IMBB 12: Prologue [S. Worthen

I have always been intrigued by anchovies - they seem so salty and finicky, and yet they're supposed to have tons and tons of calcium in them.

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Whether or not I try them, I'm still happy to photocopy the two pages from Zimmerman's Guide for you, so you'll know how to buy good anchovies.

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They convey flavor and are best consumed as a complementary item

They are similar to lemons or limes,tomatoes or ginger in that manner

i think eating a lot of them in one sitting to introduce calcium into your diet would be not be utilizing them as an effective resource

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I like them both ways. They are good pizza or in certain pasta dishes but they are also excellent as a seasoning. They seem to go particularly well with lamb.

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If you are a creature of delicate sensibilities, please, for the love of God, don't get a Durian. Kevin always talked about them from his time in Indonesia. They're not allowed on planes or in hotels because of their stench. I didn't believe it until someone brought one to the party I went to on Sat. Oh my god. It smelled like mango dipped in rotten garbage. When we cut into the football shaped nast, we were met with a texture of rotting bananas...I tasted it. I will never try one again, and I'll try anything. :-) Kevin said that the one that we cut open at the party wasn't very fresh since it didn't stink up a 10ft. area, but I'm still appalled that he's eaten Durian icecream...maybe when its dilluted in something it tastes better.

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It's true, the others probably wouldn't smell so agressively. I'm fairly sure I can buy durian purée in some of the Chinatown stores, which might skip the worst of the smell, but would still leave me with the taste. Durian ice cream sounds the most accessible of these options, actually, if could find it! Not that you're giving me any reason to.

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apparently one can also get durian-flavored boba (I'm assuming this fad has hit Toronto as hard as it hit L.A.). It may be sufficiently watered-down that it tastes like normal fruit. I know I've seen them at a local Vietnamese place....

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I don't even know what boba is. A quick web-search gives me a description which sounds a great deal like bubble tea. Is it the same thing, or another variant on bubble tea? Bubble tea comes in a multitude of flavors, and I suspect I could find a durian-flavored one somewhere around here.

And that would deal with two avoidances in one go, since the concept of bubble tea is odd enough that I haven't tried it either yet.

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I agree with the durian ice-cream option. I had it at a Malaysian restaurant and it really didn't taste very strong at all. However my tastebuds may have shut down after the sauce of my main dish (baby cuttlefish).

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I voted for durian above out of sheer selfishness: I know there must be a way to prepare it so that it tastes good, and I have no idea what that way is. I once had durian custard at a restaurant, and it was glorious -- yes, there was a bit of a rank smell still perceptible, but it was very faint, and the flavor of the fruit was well worth it.

Only then a friend who'd been at that lunch picked up some durian cookies at a Thai grocery, and we made the mistake of opening them in the car. And -- let's just say it was not a good experience. So I would be afraid of commercial durian anything at this point; at the very least, I'd be sure to open any packaged durian product in the open air, so that it could be disposed of without contaminating house or vehicle if necessary.

But it's really good if you do it right. I know that. If only I'd had enough foresight to ask, all those years ago. I'd do it now, but the restaurant was in a city a thousand miles from here; I was only there once; and neither I nor my companions even remember its name.

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In lieu of anchovies try Thai style salted fish which makes anchovies seem positively tame. If very brave you could try bplah daek, fermented fish. I confess I have not yet been brave enough to tackle the latter.

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Do you happen to know of Toronto sources for any of these things? (Not that you're really selling me on them at all, you know.) Fermented fish sounds more like an ingredient you'd use in some other dish than a dish in its own right, but hey, there's a remarkable variety of fermented products in the world. I'm none so sure I'd want to try fermented yak's milk either.

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Widely available in Chinatown though the last salted fish I bought came from the Bigland Farms at Leslie and Finch. Both products can be used in composite dishes or they can be dredged in flour, fried until crisp and served with lime and chillis. (and lots of rice!)

