You had to be (born) there

[C_Ruark]

$18 plus shipping for 2 pounds of grits?!?  No, I will just go on in blissful ignorance of "good" grits.  I will just wait for the sweet corn in my garden, instead.

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You can use polenta if you're in a pinch!

- CSR

[evilhomer]

For the Dutch it is black licorice. Double-salted, intensely flavored small bricks of hardcore licorice-ness. It assaults your tastebuds and slowly melts in your mouth, releasing salty licorice all the way. I grew up eating the stuff and emigrated to Canada. Whenever I get a hold of some I try it on my unsuspecting Canadian friends who are used to the sweet semi-aniseedy tasting stuff they call licorice. So far I have met very few who can eat a single piece without cringing and running for the nearest receptacle for suitable licorice disposal.

In Holland there are specialised shops that sell nothing but licorice and it is a ritual for the Dutch child to save up some allowance money and visit the licorice shop for a 1/4 pound baggie of mixed licorice (all black, in many shapes and densities but all intensely flavored) that gets devoured within the usual 30 minutes, usually resulting in a slightly upset tummy and that telltale hint of blackness around the mouth. My mother could tell from a mile away if I had indulged in a bag (which was often) and would postpone dinner a bit, knowing I would be having trouble...

Nowadays my licorice fixes are few and far between. Whenever I visit Holland I stock up on the stuff, filling up every nook in my suitcases with baggies from the licorice shop.

It's been a while. The cravings are hard to bear...

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i don't know about vancouver but there are a few places in toronto for good licorice.

dutch dream is an ice cream shop on vaughan road at st clair, and there is a bulk place in kensington market, at the corner of baldwin and augusta that has a good variety.

somehow or other i was rather determined to acquire the taste for things and now i'm quite addicted. it seems that adults are not into them at all (unless they grew up on them of course) but young children seem to love them.

[Chufi]

For the Dutch it is black licorice. Double-salted, intensely flavored small bricks of hardcore licorice-ness.

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I'm Dutch and I hate licorice. It's not just that I don't like it, I can't stand it. Especially the vile aftertaste. I'm sorry Chocoholic!

Edited May 24, 2005 by Chufi (log)

[BCinBC]

I'm a huge fan of many of the things on this list, including and especially salty licorice (and their Chinese soul mates, salted dried plums -- yee-umm), and I ain't got a Dutch or Chinese bone in my body. I love intense flavors, as do, I bet, lots of folks here.

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Yes to salted dried plums, No to double (or any degree of) salted black licorice. PS Stefan, I'm sure you can get some at an English sweet shoppe or probably Meinhardts. Or is that sacrilege?

I also like Chinese salted fish (haam yee), tho my siblings cannot figure out why. And honestly if you've ever smelled it, you probably agree.

However, to the liberal use of red beans in Chinese desserts, I say no, no and NO! Those chalky lumps of crud do not belong on the table! They may be suitable for blind baking, or maybe inserted into a gourd to make a maraca, but should not be consumed by humans.

[lexy]

Here's one that's close to home for a lot of egulleters: Root beer.

Every non-American I know, including myself, bought this in either the spirit of scientific enquiry or culinary curiosity, or by mistake - thinking it might be something palatable. This was not a mistake any of us ever repeated. And the idea of a root beer float... What a waste of icecream!

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Yes! Root beer is foul - tastes like toothpaste to me.

[Pan]

[...]However, to the liberal use of red beans in Chinese desserts, I say no, no and NO! Those chalky lumps of crud do not belong on the table![...]

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Hey! I like red bean-flavored things!

[ladyyoung98]

cilantro...i think that too is an acquired taste... its put in many mexican or tex mex salsas and pica de gallo and i know many people who just love the stuff..me so far ive never quite acquired the taste for it and any time i go to any mexican or tex mex place if i know that there is cilantro in something they make... i wont tell them not to put it it..but i will ask them to go very easy on it..im not bothered byt it so long as i cant taste it above every other flavor...it needs to blend in and be somewhat hidden...but im not going to make a terrible fuss about it...if i bite into a leaf and i can taste it..its a simple matter of discreetly removing it from my mouth...not a big deal...i just dont care much for the flavor...but i am trying..just a little bit at a time

[ludja]

So many dishes I didn't grow up with on this thread that I love but...

