Bizarre foods of MENA

[Henia 11]

As you can tell, I am bored....sooooo

What is the strangest foods you ever saw in MENA?

For me, I saw and knew many of these buuut still nothing I would eat:

.... escargot, tripe, frog's legs, brains, camel's feet, boudin, leban, sheep's head (the whole thing, cooked and skinned,including the eyeballs), cicada and squid in ink

but I did eat:

sea urchin, octupus, truffles, camel's milk

[Jenn! 918]

Truffles aren't bizarre! They are the most amazing things on the planet!!!!!!! (IMO of course, I'm a HUGE truffle fan)

I watched the Bizarre Foods show on the Travel Channel when they did Morocco. I wouldn't have eaten half of the things that he tried (basically every organ meat imaginable), not so much because of the food itself, but the way it was kept and preseted.

[tnh9479 1]

My husband says there is nothing better than sheep's head. I told him he can have ALL he wants.

I thought it was strange to eat pidgeon. All I could think of was the "flying rats" that we have here. My husband asked me if I was crazy -- of course they were farm raised!

[StupidJourney 0]

Truffles aren't bizarre! They are the most amazing things on the planet!!!!!!! (IMO of course, I'm a HUGE truffle fan)

I watched the Bizarre Foods show on the Travel Channel when they did Morocco. I wouldn't have eaten half of the things that he tried (basically every organ meat imaginable), not so much because of the food itself, but the way it was kept and preseted.

I saw part of that show on Travel Channel and I'll agree that while most of the food looked gross, some of it didn't. Couscous? bizarre? Fresh fish just caught off the port in Essaouria? Give me a break! (the only thing gross about the fish was that the stupid guy ate the whole thing - head and all - and even the Moroccans were looking at him strange!)

I did try the sheep head thing - by force, and the family was laughing at me the whole time. But there's didn't just include the eyeballs, but also the teeth and hooves! This was years before Hamid and I were together, and I remember him pretending to try and bite me with the teeth! My reaction was the funniest thing they had seen!

[mybackpages 0]

Truffles aren't bizarre! They are the most amazing things on the planet!!!!!!! (IMO of course, I'm a HUGE truffle fan)

I watched the Bizarre Foods show on the Travel Channel when they did Morocco. I wouldn't have eaten half of the things that he tried (basically every organ meat imaginable), not so much because of the food itself, but the way it was kept and preseted.

Oh yeah, putrid meat.....Yikes. Other than that I can it it all.

[Henia 11]

True Jenn truffles to me, are not bizarre... unusual probably better word. But yes they are amazing! But I think some people would say they are bizarre maybe

[sara535 15]

I didnt go for the sheeps heads either, nor some of the sketchy organ meat. We are just so spoiled here, Adnan was surprised when he first got here that we often just buy and eat the chicken breasts. In his family, as in most, everything from the bird (or beast) gets eaten, not just the 'choice' pieces.....

[Philomena 0]

Awesome thread Henia! I was surprised about the pigeon too. During my first trip to Morocco in Fez back in November '06, my fiance, his mother, and one of his sisters and I went to a restaurant. His Mother ordered "sandwiches" for all of us. I didn't recognize it, so I asked Driss what the mystery meat was. He laughed at my astonishment when I was told it was pigeon. I had to pass on that....too many visualizations in my mind of pigeons drinking car oil/rancid water cocktails outside and eating whatever else. I had to go trough the Sheep Head thingie too at Eid-Al-Adha this year in January. It's like a rite-of-passage. I was also surprised that they left the eyes and teeth inside! They consider the head to be a delicacy. My father-in-law proceeded to offer me one of the most "prime" pieces...the tongue. I just couldn't bring myself to say no thanks to Pops, but I couldn't fathom eating a tongue either, so I opted for a small taste of the "jaw" and even that made me queasy. They even eat the sheep's "bowels" as Driss called it, but here in the South it's called "Chitterlings", which I have never been fond of, since childhood. Did anyone grow up in a family that cooked "Chitterlings" and recall their unique "aroma"? On a different note, I do love the goat couscous in Morocco.

[Henia 11]

Esalaam Iysha

Lovely picture of you !! Somehow I just prefer mutton to goat... not sure why. I did not go for the sheep head either during Eid. But for me the worst were all the snails in the souq. I cannot stand them. Relative joked with me, that they already feed me snails... after that I *did* exam all foods presented to me vverrry well!

[Donna A 4]

i didnt eat or even see anything strange in syria. but ill tell u i just cant eat hummus at all. i feel it leaves a sandy feeling on my teeth. there was some dessert we ate at least thats what i think it is that kinda resembled pasta but sure didnt taste like it. kinda played games with my mind a little bit. ur eyes tell u its like a ravoli but u bite in and your brain doesnt know what to think cuz ur eyes told u somthing else.

Edited June 22, 2007 by donnaal

[sereia 0]

i did not try the sheep head stew they eat during the holiday eid this past january. but i did see how they prepare it. NO thANK YOU! but i would have tried it if it would have been ready. i had to return back to the US towards the end of eid so luckily i missed out on that part. but i did try sheep testicles, heart, esophagus, liver, kidney, stomach, brain, etc. not a big organ meat fan but i am willing to taste anything.

i also saw that moroccan bizarre food episode. that putrid meat looks AWFUL (and by the way andrew zimmerman described it.. wow!) but abdou says that stuff is delicious. so who knows. i'd give it a taste but i wouldn't buy a whole jar of it first! lol

i've also tried lamb brains in morocco. they were tasty but i wouldn't want to eat a whole plate of that.

everyone knows how i feel about sea urchin. ... ugh!

can't seem to remember anything else too bizarre in the MENA countries i've been to. i definitely wouldn't call hummus bizarre (one of my all time favorite foods)

[melly 0]

This would be a time when I will be really really happy that I'm a vegetarian.

I did have frog legs when I was younger. There was a french restaurant in town. I can't remember them having too much taste at all really. Just the sauce they were in.

I never could make myself try the snails though.

[Henia 11]

Esalaams

Snails give me the willies.... Everytime I would go to the WC at night, one of those devils who be stuck to the door handle. I swear they jinn in disguise. My husband would make fun of me and my phobia, saying I was having a “DEE-Dee-dee!” moment. Noooo, they just scared me !!!

[ya falaha! 0]

Not exactly *bizarre* but unusual foods I've tried in Egypt were camel meat and hamam (pigeon). The camel meat was pretty good but the haman was pretty tasteless. I'm not a fan of organ meats or inards so liver, kidney, tripe, intestines, brain, etc. is OUT.

[doodlebug 3]

My husband is forever eating liver. BLECH.

I cannot eat pigeon 'cause of the visions but I don't think I'd eat any chicken or foul period over in Egypt just cause I'm afraid of getting bird flu.

I LOVE escargot!!! omg that's my favorite appetizer smothered in butter/garlic sauce that you dip the crusty bread in afterwards. YUM!!!