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I've got a pasta recipe for anchovies that looked pretty good. I'm gonna make it when lent starts. as for tonight and tommorow i need to eat all that meat in my fridge urg, unfortunatley i really don't want meat today :(

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Meat freezes well for a few months if you don't want to eat it now. If anchovies win the vote, I'll definitely be interested in how the pasta recipe turns out.

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yeah, i froze some bacon and hamburger patties, but the issue resides in all that polish meat that I bought and now don't want to finish eating. it's not freezable. My eyes were bigger than my tummy, that and my rye bread got all dry and I don't know how to eat this meat except with rye bread. I could try to toast the bread, it's just that I was stupid and bought too much and now i don't want it :P

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oh, and if the pasta dish turns out good i'll let you know.

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Marmite is disgusting.
Snails don't taste like much except the garlic butter they're cooked in. Garlic butter is great, but I'd just as soon dump it on bread and eat it that way.
Anchovies are fishy-flavored salt and I don't care what Zingerman's says.
Durian is a brave choice.
Frog legs taste like generic dark meat.

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Any suggestions for an alternative food-experiment I might have otherwise avoided trying?

I've had haggis and blood pudding, and while I'm generally not keen on eating internal organs, I've at least had them before, to my general lack of interest. Every once in a while, foie gras can be really, really good, although I generally don't like liver. I'm not willing to do anything involving eyes or marrow right now, marrow because it makes me think too much of hoot & mouth disease, regardless of the animal involved.

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Owl-meat was apparently lurking in my subconscious. That'd be "hoof & mouth", of course.

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Well, I'm eating mostly veg these days, so I can't point you at the offal, really. I've never tried durian, though. ^^

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It's funny how off the top of my head, there are far more meat-products in the world I tend to avoid than vegetative. Durian was the only fruit-or-vegetable I could think of which I would otherwise avoid, given the choice.

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Well I like haggis, so i'd recommend Koschanka, which most people won't try. but i think it's really tasty and best with scrambled eggs. A way to 'water it down' so to speak is to cook it into scrambeled eggs like my mom and cousin do. Though i don't like it that way because i like that rich taste. but you'd need a polish store for that.

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I know there are Polish stores in this city, so odds are good I could buy it. Is Koschanka the same thing as haggis, but with a different set of spices?

I've had haggis once, for Burn's Night, and I felt fairly indifferent about it. The taste was fine, but I was less keen on the texture.

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i think that koschanka has no blood in it. I'm not sure of the spices, it's not exactly the same or anything. but it's not a dinner thing, at least not for me, a sunday brunch thing

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Snails and frogs legs -- not fussed either way. The snail is a vastly inferior mollusc to either the mussel or the scallop IMHO. Frogs' legs are ok but fiddly.

I've voted for the durian purely because I've just finished the Patrick O'Brien novels, in one of which durians (and their infamous smell) feature quite prominently.

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Mussels can be good, scallops are just okay - their density makes them less interesting to me, for some reason. I hadn't had many before last summer's Nova Scotia trip, but I tried them several times along the way there since they were a local specialty.

In other words, you're saying that despite my avoidance to date of snails and frogs' legs, they wouldn't actually be very adventurous choices in terms of flavor.

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Yep, eggsackerly...

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Frog legs have a very neutral taste that I can remember. All I remember about snails was how greasy they were because they were swimming in garlic oil. I didn't like them for that reason.

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Snails and such are difficult to prepare properly: like clams and scallops and such, if they are the slightest bit overcooked, they get rubbery. They're very delicate, and I think you would actually like a properly-prepared snail, but it would be hard to cook them.

Anchovies have a lot of flavor, and can be added to dishes in very very very small amounts with amazingly positive results. You wouldn't end up with a mouthful of fishy salty ick, but a nice, rich smokiness throughout the entire dish. And it's hard to go wrong with them, if you're cautious about the amount you add. They're a natural place to start, I'd say.

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Do you have experience in cooking snails then? You sound like an experienced snail-eater. As well as an experienced anchovy-buyer.

