Kuti Pi

[brewmonkey]

I was watching the show called "Taboo" on one of the National Geographic channels the other night and they brought up a dish served in India called "Kuti Pi." Now it sounds benign of not even a bit intriguing with the anglicanized pronuciation. However I quickly changed my mind when the women they were following went to the local market to find the main ingredient for this dish which are animal fetus. Now I did not catch if they have to use a specific one but I do believe she was using goat.

Adults, Babies, and Fetuses

Not all delicacies have deep cultural roots. Some have emerged relatively recently as cultures have merged and hybridized.

In India the children of European and Indian unions were rejected by both parent cultures and formed their own Anglo-Indian community with unique customs and distinctive culinary traditions. One dish that reflects this departure from both parent cultures is kutti pi—an animal fetus.

Kutti pi, reviled by most Indians and Europeans, is considered a delicacy both because it is rare—it is only available if a pregnant animal happens to be killed that day—and because of its medicinal properties. Many Anglo-Indians believe it is healthful for pregnant women and also beneficial for people with tuberculosis or back pain.

Eating a fetus, however, triggers a note of discord for many people. "It's taboo, it violates our sense of order and propriety. Most people eat animals that have been born. Veal horrifies many people because it is eating a baby animal—eating a fetus goes beyond," Counihan said.

The concept of delicacy is very often related to how hard it is to get certain foods and how much they cost. To find truffles requires the cooperation of trained pigs. A nest of the swiftlet bird is an essential ingredient in "bird-nest soup"—getting to these nesting sites is quite an ordeal.

Food is a window into culture, and in many ways our comments on what other people eat says more about us than them, Counihan said.

They also had another show on Taboo Foods that had a dish in the Phillipines in which they eat rotten eggs. They allow the eggs to be fertilized and then grow for about 17 days so that the chicken starts to develop. When it hits that point they remove the eggs so that they will develop no more. When they are ready they sell them from street vendors just like you would buy a hot dog or pretzel in NYC.

So it got me thinking, how many of you have tried the above or something else that might be considered taboo by most cultures standards? Something like scrapple (which I have had) or along those lines.

[The Reaper]

Those are not chicken eggs but duck eggs.

The "delicacy" is called Balut.

TR

[brewmonkey]

Originally Posted by Stargazer

I find certain threads hard to forget... this is one. Believe some have tapped on your question within this thread:

http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/...=weirdest+food

Personally, I prefer the memorable kind that 'tap' on beer...

I am not looking for wierdest thing you have eaten, I am looking for the taboo foods that some people have tried in their travels. While cobra, scorpions etc are certainly wierd they are not generally referred to as taboo. However, eating the fetus of an animal is a bit on the taboo side IMHo as are eating rotten underdeveloped eggs.

[brewmonkey]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

Those are not chicken eggs but duck eggs.

The "delicacy" is called Balut.

TR

That is the one I was thinking of. They showed a farm where all the ducks were raised and how they determined when they were ready.

[vsvo]

We eat the duck eggs. You can find trays of them at any VN grocery store around here. I never developed a taste for them (I've only eaten the remaining attached yolk, it's kind of like the yolk of a hard boiled egg, but firmer), but it's a big hit with many members of my family. Buy the wrong batch that's been aged too long and you find a lot of feathers when you crack the shells.

I never thought of it as taboo, maybe because I grew up with it all my life. But that got me thinking. If you're eating an animal, what is the point of drawing the line based on stage of development?

[brewmonkey]

Originally Posted by vsvo

We eat the duck eggs. You can find trays of them at any VN grocery store around here. I never developed a taste for them (I've only eaten the remaining attached yolk, it's kind of like the yolk of a hard boiled egg, but firmer), but it's a big hit with many members of my family. Buy the wrong batch that's been aged too long and you find a lot of feathers when you crack the shells.

I never thought of it as taboo, maybe because I grew up with it all my life. But that got me thinking. If you're eating an animal, what is the point of drawing the line based on stage of development?

And that is exactly what I am lookng for in the taboo way. While some people do grow up eating a particular item and do not see it as taboo there are others in the same boat yet it is taboo.

The Kuti Pi in India is not illegal but it is considered taboo according to the show. Very few people make it and finding a butcher to sell you the needed items can be an impossible task.

Kind of like dog meat. Here in the US it is not something you will find in the meat department or the butcher shop. There are however countries where dog meat is part of the diet for some people.

As I said before, I am not looking for wierd food, I want to find the taboo foods. Obviously eating animal fetus or bulls penis is what we would think of more as taboo then wierd.

[Razor]

How about horse steaks? They were quite good.

[SP5IC]

No self-respecting SFer would ever pass up a ninty-day duck egg. I assume the 90 days refers to the time it was "aged." BTW, you need to be really drunk to do this. The LLDB appreciated our bi-cultural approach to the celebratory meal. It was that litte beak and those tiny web feet that challenged me. But then, I am the SP5IC....