[DJ]

So this is an idea I had a little while back when Psiga and I were batting around a list of "Acquired Tastes" on Wikipedia. Some of them were pretty basic (Coffee) and some were pretty fucking amazing. So. List foods that are supposedly an acquired taste of some kind, lemme see if I (or anyone else who's into this sort of thing) can track it down somewhere around here and try it.

I'm going from a basic American taste palate here, so if you've got some local stuff that foreigners are supposed to hate or whatever (See: Vegemite), put it up.



Food Eaten: Vegemite

Country of Origin: Australia

Type: Yeast paste.

Fashion Consumed: Spread on some toast (2 slices).

Cons: Looks like poo. Putting even a little too much becomes overwhelmingly salty and drowns out any other flavor it might have. Ditto if you eat too much of it. Halfway through my second slice of toast it just tasted like I'd dumped a teaspoon of salt in my mouth.

Pros: Provided you don't spread too much on there, it's pretty good. If you're the kind of person who likes Salt Bagels, you'd probably like Vegemite.

Overall Impressions: Well, this stuff is supposedly legendary for the dislike it inspires in some people. I don't really get that; it tastes fine provided you don't cover the bread in the stuff. At worst it's just really really salty, which honestly isn't too bad.





Food Eaten: Natto

Country of Origin: Japan

Type: Rotting soybeans.

Fashion Consumed: Over room-temperature squid slices, with some wasabi mixed in.

Cons: Genuinely distressing odor. It looks like a small pile of rabbit turds covered in mucus. Smells almost exactly like it looks. You stir the stuff with the chopsticks before you eat it, which not only brings up all the stringy mucusy stuff but also kicks up the odor. It was making other people at the table slighty ill just to smell it. Then there's the mental knowledge that that stringy stuff is just rotten soybean gunk. Bit much to wrap your head around, especially with that smell in the air.

Pros: Doesn't taste at all like it smells, which is weird and kind of awesome. Worth it for the looks on your friend's faces when you put a glod of this stuff in your mouth and then slurp up the rotting strings of goo like spaghetti. Funny thing is, it honestly tastes really really good. It's really hard to describe, though. Vaguely nutty, kindasorta. If you've had steamed edamame, that's about as close as I can explain it. I like this a lot better, though. Once you wrap your head around the stench, this stuff is actually pretty damn good. I'd eat it every day if I could.

Overall: As this is SB, I'm sure, like, everyone has tried this stuff already. If you haven't, though, definitely give it a shot! When I ordered mine, the waitress kept warily asking if I knew what it was and if I was sure I wanted it, so apparently this stuff does not mix well with the gaijin. When I was done she almost apologetically went "Did you like it?" and cringed. Seriously, though. Shit be tasty. Just don't breathe through your nose.






Food Eaten: Canned Caterpillars (I can't find a link for these)

Country of Origin: Haiti

Type: Caterpillars (not sure what kind) in tomato sauce, headless.

Fashion Consumed: Eaten right out of the can with a fork -- supposedly you can also heat them up in a saucepan.

Cons: As nasty as these things look, they honestly don't taste like much. What I tasted the most was the tomato sauce. The caterpillars were just these squishy things I chewed on. I kept waiting for some kind of gross flavor, but it was sort of like eating a shittake mushroom: Chewy, but doesn't taste like a whole lot. If they do have any kind of nasty flavor, the sauce masked it pretty well.

Pros: Meh? I mean, they barely tasted like anything. Sort of a letdown. I'm told they taste more strongly without the sauce (you can get them in some kind of brine, maybe pickled?), but this was a gift my co-worker brought back from visiting family to try to gross us out a bit, so all he had was the one can with tomato sauce.

Overall: I was let down by this. One of those things where if they were cheap I'd probably get a bunch of cans for pure shock value, but other than that, pretty unremarkable. If I had to eat them again, I'd at least warm them up first, probably have 'em over some pasta. Make for a slightly more interesting sauce component than meatballs.




Somebody else add some. DJ wants to try new stuffs, yo.
_________________

[Toto]

Well obviously beer.
But most men have a taste for it.
I don't though :(

[Dracko]

Maybe you haven't tried proper beer.
_________________

[Toto]

People like beer here.
I've tried a lot of beer.
I geniuinely like the taste of vodka guys. Same with most spirits.

[DJ]

Meh. Beer's so common as to not count as an acquired taste.
_________________

[GcDiaz]

We've got some unique dishes back in the Dominican Republic, but the one I can think of is mondongo:


The main ingredient is tripe. People I talk to make a face like it's a big effin deal, and I guess it doesn't look too good to the home-schooled. Still, it's my favorite dish in the world.

