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[Rog]

 . . . . the most disgusting thing that you've eaten ?

On a trip to France a few weeks ago, I ordered a plate of charcuterie (cold meats) as a starter in a restaurant. One of the items was something I did not recognise. I gave it a go, and the Mrs have it a go. We both concluded that it tasted like s**t. I'll try pretty much anything, but this was truly disgusting.



It was this . . . . .

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30229697

[Marks DTM Calib]

I hate French cuisine, its generally all pretentious shite that tastes little better.

Any other country you would send food back if you find a snail in it, in France they send it back if you don't.

Just plain weird.

[Kevin Wood]

I'm sure the French spend their time trying to find the most revolting food possible purely to see what reaction they get when they feed it to the English.

If they stick to using ingredients fit for human consumption, they do quite well in the kitchen, IMHO, but you do have to avoid the aforementioned pretentious shite.

[Rog]

I'm sure the French spend their time trying to find the most revolting food possible purely to see what reaction they get when they feed it to the English.

If they stick to using ingredients fit for human consumption, they do quite well in the kitchen, IMHO, but you do have to avoid the aforementioned pretentious shite.

So, what about the Ortolan ?  Google it, or a short description as far as I know

A tiny ortolan bird is captured, caged, and overfed

It is then drowned in Congnac

Roasted, rare of course . . .

Popped into the mouth whole, so that the head sticks out of the mouth.

Head is bitten off and the rest of the bird is crunched . . . . . . Enjoy   

It is also the thing to cover your head with a towel while you eat it . . . . . Hmmmmmmm

Join the Q here . . . . .
 

[Kevin Wood]

No, thanks. I refer the poster to my 1st sentence. 

[Webby the Bear]

i had steak tartar (excuse my spelling) in Paris. Wasnt that bad. especially as i like my steak to still be moo-ing.

i also had oysters for the first time. they were ok. just tasted of the sea imo

[The Sheriff]

I'm sure the French spend their time trying to find the most revolting food possible purely to see what reaction they get when they feed it to the English.

If they stick to using ingredients fit for human consumption, they do quite well in the kitchen, IMHO, but you do have to avoid the aforementioned pretentious shite.

So, what about the Ortolan ?  Google it, or a short description as far as I know

A tiny ortolan bird is captured, caged, and overfed

It is then drowned in Congnac

Roasted, rare of course . . .

Popped into the mouth whole, so that the head sticks out of the mouth.

Head is bitten off and the rest of the bird is crunched . . . . . . Enjoy   

It is also the thing to cover your head with a towel while you eat it . . . . . Hmmmmmmm

Join the Q here . . . . .

If I ever witnessed that, then the person doing the eating would get a real shock. They wouldn't even see my boot coming through the towel.....oh.....and the sound of crunching bone......jawbone, not ortolan bone.

[omega3000]

I'm sure the French spend their time trying to find the most revolting food possible purely to see what reaction they get when they feed it to the English.

If they stick to using ingredients fit for human consumption, they do quite well in the kitchen, IMHO, but you do have to avoid the aforementioned pretentious shite.

So, what about the Ortolan ?  Google it, or a short description as far as I know

A tiny ortolan bird is captured, caged, and overfed

It is then drowned in Congnac

Roasted, rare of course . . .

Popped into the mouth whole, so that the head sticks out of the mouth.

Head is bitten off and the rest of the bird is crunched . . . . . . Enjoy   

It is also the thing to cover your head with a towel while you eat it . . . . . Hmmmmmmm

Join the Q here . . . . .

Ozzy would love them 

[Varche]

Ducks gizzards on salad in Albi France. Most odd.

About twenty years ago, our Spanish was poor and we stopped at a packed roadside Venta for lunch. To our horror the menu was a verbal one from the very busy waiter. I heard "pig" and so had that. It was pig's trotter in a very nice broth. I would swear I used more energy looking for the meat than I gained.

Had a salad at a good friends house and it was crawling literally with dozens of small green bugs and a few small caterpillars that moved by humping their backs. Only noticed it half way through. He said its only protein but just leave it . They ate theirs - I could clearly see the same on his. Gag factor nine.

