Strange Foods You Ate or Loved as a Kid?

[Boone]

What weird, uncommon, or strange foods did you eat as a kid?

My mom used to give me the core of the cabbage when she was cutting one up. I loved that ish. She'd also buy raw turnips and we'd peel them and eat them like an apple, except with a salt shaker in the other hand. My Dad would get fresh cauliflower and eat it while dipping the pieces into a big bowl of chili sauce.

 

[SkinsOrlando]

Didnt love it, still makes me think twice of parental knowledge but my mother must've loved Popeye because damn fresh spinach in vinegar and onions .... now the smell repulses me

 

[MikefromOH]

not me, but my kids.

My middle child was first introduced to coconut chicken curry when we would visit the local farmer's market back in SD. We would put the rice and chicken in with the "sauce" and put it on a plate for him. He would have been around 18 months at the time and you couldn't slow him down.

both boys love picking mussels apart and eating them. they love shrimp, crab, and lobster too.

the youngest loves old bay on his eggs just like I did as a kid.

 

[Boone]

Fried bologna and onions. I haven't had it since I was a kid but I think it was a guilty pleasure food for my mom.

 

[MikefromOH]

My mom would eat oysters straight out of a tin with a toothpick....smelled like death whenever she did, but she loved it.

 

[Boone]

I still eat oysters right out of the tin

 

[Boone]

Only loosely fits this thread topic - because it's certainly not anything I ate or loved as a kid - but it's certainly a strange food most would never try.

Beef tongue.

I was shopping for some meat on Porter Road and saw they sold tongue. There aren't many things I haven't tried at least once (take it easy - I'm talking about food here!), but beef tongue is one of them. The site also had a food blog entry describing how to make Corned Beef from the tongue. I'm going to give it a whirl.

I am comfortable with my carnivoreness.

 

[Boone]

So beef tongues arrived today. Man! Who knew a single beef tongue would come in at 3.5 lbs! Once it's cured and cooked, a lot of the outside gets cut away, so it'll probably be about right but I was not expecting them to be so large.

Thawing them and will start the brining/corning process in the next few days.

 

[Boone]

Beef tongues went into brine (with all kinds of spices) today. The tongues are like sandpaper on the outside - this project is not for the squeamish lol. After 2 weeks on the brine, they’ll get well-rinsed, boiled for a couple hours with spices and vegetables, then the outer layer is peeled off and what remains is amazing corned beef.

 

[Boone]

I cooked the corned beef tongues yesterday. Basically just boiling them for 3 hours in a mix of beef stock, water, spices, and onions, cabbage, garlic, and carrots. After peeling away the outer layer, I sliced the corned beef. The flavor was delicious, but man - I just could not get past the texture. It is SO tender. Had someone served it to me on a sandwich, I'd have devoured it. But knowing what it is, I just couldn't get past it.

Thus, I found the boundaries of my carnivorism. No tongue for me thanks anyway.

 

[MikefromOH]

Kudos to you for even doing it. Not sure I would if I knew it was tongue.

But, I've eaten lots of weird meats. Brains, dog, cat, rat, bugs. I always wanted to try the local stuff when in the navy and traveling.

 

[Boone]

It was certainly edible. And knowing it was tongue didn't stop me from trying it. Just that *texture*. It wasn't at all like beef. Couldn't get past it.

 

[riggins44]

I have the recipe for souse that came from my great grandmother. My grandmother and mom used to make it. It's basically just 3 ingredients. Salt & Pepper, Vinegar, and 2-3 hogs heads. I loved the stuff. Unfortunately don't know of anyone raising hogs anymore. Grandma would get the heads from a good friend when he did his hog killing.

 

[Boone]

Wow - that sounds pretty intense

 

[Boone]

I might have to BE soused to try that one

 

[riggins44]

great with saltine crackers

 

[Boone]

So basically, it’s pickled pork head meat jello

 

[riggins44]

You got it. A step up from pickled pigs feet.