Grammelschmalz may be offputting to some.

It's a spread of lard (schmalz) and grammeln (pork cracklings) that is commonly seved with bread at small wineries or Gasthaus in Austria (Heurige or Buschenschank). It may or may not have some other flavorings (pumpkinseed oil, marjoram, sauteed shallots, etc).

Another great Austrian specialty is Speck or Tirolerspeck, a cold smoke and salt cured bacon that you eat as is--thinly sliced with rye bread. It is basically a cured bacon that can be eaten without cooking. It's gaining more "cachet" as a northern Italian cured meat product which comes from the SudTirol (the part of Northern Italy that was part of Austria prior to WWI).

Edited May 24, 2005 by ludja (log)

[TarteTatin]

Hot Lime Mango Pickle.

Doesn't sound bad.

One expects that with Indian, as a condiment, it would be good.

I can't even describe the taste.

Horrible.

Foul.

Hubby eats it by the spoonful.

(He also likes Marmite)

[chromedome]

Otherwise...  I think haggis is tops on the list, but closely followed by fur seal.  You definitely need to be Aleut to enjoy fur seal.

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Haggis is just blood pudding. Nothing special, lots of places have their own version. A good stout, a haggis, some neeps and taties...nothing wrong with that.

I dunno about fur seal, but harp seal is fair-to-middlin'. I'm not as keen on flipper pie as the old-timers, and I'll confess the meat is dark and gamey (I still like it), but the liver is absolutely wonderful. Far and away the best part of the seal. Haven't had that in years, it's just about impossible to get outside of Newfoundland.

[petite tête de chou]

Akutaq- "Eskimo ice cream" It was traditionally made with either seal, walrus or whale fat, fish, fish liver, fish eggs, berries, dried moose, caribou or reindeer fat. It seems that one would grate the dried fat and slowly add the animal oil and water whilst beating the heck out it until the mixture became light and fluffy. Then the berries or other ingredients would be added.

I'm game to try it...but I kinda doubt that I'd say "Gimme more!"

[Swisskaese]

Jachnun - a Yemenite bread (lots of people love it here; I think it is a big roll of greasy dough)

Tonsils (had my removed years ago, why should I eat them)

Lamb's testicles (no comment)

Lamb's eyeballs (can't even bring myself to eat fish eyes, which is a family favourite among the old folks)

[jodicalhoun]

Very rare the non-Southerner who would willingly tuck into a plate of fried okra. 

Unless you are african, middle eastern, persian, afghani, indian...

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How true. And what a good way to be reminded of food's cultural diversity.

[bleudauvergne]

I've never met a cheese I didn't love. Until I tried Fromage Fort. It's all of the crusts and old cheeses thrown into a pot with some eau de vie, and left to ferment for three months or so.

[Marya]

Stinkheads. When we lived in Alaska we were offered this delicacy. Fish heads (typically salmon) are buried in the ground for several months and exhumed for a special treat. I've eaten some pretty bizzare foods, but I couldn't imagine eating it.

[marlena spieler]

i find it hard to believe, but whenever i serve kasha, people go crazy, and not in the most positive of ways. even my daughter, with whom i made the mistake of not feeding it to her as a small child, refuses to eat it. as for my scots husband, say no more. he finds it horrible. i'm convinced that one as to grow up eating kasha, to love it! (sad to say).

marlena, the kasha eater

[BarbaraY]

Menudo.  The appearance, the texture, the lack of taste in that protein.

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I love a good, homemade Menudo. Canned is not fit for human consumtion. Maybe it's because I grew up in a very diverse neighborhood of Mexicans, Italians, and Anglos.

