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Criminally underappreciated foods


Shalmanese

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Lobster used to be something fed to criminals and slaves.

Yes, but I'll bet they didn't get the small fluted ramekin with the clarified butter. That really brought it up a notch, eh?

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

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I'm gathering that the intention of the original post--"underappreciated" covers foods that are considered common or are regularly thrown away or given to animals. I've learned to appreciate a lot of foods in Korea that Americans may throw away or just not even try. These may get their day in the sun one day or become prized for their rarity.

- Horse meat

- Grilled intestines

- Pork neck meat (the most perfect part)

- Fermented soybeans

- Winter collards

- Goat meat

- Liver

- Canned tuna (may not always be so common)

- Deodeok Root (Korean root vegetable that's like a cross between carrot and horseradish)

- Cod

- Sole

<a href='http://www.zenkimchi.com/FoodJournal' target='_blank'>ZenKimchi Korean Food Journal</a> - The longest running Korean food blog

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I'm gathering that the intention of the original post--"underappreciated" covers foods that are considered common or are regularly thrown away or given to animals. I've learned to appreciate a lot of foods in Korea that Americans may throw away or just not even try. These may get their day in the sun one day or become prized for their rarity.

- Horse meat

- Grilled intestines

- Pork neck meat (the most perfect part)

- Fermented soybeans

- Winter collards

- Goat meat

- Liver

- Canned tuna (may not always be so common)

- Deodeok Root (Korean root vegetable that's like a cross between carrot and horseradish)

- Cod

- Sole

Interesting comment, which points to an important point--geographic context matters a lot. Much of what you list here would not have much of an audience in the U.S. at least. But a few items you list as underappreciated, like canned tuna, are staples here.

For example, I just returned from a trip to my local market, and cod, which is a local fish and hardly underappreciated, was selling for $13.99 lb--high as far as I'm concerned, but folks were buying it. By contrast, I picked up some salt cod for half that price--an underappreciated food, imho, in most parts of the U.S. but probably not in Portugal.


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Pork neck meat (the most perfect part)

Oh, yes, do you mean hangchongsal? The incredibly-marbled-almost pure white strips of pork? We used to call it "squeaky pork", because it squeaks when you bite it. That stuff is even better than pork belly. Why don't people eat more of that?

And, while we're on the topic of Korean cuts of meat, how about anchangsal? "pork diaphragm" as it was always translated for me. Incredibly flavourful.

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smelt, also whitebait. Nothing better than a mess of butterflied fresh smelt dredged in wondra seasoned appropriately and fried to crisp perfection.

Same applies to whitebait only those get eaten whole guts gonads and all.

Jon

--formerly known as 6ppc--

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smelt, also whitebait. Nothing better than a mess of butterflied fresh smelt dredged in wondra seasoned appropriately and fried to crisp perfection.

This is such an interesting thread. So many of the foods mentioned as those that we ate when we were poverty-stricken students. I haven't eaten a smelt for probably 45 years. Hated them, along with canned tuna, pink salmon, ground lamb patties, pork liver and a lot of other things mentioned over the past few weeks. :raz:

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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My mother-in-law once asked me to dredge parsnips in flour before she roasted them. I really must try them again.

NY Times reporter must be lurking here, because there's an article on rutabagas . . .

I like to bake nice things. And then I eat them. Then I can bake some more.

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Oh, turtle. The restaurant near my flat sells turtle in a variety of dishes. Whole.

Didn't turtle soup used to be quite common? Why did we stop eating it? Were we using endangered sea turtles?

Yes, in South Louisiana the turtles we were using became an endangered species. The soup used to include some grated turtle egg, too, so we were using turtles and the never-to-be-hatched next generation of turtles. However, you can find turtle meat now to make your own soup, but most of the time you have to look hard. And turtle soup is still very popular at New Orleans restaurants, most notably at Commander's Palace and Brennan's (my favorite). It's one of the city's best dishes IMHO.

Here is a bowl of turtle soup I had at a little restaurant I can't remember the name of. It had a very deep, rich (yet delicate), complex flavor.

Rhonda

turtle soup.JPG

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I should have interjected this into this topic when it first started . . .

Back in November, Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market held a "Forgotten Foods" festival. Featured were:

  • Cape May Salts, a revived oyster
  • Fried oysters and chicken salad, a Philadelphia classic
  • Black walnut cupcakes
  • Teaberry ice cream
  • Corn pudding (using Copes corn)
  • Catfish on waffles

My initial report can be found in the Pennsylvania board's Reading Terminal Market topic

Edited by rlibkind (log)

Bob Libkind aka "rlibkind"

Robert's Market Report

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