[Rog]

So, what about the Ortolan ?  Google it, or a short description as far as I know

A tiny ortolan bird is captured, caged, and overfed

It is then drowned in Congnac

Roasted, rare of course . . .

Popped into the mouth whole, so that the head sticks out of the mouth.

Head is bitten off and the rest of the bird is crunched . . . . . . Enjoy   

It is also the thing to cover your head with a towel while you eat it . . . . . Hmmmmmmm

Join the Q here . . . . .

If I ever witnessed that, then the person doing the eating would get a real shock. They wouldn't even see my boot coming through the towel.....oh.....and the sound of crunching bone......jawbone, not ortolan bone.

So you are intent upon promoting good Anglo-French realations then         

I'm not sure, but I think it was French President François Mitterrand who tucked into this just before he left office, or something like that. I wonder if Maggie Thatcher ever . . . . . . . . . Nah.

[aaronjb]

I'm adventurous but most of the stuff described here sounds fowl. I mean .. foul.

The worst thing I've eaten was probably "stinky tofu" in Taiwan; it's fermenting (yes, essentially rotting) tofu that's then grilled and stuffed with spring onion.

Actually.. aside from the fact that you could smell the market stalls about a kilometre away, once you got past the smell it was delicious

There was also the snake venom/bile/blood, too.. although the worst thing there was the ginseng they gave you afterward

[The Sheriff]

So, what about the Ortolan ?  Google it, or a short description as far as I know

A tiny ortolan bird is captured, caged, and overfed

It is then drowned in Congnac

Roasted, rare of course . . .

Popped into the mouth whole, so that the head sticks out of the mouth.

Head is bitten off and the rest of the bird is crunched . . . . . . Enjoy   

It is also the thing to cover your head with a towel while you eat it . . . . . Hmmmmmmm

Join the Q here . . . . .

If I ever witnessed that, then the person doing the eating would get a real shock. They wouldn't even see my boot coming through the towel.....oh.....and the sound of crunching bone......jawbone, not ortolan bone.

So you are intent upon promoting good Anglo-French realations then         

I'm not sure, but I think it was French President François Mitterrand who tucked into this just before he left office, or something like that. I wonder if Maggie Thatcher ever . . . . . . . . . Nah.

Close. It was when he was dying of prostrate cancer, lying in bed and stuffing song birds down his disgusting neck. Makes my piss boil.

Boiled piss.......hmmmm.....perhaps we should try.........nah....

[Sir Tigger KC]

Fertilised duck eggs are common in South East Asia especially the Philippines where they're called 'Balut'.  I was on a bus and the fella sat next to me started tucking into what I thought was a hard boiled egg.... well it was but with the embryo inside. 

He saw the look on my face, laughed and offered me one, but I politely declined as the feathers sticking out put me off somewhat.    It caused much merriment with the other passengers on the bus. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_(food)

[Gaffers]

But wat iz wrong wiz you lot!?   

Food is a very personal thing and I have had the priviledge of getting to know the best food on both sides of the Channel.  French opinions to our food is equally energetic and derisory but that is because they go to crappy food outlets where you can only get what is normally pretty rubbish.  Every single frenchie I take to Borough in London comes away with a different opinion on English food, likewise every brit I take to Chez Paul in Paris has an equal revelation in french cuisine.

You cannot deny that up until about 15 years ago all our cuisine was dominated by the post-war rationing of the 1940's, the last 10 years have seen a culinary revolution in the UK and the french have hardly progressed at all.  In fact it is widely reported in French media that french cuisine is rather stagnant and it's lack of evolution could be it's demise.  I still get a lot of french who laugh when I say that food in the UK is as good (and in some parts better than) our french cousins.

