unorthodoxchef

Ever stop and think that when you are enjoying a so called traditional meal that in some countries, it may be construed as odd or even bizarre. Traditions vary from culture to culture, and when faced with the opportunity to try something far from the norm, would you actually consider eating it? Take these bizarre foods for example:

Haggas

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Haggas is a traditional Scottish dish served on Burns Night. This interesting concoction is made from liver, heart and lungs of a sheep, mixed with a variety of oats, mutton, ans suet. The mixture is stuffed into a pouchlike contraption. The rounded ball is then boiled until the meat is fully cooked, and then it’s served with potato’s and turnips.

Witchetty Grubb

Typically found in Australia, these grubs feed on the witchetty bush, hence the name. This may come as quite a shock, but these plump little creatures are ideal for barbecuing. The texture is like having a mouth full of cornmeal that tastes like absolutely nothing so they need a bit of special sauce to make them go down smoothly-if you know what I mean-. The price of these fancy creatures keep them in high demand with tourists, wanting to savor the local customs.

Snipe

A snipe is a bird that is native to Europe, and it’s typically cooked with the tail on. The best results of this fanciful bird are by grilling and roasting. More interesting than that, “Colonial American snipe hunters used some of the earliest versions of a telescopic sight invented by American statesman and inventor Benjamin Franklin.”

Opossum

Wild brush tail Opossum are typically consumed in Tasmania. The meat is lean and fine grained and has a faint Eucalyptus flavor. Remember to remove the musk sacs, or you won’t be enjoying anything at all.

Just today, I was thinking how nice it would be to have a Wendy’s hamburger since I had a free coupon and I hadn’t had one for a while. I also figured that I could get in and out considering every Wendy’s I have ever been at always gives fast and friend service. Well, the experience I had today has made me realize how low our standards have become as consumers.

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• Why is it that I waited in line for 15 straight minutes in a Fast Food Restaurant when there wasn’t one customer in the place except myself and my fiance?
• Why is is that no one even greeted me until I said “excuse me, can I order?”
• Why is is that the manager was working every station in the restaurant and his employees were standing around with thumbs up their butt’s?
• Why is it that Wendy’s claims to cook their french fries in 0g Trans Fat that the French Fries looked like they were cooked in grease from a 1 week old dirty fryer.
• Why do we as consumers keep spending our hard earned dollars on restaurants that give crappy service?
• Is it me, or when every table in the restaurant is filthy and their are 10 people standing in the back doing nothing, shouldn’t someone be getting fired?
• Are we supporting the American Dream of the Corporate Giants that are producing these mediocre products?

Is this a rant? You bet your behind it is! I personally find it utterly ridiculous that Small Business’s are going under become one time you had one bad experience with a previous owner or possibly an old employee and you just refused to go back. However, you found yourself right back at the corporate restaurant that served you raw chicken and horrible service.

Take a long, hard, look at this picture and just remember, that every time you put money into these people’s pockets, you are part of the problem.

The origin of bento can be traced back to the late Kamakura Period when cooked and dried rice called hoshi-ii was developed. Hoshi-ii can be eaten as is or
boiled with water to make cooked rice, and is stored in a small bag. In the Azuchi-Momoyama Period wooden lacquered boxes were constructed and bento
would be eaten during a hanami or a tea party.

Who knew so much time went into crafting the most fabulous of boxed lunches. Boxed Bento’s are long honored traditions, just like stomping the dibbits. I was
so excited to discover a site that gives it’s visitors a simple and easy instruction manual on perfecting this art.  Read More

 I remember a time back in Culinary School when I was in Garnishing Class. My professor was exhibiting one of his so called specialties “Gravlax”. It doesn’t seem that strange to me now, but the professor actually forced me to taste it, even though I refused, telling him “I didn’t like Salmon, and I especially didn’t want that”. He told me I was being childish and said to taste it or he would give me a bad grade. Well, the outcome of the situation was not at all pretty. I got seriously sick and suffered complete and utter embarrassment.

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Well, after several years I have been able to move forward and open up my palate to new and interesting flavors. However, there are those times that you must live on the edge, especially when you are experiencing cultural delicacies around the world.

Garnatálg

Garnatálg is made with the internal organs and entrails of animals, splendidly garnished with a layer of fat and usually served in slices. If you’re Lithuanian, you would be quite familiar with this dish as it’s similar to the taste and form of “Kepenine”(Lithuanian delicacy). This is a dish I was exposed to when I was around 8 years old. However, the events of that night are still a bit cloudy.

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Stuffed Pancreas

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One trip to Anatomy class learning about the endocrine functions of this delightful organ can also lead to a wonderful stuffed pancreas entree that is a delicacy in the beautiful country of Morocco. I just loved this Langerhans producing structure, however I don’t think it will be making it’s way on to my dinner table at any time.

Barnacles

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Barnacles are no longer arthropods that attach themselves on the bottoms of boats and ships in the harbor. Now, they are making their way into kitchen’s in Chile, Spain, and Portugal as treasured delicacies where they are being prepared much like any fresh catch of the day.

Shashlik

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Shaslik is another personal favorite, or rather a forced experience. Let me just remind everyone that my childhood experiences with food have been rather bizarre considering my cultural background. This delicacy combines meats like lamb, beef, and pork, alternating pieces of fat, put onto skewers and marinated in vinegars and other spices. It has become part of Israeli fast food being brought over by Jews from Russia.

Guinea Pig

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Guinea Pig has been reserved for ceremonial meals by indigenous people in the Andean highlands, but since the 1960s it has become more socially acceptable for consumption by all people. The flavor of Guinea Pig has been compared to rabbit, so most people will roast or broil them for a high protein, low cholesterol meal.

Kopi Luwak

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Kopi Luwak is coffee berries which have been consumed by and passed through the digestive tract of the Asian Palm Civet. The inner bean of the coffee berry is not digested, but the enzymes in the stomach of the Civet are said to enhance the flavor of the coffee. If you are a avid coffee drinker, this may not be as odd as it sounds considering many different varieties of Sumatra coffee have gone through a similar evolution before they make it to your local coffee shop.

Corn smut

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Image via Wikipedia

I remember seeing this delicacy in the Indiana Jones movie, but I never thought that people actually ate this stuff. Corn Smut is actually a disease caused by the pathogenic plant fungus, and although it usually takes over the entire cob, there are tumors that concentrate on the kernels. In Mexico, Corn Smut is sold for higher prices than the actual corn itself. The husks are dried, and the flavors resemble certain mushroom varieties.

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