[BarbaraY]

I've never met a cheese I didn't love.  Until I tried Fromage Fort.  It's all of the crusts and old cheeses thrown into a pot with some eau de vie, and left to ferment for three months or so.

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The only cheese that I have ever found inedible is Norwegian Gjetost. Nasty!

[Luckylies]

I like Scapple but haven't had it in years.  If I were to leave New York, I think I'd miss White Castles (although I rarely eat them).  A transplated native New Yorker took her sons to a White Castle because she missed the burgers so much, and soon after lunch, her sons threw up!

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I love W.C but the number of times it has made me sick are far too many to admit (that I still eat them).

whenever I can.

[daves]

Growing up in Quebec lets me gross out Seattleites with some local favorites. Two that spring to mind right away:

poutine: fries, large cheddar cheese curds, and gravy. Hmmm... Should be eaten at 4am after bar hopping. Here a link with video...

sugaring off: head to the maple sugar shack in the spring when the sap is running, and eat 'til you keel over from the sugar (sausages, bacon, fried pork rind, eggs, pancakes, etc all in maple sugar)...

[Jensen]

poutine: fries, large cheddar cheese curds, and gravy.  Hmmm...  Should be eaten at 4am after bar hopping.  Here a link with video...

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I honestly can't imagine poutine grossing anyone out. What's not to love about it?

I found a place here in Sacramento that sells fries from "around the world". That's all that's on the menu...just chips. One of their menu items is poutine, called "Quebec fries".

I ran in and ordered it as poutine and the fellow behind the counter said, "So, what part of Canada are you from?"

(He was from Ontario.)

[Grub]

The only cheese that I have ever found inedible is Norwegian Gjetost. Nasty!

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Gjetost's percieved flavor depends a lot on how you eat it -- if you chop a chunk off, or even a moderately thick slice, it is overwhelming, and not very good. Even if you slice a thin slice, and eat it on its own, it's not very good. To properly enjoy it, you have to use a special cheese cutter that slices it very thinly -- and serve it on hearty bread.

You migh still dislike it of course but you have a much bigger chance of enjoying the odd, sweet, fudge-like taste, if you eat it that way.

Now, if yer looking for nasty Norwegian cheese, look no further than Gammalost (old cheese)... Oh boy, Limburger smells like roses compared to that stuff. Someone here on eGullet had a tagline that claimed good cheese smells like happy underpants...

Gammalost smells like severely unhappy & distressed underpants.

[marlena spieler]

poutine: fries, large cheddar cheese curds, and gravy.  Hmmm...  Should be eaten at 4am after bar hopping.  Here a link with video...

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I honestly can't imagine poutine grossing anyone out. What's not to love about it?

I found a place here in Sacramento that sells fries from "around the world". That's all that's on the menu...just chips. One of their menu items is poutine, called "Quebec fries".

I ran in and ordered it as poutine and the fellow behind the counter said, "So, what part of Canada are you from?"

(He was from Ontario.)

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where is this palace of french fries exactly? i've always wanted to taste poutine and now you say they are right there, right there in river city!

will be visiting parents in sacto fairly soon and need to try the poutine. any precautions i should take? is eating them in the afternoon a good idea? i don't forsee much alcohol intake in sacto for me, its a family visiting time and we ain't drinkers.

happily looking forward to this,

marlena

[IanT]

Durian - This must be top of the list, the smell is something else.

Kim chee - I love it now but it took me a little while, most Koreans go crazy for it.

Coddle - Really gross watery Irish stew with sausage and bacon. Why anyone would choose to eat this now I do not know.

Goody - Torn up pieces of white sliced pan soaked in milk with sugar spinkled on top. What passed as children's food before the Irish became rich!

Andouille - I eat anything, and I HATED these little fellas.

[lexy]

[will be visiting parents in sacto fairly soon and need to try the poutine. any precautions i should take? is eating them in the afternoon a good idea? i don't forsee much alcohol intake in sacto for me, its a family visiting time and we ain't drinkers.

happily looking forward to this,

marlena

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You may want a heart defibrillator on hand just in case