52 replies to this topic

[Scott Johnston]

There are many foods that I do not care for, all I have tried, and could eat again. I wanted to hear what foods you have never tried and never will. I am not talking Phobias here Phobia Thread and am not talking about dislikes, allergies, dietary restrictions or “never agains”. These are foods that will never be experienced! (OK never say never)

My list is short....

1000 year old egg http://en.wikipedia....iki/Century_egg
Large eye balls of any type
Partially developed embryos http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut
Monkey brains in the skull (ala Indian Jones) http://en.wikipedia....brain_(cuisine)

[Biotech]

I'll second balut and the egg

I'll add:

Natto simply because I like tofu, soybeans, and miso and this would ruin it for me.
Birds nest soup

and of course
"Donner, Party of 1"

[phoqueen]

I'm a "try something at least once" person, but the one thing I would never. ever. eat is a rocky mountain "oyster".

[Scott Johnston]

Welcome Phoqueen! Glad to have you on board!

I'm a "try something at least once" person, but the one thing I would never. ever. eat is a rocky mountain "oyster".

[Sthitch]

With the exception of anything penis related, I will try anything edible.

[brettashley01]

I third the balut and the egg. Also eyeballs, tongue, brain- most organs actually. I once ate lung accidentally, I don't recommend it. Marrow. Feet.
ETA: No rocky mountain oysters either!!!

[Sthitch]

Also eyeballs, tongue, brain- most organs actually. Marrow. Feet.

You are missing out on some of the greatest culinary treats, and feet are a great addition to stock or soup. These bits are a bit daunting, but are very tasty.

[porcupine]

Softshell crab.

[Al Dente]

Wolverine nipples.

[ladi kai lemoni]

Natto simply because I like tofu, soybeans, and miso and this would ruin it for me.

I think a lot of the hype/notoriety around natto is overblown. Yeah, it's a pretty gnarly texture/smell, but I think there's far worse things out there than that. I'm actually thinking about getting some to try again because it's actually a very healthy food.

Something I probably will never try are sheep's brains, which I'm pretty sure my grandmother tried to serve me once and I was like "this isn't happening."

I also refuse to eat fish eyes, another thing my grandmother wanted me to eat.

[goldenticket]

Horse meat...thank God I didn't wind up with THAT family when I did my study abroad year (or else I would have been forced to eat sheep brains too - which, like ladikailemoni, are on my list too).

[Mark Slater]

1. Hákarl (fermented or rotten shark)
2. Surströmming (fermented Baltic herring in a can - you know it's ready when the can is puffed up like a softball)
3. Lutefisk - no no no no no
4. Stinkfish (This Inuit delicacy from eastern Greenland described as such:"The elders liked stinkfish, fish buried in seal bags or cans in the tundra and left to ferment."

I have heard that anyone one of these dishes can be detected by the human nose a half mile away. No thanks.

[zoramargolis]

4. Stinkfish (This Inuit delicacy from eastern Greenland described as such:"The elders liked stinkfish, fish buried in seal bags or cans in the tundra and left to ferment."

Through the eons of time and across cultures, humans seem to have an affinity for the taste of fermented fish: think garum, nuoc mam.

[TinDC]

I agree with all of the above. Just reading this thread made me feel a little nauseous.

[RobRutII]

I once saw a guy eat the still-beating heart of a cobra on the TV. I am pretty damned sure I wouldn't ever do that-- he sure didn't seem to enjoy it.

I know it isn't appropriate to this thread, but one of my "never agains" is uni (Sea Urchin). The texture/flavor combo was such that I almost threw up in this nice little sushi joint. I am generally a pretty adventerous person, but this stuff was just terrible. Does anyone else just love the stuff and feel I should give it another go?

I agree with all of the above. Just reading this thread made me feel a little nauseous.

