Trying Objectionable Food

[AndyC]

OMG you guys, now I feel ill .   But I'm vegan so there's no surprises there.  Still, when I did eat meat, I never ate any of that stuff and I never would.

My tastes are very basic, food is just fuel so being adventurous is just.not.on.

I'm pretty sure you would like another SA delicacy, known as 'pap' [pronounced 'pup']. No, there are no small dogs in it. 

It is white maize meal porridge cooked to a stiff consistency, so stiff in fact that you are actually supposed to eat it with your fingers. Sauce all over it and it is a good, filling meal which everyone can eat. 

Sounds a bit like polenta.

I've gone out of my way to try a few delicacies over the years. Escargot, various game meats, etc.

The one food I love that people turn their noses up at is haggis. Fantastic stuff, but the organ meats and the sheep's stomach put people off. It's not just stuffed in a stomach straight out of the animal though. It's prepared just like any natural sausage casing. Really, that's all haggis is - a big sausage. And you don't even eat the stomach. You cook the haggis in the casing, and then remove it before serving. It's actually very delicious and rich and flavourful. Outside of Scottish festivals and annual Burns suppers, haggis is kind of hard to come by in these parts, so I figured out how to make it myself. Unfortunately, my wife doesn't like it, mostly because of the liver component, and my daughter has gotten old enough to be grossed out by the ingredients in spite of actually liking the taste when she was a toddler.

[El Misfit]

Tarantula tastes like crabs, surprisingly.
I tried Colorado Oysters, but i got grossed out as to what it is....

[Couchtr26]

Tarantula tastes like crabs, surprisingly.
I tried Colorado Oysters, but i got grossed out as to what it is....

Calm down and have some Lamb Fries. 

[Paquita]

My husband LOVES this gross stuff!  He's bought a whole goat head and made goats head soup - and he agrees the eyes are the best.  He acts like a kid in a candy store every time the Chinese Buffet has fish heads, which he also says the eyes are the best part.  He loves head cheese, pigs feet and snouts and ears and whatever pig parts they'll pickle and throw in a jar.  He's always telling me about the deliciousness of bone marrow, and gnaws and sucks on bones.  He'll eat intestines, brains, livers, tongues, blood, and hooves, but he refuses to eat balls and bugs.

I won't touch that stuff and he's not allowed to bring it in the house.

[AndyC]

Speaking of bugs, it's interesting that we find some kinds of arthropods disgusting, but can't seem to get enough of others. Crab, lobster, shrimp - they're essentially big, crawly water bugs. People think nothing of plopping a whole lobster on their plate, with all the buggy parts intact and the guts still in it. If I could afford it, I'd do that all the time. We'd turn up our noses at eating a big spider, but we have a blind spot where seafood is concerned. We even call them shellfish, as though they were closer to a fish than a bug.

Mind you, fish is another one. We can eat this scaly, slimy, bulgy-eyed thing with no legs, and love it, but you'd have a hard time getting many people to take a bite of snake or lizard.

[Paquita]

Speaking of bugs, it's interesting that we find some kinds of arthropods disgusting, but can't seem to get enough of others. Crab, lobster, shrimp - they're essentially big, crawly water bugs. People think nothing of plopping a whole lobster on their plate, with all the buggy parts intact and the guts still in it. If I could afford it, I'd do that all the time. We'd turn up our noses at eating a big spider, but we have a blind spot where seafood is concerned. We even call them shellfish, as though they were closer to a fish than a bug.

Mind you, fish is another one. We can eat this scaly, slimy, bulgy-eyed thing with no legs, and love it, but you'd have a hard time getting many people to take a bite of snake or lizard.

I don't think my husband would have a problem eating a giant spider.  He just wouldn't eat stuff like worms and roaches.. you know the tiny stuff.  I wouldn't eat a giant spider because I know they'd be watching and waiting for an excuse to eat me.

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

My husband LOVES this gross stuff!  He's bought a whole goat head and made goats head soup - and he agrees the eyes are the best.  He acts like a kid in a candy store every time the Chinese Buffet has fish heads, which he also says the eyes are the best part.  He loves head cheese, pigs feet and snouts and ears and whatever pig parts they'll pickle and throw in a jar.  He's always telling me about the deliciousness of bone marrow, and gnaws and sucks on bones.  He'll eat intestines, brains, livers, tongues, blood, and hooves, but he refuses to eat balls and bugs.

I won't touch that stuff and he's not allowed to bring it in the house.

Good Lord!!!  Your husband would be (or be related to ) Andrew Zimmerman, would he?

I was hungry until I read this, and I'm totally in agreeance with you, Paquita. Keep that stuff out of the house! More power to you for telling him.

Give me a big old steak or a burger, and some A-1 or some Heinz ketchup and a load of fries any day of the week.

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

Tarantula tastes like crabs, surprisingly.
I tried Colorado Oysters, but i got grossed out as to what it is....

Well, according to biology, crabs and spiders are related, in the arachnid family.  The only difference is that crabs cannot walk forward as a spider can, thus their sideways gait.

If I am recalling correctly, spiders are cephalopod arachnids (soft shelled) and crabs are arthropod arachnids (hard shelled).   

Ever seen those "bird eater" tarantulas that get to be 8 or 9 inches long with legs around 5 inches long? Good God, they didn't have to make em' that big!   

[Raffine]

Speaking of bugs, it's interesting that we find some kinds of arthropods disgusting, but can't seem to get enough of others. Crab, lobster, shrimp - they're essentially big, crawly water bugs. People think nothing of plopping a whole lobster on their plate, with all the buggy parts intact and the guts still in it. If I could afford it, I'd do that all the time. We'd turn up our noses at eating a big spider, but we have a blind spot where seafood is concerned. We even call them shellfish, as though they were closer to a fish than a bug.

