5 ms·

I think that almost every culture has this kind of food that is supposed to be super good to those who acquired taste but looks totally gross to outsiders. Japa

by euske 5y ago

I think that almost every culture has this kind of food that is supposed to be super good to those who acquired taste but looks totally gross to outsiders. Japan has this half-rotten sushi and fermented soybeans, and then there's maggot cheese and notorious fermented herrings, etc.

dllthomas 5y ago
In my experience the Poles seem to think of their pickled herring this way, but it's just genuinely tasty all of the three ways I've had it.
- bradleyjg 5y ago
  I don’t know about the Polish version but I assume it’s similar to the kind you get with onions and a sour cream based sauce in appetizing stores in NYC. If so, I wouldn’t say it’s an acquired taste. It’s a bit fishy but even as a child I liked it.
  - dllthomas 5y ago
    > I assume it’s similar to the kind you get with onions and a sour cream based sauce in appetizing stores in NYC. Quite possibly. It's not the same as various jarred herring in supermarkets (which is usually... okay.); my mother in law makes hers with oil, onions, cloves, and bay leaf and it's very much the same as what I had in Warsaw. There is another approach (which I haven't go the recipe for) that is sour and a little sweet and has sour cream and green onions (and sometimes raisins, in the northwest). Those are good and a little exciting because I have them less often, but I like the oil and onions and cloves kind better. > If so, I wouldn’t say it’s an acquired taste. It’s a bit fishy but even as a child I liked it. Yeah, I agree, which is why I'm a little amused at how much surprise and enjoyment "lubie śledzie" seems to prompt.
- Fnoord 5y ago
  When we Dutch buy Hollanse Nieuwe (herring of this year) we get asked if we want 'ui en zuur erbij?' ('onion and sour with it?'). The sour are pickles. I wouldn't want my herring without either. Maybe lutefisk counts, but I don't think so. Fermentation has to be done correct, else it is dangerous. That's where the gross feeling stems from; it has/had a purpose.
  - dagw 5y ago
    Maybe lutefisk counts Lutefisk isn't fermented, and has a mild smell and tastes of unseasoned boiled white fish with a slightly 'off' aftertaste. While most people don't particularly like it, it is hardly off putting unless you find boiled fish in general off putting.
dcolkitt 5y ago
From conversations I've had with East Asians, I think many think of cheese in general as a pretty gross food.
- gruez 5y ago
  Why? Is it the sharp taste, how its made, or something else?
  - koyote 5y ago
    I'd assume the mould is a deterrent.
    - 2muchcoffeeman 5y ago
      SE Asia uses mould too. Eg tempeh.
    - jefurii 5y ago
      Shoyu (soy sauce), sake, and miso are all made with mold (aspergillus oryzae) and are major components of Japanese cuisine, so no.
      - Tor3 5y ago
        Shoyu and miso etc. are fermented, and the end result is all the consumer sees - the mould isn't there. My Japanese wife love all fermented Japanese food, but has an extreme aversion for mould of any kind, even in minuscule amounts. Her nose is hyper sensitive about the stuff. So no blue cheese here.. (she likes a lot of other types of cheese. She's not lactose intolerant, but in any case hard cheeses tend to be very low in lactose).
  - bitcurious 5y ago
    East Asians have a higher rate of lactose intolerance.
  - kadoban 5y ago
    It's biological waste grown on cow extract. Pretty sure it's not that different from other gross-to-those-not-familiar-with-it foods, it's just that we're familiar with it. An Asian friend once told me that when she came to America as a child and someone gave her cheese, she thought they were trying to poison her. I get the sense that that's not too far off from the common sentiment for those uninitiated.
tastyfreeze 5y ago
I have always thought of these foods as "kept my ancestors from starving" foods. Things that were discovered by accident when people were starving and became a way have stored food to keep from starving in the future.
- babesh 5y ago
  Salted fish in the same general approach as funazushi is still practiced in some Chinese cultures. I wonder if Chinese would find funazushi tasty.
- SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
  > became a way have stored food to keep from starving in the future. And mostly because no-one will eat them by choice, in seasons when they're not starving.

