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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   32850 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of February 20, 2023

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Americans really have no idea how bad things were in densely populated civilized regions re: hunger. Allegedly, there were no rodent problems in 19th century China, just like there weren't any in Japanese POW camps, but I'm not completely sure about that.

One still notices this in China, where people eat meats that Western cultures have long since put into dog food, sausages, or burgers. As someone who enjoys things like tripe, heart, and gizzards, this is something I like in their food, but it's symptomatic of the difference in protein supply between Europe/North America and China in living memory.

A lot of this is just fashion. In my Texas suburb grocery store tongue costs as much as steak and boudin(spicy liver paste, sold in a sausage) is reasonably popular, while farther away from mexicans or cajuns such things would have to be special ordered at non-ethnic grocery stores. Allegedly blacks still eat gizzards and tripe because they want to, not because they have to, but I've never confirmed this. And of course snails and frogs are high status in france while urban americans see them as gross. And of course I've run into several canadians who find the southern custom of eating catfish off putting, despite this being well entrenched and normal among even wealthy southerners.

And that's without getting into the rural-urban divide on squirrel consumption.

I've honestly never understood squirrel. They're so fiddly and the meat's not even worth a round of 22. At least rabbits have most of a meal on them. Is it mostly just bragging rights?

And of course I've run into several canadians who find the southern custom of eating catfish off putting

Really? Did they say why?

Gritty or poor tasting trash fish was the usual explanation.

I feel compelled to add that here in Italy eating liver and tripe, and to a lesser degree heart, brain, and lungs, is still quite popular, even to the point of being considered a delicacy. I can tell by personal experience that Tuscan liver paté is excellent.

Liver seems to be an exception in most places, at least because of paté.

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