Pickled Pig's Skin

The weirdest thing I've ever eaten was pickled pig's skin. My cousin bought it from the grocery store when we were in Ensenada, Mexico. It came in a milk jug filled with vinegar. The skin itself was in small pieces, similar in shape to french fries. It didn't taste like much, except for the pickling flavor, though the texture was pretty disgusting. I tried not to think about it while it was going down. Other than that, I haven't tried a wide variety of odd foods. I'm much more open to the idea of eating weird animals than weird animal parts; I don't think I'd be able to stomach eating penis, liver, or any internal part of an animal.

It's very interesting how one animal can be considered a delicious, common meal in one culture and be sacred in another, and even how different parts of animals are cherished or avoided, depending on the cultural context. I definitely think the phenomenon is all psychological, but I also think it's something we cannot avoid. Our food preferences are ingrained into us from the cultures in which we live, and although we can be open minded, I don't think it's possible to completely leave behind our cultural influences. Even if I liked the taste of it, I would have a very hard time eating dog or cat because I grew up with these animals as pets who were cherished, and I am not able to separate the food from the memories of my pets. I do wonder how some delicacies (like chicken shitholes) become popular in the future, but it kind of grosses me out to picture people testing out different parts of animals, so I try not to think about it. Still, the realization that growing up in American led me to favor chicken thighs or breasts, when my food preferences could have been shaped vastly differently if only I had been born somewhere else, is a very interesting thought, indeed.

Website:

"Weird Food & Strange Food from Around the World." Weird-food.com. 2008. 10 Mar. 2010 .