[Barbara]

Here are the salient facts: 1) I was brought up to eat what was ever presented to me, and; 2) barfing at the table was never allowed under any circumstances. So, here was a situation whereby my family was introduced to a French Air Force Officer. My parents entertained him (who was without his family) at our home in El Paso, Texas. Several months later, both of our families were stationed in Germany (ours in the American sector, his in the French sector). We would exchange visits from time to time--my parents always brought a carton or two of American cigarettes when we arrived at their apartment--his wife was particularly fond of Salems. The French spouse was a wonderful cook and presented food in the French fashion; i.e., in several courses.

There came the time when she made escargot. And thus was my dilemma. I was about 13 at the time, for those of you who are counting. I stared at that snail shell on my plate, knowing what was inside. I also knew that I would barf if I was forced to eat it. What to do, what to do? Fortunately for me, He recognized my problem and stated "Well, more for me!" Exactly.

No, I don't eat snails under any circumstances. And, there are some French people who can understand why. Bless them all.

[Dmnkly]

I know it isn't appropriate to this thread, but one of my "never agains" is uni (Sea Urchin). The texture/flavor combo was such that I almost threw up in this nice little sushi joint. I am generally a pretty adventerous person, but this stuff was just terrible. Does anyone else just love the stuff and feel I should give it another go?

Uni is one of those things where, if it's really good and fresh, it's surprisingly mild and inoffensive. If it's bad, it's BAAAAAAAAAAAAAD. My hunch is that your uni wasn't so good, and I'd give it another shot the next time you're at a place where you can be absolutely assured you're getting good stuff. Even places that have very nice fish, in my experience, often have trouble getting good uni.

For the record, I adore uni. It may be my favorite standard sushi bar item (killer bluefin otoro aside, of course :-). I've always thought it was somewhat reminiscent of egg yolks, actually... slightly briny egg yolks.

[JLK]

All of the above (lungs were the first to come to mind--blech!) plus cuy and ortolan. Oh, and whale blubber.

[laniloa]

Oh, and whale blubber.

This is top of my never going to happen list. It took about 5 months to get rid of the phantom smell of blubber after the one necropsy I assisted with. It also confirmed I didn't want to work on whales.

Having done a variety of dissections, the idea of eating organs just creeps me out. I'm sure it doesn't help that dissections aren't done under the best smelling conditions and the textural element just isn't right.

[Mark Slater]

Through the eons of time and across cultures, humans seem to have an affinity for the taste of fermented fish: think garum, nuoc mam.

There was one even better. I just tried to Google up this book with no luck, but the guy went to four wilderness areas in the world for sport and to write about it. Africa, Borneo, Greenland and one other place. In Greenland he described the single most revolting thing I've ever read about. Land travel in Greenland is mostly by dog sled. He had a day before his narwhal expedition was to start and was invited to a party. He described the odor as the sled approached the party as gag-inducing from several hundred feet away. He had no idea that the odor was the main dish being feasted upon. It consisted of seal that had been stuffed with sea birds WITH THEIR FEATHERS STILL ON, buried in the ice for 9 months to ferment. When he finally got up the courage to approach the table, the hostess apologized that there was none left. She did slice him a generous hunk of fermented whale liver, though, as consolation. I would have passed on that one, too.

[DonRocks]

Many of these would be disgusting to eat, of course, but I can only remember one thing that disgusted me just reading about it. I won't mention it directly, and advise against going to this link, but for those of you who can't resist ... click.

Bon appetit,
Rocks.

[Al Dente]

Many of these would be disgusting to eat, of course, but I can only remember one thing that disgusted me just reading about it. I won't mention it directly, and advise against going to this link, but for those of you who can't resist ... click.

Bon appetit,
Rocks.

Might not be so bad provided he was on a steady diet of fermented seal and seagulls.

[Scott Johnston]

and I thought picking one's nose and eating it was bad.....

Many of these would be disgusting to eat, of course, but I can only remember one thing that disgusted me just reading about it. I won't mention it directly, and advise against going to this link, but for those of you who can't resist ... click.

Bon appetit,
Rocks.

