What Proteins won’t you eat?

[cdh]

And the natto thing just does not appeal.  Stringy slime, and ammonaic aroma?  No thanks. 

[dcarch]

I have eaten all kinds of proteins.

 

The only protein I will not eat is if it is still moving, except oysters and clams.

 

dcarch

[kayb]

I had never intentionally eaten bugs (the occasional fly or gnat in one's wineglass notwithstanding) until I was at the Tower Grove Farmers Market on our recent outing to St. Louis. I ate ground crickets mixed into granola.

 

Tasted like...granola.

 

[Porthos]

Unless future health issues force a change, I won't eat plant-based meat substitutes. There's no reason to for me. (And some rabid vegans I've known in the past have made it even less desirable) I've not needed to eat bugs but if I had to I would.

[Katie Meadow]

I've pretty much stopped eating beef and lamb. That's out of a combined sense that they are the worst offenders environmentally, but also because I just don't have a taste for either any more. I might eat a green chile burger if tempted, but it would be a very rare occurrence. I don't eat octopus for reasons stated above.

 

Chicken and pork are still on the menu, but in modest amounts. I eat just about any seafood that is sustainably fished and non-toxic, which, sadly, doesn't leave tons of options. With the exception of American or Canadian trout I won't eat farmed fish. Plant based protein doesn't appeal. Tofu is okay but I don't seek it out.

 

Raw oysters are a favorite, but anything that can move on its own is off the table. Really. 

 

Lost in the wilderness or post apocalypse? I don't speculate. I might eat snake if it tastes like chicken. I assume it's white meat. But it must not taste very good, because otherwise wouldn't we be able to keep down the python population in the Florida swamps? 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

It's funny.    I will eat lamb, but goat bothers me.    It's something about the intensity of their gaze, their eyes.    They look so wise...

[kayb]

Barbecued goat is a delicacy. Have never tried it any other way.

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

2 hours ago, kayb said:

Barbecued goat is a delicacy. Have never tried it any other way.

 

I adore goat meat.   I just don't address it easily.    My problem, not the goat's.

eta. Husband has some problem with bunny.   Me, goat.  

Edited August 23, 2019 by Margaret Pilgrim (log)

[liuzhou]

9 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

I might eat snake if it tastes like chicken.

 

Snake tastes like snake in my opinion. A very tasty white meat.

[Katie Meadow]

2 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

Snake tastes like snake in my opinion. A very tasty white meat.

I'll take your word for it. And if anyone offers me grilled snake I will try it. Maybe the pythons in Florida don't taste as good as Chinese snakes. When you've eaten snake does the waiter tell you what kind it was?

[liuzhou]

1 minute ago, Katie Meadow said:

When you've eaten snake does the waiter tell you what kind it was?

 

Usually before you eat it.

 

I've had them grilled, fried, stewed -all sorts. Snake soup is popular at weddings. Some sort of fertility symbol.

[Tri2Cook]

I could make a list of proteins I don't eat. Thankfully, I've never been in a position hunger-wise to truly know which proteins I won't eat. But in the spirit of the discussion, I've never tried an organ meat I actually liked. Heart and tongue don't offend but I only eat them if offered, I don't like them well enough to cook either for myself. I don't choose my food on emotional or squeamish grounds so there probably aren't many proteins I wouldn't try if offered outside of any that offend my sense of smell to the point that I know it's not gonna stay in my mouth if I put it there.

[liuzhou]

My motto is, with the few exceptions noted above, "Try everything twice. They may not have cooked it right the first time."

Edited August 23, 2019 by liuzhou (log)

[dcarch]

I have had snake when I was in China.  A popular dish (not cheap) for the fall.

One internal organ ( gallbladder? pancreas? spleen?) is highly priced for it's medically values.

They don't sell "snake oil" in China, but snake wine is considered a cure all.

 

dcarch

[Tri2Cook]

7 hours ago, liuzhou said:

My motto is, with the few exceptions noted above, "Try everything twice. They may not have cooked it right the first time."

I agree. I've tried various types of liver in assorted preparations from a variety of cooks and not found happiness. I once had beef wellington that had a ridiculously thin layer of pate under the mushrooms and beef. So thin I didn't even notice it until I took a bite and all I could taste was liver and I was done. That's the extent to which me and liver don't get along. I've tried chitlins exactly twice, the second time accompanied by the words "that other person must not have known how to cook them right"... those vile bits of evil nastiness shall never pass my teeth again regardless of hunger level. Tried tripe only once in menudo... loved the soup, was not fond of the tripe but I honestly think it was more a textural thing than a taste thing. Beef heart (the only type I've tried) was actually not bad at all, didn't have that nasty iron/metal taste liver has. Tongue, I've also only had once... it wasn't bad at all but not great enough to be worth the bother of preparing for myself. That's about the extent of my organ meat experience. Brains and sweetbreads may be exceptions to my general lack of food squeamishness, the idea of eating them doesn't appeal to me at all. I've been told kidney has that same general nasty iron metallic taste that liver has so it seemed pointless to try it.

