You Are What You Eat

1,3,4 (think so-carpaccio certainly),5,7-15,17,19,20-24,26-29,31-32,34,39-41,44,47-56,61-62,66-67,69,71-72,78,81-82,83 (maybe -- I think it was a conference snack),84-88,92,94-96,98

I think that's 63. There were a couplie I was unsure about, and not drinking took a way a bunch of them. And, what on earth is kaolin? Google seems to think it is clay.

As you say, there are a lot of fun things one could add. Everyone should try a feijoa, for example. And a mangosteen (now legal in the US!). And Sizchuan peppercorns. And, and, and....

Someone else who's non-allergic but doesn't like peanut butter! I am not alone!

Yes, kaolin is clay. Some people eat it, but more as a result of a mental disorder (it's called "pica") than as a regular dietary staple.

Although, I would not be at all surprised if, say, certain off-brand creme-filled cookies added kaolin as a whitener and extender. Some of them already add titanium dioxide as a whitener, after all.

"Mann ist was man iÃt!" is a German pun. To ascribe deeper meaning to a play on words is Liberal Arts agenda expoited for gain. Eat long pig, PhD or Olympic gold medal winners dinners.

KIMCHI! Where is the kimchi? Visit your decent food perveyor, refrigerated case, look for Cosmo-brand kimchi. On that jar, big bold sidebar, is the finest food slogan in all gastronomy. It ends "...safe to eat." Crunchy, too.

Locusts must have removed wings and hind legs or risk intestinal blockage and perforation (distal leg segments). Bagna càuda was featured in Babylon 5, "A Distant Star". Durian is a custardy cross among strawberry, watermelon, and sauteed onions - quite interesting and best fresh not frozen and thawed.

Borscht is unpleasant and non-nutritious, abalone must be pounded, eggs Benedict in Vegas served right from the kitchen. Macdonalds ingestion is unpleasant. Hit Carl's Jr. for a giant juicy jalapeño burger and fries. It isn't real food but it is Schadenfreude real close.

Lab rabbit (no added pharma) is glorious. Those kept in cedar hutches have a cedrene undertaste. Eating clay is a sub-Saharan Africa (pregnancy) food fetish (or Kaopectate. More effective therapies are available).

Durian tastes better than it smells. Much better, but then it would need to. And some clays are used for parasites. There was a French study, I think, in the last couple of years showing very specific antibiotic effects from some clays. Identical looking clays from different regions had no activity. Markets in Africa sell a variety of clays for different ailments. It isn't just because of mental disorders or a food fetish. Pica may be a result of dietary deficiencies or parasites, not psychological problems, at least not always. rb

Koalin clay is used in pharmaceuticals (Kaopectate and as a pill coating, I believe). I claimed that one because I've taken pills with kaolin clay in them.

I made 77, if you'll accept that I've had both blini and caviar, but not in combination. My snake was rattlesnake (tastes like chicken). I share your opinion of oysters. Lobster Thermidor is vastly overrated -- lobster should be simply boiled or steamed and eaten with drawn butter (or cold in a lobster salad).

Another one missing from the list is Moxie, the old New England "tonic."

I may have to do this one, but I was also surprised that lutefisk, kimchee, and a few other things weren't on there. I rather enjoyed some roasted ants a colleague smuggled in from South America.

I don't see the big deal about hot dogs from a street vendor. Is that supposed to be risky? The curried goat I had was prepared by my next door neighbor and the kimchee was homemade by a grad student. Borscht? It's great if made well.

"Mann ist was man iÃt!" is a German pun. To ascribe deeper meaning to a play on words is Liberal Arts agenda expoited for gain. Eat long pig, PhD or Olympic gold medal winners dinners.

I know one shouldn't feed the trolls and as far as Prof. Orzell is concerned you are a troll but this time I couldn't resist.

The remark does indeed produce a witty pun in German but the original quote is from Brillat-Savarin's Physiologie du Goût, ou Méditations de Gastronomie Transcendante; ouvrage théorique, historique et à l'ordre du jour, dédié aux Gastronomes parisiens, par un Professeur, membre de plusieurs sociétés littéraires et savantes. and is French. In English translation the original is, "tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are."

Sea urchin is an acquired taste, and it helps if you can get a top chef to prepare it for you.

Do number 84 and you can probably get several on the list checked off.

That's a culturally interesting list. Twenty years ago it would have included more exotic animals (snails, kangaroo, ostrich) and at least some offal (brains, tripe, sweetbreads). Forty years ago the emphasis would have been on international origins (fondue, peking duck, foo foo, curried lamb) or European preparation (coq au vin, fresh pasta, souffle, quenelle). Also, where are the down market favorites (deep fried turkey, fried oyster sandwiches, jam butty sandwiches, periwinkles)?

Our idea of exotic food changes with the times.

84 out of 100.

I make it 91. Hope to cross off poutine and andouillette next year.

The most difficult thing I've ever had to eat was a parmo from Middlesbrough.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Parmo

I should be ashamed that I know this, but McDonald's "special sauce" is not mayonnaise but Thousand Island dressing. It has no business on a burger.

Texans will tell you that the only condiments that belong on a burger are mayonnaise and mustard. Never ketchup. We also enjoy bacon, cheese, lettuce, jalapenos, tomatoes, and onions as toppers.

Odd to see gjetost on the list but not lutefisk. The latter is much less appealing to the unintiated, since gjetost is basically just a rather sweet cheese, usually goat cheese. It has kind of an odd counterpoint of sweet and bitter to it. On the other hand, you're more likely to have *heard* of lutefisk than gjetost, so the relative obscurity of gjetost probably got it onto the list.

I never cared much for gjetost when I had it as a child, but I wonder if I'd like it now. My tastes have changed considerably since then. I should try it again. My grandpa loves the stuff on flatbrød, and he even got me liking pickled herring cutlets. They are seriously addictive!

Gulf of Mexico oysters are not "snot in a shell," they actually are worth eating. Or at least, they were when I last had them a few years ago; I think BP has probably put them out of reach for a generation or more. :-(