I've had a conversation about this with more than one person.
Back in the days of antiquity, who ate the first artichoke?
Who took one of those nasty looking things and tried to eat it?
"Yuck! This tastes like shit! Here, you taste it!"
And when the next person tasted it, she said, "Oh my god this is terrible. It's bitter and tough and just nasty!"
Then the first guy said, "Well, let's cook it and try it again."
Seriously.
I love artichokes, when they're in season we end up eating one apiece about every week.
But if I were out hunting/gathering and saw one growing, I don't think I'd even try to eat it.
Would you?
Weird looking plant. It looks bitter, like a dandelion. And in case you've never been preparing one and gotten a little of the stuff from the stem on your fingers and then accidentally gotten a taste of that stuff, let me tell you, it IS bitter.
There are tons of foods that make me wonder.
I've eaten some interesting things because my maternal grandparents and great grandparents were, huh, upper income? Not rolling in it, but quite comfortable. One of the things my grandparents really enjoyed was fine food.
After I went to live with them in 1978, they took me with them when they went to fancy restaurants. They also cooked. Well, mostly my grandfather cooked and my grandmother and I ate what he made.
I tried a lot of things I wouldn't have been inclined to try if I'd stayed in John Day, Oregon. Some were okay, some I didn't love.
My favorite discovery wasn't even anything that special on the list of gourmet foods... chocolate mousse. I used to go to Sunday brunch with the grandparents and occasionally the great grandparents and the chocolate mousse was my favorite thing.
I'd like some now, actually.
While I was reading stuff on Twitter this afternoon, I found this:
can't stop thinking about people that first ate mushrooms they found and just had to go through trial and error of like, this one tastes like beef, this one killed Brian immediately and this one makes you see God for a week
It made me laugh, but when I think about it, it's funny but true.
When I lived in Eastern Oregon a whole family we knew got really sick after eating some bad mushrooms. I don't know what they ate, and they didn't die, but one of the kids I went to school with told me he wanted to die when he was sick in the middle of the night after ingesting them.
When my kids were young, Sesame Street was a big part of our routine.
One of the segments had the characters trying new foods in a game show format. Hosted by the inimitable Guy Smiley, a food would be presented to a character (my favorite was Prairie Dawn) and the host would say something like, "This is broccoli!"
The character would look at it, then Guy Smiley would shout, "But will you eat it??!!"
They always said yes. They'd try anything, those silly Muppets.
I looked for one of the episodes on YouTube and was disappointed not to find THE episode.
But I found this one, and it made me smile. If you're in the mood to watch...
What's the weirdest thing you have eaten?
I have often wondered who looked at a potato shrub then decided to let it die back before they dug it up to see what the root looked like. Then decided to throw it into the fire to bake up before eating it. Or the person whose head hurt so bad they decided to chew on the bark of a tree. My parents used to send my sisters and me to the kind of summer camp that served mystery meat tacos and sausages. And my father was a hunter. I'll spare you the details.
ReplyDeleteThere must have been so many accidental 'let's try this' efforts. I remember reading somewhere that someone must have found a scorched reindeer carcass or maybe a mammoth and eaten some because they didn't have a successful hunt or whatever.
DeleteI grew up in a hunting family. I've eaten just about every legally hunt-able critter, including bear. (Don't like it)
I have wondered about that too, it's crazy when you think about it. I loved chocolate mousse when I was a kid too and I love artichokes. I've always bee an adventurous eater in my adult years but really can't think of anything that would be considered weird... How about gator tail, I suppose some would consider that was weird.
ReplyDeleteI had a couple bites of gator when we were in Louisiana. Also attended a 'crawfish feed', which was actually the rehearsal dinner for a wedding party.
DeleteThe older I get, the fewer risks I wish to take regarding food. Between heartburn and changing tastes (thx menopause!) I just don't try so many things now.
I'm a picky eater so nothing weird!
ReplyDeleteI clearly remember going to fancy restaurants with family as a child and ordering a hamburger no matter which restaurant we went to.
DeleteThat picture looks like something I would spray weed killer on.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a lovely plant but the flowers are really cool. We have one growing in the back yard.
