How vain are you?

DeliriumPie

anal glands of a beaver, it's what's for dinner. My question is who the heck discovered that and WHY?!

exbrnxgrl

I do agree with the fact that no one should confuse "natural" with safe or desirable all the time. After all, there are many undesirable substances and even poisons that are natural.

Caryn

PS: now I definitely have to research the vanilla flavoring issue.

exbrnxgrl

ladies,

Here's your reading for the evening, regarding vanilla flavoring (not to be confused with real vanilla extract) and beavers. I think the beaver pic is quite cute:)

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/10/01/beaver-butts-emit-goo-used-for-vanilla-flavoring/

MelissaDallas

Oh well, whale.brains & vomit are great perfume & cosmetic ingredients (ambergris & spermacetti)

exbrnxgrl

Don't know why I can't make the link hot (I used to be able to do it with no trouble). But here is the end( pun intended) of the article, which will give comfort since it is not a substance used too often, though it does not need to be listed in the ingredients. My interest in this makes me sound like the 6 and 7 year old boys in my class!

Save a Cow, Milk a Beaver

But getting a beaver to produce castoreum for purposes of food
processing is tough. Foodies bent on acquiring some of the sticky stuff
have to anesthetize the animal and then “milk” its nether regions. (Read about scientists who milk mice.)

“You can milk the anal glands so you can extract the fluid,” Crawford said. “You can squirt [castoreum] out. It’s pretty gross.”

Due to such unpleasantness for both parties, castoreum consumption is
rather small—only about 292 pounds (132 kilograms) yearly. That
statistic includes castoreum, castoreum extract, and castoreum liquid,
according to Fenaroli’s Handbook of Flavor Ingredients.

Still concerned you’re chowing down on beaver-bum goop? Because of its FDA label, in some cases, manufacturers don’t have to list castoreum on the ingredient list and may instead refer to it as “natural flavoring.” Yum.

Ariom

I want to know who was the first to discover it, taste it, and Why? LOL

exbrnxgrl

I wonder that about all sorts of foods! I eat almost everything and I know that my liberal palate has grossed out some of the more conservative palates. Chili and lime seasoned grasshoppers are delicious and don't even ask what stuffed derma (kishka) is unless you have a strong stomach. BTW,Andrew Zimmer's, Bizarre Foods is one of my favorite TV shows.

barbe1958

Another reason we may want to forgo artificial 'foods'......

Have you ever wondered where artificial raspberry, vanilla or strawberry flavor comes from?

These are the dried perineal glands of the beaver. They contain castoreum — a food additive usually listed as ‘natural flavoring’ in the ingredient list. Castoreum is the exudate from the castor sacs of the mature North American Beaver, it is a yellowish secretion in combination with the beaver’s urine, used during scent marking of territory. In the USA, castoreum as a food additive is considered by the FDA to be generally recognized as safe, often referenced simply as a “natural flavoring” in products’ lists of ingredients. While it can be used in both foods and beverages as a vanilla, raspberry and strawberry flavoring.


Also:
Castoreum

What it is: Brace yourself—this food flavoring is extracted from the castor sac scent glands of the male or female beaver, which are located near the anus. According to Milkowski, the substance is pretty expensive (think about what it probably takes to obtain it) and is more common in perfume than in actual foods.

Where you’ll find it: While it sounds downright disgusting, the FDA says it’s GRAS, meaning it’s “generally recognized as safe.” You won’t see this one on the food label because it’s generally listed as “natural flavoring.” It’s natural all right
read more:
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20588763_11,00.html

— with Wayne Yepezand 3 others.

TB90

Yikes, I will soon be afraid, very afraid, to eat anything that is not in its original form.  Just think what must be in a hot dog?!

Ariom

Caryn, I am with you! I love watching Bizarre Foods too, and being a Scot, I am used to unusual foods, Haggis anyone? or my favorite from my childhood Black Pudding. We, the Scots eat offal a lot.

I learned a whole new meaning of strange foods after being welcomed into the local Vietnamese community, near where I used to live. I had an adopted Vietnamese boy, so we were invited to many celebrations and parties. Ducks tongue and chicken feet and a Western Named dish "Vietnamese Piizza" the blood of a duck, with lots of chilli and spices. Mmm mmm!

Just saw above post!

Gee, thanks for that Barbe! Just having a late breakfast here while reading. I thought you'd posted a pic of Bats, but no! OMG, they are nasty looking! 

Anonymous

WHF - how would anyone even THINK of testing those to see what they TASTE....auuggghhhhhhhhh....like

vanilla & strawberry?   WTF?

barbe1958

I guess when they `had`to eat all the animal, the glands gave off a pleasant smell and the rest is history. And that`s where it should stay!

So, beauty anyone????

barbe1958

Moose balls?