As far as beer goes, Presidente won't disappoint, either.
_________________
Steam/PSN/Xbawks: GcDiaz

Let's bring sexy back!

[Dracko]

[GcDiaz]

[Dracko]

See, I don't like Coke. I'd rather go for Pepsi or Dr. Pepper, but far and wide, my favourite soft drink would have to be Irn-Bru, which is considered an acquired taste by most.

I'm lucky enough to live in a city with one of the best pubs in the country, the Fat Cat, which brews its own ales, as well as serving quality cider, which I've found his hard to come by in the United Kingdom. Irish cider does it for the most part, but Britanny cider is perhaps the best. They also serve very eclectic forms of beer brewed from pear, grape, cherry, banana, even chocolate, and they're not bad at all. Also, vegetable chips, beetroot, carrot, etc., as opposed to plain old potato ones.
_________________

[DJ]

[DJ]

Oh yeah, two more that I didn't mention:


Food Eaten: Rocky Mountain Oysters

Country of Origin: USA

Type: Deep-fried bull testicles.

Fashion Consumed: With some tobasco sauce and pepper, eaten by hand.

Cons: Not many! They tend to be kinda pricey, though ($6 for one, I'm pretty sure?)

Pros: Pretty tasty! Doesn't look like a giant bull nut. Resembles a big piece of falafel (it's flat, not round). Once you get around the fact that you're eating a cow's balls, it's all good.

Overall: Tastes like a weird cross between a clam cake and a hamburger. Not exactly something I'd hunt down, but good enough if you can get 'em. I'm not a big fan of deep fried stuff in general, though, so!




Food Eaten: Haggis

Country of Origin: Scotland

Type: A sheep's lungs, heart, and liver, diced with vegetables and cooked in its stomach.

Fashion Consumed: With some mashed potatoes on the side.

Cons: This stuff is fatty as hell. I'm not even a big beef fan, I generally find even regular hamburgers to be too fatty for me, so yeah. Haggis has about eight billion calories per serving, and most of it is animal fat. Hoo-rah.

Pros: Tastes, uh...Well. Tastes like lamb.

Overall: Not as good as I was kinda hoping it was. Also, the wikipedia entry for this shows a bunch of sausage-looking things: Mine was just stuff on a plate, looking sort of like chili. It didn't come in any kind of sausage form, so I guess they sliced it open when they were preparing it. Honesty, this stuff didn't really do it for me. If I'm going to eat lamb, I'll just get regular lamb. I'll pass on Haggis in the future, most likely.
_________________

[Persona-sama]

I am curious about this Kutti Pi.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/11/061121-goat-video.html
_________________

[aderack]

How about salt liquorice? I got some in the shape of Swedish fish from a Russian food shop on Polk, and I absolutely adored it. Some of the best liquorice I've ever had. It's made everyone else threaten to vomit.

Also: Moxie.

[Persona-sama]

You can apparently also pick them up in IKEA!

[DJ]

[Toups]

Food eaten: Boudin

Country of Origin: USA (South Louisiana)

Type: Pork rice dressing stuffed into pig's intestine's

Fashion Consumed: in the parking lot of a gas station off of I-10 with a can of Bud Light, hot and fresh from the crock pot, wrapped in wax paper or tinfoil.

Cons: Gross idea with even grosser execution. Seeing how it's made may make you never want to eat it ever. It's also incredibly terrible for you.

Pros: It's fucking delicious and anyone who doesn't think so is either a vegetarian or a communist.

Overall: recommended if you can get the real deal. Forget gumbo, jambalaya, or red beans and rice: boudin is the king of cajun foods.

See also: Cracklins (aka: pork rinds done right)
_________________

[DJ]

[Toups]

[Dracko]

Boudin is French in origin, Toups.
_________________

[Toups]

[Pijaibros]

_________________

[Toups]

[aderack]

[diplo]

[diplo]

[klikbeep]

Food eaten: Boshintang

Country of Origin: Korea

Type: Spicy stew made of dog meat and vegetables.

Fashion Consumed: At a restaurant near my old apartment near Mok-dong, Seoul -- from a large, bubbling iron pot.

Cons: Heavy mental block to overcome - - especially if you've ever owned a dog. Somewhat tough, somewhat gamey. Found out later that the Korean dog farmers beat the dogs to death in the belief that it makes the meat more nutritious. Kind of expensive.

Pros: Tastes okay, depending on how it's prepared.

