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In multiple locales (Japan and the Caribbean) people have tried to sell me on eating turtle meat because it 'makes you strong'. Like there's this virility trans

In multiple locales (Japan and the Caribbean) people have tried to sell me on eating turtle meat because it 'makes you strong'. Like there's this virility transfer that happens or something between you and the meat you consume. I only tried it once in Japan and it tasted like a pond, will never do that again. I definitely appreciate how they're pretty cool animals in general. I hope people get it out of their heads that eating them is like natural viagra or whatever. Oh wait, I did try a turtle egg at a bar one time in a shot of chili guaro... Don't bite them open, there's sand inside.

downut 4y ago
People have been eating soft shell and snapping turtles in the SE US since... always? I grew up in the Everglades in South Florida and caught and ate many soft shell turtles. Fried up, tastes like... chicken? It's pretty good. The bullfrogs we gigged then were quite good too, the farmed ones I've tried in recent decades, not so much. At no point was there any reference to particular inherent qualities of turtle meat, that I recall.
- jamal-kumar 4y ago
  I dunno I kind of class them in animals which are too close to humans somehow to be desirable to eat. Like they have personalities and long lives that just get interrupted by people deciding they'd make a great meal. A lot of species of turtles are threatened by invasive species like bullfrogs and habitat degradation as well. I'm not a picky eater by any means but there's definitely some meats out there I see on the menu and don't order, octopus for example - They're too smart to be munching on.
  - downut 4y ago
    I've encountered many soft shell turtles (if you fish with bait in South Florida you will catch turtles) and I would not classify them as close to humans. I think if this sort of determination were to get any social traction then pigs would be the first granted clemency. I don't see that happening, ever. (I have no opinion at all about your preferences, obvs.)
    - jamal-kumar 4y ago
      Yeah I guess we all anthropomorphize our favorite creatures
  - pessimizer 4y ago
    Pigs and cows seem pretty smart to me. Smarter than horses, at least. edit: hell, birds are pretty smart, too, even if domestic chickens seem exceptionally stupid.
  - s1artibartfast 4y ago
    >I kind of class them in animals which are too close to humans somehow to be desirable to eat. That is certainly the first time I have heard this said about turtles.
munificent 4y ago
> it tasted like a pond Probably geosmin[1]. Some people really dislike it, others don't seem to mind as much. I grew up eating catfish and crawfish so I don't mind my food tasting a little muddy or ditchy, but that's just me. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geosmin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geosmin
- jamal-kumar 4y ago
  That's really fascinating, I'm a big fan of knowing exactly what the chemical signature of scents and tastes are. It sounds kind of like cilantro in that way where some people just feel it tastes like soap while others love it (myself in the 2nd camp), but in the end from what I understand it's a genetic thing.

downut 4y ago

People have been eating soft shell and snapping turtles in the SE US since... always? I grew up in the Everglades in South Florida and caught and ate many soft shell turtles. Fried up, tastes like... chicken? It's pretty good. The bullfrogs we gigged then were quite good too, the farmed ones I've tried in recent decades, not so much. At no point was there any reference to particular inherent qualities of turtle meat, that I recall.

jamal-kumar 4y ago
I dunno I kind of class them in animals which are too close to humans somehow to be desirable to eat. Like they have personalities and long lives that just get interrupted by people deciding they'd make a great meal. A lot of species of turtles are threatened by invasive species like bullfrogs and habitat degradation as well. I'm not a picky eater by any means but there's definitely some meats out there I see on the menu and don't order, octopus for example - They're too smart to be munching on.
- downut 4y ago
  I've encountered many soft shell turtles (if you fish with bait in South Florida you will catch turtles) and I would not classify them as close to humans. I think if this sort of determination were to get any social traction then pigs would be the first granted clemency. I don't see that happening, ever. (I have no opinion at all about your preferences, obvs.)
  - jamal-kumar 4y ago
    Yeah I guess we all anthropomorphize our favorite creatures
- pessimizer 4y ago
  Pigs and cows seem pretty smart to me. Smarter than horses, at least. edit: hell, birds are pretty smart, too, even if domestic chickens seem exceptionally stupid.
- s1artibartfast 4y ago
  >I kind of class them in animals which are too close to humans somehow to be desirable to eat. That is certainly the first time I have heard this said about turtles.

munificent 4y ago

> it tasted like a pond Probably geosmin[1]. Some people really dislike it, others don't seem to mind as much. I grew up eating catfish and crawfish so I don't mind my food tasting a little muddy or ditchy, but that's just me. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geosmin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geosmin

jamal-kumar 4y ago
That's really fascinating, I'm a big fan of knowing exactly what the chemical signature of scents and tastes are. It sounds kind of like cilantro in that way where some people just feel it tastes like soap while others love it (myself in the 2nd camp), but in the end from what I understand it's a genetic thing.