Ok, so I've never actually heard of people really eating fried cockroaches, but it got your attention, didn't it? ;)This post is actually a rant about people who are unwilling to try new things. Fried cockroaches are an extreme example, but given the choice between a fried cockroach or eating a raw egg, I think I might actually go with the fried cockroach. I think it would just taste fried. Given the roach wasn't crawling around in garbage and all that. Ok, I'll stop talking about bugs now.
What mystifies me is people (especially those who live in big cities) who haven't even heard of some pretty mainstream ethnic foods. Take couscous, for example. This is basically pasta, just in a different form. And I had a conversation with a co-worker yesterday who honestly had no idea what it was. But that's just about exposure. If they haven't heard of it, that doesn't mean they're unwilling to try it, necessarily.
What I have trouble understanding are the people who automatically reject the idea of a food before they've even tried it (and I'm not talking fried cockroaches here). Sushi I can kind of understand, just because the idea of raw fish is disturbing to some people. I still think they should try it before they say something like "I don't like sushi" or "I couldn't possible eat raw fish" because the thing is, it doesn't taste like it's raw meat. If they try it and don't like it, then I'm totally cool with that. But don't tell me you don't like something if you've never tried it.
Case in point, I was at a big family gathering about four years ago. My father and I were trying to decide what kind of food to order for everyone, and I suggested Chinese food (I'm talking greasy mainstream Chinese food here). So that's what we got. And my uncle (who's from Florida near Disney) came up to me after dinner and asked me if it had been my idea to order Chinese food. I said it was, at which point he said he'd never had it before (he was 52 years old!) and had quite liked it. I must admit I was flabbergasted. We're not talking something really out there and exotic. I would understand if he hadn't tried Ethiopian food, or Brazilian, Egyptian, Russian, even Japanese. But Chinese is one of the most common kinds of take-out foods there is in this country. He then said he'd driven by Chinese places near home and kind of turned up his nose at them. Perfect example of someone who'd completely judged food without even trying it. I just don't understand.
I know that I grew up in a city with a lot of international food options. My parents regularly took me out for sushi when I was young (though I stuck with just rice and nori rolls, since I didn't like the taste of fish until I was older), and I've been lucky enough to be exposed to a fair amount of foreign travel (and therefore foreign foods) to expand my horizons. But I just don't understand why people just assume they won't like a food just because it's different than the food they regularly eat. Is it just my liberal mindset that I'm willing try (almost) anything?
Is there anything in particular you just wouldn't be willing to try, even once? What's the wackiest thing you've ever eaten?
On my list (some not so wacky, but people still look at me strangely when I say I've eaten them): horse meat, elk, rabbit, ostrich (slim jim style), flowers, mexican-spice dried worms, chocolate covered ants
(As a note: I totally made up fried cockroaches out of thin air. But it turns out that people do really eat them in Southeast Asia. Now, whenever I get to Southeast Asia on vacation, I'm going to have to try them, so I don't turn into a big hypocrite....)
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