Random food question....

[Happy Chooks]

I want to try caviar..
I love seafood( clams,lobster.,crab,shrimp) ..but not real "fishy" tasting things..

Trust me, you do NOT want to try caviar. I too love seafood and caviar is the most disgusting thing EVER. (even above raw oysters) Bait is the appropriate description of it.

We were on a cruise once when I was young. I tried it (cuz I'll try just about anything ONCE) not knowing what it was. My grandmother told me later what it was. It was absolutely horrid.

 

[mom'sfolly]

On caviar...it is incredibly fishy, incredibly salty, slimy, but it pops in your mouth; and smells like low tide. Yucky!

 

[redhen]

This is good to know so i dont waste any money on it...

 

[AquaEyes]

I have a few hazy categories of animals that I wouldn't choose to eat myself, but I am very much a "liebe und liebe lass" person, so I don't pass judgment on what other people choose to eat. Personally, my "ew" factor prevents me from eating members of the orders Carnivora and Primates. And I have a bit of a guilty conscience when it comes to eating something that isn't produced in a very environmentally-conscious way, so I choose the less-intensively produced version or skip it entirely. But I wouldn't necessarily find it "gross" to actually eat the species in question.

I find it interesting that many people have an aversion to eating insects yet have no problem eating crustaceans. If I came across insects marketed for human consumption, I'd have no qualms in trying them out. And most Americans actually DO eat insects and don't realize it, because they aren't aware that one of the commonest forms of natural red food coloring -- carmine color -- is made from scale insects.

I love just about any fish, mollusc or crustacean I've tried -- my one exception so far has been raw Spanish mackeral (too strong for me). I LOVE sushi and raw oysters, clams, and even raw sweet shrimp. I've tried various caviar, but I'm not that thrilled with it. Salmon roe would be the one I'd say comes closest to being actually enjoyed, though some others are just not flavorful enough for me to be able to have an opinion -- shrimp roe doesn't taste like much of anything to me, being more about texture.

I've tried various exotic ungulate meats, but have yet to try horse. I've also had kangaroo, iguana, frog, rabbit, escargot, various exotic land-fowl, as well as the commonly-eaten chicken, duck, turkey, goose, pheasant, squab, quail, beef, pork, lamb, etc.

I think a big part of me being willing to try different foods arose from never liking cultured cheeses, even as a child. There's just something so aversive to me about cheese, whether I smell it or accidentally eat something containing it. The closest I can come to how it feels for me is likening the taste of it to the smell of a dirty restaurant kitchen mop that's been left in a closed garbage can in the heat of summer for a day or two. It's been like that for me as long as I can remember, so a lot of "traditional American food" is not on my menu. That left me with more curiosity about more unusual foods -- as long as there was no cheese in it, I'd try it.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I find it interesting that many people have an aversion to eating insects yet have no problem eating crustaceans. If I came across insects marketed for human consumption, I'd have no qualms in trying them out. And most Americans actually DO eat insects and don't realize it, because they aren't aware that one of the commonest forms of natural red food coloring -- carmine color -- is made from scale insects.

I am aware of that, it's commonly in red fruit yogurts, and I avoid the brands that contain it. I also don't like gelatin. Not so much how it's made, I don't like the texture either.

 

[Mattemma]

I am aware of that, it's commonly in red fruit yogurts, and I avoid the brands that contain it. I also don't like gelatin. Not so much how it's made, I don't like the texture either.

My mom brought that one up to me,because it was big news that starbucks raspberry coffee has the bug juice. I knew years ago when my kids were born, and I researched every food ingredient I gave them finding it in pink/red colored foods.Interesting photos of the ladies grinding those bugs.

 

[jak2002003]

I have no idea why insects are such a turn off the people to eat.

They could be the food of the future as they are easy to farm, prolific, high in protein and have no cholesterol. They take up little space for farming compared to cattle and sheep. If people did not like the look of them, they could easily be mixed up and make into meal like stuff then used in pies, and as substitutes for minced meat etc.

I live in Thailand and have learned to eat just about anything from insects, scorpions, spiders, chickens feet, raw water buffalo, bamboo rats, fermented raw fish and eggs, lotus seeds from the lake, various herbs and leaves collected form the forest, jungle fungus of all kinds, and the list goes on. I even tried dog a few times, but no cats yet. (don't think people actually eat them here).

One really delicious thing is a spicy soup make from the chicken ovaries with lots of yellow egg yolks at different sizes, they also add the chickens intestines, meat, chilli, and lumps of blood and lemon grass. Sounds disgusting, but it really is one of my top fav foods.

Its a shame people are not open minded about what they eat. There are so many different tastes out there. I think that culture plays the main role in conditioning people about what foods are considered acceptable to eat.

 

[thaiturkey]

Jak, all of that is available down here but I can't face any of it. In fact, my taste in any kind of meat is limited - chicken, pork and seafood. I rarely eat beef or freshwater fish now. The sauces and vegetables, with or without meat, are enough to keep the palate interested.

I don't have a philosophical objection to insects. I just don't fancy putting them in my mouth. Offal is different. I eat liver, kidneys and pate.

I admire your adventurous spirit!

 

[redhen]

I might try insects someday... if they are cooked correctly..
I said..MIGHT...

 

[thaiturkey]

They still look like bugs!

When people tell me that they taste like something normal I tell them that I'll stick to something normal.