Overall: Not recommended - - beef tastes better and is far, far cheaper.
_________________

[CanadianEd]

Food Eaten: Pig blood curd

Country of Origin: Hong Kong

Type: Pig's blood somehow prepared into little cubes that somewhat resemble dark brown blocks of tofu.

Fashion Consumed: Usually in some sort of soup-based food. Most commonly served in HK-style "cart noodles", along other delicacies such as pig intestine.

Cons: The texture may take some getting used to. Some people may also be unable to get over the mental block that they're eating pig blood that have been somehow coerced into little blocks.

Pros: I don't know about you, but I love the taste of it. Sort of salty. Apart from that... I can't really compare it to any other food I've tried, really. I like it. Try it.

Overall Impressions: Hey, I've been eating this stuff since I was a kid, so it doesn't faze me. It's also served in some dimsum restaurants, though once again this would very depending on the restaurant - I'm betting that ones that cater primarily to a foreign clientele may not bother cooking it up. I'd say it's worth a try, at least, if you're in a position where you CAN try it.

[DJ]

[extrabastardformula]

[Toups]

[extrabastardformula]

Currently living in the Houston.

Was surprised when my boudin was not an offwhite sponge made from a variety of unidentified shellfish.

[Toups]

[klikbeep]

Food eaten: Ppondeggi

Country of Origin: Korea

Type: Stewed silkworm larvae

Fashion Consumed: At a street vendor, from a paper cup via toothpick.

Cons: Heavy mental block to overcome, if you dislike the idea of eating insects. Horrible smell, revolting texture. Chitinous snaps and pops as you chew. Awful flavor; dirt-like aftertaste.

Pros: Relatively inexpensive.

Overall: Terrible. One of the worst things I've ever eaten.
_________________

[alice]

uggg, did you seriously like natto? It tasted worse than it smelt D:. Tasted so bad that I get the feeling that I was unlucky and got rotten natto--oh wait, it's suppose to be rotten, well scratch that.


Food eat: bitter mellon (ku gua)

Country of Origin: Asia (China?)

Type: bumpy vegetable

Fashion Consumed: Stir fryed, boiled, etc.

Pros: I honestly don't know what I like this stuff. Actually, I don't, but I can stand it and it makes me feel very manly when I eat it. Oh, well I guess it's because this thread is dedicated to acquired tastes (literally!). It tastes as the name implies--bitter, and there's not much more to it. But the bitterness is actually kinda good, and looking beyond the bitterness (which make take a while), the texture of the mellon is unique and there is a very faint sweet aftertaste (which will likely be masked in pure bitterness for first timers). So yeah... only real pro is the manliness.

Cons: I gave ONE small piece (like half the size of a cucumber you use to cover your eyes with ) to my white friend who ended cringing in pain and whatnot. It's sorta like... hot sauce, except bitter instead of hot. It's funny, cuz I was scaring the shit out of him by stuffing the stuff in my mouth. Seriously though, this stuff is NASTY the first time you try it.

Overall Impressions: I can't quite tear myself away from this stuff. My parents cook it pretty frequently--though it's not the kind of food I pounce on when I notice it's there, I'll suddenly be overcome with the urge to eat loads of this stuff. I guess it's for the sheer manliness.

[klikbeep]

Food eaten: San Nak Ji

Country of Origin: Korea

Type: Still-writhing octopus hunks

Fashion Consumed: From a plate with chopsticks, dunked in a vinegar/pepper sauce (cho gochu jang)

Cons: Heavy mental block to overcome, if you dislike the idea of eating wriggling tentacles. Somewhat slimy texture. Suction cups still function, so pieces might stick to your cheek or tongue while eating.

Pros: Movement aside, tastes as good as any other tentacle you'd get in a sushi shop. Sauce is excellent, and nicely compliments any liquor you might be enjoying. Tentacle chunks actually coat themselves in the sauce once placed in the dish, saving valuable dining time.

Overall: Tasty, as long as you get the sauce on there. A good drinking food. Chew quickly.
_________________

[DJ]

Alice: Yes, I did really like it! A lot! But, revulsion isn't exactly uncommon for that stuff.

Klik: LIVING octopus? Holy shit. This I really, seriously have to try. Specialty sushi shops have it, you think?
_________________

[klikbeep]

[winkerwatson]

Have some black pudding dogg my mum loves it
_________________
tim?

[klikbeep]

Black puddings are no good to us. I want something's flesh!
_________________

[LWJoestar]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_sandwich ?
_________________

[psiga]