[Katie Meadow]

On 8/22/2019 at 6:33 PM, liuzhou said:

 

Usually before you eat it.

 

I've had them grilled, fried, stewed -all sorts. Snake soup is popular at weddings. Some sort of fertility symbol.

Okay, so which snakes are the best tasting? Which are not so good?  Supposedly American rattlesnakes are tasty; is there a Chinese rattler? I don't know why these questions never occurred to me before.

 

I''m reminded of a wonderful section of John McPhee's "Rising from the plains," which recalls the childhood of geologist David Love. At one occasion the infamous murderer  Bill Grace stops by the ranch and David's mother serves rattlesnake on toast. Too late they learn he's not a fan, but David's mother, the coolest of cool, convinces him it's chicken. it's quite funny.

[liuzhou]

8 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

Okay, so which snakes are the best tasting? Which are not so good?  Supposedly American rattlesnakes are tasty; is there a Chinese rattler?

 Rattlesnakes are only found in the Americas, so I can't comment on thir tastiness.

 

Popular snakes here include mostly local varieties such as Chinese rat snakes,  cobras,  pythons,  pit vipers and banded kraits , among others. To be honest, I find there isn't a great deal of taste difference between them, despite huge price differences depending on rarity.

I've never had one I didn't like, so I can't comment on the "not so good", either

[liuzhou]

@Katie Meadowand anyone else.

 

A couple of snake dishes.

 

First up, snake soup as served at weddings. The snake here is the banded krait.

 

 

Second is a stir fried dish of snake and mixed veg. Sorry, I can't remember which variety of snake.

 

 

[Katie Meadow]

In case anyone is interested, I've managed to answer my own question about keeping down the python population in the Everglades. Apparently they taste fine, but are full of mercury and people are warned not to eat them. 

[Nyleve Baar]

During a trip to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam we tried snake - as sausage and just grilled - and grilled rat (or mouse, I'm not sure). The rat was much better than the snake. The snake sausage was the worst. We were on an evening food tour in a market town. I wouldn't bother seeking out either rat or snake again but at least I've done it once.

 

 

[cdh]

28 minutes ago, Nyleve Baar said:

During a trip to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam we tried snake - as sausage and just grilled - and grilled rat (or mouse, I'm not sure). The rat was much better than the snake. The snake sausage was the worst. We were on an evening food tour in a market town. I wouldn't bother seeking out either rat or snake again but at least I've done it once.

 

 

Vegetarians are tastier than carnivores? 

[kayb]

I started to say I wouldn't eat rat, but I eat squirrel, and that's about just the same thing with a big fuzzy tail (and cuter). I am with @Tri2Cook on chitlins; have tried them several times, just can't do it, with one exception; if you don't bread them, and deep-fry them until they're crispy, they're edible. Though I'm not sure why you'd want to go to the trouble. I've never eaten menudo because the similarity of tripe to chitlins is just too much.

 

Someone upthread mentioned eating animals with which you were acquainted before they were slaughtered. The first calf we raised for beef (I was 7 or so) I named Frosty, and made a big pet out of. I didn't eat beef that year. Never got friendly with any successive calves.

 

[Nyleve Baar]

2 hours ago, cdh said:

Vegetarians are tastier than carnivores? 

We were told they were rice paddy rats. So obviously gluten-free and well fed.

[liuzhou]

5 hours ago, Nyleve Baar said:

We were told they were rice paddy rats

 

Probably. I've had them often, both here in China and in Vietnam. Tasty.

In general, vegetarians do taste better. Except fish. Carniverous fish taste fine. Anyone know why?

[Margaret Pilgrim]

9 hours ago, kayb said:

I started to say I wouldn't eat rat, but I eat squirrel, and that's about just the same thing with a big fuzzy tail (and cuter). I am with @Tri2Cook on chitlins; have tried them several times, just can't do it, with one exception; if you don't bread them, and deep-fry them until they're crispy, they're edible. Though I'm not sure why you'd want to go to the trouble. I've never eaten menudo because the similarity of tripe to chitlins is just too much.

 

Someone upthread mentioned eating animals with which you were acquainted before they were slaughtered. The first calf we raised for beef (I was 7 or so) I named Frosty, and made a big pet out of. I didn't eat beef that year. Never got friendly with any successive calves.

 

Friends of ours used to say that they had found the best ravioli in Florence.    They always made a point to return to this sweet little place, always taking their friends.    Rave reviews all around.    But the place was closed by authorities for using rat meat in the stuffed pastas.     ooookay.