MelissaDallas

My grandparents liked them. I think this must have been a weekend when there were a bunch of family in from the Panhandle, so someone must have brought them to her, but Grandmother was frying a bunch up in batches and sending them out to the guys while they were watching football or something. My aunt's very fussy husband was just chowing down with the rest, having no idea what he was eating. He still laughs about how shocked he was when he found out what he had been eating. He also still raves about how good they were.

MelissaDallas

Kay, it's even funnier if you know him. He's really prissy & fastidious. He had a very strange upbringing, but he did love my grandparents very much and had the ultimate respect for my grandmother's fantastic & often gourmet cooking. What's even funnier is that he & my aunt had a rather bitter divorce years ago, but now they have made peace & become friends again & he is an integral part of the family once more. He attends every family function and we all love him & he loves us very much. When my grandfather was declining and then dying he was always there, and maybe even more devastated than the rest of us. He went to see him and to take him his beloved fried chicken gizzards every weekend. we have really always been the only family he ever had. I guess you can go home again after all.

MelissaDallas

Kay, I like them too. When I was a kid I never thought it was fair that Daddy always got the gizzard & pullybone. Some grocery stores do still have trays of gizzards, but he always picked them up from the fried chicken restaurant. The big gripes I have with groceries as a Southerner is how few have decent fresh okra, and NONE have fresh blackeyed peas. When I was a kid they had the peas piled on a table with grocery bags beside it to fill, because it took a lot of shelled peas to make a pan full.

exbrnxgrl

Like many cuisines that sprang from hard times, Eastern European Jewish cuisine made use of almost ever part of the animal. Nothing on a chicken went to waste and I still remember staring at the whole cow's tongue at the butcher shop. I've seen some people get into "heritage cuisine" but I doubt that some of those foods will ever become widely popular again. I do miss some of them!

Caryn

MelissaDallas

Caryn, tongue was my Grandad's favorite thing. I cooked one for him & discovered it's pretty good. Julia Child & all the taquerias selling lingua can't all be wrong, huh?

Leah_S

One of DH's favorites is chicken feet. Yes, those looks-like-a-scrawny-hand feet. I make it in chicken soup. He also told me about eating unhatched eggs - that's when eggs that haven't been laid yet are found after the chicken is slaughtered.

Like Caryn said, poor people don't waste ANYTHING.

Leah

MelissaDallas

Leah, I participate in a cooking discussion board. A well-reputed chef was singing the praises of adding chicken feet when you're making broth the other day. I was in a Chinese grocery store yesterday & made a mental note that now I know where to find them.

barbe1958

The only way I`ve heard heritage referred to in food is in the seeds themselves. Monstanto has been GMOing the seeds since the 1950s so seeds from around the world are actually stored in the Netherlands in a secret location (in case of nuclear war). Those are original seeds. Thus the term `heritage`. You can still get heritage seeds from local farmers who don`t grow crops for mass production. 

Ariom

Those unhatched eggs were too much for me! My son always wanted them if he wasn't feeling well. You can buy them in a pack like normal eggs, at the Asian grocery store. I suppose it was a bit like me wanting boiled eggs with soldiers when I am sick.

I really had trouble watching him eat those and it is one thing I never tried, myself. Those tiny chicks have the beginnings of feathers, gross! 

exbrnxgrl

Leah,

Should we tell them what kishka is ? I loved it as a child but haven't had real kishka in more years than I can remember. Eggs with little birds in them? Ask a Filipino friend about balut. That may be one of the few things I can 't bring myself to try.

Caryn

Headeast

Hello my dear vain ladies! Talking about eggs, I had the most wonderful seafood buffet tonight amd the caviar was fantastic. Eggs as well and fabulous!

exbrnxgrl

When I flew for Pan Am, we served caviar in first class on most flights, really good caviar. I had never it eaten and wasn't eager to, but did like the whole ritual presentation and the lovely accompaniments. On a long flight to somewhere, I was working the upper deck on a 747. A good bit of caviar was left over from the service and I was quite bored. I turned over a beverage storage crate,to use as a stool, and tried different accompaniments with the caviar. By the end of my little tasting session, I was a big fan!

Caryn

Headeast

Caviar on a plane! Good all days! 

Ariom

Caryn, I was introduced to Caviar, when working for United. The cart in 1st, had a big ice sculpture and all the different accompaniments to go with the Russian Caviar, along with the shot glasses for the Russian Vodka to drink with it. It was quite a ritual!

I must say though, my favorite treat in 1st, was the Godiva chocolates! LOL

exbrnxgrl

I really loved the little mother of pearl spoon that we used to serve the caviar. It was almost like a previous little toy. 

Ariom

Headeast, I envy you your seafood buffet! I adore seafood, but haven't been to a good seafood restaurant for ages. We can get fresh seafood off the boats near where I live and have a good fish monger in my little town, but I really love a sit down buffet.

Ariom

Caryn, isn't Kishka a bit like Haggis?