If you try something and don't like it then fair dos, but if you go in to a new experience with a pre-formed negative opinion on something then you are bound not to enjoy it.  Personally I will try almost anything, from any country and considering that I have crohn's and have to be careful what goes through my gut, says a lot

Going back to the OP's comments, while it sounds quite unappetising I bet it is actually quite nice.  Maybe there was a condiment or something to add to make it more paletable?  Maybe it should have been eaten with another charcuterie to add another layer of flavour?  A quick search in french shows it canbe eaten in many ways including with a slab or Sarasin (cheese) I shall have to see if I can find any and report back

[The Sheriff]

You didn't take into account the way the food is 'prepared'. I don't care if it's the most delicious taste in the world, a pleasurable experience for a diner is no excuse for cruelty.
As for your comments on the charcuterie, I suppose shit would taste ok if you disguised it with enogh condiments, or even a red hot curry.

[Gaffers]

 

Anyone who eats meat prepared out of a uk abbatoir cannot claim the moral high-ground when it comes to cruelty 

[slowboy]

is all this racist.or lack of tast

[The Sheriff]

is all this racist.or lack of tast

Lack of tast.

[Varche]

I have remembered another one although as neither myself or Mrs V sampled it it won't count.

Cheese course at the end of a meal at a French chateau in the Loire valley. "100 year old cheese". I doubt it was anything near that old but the smell when the lid was unscrewed was unbelievable even to me. The sight of it moving with maggots was the last straw. A German sat at the table said in impeccable English "smells just like John Browns body". He was well travelled and educated.

[Entwood]

Take "waste" pork fat, boil for 2 hours then strain and mince.
Take low quality barley, boil for 2 hours, strain.
Take excess fat off smoked bacon, boil for 2 hours, strain & mince.
Add flour and onions.

Mix all together then mince again.

Take a couple of gallons of pigs blood collected in a slaughterhouse, allow to coagulate on trays, place in oven, dry, grind to powder.

Add to mix then mince again. Mix more dried blood in until mixture is a smooth, thick paste.

Place in sleeves made of pigs intestines.

Allow to dry for 7 days.

Slice, then fry in beef dripping.

Serve.


BTW .. if you don't recognise the recipe ....   Black Pudding ....

so criticising the French is a tad hypocritical methinks .....   

[aaronjb]

I recognise the recipe Entwood .. I'd call it "heaven" Mmmm, black pudding!

[The Sheriff]

Take "waste" pork fat, boil for 2 hours then strain and mince.
Take low quality barley, boil for 2 hours, strain.
Take excess fat off smoked bacon, boil for 2 hours, strain & mince.
Add flour and onions.

Mix all together then mince again.

Take a couple of gallons of pigs blood collected in a slaughterhouse, allow to coagulate on trays, place in oven, dry, grind to powder.

Add to mix then mince again. Mix more dried blood in until mixture is a smooth, thick paste.

Place in sleeves made of pigs intestines.

Allow to dry for 7 days.

Slice, then fry in beef dripping.

Serve.


BTW .. if you don't recognise the recipe ....   Black Pudding ....

so criticising the French is a tad hypocritical methinks .....   

Only if you're a black pudding eater and, even then, the pig wasn't drowned in brandy.

[Varche]

We have twice helped our Spanish neighbours making among other things black pudding.

Recipe.
fresh Pigs blood large mixing bowl swirled by hand to stop it coagulating
Stale bread maybe ten loaves
4 “arrobas” of onions which is roughly 46 kilos
Pork fat to suit
Large pigs intestines (intensively cleaned by hand) from the pig slaughtered earlier
Cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, oregano and walnuts

Absolutely delicious (especially cooks nips with a glass or two of Anis)

[Rog]

Going back to the OP's comments, while it sounds quite unappetising I bet it is actually quite nice.

When it was put in front of me together with a plate of others, I really had no idea what it was. I just ate it.

Having eaten it, I concluded it really was 'orrible, at the time. I only found out what is was some time after coming back and looking it up. No pre-perceptions at all. I don't have a problem with foie gras, snails, black pudding, and quite a few other things. I do have a problem with things that literally taste like shit.

I do also find it hard to imagine how anyone even thought up the idea of eating a whole tiny bird, guts and all with your head under a cloth.

Oh, another YUK, bulot. The English call them whelks. YUK and YUK again