[Sca-cooks] Re: [Sca-cooks]Why be picky was Tongue - blech

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Sue Clemenger wrote:

> Yeah, possibly, but then the mind is a powerful thing. <g> I don't care
> for most organ meats primarily because I don't like the texture and
> taste, although anything that resembles an eyeball, brains, tongue, or
> rocky mountain oysters is not going to pass my lips, at least
> voluntarily.  Squeamish factor in my case? you betcha.  You might be
> able to get past my personal censors, but what's the point? (of course,
> to bollux up my own argument, I'd always sworn I'd never eat sushi--raw
> fish, ugh, all that stuff, until I actually just _tried_ it.  So, I'm
> hooked....<g>)
> On the other hand, I absolutely love cilantro, which almost all of my
> friends absolutely can't stand, but I can't stand scotch whisky (in any
> form I've come across), and my friends pretty much all think I'm a
> heretic (but it leaves more for them).
> --Maire, who grew up with parents who made us at least take a bite of
> everything on our plates, but thank gods, did not "push" the raw oysters
> <shudder> or chicken gizzards (Mom's favorite after butchering)


Of course, perhaps if they had been just a tad more aggressive about pushing them, you might not be in the position you're in. Jeez, chicken gizzards are dark muscle meat not too different in flavor or texture from the oyster (part of the thigh, not some mysterious internal organ). Okay, raw oysters aren't for everyone, but rejecting them is more a condemnation of their preparation than of the food itself. My own position (and note that I'm not interested in swaying, converting or even judging those whose opinions differ, except to tell them, vociferously and tactlessly, how silly they are) is that it is morally wrong to kill an animal and not utilize it all in a practical way. I am reminded of the rotting carcasses of tongueless and/or humpless bison littering the Great Plains in the 19th century. Sorry, that's what makes me squeamish. I think that Americans in particular, and a lot of other groups as well, have been far too deeply separated from our agri-zoo-cultural roots
by the meat on the little white trays in the supermarket. Too many people for whom "beef" is a boneless strip loin (okay, "boneless" and "strip" together are redundant) steak or a burger, with little or nothing in between, and this idea that anything we don't care for can just end up as pet food or fertilizer. Obviously we also can't improve this situation by just ramming "weird" foods down people's throats, but I do get a particular kick out of viciously proselytzing other people's children. Their parents ask me, "Hey did you feed my child fried SQUID???" "Yup," I say, "I sure did. Told him it was onion rings made outta fish. And he loved it. Wants to come back tomorrow for more."


Seriously, though, after giving it some thought in the process of
writing this, I wonder if there's a culturally inherited, general
squeamishness. For example, I remember, as a child, reading books that
suggested Hallowe'en party games in which you had various food items
that were supposed to resemble the body parts of a dead man, and people
had to identify them by touch. Obviously this would be horribly,
horribly traumatizing to a modern child ; ). But then I clearly remember
  my brother opening the fridge, asking my mother what that red stuff in
the big bottle was, and her reply, "Oh, that's cannibal blood, Jimmy.
Would you like some?" Of course, he did ("Cannibal blood? Boss!!!"), or
there would be no story, and that was the only way my parents got him to
try tomato juice.

So, I guess what I'm wondering is whether some people just have an
early-developing streak of perversity in their makeup, or if there is
perhaps some Northern-European (or other cultural) ghoulishness at work,
  along the same lines that make, say, Irish children tend to love ghost
stories on a winter night, and Chinese children hate them.



I think in a lot of cases, kids just get into the habit of eating what
their parents eat, and never give it a second thought until their first
trip to a school cafeteria, at which point their preferences are
carefully adjudged to be up to, or failing to meet, community standards.
My son still loves squid, octopus, crustaceans and shellfish of all
kinds, sea cucumber, fish heads, haggis, black puddings and tongue, but
since entering school we are no longer allowed to advertise this fact to
any other males his age. It is our dark family secret.

All this being said, though, as eclectic as my tastes are, I have to
draw the line somewhere. Eyes are right out (although the muscles
_behind_ the eye of a large fish are good). Brain must be battered or
crumbed and fried. Tongue is good in all forms, but for the really
squeamish I recommend Mexican or Basque preparations involving smallish
dice of fresh tongue, not the corned or pickled stuff, and this
generally resembles a brisket stew. Kidneys are good if not overcooked,
but I prefer veal kidneys over others.

I agree, though, that there's probably not too much point in working to
convert people with aversions to these foods, but I do get, frankly,
quite ticked off when I see parents effectively encouraging it in their
children.

Adamantius
--
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com

"It was so blatant that Roger threw at him.  Clemens gets away with
things that get other people thrown out of games.  As long as they
let him get away with it, it's going  to continue." -- Joe Torre, 9/98