-05-02T14:32:30Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I like some British dishes – e.g., shepherd’s pie and Cornish pasty – so sometimes I drop in on “British pubs.” Once I was feeling adventurous and ordered the steak and kidney pie. Big mistake! The “steak” wasn’t bad, but the kidneys tasted like liver to the tenth power! I was still tasting it the next day! What’s wrong with liver and kidneys you infidel ?!? BTW, the only Turkish Delight worth eating is Fry’s Turkish Delight. I don’t know whether you can get it in the USA, but it’s common in the UK. My neighbour went to Turkey when I was small and brought me back some “authentic” stuff. It was disgusting and not at all like Fry’s. ---
**Author:** ![Winnie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e480ec/32.png) [@Winnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnie)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/69 "2005-05-02T14:53:30Z")
I know this will make me unpopular, but my scary food experience was with **escargot.** I love any and all kinds of food. Which is why at a French restaurant several years ago I was all about trying snails for the first time. They smelled delightful, simmering gently in garlic and olive oil. I scooped one out and popped it in my mouth. All I tasted was little snail feelers and little snail eyes and slimy snail skin. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/70 "2005-05-02T15:11:54Z")
My dad went to Turkey once and brought back Turkish Delight. It was wonderful. I can, however, imagine how a cheap knock-off could go horribly, horribly wrong. My contribution to this thread? Lobster. Blech. ---
**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, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/71 "2005-05-02T15:14:37Z")
> [@slortar](#): > > My dad went to Turkey once and brought back Turkish Delight. It was wonderful. Except over there, they just called it “Delight,” right? ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/72 "2005-05-02T15:28:12Z")
> [@Alan Smithee](#): > > The other was “drop” or Dutch salted licorice, about which I believe there is already a thread. I think eating that stuff would make any country turn to drugs! Yeah, that’s terrible. I’ve had some other nations’ salted licorice, and been very pleased - I don’t know why the zout and dubbel zout are so hideous. Don’t let the taste of that stuff fool you - some salt licorice is great, not like sucking on Michael Jordan’s sweatsock… George ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/73 "2005-05-02T15:37:18Z")
> [@boofuu](#): > > Not quite in the category of “lusted after” but I moved to the South and decided to see what the hype was about chitlins. I figured, hey my family is from a country that eats tripe. Couldn’t possibly be too bad, right? > > Wrong. Even though I ate it from a restaurant supposedly reputable in the Southern Culinary Arts, it was even more vile than I could have given it credit to. We and some friends went up to Sylvia’s in Harlem years ago. I can’t remember what I had but I sure remember the **Chitlins** (or chitterlings to be proper about it) I tasted. The second I put them in mouth my whole body went “CLEAR!! CLEAR!! CLEAR!!”. Of course I was a good diner and didn’t projectile vomit across the room, but _damn_. my wife and I tried **jackfruit**. Once. We also choked down a cup each of **Butter Tea** at a Tibetan festival. In the ‘you don’t see certain combinations of food for a reason’ category I once made **spaghetti and eggs**. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/74 "2005-05-02T15:59:48Z")
> [@matt](#): > > That’s the regular packaged British kind. For the really evil stuff, you want **Fry’s Turkish Delight** (allegedly full of Eastern promise) which is a fine blend of vaseline, sugar and purple dye. Covered in chocolate. > [@+MDI](#): > > BTW, the only Turkish Delight worth eating is Fry’s Turkish Delight. Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/75 "2005-05-02T17:11:11Z")
> [@boofuu](#): > > Relatedly, my friend ordered haggis… I had to imbibe doubly hard to erase the memory of it from my **tongue, stomach and mind**. Aren’t those the ingredients of haggis? ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/76 "2005-05-02T17:15:48Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! For the record, I’m right 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Corii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Corii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corii)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/77 "2005-05-02T17:31:09Z")
Salted licorice. I figured hey, I love salt and I love licorice, what’s not to like? Oh, the AMMONIA… no I don’t like that. Ugh. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/78 "2005-05-02T17:59:35Z")
> [@mack](#): > > my wife and I tried **jackfruit**. Once. What’s the problem? Jackfruit is _wonderful_! Mmmmm! ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/79 "2005-05-02T18:12:57Z")
I used tofu in a stir-fry for the first time a few weeks ago. Either I did something horribly wrong or there really is no way to make that crap edible. I’ve been wanting to try my hand at babaganouj (because I like saying babaganouj) but I can’t find tahini around here. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900/80 "2005-05-02T18:20:51Z")
> [@mack](#): > > In the ‘you don’t see certain combinations of food for a reason’ category I once made **spaghetti and eggs**. Whadaya mean? One of the great old pasta sauces is Carbonara - spaghetti, bacon, parmesan, and eggs. Ooooh so wonderful! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-gave-in-to-the-food-temptation-and-regretted-it-forever/301900.md?page=5)