This was the introduction question to my Public Health Nutrition Leadership course this past Wednesday. What is your answer? What is the strangest food you've ever eaten?
Our class had a wide range of answers.
Head cheese.
Alligator.
Sea-Cucumber.
Bat.
Wolf.
Sparrow on a Stick.
I threw in that Charlie and I are 99% positive he ate the Queen's Rat (read: Nutria... or a very large Swamp rat if you aren't sure what that is) on our honeymoon in Belize which was disguised on the menu as "pork." (It wasn't pork.)
To end off our introductions our professor introduced the idea that food is incredibly cultural. When she has students in the class from Africa, they often reply "Oatmeal" because it is animal food to them. Why would people eat animal food? Along the same line, I have heard my dad mention that his father would not allow them to eat corn in the house because it was "Pig's food"... and why would civilized people eat pig's food? We wouldn't eat dog food, would we?
I want to start this blog as a way of documenting the important things I learn about nutrition along the way. Fortunately, I believe the program I am in is going to help me view food as both a scientific phenomenon as well as a cultural and social one. I will strive to translate some of the more interesting things I learn into application for you! My dear, healthy, foodie readers!
You know I love everything about food, even learning new things about it! I can't wait to see what kind of knowledge you bestow upon us.
ReplyDeleteSoo glad you are doing this Steph! Can I play? The strangest thing I have ever eaten when was when the Discovery Channel crew and the Bug Man came to my kitchen and we made muffins and pasta using toasted cricket flour! The muffins were tender and pretty good! The pasta was delicious with brown butter sauce. Although I would probably not insert this into my daily diet:) Sure wish I could have actually seen the final cut. I never was told when it aired. Although my segment might have ended up on the cutting room floor, lol!
ReplyDeleteP.S. One of the strangest EXPERIENCES I have ever had is when the troglodyte (you know of whom I speak? ask Charlie if not) showed up at my kitchen door during FILMING... shirtless, shoeless, stinky - the big hippy - and asked to use the PHONE. What the??????:)