[Sca-cooks] hoopoe a smelly subject

Suey lordhunt at gmail.com
Sat Oct 30 14:01:45 PDT 2010


I am having a devil of a time with this publication in my blog: 
http://spanishfoodma.blogspot.com/

*abubilla**,*  OCast. habudilla, L. Upupa epops, Eng. hoopoe. To Spanish ears, this bird sings "bub-bub-bub" and for this, it was named "little bub." To Anglo Saxons, he sings, "burp, burp, burp," although that has nothing to do with the bird's English name. Perhaps the hoopoe's Spanish and English names indicate that it is bi-lingual. Avenzoar said that he who takes feathers or the tongue of a hoopoe will be successful in business. Villena lists the meat as medicinal as it was thought that if one ate the meat it would sharpen the mind. The Old Testament   (Deuteronomy) states that the bird was forbidden for the Jews for being a dirty bird. Who wants Jews more intelligent then they are all ready? (See langoustine.) As the hoopoe is 7 1/2" or 15 cm long , a medium sized bird, it was served at banquets with its coat of feathers placed over it after roasting as the peacock and the swan. The next time the menu includes hoopoe perhaps it should be seriously considered for its tongue. Don't forget to ask for a few feathers too. [ES: González. Sep 24, 2010; Ibn Zuhr. 1992:124; and Villena/Brown. 1984:84:54]

IS THIS OK? I would like to tell you that it was served at a specific 
banquet but I have no Spanish menus and the bird did not go to England 
so the only thing I have is the Gonzalez Sevilla reference so far. The 
bird was and is abundant in Spain so I do not want to delete him but 
perhaps I should for lack of citations.- ???
It is curious. Jews prohibited him in the Old Testament for being 
unclean, which indeed he is, but now he is their national bird of Israel!
Suey



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