DeleteI'd have to say it's when I have to eat my own words. they taste better salted and as long as I have something to wash them down with, I'm okay.
ReplyDeleteI have been known to have salty words, too. Mostly I toss them out, though.:)
DeleteWhat do you use to wash 'em down?
About the only thing I can think of is calamari (I like it). Two things my mother made I won't eat now is boiled mutton and codfish. The cod came salted in a wooden box and she would soak it in water overnight. As a child, I damn well ate what was put in front of me.
ReplyDeleteI like fish, although not salty stuff.
DeleteThe only way I've ever liked mutton was in a stew, my great grandfather cooked. We didn't have the 'clean your plate' rule, and mostly we liked what we were given, but it was kind of nutritionally void at times. Too much month at the end of the money.
Cow tongue. It's actually quite good if cooked right. We have ghost pipe mushrooms that I've just discovered growing in a neighbors yard that's been abandoned. I'm 99% sure that's what they are, but I'm not going to risk it. They are supposed to be good for pain... and cause crazy dreams. :) So yeah, they will stay where they are. And I don't think I'll let the dog lick them either.
ReplyDeleteI've had cow tongue many times, although it's been 40 years since the last time. It is good.
DeleteMushrooms make me nervous. I figure as long as I can get them in the store, I'm okay, although there are a few varieties I do recognize in the wild.
My wife and I had this very discussion the other day, but I can't remember what brought it up. She'd mentioned something similar about people way back when discovering certain things for the first time and who was daring enough to try eating them. Fun topic for a shitty, freezing day! Great post.
ReplyDeleteI used to have a whole list of questions. Like, where do newlyweds get all their clothes hangers? Where do butterflies go at night?
DeleteMy youngest brother's big unanswered question was, "Why do my farts smell good and everyone else's stink?"
I've had a fair share of odd stuff. Turtle, gator, crawfish, frog legs (caught by me & a buddy, cleaned on the way back to camp), so it's hard to say what was the weirdest.
ReplyDeleteGiven my name and your example, I think it's a good thing I don't eat mushrooms.
I refused to try mushrooms until I was about 16 years of age. The name MUSHroom was disgusting to me. Couldn't do it. Went out for pizza with some friends and there were mushrooms and I didn't know there were mushrooms and I really liked the pizza... then someone told me.
DeleteI try not to eat weird things now.
I love artichokes. I love mushrooms and most vegetables. I was a vegetarian for a couple of years before meeting Ken. My grandparents were from West Virginia and Ohio so when I lived in West Virginia I ate a few really weird things. Let's just say that road kill stew is a thing there or at least it was with some of the people who still had outhouses and didn't have a lot of money. They only picked up the roadkill if it was 'fresh' though. Yeah, that's a thing and I unknowingly ate some squirrel roadkill stew.
ReplyDeleteI also love deep fried chicken gizzards. I like smoked oysters, sardines, and deviled ham in a can. lol
Wow, you have an interesting past!
DeleteI have had chicken gizzards. Liked them, too. But I ate them with ketchup.
i love breaded and deep fried mushrooms, but can't eat fried foods anymore.
I have a long list of veggies I don't like.
Excellent question, Ami, and I am not thinking of anything too weird immediately. I know we ate some weird stuff when we lived in Japan but I can't remember anything too traumatic. I have never eaten artichoke and don't plan on it. Good hearing from you again. Hope all is well.
ReplyDeleteArtichoke is delicious. All is well. I even have some topics lined up to write about. I can't believe I once posted daily for THREE YEARS.
DeleteI ate chocolate covered ants once...delicious and crunchy! :-)
ReplyDeleteOne of 'my' kids was an adventurous eater. Scorpions, ants, spiders etc.
DeleteHe also ate hot peppers and loved going to exotic restaurants where they served all kinds of interesting things.
Guy Smiley and Prairie Dawn!! I haven't thought about them in years. Ha! Thanks for sharing the clip. Plate was a hoot.
ReplyDeleteOh I loved Prairie Dawn so much! When Matt was a little boy he won tickets to Sesame Street Live. He got to meet Prairie Dawn. And my damn camera malfunctioned.
DeleteThe memory is in my heart, though. :)