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I actually like snails quite a bit. First consumed though while on JYA, during the pre-program on one of our field trips, this one to Dijon.

When properly prepared, they have a subtle, earthy taste - but I've never cooked them -myself- only had them in a restaurant. You might consider trying a snail soup recipe though - I had a wonderful duxelle d'escargots in Paris in one of the restaurants right near where we all stayed back in 1998. The earthy flavor of the snail was still present, but the soup was thick and creamy and rich otherwise and delicious with bits of toasted bread. I'm not coming up with a recipe for it on a quickie search of various sites, though I'll keep looking.

Here's a classic snail recipe to try though, from epicurious</a..

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The snail soup sounds quite good - even if it does contain snails. Snails are currently winning the vote, so I might well be investigating snail soup recipes in the near future. Thank you for the information.

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Yes, you totally need to try poutine. But get a small one--it's really only good for the first few bites. I don't know where one would get good poutine in Toronto--just don't go to Harvey's ...

As to anchovies ... if you put them in something, they're not so bad. Like pasta. Then again, I eat them out of the tin & so might not be a good person to ask ... ;)

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There are two poutine-places in this city which have received superlative reviews. Of course, neither is a straightforward poutine (duck confit and such as toppings). One of those two places is, however, located in an extremely convenient place. I feel as if it might be cheating to opt for "gourmet" poutine, but it is my closest option, and does come recommended by various guides.

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gourmet poutine? ::shakes head in wonderment:: More things in heaven & earth, Horatio. In that case, I counsel chip wagon fries at the very least, even though I don't know how Toronto is situated for chip wagons ... heh. gourmet poutine? that's amazing ;-/

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I agree that frogs' legs aren't worth the trouble (they actually do taste like chicken - really boring chicken).

Have you ever tried beef tongue? That may actually not be all that exotic, so pardon me if you've been there, done that. If you haven't, though, it is quite a good boneless (obviously) meat, with an interesting texture.

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I have not tried beef tongue - the concept never appealed, but it's good to know it has redeeming virtues. I may yet. Thank you for the description.

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The beginner is advised to start out with anchovies in a mushrooms, olives, pineapple and anchovy pizza. The pineapple cuts the tastes in the anchovies which bug some people.

Durian is one of those things that you will either hate a lot or get addicted to. There seems to be no middle ground. I noted, during my stay in Taiwan, that most taxicabs in Asia have "No Durian Eaters" signs. This refers to both the act of eating them in the cab and having previously eaten so many of them that you will now smell like a Durian for several weeks.

/Don (spectrum die-evil-spammers ca.inter.net)

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Accidentally ran into this site looking for cuttlefish recipes. I did not find anything on cuttlefish but there are some interesting food items listed. I discovered some fresh durian meat that was wrapped in cellophane, then boxed in clear plastic with tape around the edges. It looked interesting. The whole fruit was near and it looks like a green cannon ball with spikes. I heard there are people in Thailand that wear helmets while cutting durian from the trees. I had to buy it. I put it in my refrigerator on Sunday afternoon. When I returned from work on Monday about 6pm my apartment smelled like smoked onions and rancid butter. I was a little scared but I removed the tape and opened the container of fresh durian. I heard the taste is better than the smell. Well, I tasted an insignificant amount to find out the smell did not give my taste buds a chance. Amazing that you can buy fresh durian in Los Angeles.

I like anchovies every now and then. Looking for something to eat while in college seven years ago I created a pasta dish that I still like to prepare now. Take a can of good quality anchovies and saute them with the olive oil from the can. Add some fresh ginger thin slivers of ginger and thin sliced of one garlic clove. Add a vegetable that has been steamed. I had some parsnips I cut them into 1/4 inch pieces steamed and once soft added to anchovies that melt away in a saute pan. Boil Farfalle pasta until al dente and throw them into the pan. It taste better if you add a little extra-virgin olive oil to taste. Sprinkle with Manchego or any sheep/goat cheese. I'm done with cow cheese.

Let me know what you think about the recipe at gomezrobert@gmail.com

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