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Food superstitions


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Add cork to make octopus tender...

In Japan, Octopus is sometimes boiled with daikon radish to make it more tender. I don't know what the cork and the daikon radish have that makes it so, but it seems to work.

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crusts from bread give you curly hair

I love my crusts, and I'm STILL waiting for this to happen...

Most of the other superstitions here were pretty new to me, and interesting! The only one I hold myself to is that I don't read my fortune until I've eaten the cookie.

Erin

"American by birth, Irish by the grace of God"

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My husband took a prospective employee to lunch at our fave Chinese place. He was a bit on-the-fence about the guy, and figured a quiet conversation might do what interviews and tests did not.

He felt that Prosp Emp was a bit abrupt in manner, plus did not take directions well, though he was good at building and repairing the machines.

And I guess the lunch did the trick...not only was PE rather obnoxious to the waiter, but Hubby took it as a definite sign to pass on the fellow because when they delivered the little check tray, the guy's cookie was empty! :blink:

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The knife-fork-spoon falling on the ground superstition exists in Norway too (obviously, not everywhere, nor amongst everybody), but I can't remember which utensil stands for what kinda visitor -- man, woman and child...

There is also an odd Christmas tradition in Norway (not exactly a superstition, but kinda neat so I figured it was worth mentioning) that if you cracked open a hazelnut (traditional Christmas fare) and found two nuts inside, you would eat one yourself, and give the other one to someone else. Next day, whoever could first remember this would yell "filipine!" at the other person, who would then be required to give them a present... This "filipine"-bet would be made between adults and children, as an excuse to give kids an extra present for Christmas, so adults would only be too happy to lose the bet, but you'd occasionally have some rather dimwitted kids who'd make the bet with another kid, and there'd be a lot of grief and bitterness over a lost philine bet :smile:

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  • 2 years later...

Good thing I checked to see if there was a thread of food superstitions. Here's a couple of Filipino ones:

*If a cutlery falls to the floor (while you're setting the table or washing it) a guest will arrive. A fork is a man and a spoon would be a woman.

*Never eat oysters on an empty stomach, it is a sure way to get a tummy ache. Oh, also at night, eating oysters is forbidden at night, more tummy ache.

*If you clear the table while someone (who is single) is still dining, he/she won't get married.

*If a visitor arrives in the middle of the meal and has to leave before the meal ends, everyone has to turn their plates around counter-clockwise so that said visitor won't have bad luck following him.

*It is unlucky to whistle while cooking. Also singing.

*If you swallow a fish bone and it gets stuck in your throat, have a child who was born feet first to stroke your throat. The fish bone will break free and go down to your stomach. Said results are also the same if you use a cat (by grabbing its paw to do it) to stroke your throat.

Doddie aka Domestic Goddess

"Nobody loves pork more than a Filipino"

eGFoodblog: Adobo and Fried Chicken in Korea

The dark side... my own blog: A Box of Jalapenos

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*It is unlucky to whistle while cooking. Also singing.

The way I recall that is more specific-- if you sing while cooking, you will marry someone ugly. I think that superstition was just created to discourage awful singing!

Have not heard the one about rotating the plates-- neither have I ever seen anyone do it :smile:

Mark

The Gastronomer's Bookshelf - Collaborative book reviews about food and food culture. Submit a review today! :)

No Special Effects - my reader-friendly blog about food and life.

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"The thing with animals and menstrual blood is pretty common - when I worked in the film business I did a couple of shoots with big cats, and that's what the trainers always told us -

This is common in the horse world...menstruating women are not encouraged to handle stallions.

A couple of the already mentioned food superstitions exist in my family but here are two I haven't seen yet: every evening I put a small bowl of mlk or cream on the hearth when I go to bed, for the brownies, and; always have an extra place set at the table in case Grace O'Malley the Pirate Queen should come to tea. My grandmother did this with a full place setting...I figure the extra place mat does the trick.

“Don't kid yourself, Jimmy. If a cow ever got the chance, he'd eat you and everyone you care about!”
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With a set of knives, you must always give the recipient a silver coin as well, so the knives never harm their owner.

I was told in Germany that one always gives a token payment in exchange for a knife. As a pure gift, the knife might "severe" the friendship. The transaction evidently prevents this.

This is another one my mother follows. When a friend of mine gave me my Heinckel knives for a shower gift, my mother insisted I give her US$0.07 per knife. Asked me everyday till I gave in. Of course, my friend's not superstitious at all and thought it very silly. I think she tossed the coins back in the spare change jar I got them from. :biggrin:

It's a Chinese tradition too, that you can't give people sharp objects like knives and scissors.

Once my mom picked up a Henckels set for one of her sisters as a gift, and my aunt gave my mom a dollar.

Don't remember the reasoning behind it though.

May

Totally More-ish: The New and Improved Foodblog

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Ah,my bad :smile:

from http://www.wreckramblin.com/Article/Knives...-Gift-Idea/2930:

If the knife is given to a friend, money must be exchanged as well. It is considered very bad luck to give someone a knife without exchanging money or the friendship will be cut by the knife. Because of this superstition, it is common that the gift of a knife will be given along with a penny, nickel or dime in the box with the knife so that the recipient can give back the coin, thereby saving the friendship from being severed by the giving of the sharp blade. The exact background of this superstition is unclear yet, even today most people will include a coin with the gift of a knife and request the coin be given back. The apparent view is that it is far better to be safe than sorry.

Indeedo! Actually any friend that gives me Henckels will be cherished forever and ever. I'm the kind of person that gets irked whenever I see Rachael Ray throwing salt over her shoulder..

Mark

The Gastronomer's Bookshelf - Collaborative book reviews about food and food culture. Submit a review today! :)

No Special Effects - my reader-friendly blog about food and life.

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