[Sthitch]

Many of these would be disgusting to eat, of course, but I can only remember one thing that disgusted me just reading about it. I won't mention it directly, and advise against going to this link, but for those of you who can't resist ... click.

Bon appetit,
Rocks.

And here I thought that you were going to link to the Mircle Whip site.

[Pool Boy]

I'll eat almost anything, but it has to taste and smell good. Some things I doubt I will ever try are testicles of any sort, brains of any sort and rotten anything (even if it is meant to be that way). Most other organs are fine (probably even eyeballs) and I LOVE marrow.

[Mark Slater]

I'll eat almost anything, but it has to taste and smell good. Some things I doubt I will ever try are testicles of any sort, brains of any sort and rotten anything (even if it is meant to be that way). Most other organs are fine (probably even eyeballs) and I LOVE marrow.

Never say never. Many years ago in a small restaurant in the Watergate Hotel, we used to serve Chestnut and foie gras soup with "white kidneys". "Those were delicious. What was that?" "We'll tell you on the way out". Couilles de canard -poached and sliced.

[Sthitch]

Never say never. Many years ago in a small restaurant in the Watergate Hotel, we used to serve Chestnut and foie gras soup with "white kidneys". "Those were delicious. What was that?" "We'll tell you on the way out". Couilles de canard -poached and sliced.

I had always written off eating testicles as well, but at a dinner hosted by JoeH at Laboratorio, we had a duck stew with all kinds of innards. I commented how much I liked the kidneys, yes they were white, and they were delicious.

[Pete]

My cafeteria at work has a special today of "Jalapeno Cheese and Bacon-Wrapped Deep-Fried Hot Dogs". Defibrillator available for separate purchase.

[southdenverhoo]

My cafeteria at work has a special today of "Jalapeno Cheese and Bacon-Wrapped Deep-Fried Hot Dogs". Defibrillator available for separate purchase.

I hate to admit this about myself, in this distinguished company, but I pose this question: am I the only one here who thought to himself, "Damn, I'm gonna make that one at home (maybe tonight)..."?

[Pete]

I hate to admit this about myself, in this distinguished company, but I pose this question: am I the only one here who thought to himself, "Damn, I'm gonna make that one at home (maybe tonight)..."?

You know, normally I would agree with you. However, I saw what this thing looked like and, trust me, it was pretty...disturbing.

[JeffC]

On my first trip to India in 1971, I was befriended by the proprietor of a little canteen, where I often went for tea and the Indian equivalent of a grilled cheese sandwich. One afternoon Godridge, the proprietor, called me over and said, "Bald one, I've made something very special for you". He presented my a basket of chapatis and a plate of what appeared to be a very nice yellow curry, so I dug in. After the first bite, which can only be described as a sort of soft crunch, I asked my friend what this was. "Curried goat brains. How do you like it?" Needless to say, not at all....but I smilled and told him how nice it was to have prepared such a thing for me. And I finished it.

I will never knowingly eat another brain, liver, kidney, heart, gizzard, tongue, intestine, stomach.......ever again.

[Mark Slater]

My cafeteria at work has a special today of "Jalapeno Cheese and Bacon-Wrapped Deep-Fried Hot Dogs". Defibrillator available for separate purchase.

Sounds like our cafeteria. "Chili-cheese-dog-tacos". I think it's a speciality of Chef SysCo.

[Nutty Buddy]

Sounds like our cafeteria.

Ah yes, the reknown Citroneteria.

[Kibbee Nayee]

I usually am willing to try anything once....but this thread reminded me of exceptions.

I agree with balut. I have no intention of trying it -- but I recently was on the phone for tech support with my satellite TV connection, and I asked the person on the other end of the line where he was from. He said he was in the Philippines, so naturally, I asked what he liked to eat. He responded with balut as the first choice.

I once asked Bob Kinkaid what he didn't serve in his restaurants and he answered "sea urchin" which is mentioned in this thread. For some reason I never tried it and thanks to Bob, I probably won't.