by euske 5y ago

dllthomas 5y ago

In my experience the Poles seem to think of their pickled herring this way, but it's just genuinely tasty all of the three ways I've had it.

bradleyjg 5y ago
I don’t know about the Polish version but I assume it’s similar to the kind you get with onions and a sour cream based sauce in appetizing stores in NYC. If so, I wouldn’t say it’s an acquired taste. It’s a bit fishy but even as a child I liked it.
- dllthomas 5y ago
  > I assume it’s similar to the kind you get with onions and a sour cream based sauce in appetizing stores in NYC. Quite possibly. It's not the same as various jarred herring in supermarkets (which is usually... okay.); my mother in law makes hers with oil, onions, cloves, and bay leaf and it's very much the same as what I had in Warsaw. There is another approach (which I haven't go the recipe for) that is sour and a little sweet and has sour cream and green onions (and sometimes raisins, in the northwest). Those are good and a little exciting because I have them less often, but I like the oil and onions and cloves kind better. > If so, I wouldn’t say it’s an acquired taste. It’s a bit fishy but even as a child I liked it. Yeah, I agree, which is why I'm a little amused at how much surprise and enjoyment "lubie śledzie" seems to prompt.
Fnoord 5y ago
When we Dutch buy Hollanse Nieuwe (herring of this year) we get asked if we want 'ui en zuur erbij?' ('onion and sour with it?'). The sour are pickles. I wouldn't want my herring without either. Maybe lutefisk counts, but I don't think so. Fermentation has to be done correct, else it is dangerous. That's where the gross feeling stems from; it has/had a purpose.
- dagw 5y ago
  Maybe lutefisk counts Lutefisk isn't fermented, and has a mild smell and tastes of unseasoned boiled white fish with a slightly 'off' aftertaste. While most people don't particularly like it, it is hardly off putting unless you find boiled fish in general off putting.

dcolkitt 5y ago

From conversations I've had with East Asians, I think many think of cheese in general as a pretty gross food.

gruez 5y ago
Why? Is it the sharp taste, how its made, or something else?
- koyote 5y ago
  I'd assume the mould is a deterrent.
  - 2muchcoffeeman 5y ago
    SE Asia uses mould too. Eg tempeh.
  - jefurii 5y ago
    Shoyu (soy sauce), sake, and miso are all made with mold (aspergillus oryzae) and are major components of Japanese cuisine, so no.
    - Tor3 5y ago
      Shoyu and miso etc. are fermented, and the end result is all the consumer sees - the mould isn't there. My Japanese wife love all fermented Japanese food, but has an extreme aversion for mould of any kind, even in minuscule amounts. Her nose is hyper sensitive about the stuff. So no blue cheese here.. (she likes a lot of other types of cheese. She's not lactose intolerant, but in any case hard cheeses tend to be very low in lactose).
- bitcurious 5y ago
  East Asians have a higher rate of lactose intolerance.
- kadoban 5y ago
  It's biological waste grown on cow extract. Pretty sure it's not that different from other gross-to-those-not-familiar-with-it foods, it's just that we're familiar with it. An Asian friend once told me that when she came to America as a child and someone gave her cheese, she thought they were trying to poison her. I get the sense that that's not too far off from the common sentiment for those uninitiated.

tastyfreeze 5y ago

I have always thought of these foods as "kept my ancestors from starving" foods. Things that were discovered by accident when people were starving and became a way have stored food to keep from starving in the future.

babesh 5y ago
Salted fish in the same general approach as funazushi is still practiced in some Chinese cultures. I wonder if Chinese would find funazushi tasty.
SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
> became a way have stored food to keep from starving in the future. And mostly because no-one will eat them by choice, in seasons when they're not starving.