Week 7 Discussion Topic –Weird Food  People often eat things in one culture that people in another culture

Week 7 Discussion Topic –Weird Food

People often eat things in one culture that people in another culture find disgusting. All of these things provide some of the nutrients needed for survival. Why are some things found to be edible and others not consumed or consumed under unusual circumstances?  Can you use what you know about the biology of eating and drinking to explain people’s tastes for the foods listed here?

Try “Ray’s List of Weird and Disgusting Foods” for some ideas.

Netherlands: Salted Horsemeat Sandwiches, Raw Salted Herring, Peanut Butter Sauce on French Fries

France: Escargot, Tripe, Frog’s Legs, Steak Tartare, Brains, Truffles

Mediterranean: Sheep’s head (the whole thing, cooked and skinned, including the eyeballs), Octopus, Cicada, Octopus and Squid in Ink.

Africa: Blood fresh from living livestock, Grasshoppers, Okra, Urine, Clay, Goat’s Head

China: Bird’s Nest Soup, Breast Milk, Sea Cucumber, Jellyfish, Rat, Snake, Drunken Shrimp, Jelled Blood, Bear Paws, Tiger Testicles, Owl Soup, Thousand-Year Eggs, Fish

Australia: Vegemite, Marmite, Kangaroo, Witchety Grub, Beetroot, Honey Ants

Japan: Fugu, Sashimi, Tofu, Miso, Seaweed, Crickets

Arctic Alaska: Blubber, Stinkheads

U.S. in general: Spam, Chewing Gum, Iceberg Lettuce, Bread, Beer, Peanut Butter

U.S. Northwest: Geoduck Clams

U.S. West: Prairie Oysters, Fried Pork Rinds, Blood-Rare Steak, Rattlesnake

U.S. Midwest: White Castle Sliders, Jell-O Salad, Fruitcake, American Cheese Food Product (such as Velveeta) in Fried Cheese Balls, Cincinnati Greek Chili

U.S. South: Grits, Crawfish, Hog Maws and Snouts, etc., Dropped Fowl, Chicken Feet

Chitterlings, Iced Tea, Ramps, Turkey Deep-Fried Whole (Fried Everything) Chicken-Fried Steak, Dill Pickles Fried

U.S. East: Souse, Pork Loaf

U.S. Northeast: Scrapple, Cod Liver Oil, Pumpkin Pie, Raw Oysters, Lobster, Fiddlehead Ferns

Canada: Sugar Pie, Cod Tongues, Cod Cheeks, Pemmican, Cracklings, Seal Flipper Pie, Spruce Beer

Mexico: Tequila Worms, Menudo, Habanero & Jalapeno Peppers, Mole, Chichirrones (Chitterlings), Ceviche, Grasshoppers