Nothing like a meme to ease back into blogging, right? This one comes from the blog Very Good Taste by way of my friend Jen.
The rules, as always, are simple: copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions, bold all the items you’ve eaten, and cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
I’m going to add a star to all the things I *think* I’ve eaten but can’t actually remember for sure. I’m not sure if that means I’m so omnivorous that I don’t even bother to keep track or simply that my memory is shot. Maybe a little of both.
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (well, alligator, but I’m counting that)
6. Black pudding (honestly I’m guessing I’d have a hard time with this, but I can’t quite imagine how it would taste.)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp (I’ve eaten many kinds of fish, but can’t remember ever eating carp.)
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses* (I’ve eaten plenty of stinky cheese and couldn’t tell you the names of most of them, so this very well could have been in the mix)
17. Black truffle* (I’ve definitely had truffles, but I can’t remember if they were white or black…)
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes*
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras (I’ve certainly had pate, but cannot remember if I’ve ever had foie gras)
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (I wouldn’t commit to eating a whole one, but I’d definitely try a nibble.)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea* (We had tea at the Empress Hotel for my 16th birthday and I’m pretty sure this was part of it.)
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat (I’ve eaten goat, but in Mexican food so not curried)
42. Whole insects (I won’t go quite so far as to say I would never eat whole insects, but these would have to be a) dead, and b) coated in something that meant the legs weren’t tickley in my mouth.)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more* (maybe? I’ve had some nice scotch, but certainly didn’t ask how much it was worth.)
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel* (I’m pretty sure I’ve had eel in sushi, but not 100% sure)
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin (I’ve eaten the roe in sushi, but not sure if I’ve had the actual creature)
51. Prickly pear (unless nopales don’t count)
52. Umeboshi* (I’ve tried those dried salted plums–same thing, right?)
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal* (uh, I’ve definitely eaten at McDonald’s, but don’t actually remember ever eating a Big Mac)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (I’ve had this in Kaopectate, of course, but I figure if you can’t taste it then it doesn’t really count)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu or shaojiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky* (I know what Pocky is, of course, and feel like I must have tried it at some point, but it must have been a long, long time ago.)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare (I’ve tried rabbit, but according to the OP that doesn’t count)
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate* (I’m pretty sure I’ve tried this since I’ve eaten single-origin chocolate from South America, but I don’t remember if it was actually marked as Criollo.)
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee* (I feel like this made an appearance in my barista days)
100. Snake
So I’ve eaten just a bit over half of the items on this list for sure, with another 10 or so entries that I think I’ve tried but can’t say for sure. I’d be willing to try everything on the list with one major exception: roadkill. Let me try to explain why.
I believe that taste is mostly acquired, and that most foods have the potential to taste good. They may need to be eaten at a certain time of year, prepared a certain way, or served with particular complementary dishes, but I believe the potential is there. As an example, take #25 on the list, head cheese. Admittedly, my first reaction to head cheese is “gross!” Reading through the Wikipedia entry on Head cheese, however, I was struck by this:
- Denmark and Norway
- Sylte, a pork head cheese seasoned with allspice, bay leaves, and thyme, is part of the traditional Christmas smorgasbord, served on rugbrød with strong mustard and pickled beetroots. Sylte is often prepared from other pork cuts than the head, especially the leaner versions.
Now I’m not headed down to the grocery store to pick up a package of head cheese so I can cross it off my list, but would I eat head cheese prepared and served in the manner described above? You bet!
I also believe we don’t always appreciate particular tastes the first time we encounter them. Many people do not enjoy their first taste of alcohol or coffee, but far fewer continue to avoid it as adults. I know there are some strong cheeses that I couldn’t quite do on the first go, and fish sauce definitely took me a few tries, but now I enjoy and consume both regularly. I am sure there is some variance in the way we experience taste; I know I taste bitter more intensely than most, and there is a cadre of people out there who seem to experience cilantro in an entirely different (and unpleasant) way than I do. Mostly though, I don’t believe that anyone can truly decide they don’t like a food after just one taste.
Given that, why can I be fairly certain I would not try roadkill? Because I don’t believe it has anything to do with taste, and everything to do with bragging rights. I’m not ruling out trying any one of the animals that frequently find themselves victims of hit-and-runs. While not likely, there may be a place on my plate someday for possum or porcupine, but it won’t be because it was hit by a car and it won’t be so I can claim to have eaten roadkill.
This list has me thinking of all the other things that I have tried or want to try that aren’t included above, but I think I’ll save them for another post.
