Strange Foods 1

As we were having dinner last night, my parents started talking about an episode of "Survivor" they had recently watched. This was an episode where castmates were challenged to eat strange foods. Apparently, many of the contestants were gagging from what was on the menu. Some of the things they had to eat were preserved duck eggs, chicken hearts, balut... That was all my parents could remember.

It's funny how cultures can be so different, and it's great that many of them have sort of made a stop in the Bay Area. All of us lucky residents get to dabble into other cultures without leaving the country. I think it's great that people get to try preserved duck eggs (so yummy), chicken hearts (so yummy), and balut (yummy if you can get past the eating an unborn chick thing). In the Bay Area, these things are pretty common here, eh? However, there are many foods eaten by other cultures of the world that we have never even considered putting into our mouths. As a food lover, I will try almost anything. Here's a short list of things you will probably not find in the US.

1. Masato - This is a Peruvian alcoholic beverage that is made one of two ways. The more modern way is to ferment yucca with sugar. But what I drank that night in the Amazon started with the river. River water mixed with yucca that local women have chewed and spit out repeatedly were fermented for a couple of days, then served to the guests of our lodge. The taste - bad. It's milky with chunks of roots and stuff inside. Yuck.


2. Alpaca - This is probably the worst thing I've ever eaten. Hmmm... I may have to retract that statement after quickly thinking about some of my mom's cooking... Anyway, closely resembling a llama in appearance, alpacas are cute, fluffy, and have long flirty eyelashes. And they are also very very gamy. That one bite of the alpaca steak was torturous. If you think lamb is gamy, alpaca is a million times worse!



3. Guinea pig - Ooooooohhhhh, YUMMY! Guinea pigs may be cute little pets to some people here in the US, but in Peru, they are another source of protein. Yummy protein, that is. Their meat was succulent. Tender. Salty. Their skin - crispy. Not too fatty like pork. It reminds me of baby pork I had in Spain... So good. Yes, that's the head.




4. Capybara - Capybaras are the biggest rodents in the world, with the capacity of growing up to 4.3 feet long. Sounds repulsive, but hey, they're actually really cute. Hmm. I see a pattern happening here. Peruvians like eating cute things. Anyway, capybaras look like humongous fat rats that are really slow. I don't remember the taste, but it probably was delicious compared to the alpaca.



5. Piranha - These vicious little creatures are known for their razor sharp teeth. Ha ha. Little did they know, it was I who would devour them with MY set of razor sharp teeth. The amount of time and work taken to catch these little suckers isn't worth their little flakes of flesh though. Their taste? Normal, just like regular ol' fish. =)



6. Fugu - (Okay, you can get this here, but it's not that common.) Fugu, also known as blow fish and pufferfish, can paralyze your entire body and the victim can die of asphyxiation if the chef accidentally cuts into its liver or ovaries. The fugu I had was really good. The chewy texture was what stood out the most.