Trying Objectionable Food

[Nukie 2]

I recommend alligator tail, it tastes like a cross between chicken and pork chops.

I wanna try kangaroo tail and tacos made from cows head meat-- the real stuff!

[Mofo Rising]

Well, it's kind of what got me interested in the topic. If the world made sense, we would all be eating bugs. Pure protein and fat, and there is nothing easier to farm than insects. So much more energy efficient that growing cattle.

At the same time, cultural factors tie into it. What can be more all-American than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Most Europeans find that particular combination to be completely disgusting.

I'm not sure if I mentioned it here, but I ate live ants off the branch in Ecuador. They tasted like lemons.

I'm with Andrew Zimmern, what seems bizarre in one culture is de rigueur in another.

As a last aside, I tried raw oysters. Kind of like sea-flavored snot. Not bad, just sea-flavored snot.

[Mofo Rising]

I ate a restaurant called Rosario's in San Antonio, TX. I had a plate of parillas (grilled food) called "Poquito de Todo" (a little of everything). Listed on the menu as:

"A trio of grilled sweet breads, crispy tripas, chicharrones guisados, served with charro beans, guacamole, & pico de gallo & homemade tortillas."

I was under the impression that sweet breads were brains, but a Google search tells me they are the thymus and pancreas. They looked like brains. They tasted okay, but with a really fatty sort of texture. They were also pretty heavily spiced, so the flavor of it was not that overpowering.

The fried tripe was good, as were the chicharrones (fried pig skin).

Not bad at all, but none of those would probably be my "go to" food. I recommend that restaurant, though.

[Derf]

You were in San Antonio and didn't call me? I'm only an 1 1/2 hours away from there. 

[Mofo Rising]

You were in San Antonio and didn't call me? I'm only an 1 1/2 hours away from there. 

Wait, you didn't take my call? Then who in the world were the people I was staying with?

[Derf]

You were in San Antonio and didn't call me? I'm only an 1 1/2 hours away from there. 

Wait, you didn't take my call? Then who in the world were the people I was staying with?

I don't know, but if they didn't tie you up, smear honey on you and put you on a fire ant nest, then they couldn't have been anyone related to me... 

[Mofo Rising]

Limburger cheese.

Limburger is probably the most notorious of the "stinky cheeses." I grew up on Warner Bros. cartoons using it as the gold standard of stank. I bought some from the store the other day.

Yes, it stinks to high heaven. My brother described it as smelling the inside of a diaper. I thought it was more akin to the remnants of a foot fetishist orgy... after it had been left in the sun all day.

Anyway, I tried it on some toasted rye today. I guess the way it is usually served is on rye with an onion and some brown mustard, served with either beer or strong coffee. I just tried the rye.

The cheese itself has a very pleasing texture. It's akin to cream cheese, but a little bit firmer. The texture is actually great. When you bite into it, it's actually sort of fantastic. In fact, if you can get over the smell (which you will not be able to do), the first part of the chewing is great. But then there's this weird undercurrent that sticks around. The bacteria that make this cheese what it is are related to the very same bacteria that cause B.O., and that's what sticks around. Imagine licking the stomach of a fat man that just spent a few hours in a mosh pit. That's Limburger.

I don't know, maybe I should have tried it with the onions. I can't imagine myself seeking this out again.

Word of warning! Do not handle Limburger cheese with your hands! I have tried dousing my hands with 409 to get rid of the smell, but it lingers, it lingers...

Texture, great. Taste, not so great. Smell, I suffer...

[claws]

In Germany they serve Limburger with a vinaigrette made of vinegar and oil, thin sliced onion rings and caraway seeds. Tastes great like that.

[AndyC]

Limburger is pretty good on a sandwich with salami and onions. I'd eat it more often if not for the cost. I can get a lot of cheddar for the same price as a small package of limburger.

The funkiness can be lessened by cutting off some of the rind. I do the same thing with some kinds of brie that have a strong ammonia stink. It's mostly in the rind.

[FatFreddysCat]

I am nowhere near as adventurous as some of you guys when it comes to food. I've had an ostrich burger and a buffalo burger, which for me is "weird."

I have also had alligator beef jerky, that was kind of odd.

[Raffine]

Limburger is pretty good on a sandwich with salami and onions.

I experimented with Limburger a few years ago out of curiosity and this onion/salami sandwich was suggested to me. The smell is terrible, but it was tasty. Not good enough to look for it too much or pay the high price, though.

I like anchovies on my pizza, which many find disgusting. Many pizza places don't offer anchovies any more.

Casu marzu is sort of the ultimate objectionable cheese - and being filled with maggots that launch themselves at you - one of the most overall objectionable things on God's Green Earth.

I'm guessing there are some vomit inducing videos on youtube showing smiling folks eating hipity hopity maggots in their cheese.

Feel free to look for them!