Then there's the Andrew Zimmern show on TV where he eats just about anything. The one thing he came across that he couldn't handle was that stinky fruit in Indonesia -- durian. I never had the opportunity, but I noticed that Anthony Bourdain tried it and liked it. Maybe I will , maybe I won't....

[Dave Pressley]

I used to cook at the Seacatch in Georgetown many years ago. Once, when I was outside by the dumpsters having a smoke, I caught a homeless man digging through our trash for fish scraps. I had to ask him what he did with them...did he cook them? Did he eat them raw? I was curious, you know?!

He replied that he collected raw fish, chicken and meat scraps from various restaurants and then sealed them in clear plastic bags that he also found in the trash. These bags would then be taken and placed on a high rooftop in direct sunlight for about a week, or until they were "cooked". He kept a steady rotation so he always had food.

I'm certainly not amped to try that.

[The Hersch]

I would never under any circumstances eat dog.

[ktmoomau]

I bought my dog some beef "sausage" treats today because well I think he is gluten intolerant too (his tear staining is miraculously going away, well I say miraculous, gluten is the most common Bichon allergy). Essentially just jerky. They smelled just like the venison sausage I ate at Christmas and looked a heck of a lot like it too. I will not eat it, but it really smells very good actually, almost tempting. I certainly wouldn't trust them around a child. And on that note, Happy New Year everyone.

[thistle]

I am bad, because I get my pups any kind of treats I have coupons for ( besides their Oinkies, which I have hooked them on, & so, I subsidize them). When I was down visiting my family, I got to visit my dogs' siblings-someone blessed my sister w/ a pregnant hound, I was marked for 2 of the 4 puppies, I love these dogs, & I missed them while I was away...

[DC Deb]

Wow, some "good" items listed already. In addition, I would not eat any house pets (cat, dog, guinea pig, etc), endangered animals*, rodents, road kill or placenta.

I've had my share of unconventional items--scorpion, bear paw, armadillo, kangaroo, emu, brain, liver, pancreas, marrow...the list continues to grow.

*I am guilty of enjoying shark's fin soup. I do not order it but will eat it if served at a banquet.

[astrid]

I would stay away from anything featured on No Reservations: Namibia.

[DonRocks]

I know it isn't appropriate to this thread, but one of my "never agains" is uni (Sea Urchin). The texture/flavor combo was such that I almost threw up in this nice little sushi joint. I am generally a pretty adventerous person, but this stuff was just terrible. Does anyone else just love the stuff and feel I should give it another go?

You and MattRocks. (Has it really been 5 1/2 years?)

Ten-year-old Matt was having his first full-blown sushi tasting - me, him, and Koji - and got the courage to put the seaweed-wrapped uni sushi in his mouth - all in one bite. The reaction was physical, immediate, severe, unstoppable, and very nearly catastrophic. The exact moment he had it in his mouth, he began gagging, and couldn't stop. I was trying to give him a little "pep talk" telling him just to keep chewing it and press his lips together, but I had already passively accepted that he was going to vomit on the sushi bar within the next second or two - there's a restroom right behind the curtain, but he couldn't have made it. He somehow managed to choke it down after about thirty seconds, but never have I seen anyone so close to losing it and still be able to recover (with the noteworthy exception of me, in a drinking contest in college - I won't go into the details, but I was closer still).

I've had several opportunities to eat balut, and passed each time. And I've still never eaten genitalia that I'm aware of. That said, I could see trying either of those at some point in the future; I maintain that what I wrote in post #21 above is *the* grossest thing I've ever heard of.

[johnb]

You and MattRocks. (Has it really been 5 1/2 years?)

