Bizzare Foods

Unlike Andrew Zimmern I have never had any live animals or fresh blood for lunch. I did try sushi once, but some of the most unique foods I have ever eaten were in Hawaii. The first one was kind of plain and tasted like pasty water. It was a purple-gray watery paste called Poi and it was made from a type of purple potato that grows in Hawaii. The second was Haupia which is a white coconut pudding. It was served more like finger-jello squares, but had a creamy taste. I really liked it!




I have also tried some strange things made from plants. I have had rose hips tea and rose hips candy. Flowers are wonderful, but they smell much better than they taste. When I tried both the tea and the candy tasted as if I had accidentally sprayed some perfume into my mouth. It turns out that the use of rose hips as a health agent originated in Sweden and they are valued for their powerful antioxidants. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_hip)

My fiance and his family went to South Korea for Christmas a few years ago to visit his brother and his sister-in-law who teach at a Christian school there. During their visit Peter tried Kimchi (or Gimchi), a traditional fermented Korean dish that includes cabbage and spices, and comes in many varieties. He also tried popular Korean ginger candies, that were offered to him by their hosts. It was a hardcandy that had a strong bitter, ginger flavor. I tried them too, and it was so strong that it difficult to keep it in my mouth.

My dad has eaten some even stranger things than me. He was in the Navy and during his training they were in Taipei, Taiwan. He and his buddies got to eat some raw octopus. They said eating the tentacles was like chewing on rubber bands. That sounds pretty gross to me. I don't think that I would ever try raw octopus.

The second food that my dad has eaten isn't really bizarre, just unique. My great grandma made pickled watermelon rhines and my dad liked to eat them. The watermelon rhines were cubed and pickled with cinnamon. I've never tried them, but I would love to hunt down the recipe sometime.