Mind you, fish is another one. We can eat this scaly, slimy, bulgy-eyed thing with no legs, and love it, but you'd have a hard time getting many people to take a bite of snake or lizard.

 I was thinking the same thing. I wonder what happened in the past that made eating any kind of reptile, except turtles I guess, taboo in Western culture. Some folks eat 'em like candy, I bet!

[Newt]

If I am recalling correctly, spiders are cephalopod arachnids (soft shelled) and crabs are arthropod arachnids (hard shelled).   

Both are of phylum Arthropoda (joint-legged, segmented-body invertebrates).
Spiders are class Arachnida, of subphylum Chelicerata; crabs are subphylum Crustacea.  So they are related at the phylum level.

Cephalopods are "head-foot" creatures such as squid and octopus (and a class of the phylum mollusca)

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

If I am recalling correctly, spiders are cephalopod arachnids (soft shelled) and crabs are arthropod arachnids (hard shelled).   

Both are of phylum Arthropoda (joint-legged, segmented-body invertebrates).
Spiders are class Arachnida, of subphylum Chelicerata; crabs are subphylum Crustacea.  So they are related at the phylum level.

Cephalopods are "head-foot" creatures such as squid and octopus (and a class of the phylum mollusca)

Gotcha.  I was thinking arthropod meant "hard shelled" because of the word arthro, or was that athero, meaning "hardened" such as atherosclerosis means hardened arteries, the word hardened being the key dynamic?    Thanks for clearing that up though.

Question though: If Cephalopods are "head-foot" creatures (as is naturally apparent in squid and octopi,)  would they not be related to spiders on one level?

The reason I ask, is that recently there was supposed to have been a squid discovered
to have jointed legs much like a spider. I was wondering how that would be classified in regards to spiders having the same.

[The Gravekeeper]

Okay, how about a milder suggestion? Durian. I've heard it's delicious if you can get past the smell.

[Newt]

I was thinking arthropod meant "hard shelled" because of the word arthro, or was that athero, meaning "hardened" such as atherosclerosis means hardened arteries, the word hardened being the key dynamic?

"Arthro" refers to joints.  "Pod" refers to foot (understood to be leg).  Hence: jointed-foot.
"Athero" pertains to arteries.  "Sclerosis" means a thickening or hardening of a body part.  Hence: a disease of hardening of the arteries.

Question though: If Cephalopods are "head-foot" creatures (as is naturally apparent in squid and octopi,)  would they not be related to spiders on one level?

Cephalopods are
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda

Arachnids (spiders) are
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
 
- so they are completely different phyla;  it takes more than a superficial physical resemblance to establish relationship.  If there is a 'new' cephalopod with a resemblance to spiders, its name may reflect that resemblance by calling it a 'spider-like' (or Arthropod-like) squid (in the proper language, of course)
 

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

I was thinking arthropod meant "hard shelled" because of the word arthro, or was that athero, meaning "hardened" such as atherosclerosis means hardened arteries, the word hardened being the key dynamic?

"Arthro" refers to joints.  "Pod" refers to foot (understood to be leg).  Hence: jointed-foot.
"Athero" pertains to arteries.  "Sclerosis" means a thickening or hardening of a body part.  Hence: a disease of hardening of the arteries.

Question though: If Cephalopods are "head-foot" creatures (as is naturally apparent in squid and octopi,)  would they not be related to spiders on one level?

Cephalopods are
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda

Arachnids (spiders) are
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
 
- so they are completely different phyla;  it takes more than a superficial physical resemblance to establish relationship.  If there is a 'new' cephalopod with a resemblance to spiders, its name may reflect that resemblance by calling it a 'spider-like' (or Arthropod-like) squid (in the proper language, of course)
 

Gotcha,' and again my thanks. If I stick around you long enough I'll be a biologist in no time!      Cheers!

[Couchtr26]

My husband LOVES this gross stuff!  He's bought a whole goat head and made goats head soup - and he agrees the eyes are the best.  He acts like a kid in a candy store every time the Chinese Buffet has fish heads, which he also says the eyes are the best part.  He loves head cheese, pigs feet and snouts and ears and whatever pig parts they'll pickle and throw in a jar.  He's always telling me about the deliciousness of bone marrow, and gnaws and sucks on bones.  He'll eat intestines, brains, livers, tongues, blood, and hooves, but he refuses to eat balls and bugs.

I won't touch that stuff and he's not allowed to bring it in the house.

Bone marrow is excellent though mostly I eat chicken marrow.  It is spongy and has little flavor but high in quite a few nutrients.  If that bothers anyone, I also enjoy the cartilage on chicken legs.  Organs I am good with livers and hearts.  Hearts are odd as they are all muscle and are not good for long cooking.  Hooves most people eat as they are boiled down to produce gelatin.  (They aren't alone in that but are a constituent.)  Tongues are quite good when cooked slowly with spices and oils served on tortillias they are awesome and very much beefy or flavored like the creature they come from in origin.  Sorry didn't mean to pick on you Paquita but you brought up some things I thought I would touch on in the topic. 

Other things that wouldn't bother me are insects (I'm not a fan of grubs and pupas though would draw a line there).  I'm good with reptiles having eaten turtles and the like plus living in OK we have similar local rattlesnake festivals.  Frog is also quite good.  I'm actually not adverse to the idea of trying much.  Things are odd and often times it is our mind rather then the food itself.  As the old saying goes "Tell me what you eat and I will tell you where you are from."   Ironically, I'm from the southern US and while some of these things are common I'm surprised as a dessert they haven't just cut out the middle man and just served a bowl of sugar.