Poll of the Week: Strange International Cuisine

[SarahS]

Part of traveling is trying new things -- and that includes food! But would you try these weird and wacky dishes?

[SuziClue]

I tried sheep cheeks in Iceland. Not butt cheeks but face cheeks. I don't remember much about the taste (sort of like chicken) but there were so many bones! It was way too much work for the end result.

[WackyHeathen]

Good poll. Guess I would try anything on this list (have tasted guinea pig, was asi asi), but fried bees and the ram's testicles sound especially disgusting.

[TravelTime]

Of the choices, I've had escargot. I haven't tried any of the other foods but I have had balut in the Philippines. It's a fetal duck egg that never matures. It has the most disgusting smell. I was 19 and adventurous! What can I say? I also had aso adobo while in the Philippines. Adobo is stew. Aso is dog. I know...I have no excuse. We were invited to dinner at a locals and that was dinner. When in Rome!

Cecilia

[lynclarke]

I had haggis in Edinburgh. It was peppery and it reminded me of something but I couldn't put my finger on it. I was brought up in New England with a lot of traditional foods so I sure I used to eat something similar. I love strange street foods but as I grow older I grow more conservative. It is no longer worth a bout of GI ickies to take an adventurous bite of something.

[soliteyah]

I had haggis several times in Scotland and loved it!

[manoni]

Kokorec (Turkish) :it is really very delicious you must tr it
consisting mainly of lamb or goat intestines, often wrapping seasoned offal, including sweetbreads, hearts, lungs and/or kidneys. The intestines of suckling lambs are preferred.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokoretsi

[cozcat]

I'm Australian and vegetarian. I've been raised on Vegemite but it's the only thing there that I'd eat as they're all dead wildlife.

[jocap]

Vegemite= Marmite in the UK, and is the waste yeast product of the brewing industry....Drs tell you to eat it for the vitamin B....many babies are raised on Marmite toast.
Reindeer is just venison...eaten all over Scandinavia....can't tell the difference.
Last had snails in Marco Pierre White's restaurant, on board the Ventura ship....he combines them with steak. Mainly salty and garlicky...a land sea- food!
Have haggis from my local butcher about once a month....sometimes make it into a shepherd's pie, with mashed potato and carrot on top, and grated cheese. He buys them from Arbroath, and they're delicious.
Jo.

[lynclarke]

Ah- I finally looked haggis up--Alton Brown has a recipe. It is made from heart, liver, and lungs--no wonder I liked it! I like to "corn" my tongues. I have served them at many "****tail" parties and no one had ever guessed that it was tongue. Love the stuff.

[sukki007]

I tasted haggis in Edinburgh and was surprised that I liked it. I knew it was cooked in a sheep's stomach, but didn't realize it had organ meats, which I like to avoid - too high in cholesterol. I skipped the cuy in Peru: I couldn't bear to try it when they were raising the adorable little guinea pigs right on the opposite side of the restaurant! I didn't realize escargots were a strange food; I've had them often on cruises. I'd probably love reindeer pizza - what could be bad? Vegemite doesn't sound all that strange, but I'd probably avoid it, since I hate salt and don't handle tangy too well. But reading the descriptions of some of the other stuff in the poll literally nauseated me, especially having just consumed a good quantity of mocha almond fudge ice cream!

[jocap]

Hi- vegamite/Marmite tastes just like beef, and is used to make stocks and gravy....I use it myself, instead of stock cubes, on occasion. It gives vegetarians a good base for soups etc. Spread very thinly on toast, it mingles with the butter to produce a beefy tang to the bread.
Jo.