Monday, April 6, 2009

Eccentric Edibles

After a brief conversation with my dad, the subject of "weird food" came up. Now while Dad will take his chili sauce and frog's legs, he scrunched up his face when I mentioned "eel." It dawned on me that of all my family members, I'm the most adventurous one in the culinary department.

I counted off some of my favorite delicacies: stir-fried squid, kimchi, unagi kabayaki (grilled eel coated with sweet sauce), black fungus (AKA cloud ears), nori (seaweed), salted jellyfish, spam, tazukuri (spicy glazed sardines), among others. I didn't think these foods were that strange by a long-shot. But when I thought about it, for many people, even the very idea of consuming something that was writhing and jiggling just a moment ago gives them the jitters.

This is why I love sites like the UK's Edible. The vodka-flavored lollipops pictured above actually include detoxified edible scorpion at its center. The scorpion supposedly cures toxins. The sugar-free pops are safe for human consumption, along with oven-baked tarantula, bbq worm crisps and weasel coffee (eaten and regurgitated by weasels -- not made of weasels, in case you were wondering).

Edible's website is cleverly divided into sections: Insectivores, Herbs & Spices, Aphrodisiac, Carnivore, Herbivore and Apothecary. Ah, gotta love those Brits and their toasty humor.

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