Food For Thought - The Devil's Picnic

March 15th, 2006: This week on Food For Thought I featured an interview with Taras Grescoe, author of 'The Devil's Picnic - Around the World in Pursuit of Forbidden Fruit'. Follow the link to purchase this book at amazon.ca and save 34% off the cover price.  Click Here to listen to this week's program. However, you can win one of 3 copies of the book courtesy of Harper Collins Canada. Scroll down to the comments box and tell me about the strangest food you've ever eaten.  For me it was live, tiny fish doused in soy sauce that were purchased at the seafood market in Tokyo.  For Taras Grescoe, one of the strangest foods he managed to choke down when doing research for his book was deep-fried lamb intestines. They get wrapped around a grape vine before they are deep-fried and are served with a wedge of lemon.  Taras was also seeking to sample a serving of criadillas, or bull testicles.  He had a tough time finding them in a restaurant, although did spot them at a market stall.

Hats off to Taras for being bold!

Now, if you are determined to know everything there is about strange foods and forbidden foods, I have two other books to recommend as well as the Devil's Picnic.  One has a similar name:  In The Devil's Garden: A Sinful History of Forbidden Food.   Follow the link to order the book from Amazon.ca and save 24% off the cover price.  Another book that I've had in my collection for quite some time is Jerry Hopkins' Strange Foods:  Bush Meat, Bats, and Butterflies, an epicurean adventure around the world.

This one was published in 1999, so you might have a hard time tracking it down in a bookstore.  That's right, click on the link above to find it at Amazon.ca.

Looking forward to reading your entries to the contest, which closes on Friday, March 31st.

Photo credits:  Lamb intestines and Criadillas, Taras Grescoe.

Photo of Taras Grescoe: Rene De Carufel

Comments

[Debora Miscione]

The strangest food I've ever eaten was on a dare in Bahamas. Some of the locals were catching conch, cutting them out of the shell and eating them raw. Being a Canadian they didn't think I'd eat any and were joking about me not knowing what I was missing. Just to prove that I wasn't chicken I ate some and pretended to like it. Conch doesn't have much taste other than a bit salty and chewy. Never ate any raw conch since.

[Veronica Savage]

The strangest thing I've ever eaten was jellied beets. It was grosser than the many insects I have inadvertently eaten over the years. Mmm.....remember those ants in the Aero bar?

[Janice Lynds]

Moose Nose Soup is by far the strangest I have ever tasted. When I was younger, every year at the Thompson Winter Carnival (in Thompson,Manitoba) they had this. Most eat it on a dare. It probably wouldn't be so bad if they didn't have an actual Moose nose hanging over the pot, strung up with twine through each nostril. The year I tried it, it looked like mucus was hanging from one of the nostrils. Like I said - You only eat it on a dare.

[Dian Anderson]

My children and I were with a farmer who had picked us up while we were hitchhiking in Mexico and we took him for lunch. I ordered lobster in my peculiar Spanish.He gave me a peculiar look when I asked him if he would like the same and declined. I gathered the waitress had not understood what I had ordered when my meal came as it was meat. Oh Well it was food and I was hungry.
Telling someone my story the next day I was told it was monkey (the words in that district being close) My children (25 years later) have still not let me live it down.

[mlstorey]

I know that this is not quite playing the game but how are 100 year old eggs made?

[Tricia]

The weirdest thing I have ever eaten (and survived) was Fugu or Blowfish in Japan. In fact for the 7 course meal at my farewell party, EVERYTHING was made of Fugu, from the soup to the appetzer to the main course to the dessert! Luckily chefs are well trained in Japan. As I am still alive today, I can testify to this!

[fearon]

On a trip to Samoa a number of years ago, it was suggested that we try the regional and seasonal speciality, coral worms. It was with some trepidation that we awaited the presentation of our dinner. And the trepidation was well deserved. The coral worms came mushed up in a bowl, somewhat like cold porridge with some oil on top. It had a slimy texture, and an amazingly strong fishy flavour. As we were being watched with interest by others in the restaurant, we did manage to eat some of the worm dish. However, trust me, we would never order it again!

[heather mahoney]

The weirdest thing I've ever eaten was hákari in Iceland a couple of years ago. It is rotten shark meat. Here's how it happens; They bury an ammoniacal shark for 6 months or so then dig it up. Over the course of that time the shark is marinading in its blood which has a high content of urea. They cut it up and serve it with an equally strong local alcohol that you drink shots of to suppress the taste. I dindn't mind the shark meat once you got past the smell of amonia it wasn't bad and it made the alcohol taste surprisingly good.