Can You Stomach These Extreme Global Delicacies?

[turbo]

I checked my canned tuna and the ingredients were "light tuna, vegetable broth (soybean), water and salt" no "natural flavors". What's so funny is that is has "Allergy Warning - contains tuna" I sure hope so, it's a can of tuna.

We get ours at a natural food store, and the ingredients are tuna, water, and salt. My wife would not buy any tuna that said "vegetable broth" on the label, since most broths contain MSG.

Truth in labeling is the issue, here. If people want to buy food laced with MSG, they should be allowed to do so. People also should be given the choice. Here is a site that might interest you: Foods that are labeled "No MSG" that contain MSG, sometimes from many sources.

http://www.truthinlabeling.org/nomsg.html

 

[moose]

I ate lunch at Panda Express today! My fortune cookie said "YOUR PRESENCE LIVENS UP ANY CONVERSATION"

 

[arildno]

Smalahovud-Sheep's head. Eaten by Western Norwegians as their Yuletide feast meal.

Reputedly, the eyes taste best.

As a note, I would prefer NOT to drink aquavit in order to say lutefisk is awful.
I hate aquavit, and have never dared to eat lutefisk.

 

[Evo]

I ate lunch at Panda Express today!

You lucky moose!

Smalahovud-Sheep's head. Eaten by Western Norwegians as their Yuletide feast meal.

Reputedly, the eyes taste best.

Thanks, I was eating dinner.

As a note, I would prefer NOT to drink aquavit in order to say lutefisk is awful.
I hate aquavit, and have never dared to eat lutefisk.

Aquavit is nasty stuff. Are you sure you're from Norway?

 

[arildno]

Certainly. Whale is tasty!

 

[Evo]

Certainly. Whale is tasty!

That would make you Japanese, or Inuit.

 

[Evo]

MIH's pizza thread reminded me of this. The episode from Space Ghost Coast to Coast where Michael Stipe was the guest and they called out for sun bloated orange roughy pizza.

Gastrointestinal delights

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Mmmmmm, mmmmm, good!

(Caution, this thread is not for the weak.)

Here are some "favorites" from around the world, ok these first few are from Iceland.

Hakarl (Rotted Shark)

This is without a doubt the most pungent and dubious thing at the table. Tastes like a combination of dodgy fish and strong French cheese with a hint of ammonia. If you are new to shark and are offered some, it is wise to take the darkest piece you see (the lighter the colour, the stronger the taste). The shark is prepared by burying it in sand for about six months. Served cold in little pieces, be careful not to eat too much as it can result in diarrhoea.

Note - do not attempt to prepare rotted shark at home! If you do it wrong or don't leave it in the ground for long enough, it's quite likely that you will die in agony from eating it, as it is full of neurotoxins and ammonia, which are filtered out using the process described above.

Hrutspungar (Sour Ram's Testicles)

Ram's testicles, pickled in whey, put in gelatin, pressed either into a cake with garlic, as a jam, or as a kind of pâté that tastes sour and spongy, with a texture reminiscent of pressed cod roe. Guidebooks comment: 'Not bad if you don't think about it too much, especially in pâté form.' Or you could just take their word for it.

Lundabaggar (Sour Lamb)

This is a tough one to explain - it is made from secondary meats, like colons and other such stuff, rolled up, boiled, pickled (made sour in mysa, more commonly known as whey), sliced and held together with string. Very fatty, it may be a good idea to cut away the fat before eating, as sour fat usually tastes bad, but it won't leave you with much meat on your plate.

Selshreyfar (Sour Seal Flippers)

The flippers of those adorable animals, made sour in milk and salted. They taste sour, salty and slimy. These are rare, except at some family feasts where the participants have hunted the seals themselves. Quite revolting.

Hvalrengi (Sour Whale-fat)

Made sour with milk. Tastes like sour papier mâché, and probably not very healthy either. Fresh whale blubber is stringy and tough, but apparently pickling it makes it soft and more easily digestible.

Kæst skata (Rotted Stingray)

Made in the same way as the shark, but not as pungent and offensive to the nose as the rotted shark. It has a strong smell of ammonia about it. Sometimes it is mashed, then it is called skotustappa. Usually eaten as a main course, with potatoes.

According to some sources, Skata originates from the Western fjords in the eighteenth century when the brighter lights of society, on þorláksmessa (the day before Christmas), gave their humble hired help 'Skata' so as to assure that until the next þorláksmessa, anything would taste better (!) while they themselves stuffed themselves with hangikjöt (see below).

Svid ('Burned' Sheep-heads)

Stuff that most people associate with devil-worship. A sheep's head that's been burned to remove the wool, cut in two in order to remove the brain, boiled, and either eaten fresh or pressed into jelly (Svidasulta, 'sheep-head jam'). Despite the rather gruesome appearance, these taste quite good.

Even though they look quite serene and peaceful, some people can't stand the thought of eating a burned head. Many people eat only the lower jaw and the tongue to avoid 'eye contact.'

As long as anyone can remember, Icelandic children have then used the lower jawbones as playthings, usually pretending that it was livestock such as sheep. However, after the 1940s, the jawbone became a gun in children's games, and cowboys and Indians became quite popular. Today the jawbone has been replaced by videogames.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Even though they look quite serene and peaceful, some people can't stand the thought of eating a burned head. Many people eat only the lower jaw and the tongue to avoid 'eye contact.'

<shudder>

As long as anyone can remember, Icelandic children have then used the lower jawbones as playthings, usually pretending that it was livestock such as sheep. However, after the 1940s, the jawbone became a gun in children's games, and cowboys and Indians became quite popular. Today the jawbone has been replaced by videogames.

 

[arildno]

Well, Icelanders are weird.