How vain are you?

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

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/

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.

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.

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?!

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

vanilla & strawberry?   WTF?

Moose balls?

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.

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

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

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. 

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

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

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

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.