Ten-year-old Matt was having his first full-blown sushi tasting - me, him, and Koji - and got the courage to put the seaweed-wrapped uni sushi in his mouth - all in one bite. The reaction was physical, immediate, severe, unstoppable, and very nearly catastrophic. The exact moment he had it in his mouth, he began gagging, and couldn't stop. I was trying to give him a little "pep talk" telling him just to keep chewing it and press his lips together, but I had already passively accepted that he was going to vomit on the sushi bar within the next second or two - there's a restroom right behind the curtain, but he couldn't have made it. He somehow managed to choke it down after about thirty seconds, but never have I seen anyone so close to losing it and still be able to recover (with the noteworthy exception of me, in a drinking contest in college - I won't go into the details, but I was closer still).

I've had several opportunities to eat balut, and passed each time. And I've still never eaten genitalia that I'm aware of. That said, I could see trying either of those at some point in the future; I maintain that what I wrote in post #21 above is *the* grossest thing I've ever heard of.

I used to live, for all practical purposes, in Chile, and in Chile they have sea urchin in such great abundance that you can just buy a bowl of them and eat them like soup. One of my favorite things.

And no, I never met, or partook in anything produced by, that fellow mentioned in post #21.

[Ilaine]

Brains, lungs, testicles, uteri, and pizzles.

 

Oh, and bungs.  Or chitlins.  Never, never, ever, ever going to eat a bung or chitlin.

 

My lips are sealed.

[Ericandblueboy]

Maybe some bugs. I doubt I can eat a hairy tarantula, or a massive squishy scorpion. On the other hand, I'd eat balut.

[B.A.R.]

I worked with a group of Thai people, and each night before the shift they sat down and had a pre-shift meal they prepared for themselves. I was always very interested in the food that they were eating, and they were most kind in sharing with me. It became something of a tradition that each night they would make me a plate, and I heartily ate everything, no questions asked. Since I was the boss, they showed genuine appreciation for my appreciation. So they brought me a delicacy to try. They were honored to present it to me. It was balut.

 

My first reaction, upon seeing the embryo in the egg, was "we're going to sue someone!". I mean, how the hell did that happen? Then they explained that it was supposed to be like that and were clearly disappointed, if not offended, by my revulsion. So I apologized for my ignorance and decided to man up.

 

If you've never seen it up close, it's a baby chicken embryo in an egg. To be more clear, it is a fully developed chicken embryo: beak, eyes, wings, little claws, feathers, EVERYTHING. And you can see everything, just frozen in place in the hard boiled egg.

 

There's no easy way to eat a balut either. It's a minimum of two bites, if not three. There is crunchiness involved. I sized up the challenge and tried to figure out a way to eat the egg parts first, around the bird, then just power gulp the bird with minimal chewing. The way my bird was positioned, that couldn't happen. So I bit through the head part first, chewed and swallowed (beak=crunchy). Two more bites and I was done. There was a tremendous amount of sriricha involved.

 

After that, I was pretty sure I could eat anything - then I read this thread. I now have that puke ball in the back of my throat, and am considering going vegan.

 

ETA- I just went to the balut Wiki page and saw the pictures. Mine DID NOT look like that. Mine was a hard boiled egg with a chicken inside. Maybe I ate something different. Something worse?

Edited by B.A.R., 11 January 2013 - 10:05 AM.

[monavano]

The alimentary system from tongue to poop shoot, and a litany of other things including but not limited to bugs, glands and dogs/cats/horses.

[zoramargolis]

The alimentary system from tongue to poop shoot, and a litany of other things including but not limited to bugs, glands and dogs/cats/horses.

I hate to break it to you, but if you've ever eaten sausage, you've eaten intestine. That's what sausage casing is.

[monavano]

That's true Zora! I did know that, so I'll say tongue (although I did try it once made by a very talented DC chef), chitlins and further down the path.

[weezy]

I can certainly see eating bugs -- I like shrimp and lobster, and those are ocean bugs.  But someone is going to have to capture, kill & prep them for me 'cuz I'll be in a corner screeching GET IT! GET IT!

[Rieux]

I have to say, the chapulines (grasshoppers) in Mexico are great either in a taco or as a bar snack.  Even better are the escamoles (ant larvae) which I absolutely adore.