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Post by Cybermortis on Mar 7, 2014 12:19:42 GMT
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Post by mrfatso on Mar 7, 2014 12:55:56 GMT
If you want to go a bit historical how about Garum, the fermented fish intestine sauce the Romans used to love? I believe that Heston Blomethal, has tried to recreate it for one of his shows.
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Post by the light works on Mar 7, 2014 15:33:19 GMT
I am sure that anything I might suggest will not come anywhere near the height of stench. I once participated in kicking a guy off the bus for eating canned sardines.
(disclaimer: the bus was parked in a parking lot at the time, and he was allowed back on after he finished eating.)
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Post by memeengine on Mar 7, 2014 17:30:11 GMT
How would you go about scientifically measuring "smelliness"? Otherwise, you're into some very subjective territory...
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Post by Cybermortis on Mar 7, 2014 17:56:35 GMT
What about two series of tests.
In the first the team take as many of the smelly foods on the list as they can obtain*, smell** and rate them. From that they pick the five or so highest scoring foods.
Then they bring in 10-20 victi volunteers and get them to smell and rate the foods. That would give them a general consensus as to which food is the worst smelling.
(*Some of the items on the lists linked to above are banned from being transported by air. So they may not be able to get everything on there)
(**Ideally outdoors, and downwind of anyone else. Yes, some of the foods are meant to be so bad people are only willing to eat them outside.)
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Post by memeengine on Mar 7, 2014 19:49:52 GMT
If a particular dish is so foul smelling that no one will eat it (since smell does contribute significantly to taste), should it still count as a food?
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Post by ironhold on Mar 8, 2014 2:59:02 GMT
If a particular dish is so foul smelling that no one will eat it (since smell does contribute significantly to taste), should it still count as a food? You need to bear in mind that what is repulsive to one culture is normal in others. For example, Vietnamese cuisine has something known as "nuc mom" (I've also seen it listed as "nuc mum" and "nuoc mum"), which is a "fish sauce". ( Bing pulled up this discussion about it on the website "Popular Asians.com".) It's supposed to be quite nutritious, and can also last a fairly long time if stored properly. I recall reading that during the Vietnam war, North Vietnamese forces would stash jars full of this stuff mixed with rice so that the soldiers would have something to eat while on the move. It's a normal part of Vietnamese cuisine, but I've seen reports indicating that American GIs tended to have a low opinion of it due to its smell. edit - Page 2 of that discussion has a recipe; I almost missed seeing it. * 1/4 cup water or fresh coconut juice
* 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* 1 red chili, seeded, finely chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, crushed
* 1 tablespoon lime juice
* 2 tablespoon fish sauce
Boil water or coconut juice with vinegar and sugar; allow to cool. Combine chili, garlic, and lime juice, and add to the coconut mixture. Stir in the fish sauce.
Try adding shredded radish and carrot pickles as a variation on nuoc mam cham. |
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Post by memeengine on Mar 8, 2014 11:10:37 GMT
You need to bear in mind that what is repulsive to one culture is normal in others. Which was exactly my thought behind my original question on removing subjectivity from the testing - cultural influences are, after all, just a form of collective subjectivity. The point of my second question was that, theoretically, it would be possible to contrive a dish that was so foul smelling that no one (with a sense of smell) would touch it. Under such circumstances should this "product" be considered a food from the point of view of testing (even if it could be safely eaten otherwise)? |
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Post by silverdragon on Mar 15, 2014 8:13:16 GMT
Surstronmming.
I see viral video of people doing this as one to beat that powdered cinnamon challenge....
Fail number one, your supposed to open it under water, preferably running water, and wash it a couple of times.
Fail number two, its not supposed to be eaten on its own.
Fail three, I think traditionally its an open air food.... dont take it inside a house?...
Getting past the viral video fails...
Can I vote they ask for volunteers?...
I say this because I know my own mortality, and I know certain food smells will make me leave the building.
And I have met the Surstronmming.
A pervading smell that you are sure is going to cause unanswerable stains on your intimate clothing starts to mug the back of your senses approximately 500 yards before you get there.
If Kari decides to take a day off the day they open the can, I will not in any way decry her absence....
In fact, if half the crew decide its too toxic to test, I am with them on that.
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Post by Lex Of Sydney Australia on Mar 16, 2014 11:28:50 GMT
If you want to go a bit historical how about Garum, the fermented fish intestine sauce the Romans used to love? I believe that Heston Blomethal, has tried to recreate it for one of his shows. I have a friend who actually made some of it just out of curiosity. I tried some in a dish he made (he didn't tell us what was in it till we'd eaten it) & I have to say it actually tastes kinda good. It's basically tastes like a REALLY rich & nice shellfish stock, I can see why the Romans LOVED it. If you want I can ask my friend for the recipe he used if you'd like to try it yourself. |
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Post by Lex Of Sydney Australia on Mar 16, 2014 11:43:06 GMT
What about two series of tests. In the first the team take as many of the smelly foods on the list as they can obtain*, smell** and rate them. From that they pick the five or so highest scoring foods. Then they bring in 10-20 victi volunteers and get them to smell and rate the foods. That would give them a general consensus as to which food is the worst smelling. (*Some of the items on the lists linked to above are banned from being transported by air. So they may not be able to get everything on there) (**Ideally outdoors, and downwind of anyone else. Yes, some of the foods are meant to be so bad people are only willing to eat them outside.) Well I know if they can get a hold of it in the US (it is available here in Australia but you REALY have to hunt for it) but jackfruit aka: durian is said to smell simply awful! People say it smells like the contents of a baby's dipper a REALY nasty/rank stinky full one that's been left to sit in the summer sun all day. It is so smelly that in Thailand it's actually illegal to bring the fruit onto any form of public transportation (including taxis) or into any of the tourist hotels because of its smell. And in Malaysia, it's illegal to eat durian in public, for fear of making everyone around you burst into spontaneous fits of vomiting.  |
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Post by Cybermortis on Mar 16, 2014 13:25:37 GMT
Durain is on the smelliest food lists everywhere.
MB have something of an advantage in being based in a seaport, which makes it likely that most of the foods on the list could be imported fairly easily if they are not already.
Some items, specifically Surstronmming, are banned from being carried on many airlines. Of course if you watch the first link in the OP you'll maybe understand why - the gasses in the can pushed the lid out. This could make it difficult to import some items, or rather could cause some problems production wise since items would have to be sent by sea and overland.
Then again, thinking on this it is possible that MB could make some of the items on the lists, since they don't have to eat them and preparation seems to involve leaving things alone for several weeks. Come to think of it this could be fun (at least for the viewer) as it would allow them to explain exactly what is in each food while they are preparing it.
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Post by craighudson on Mar 16, 2014 17:22:06 GMT
If you want to go a bit historical how about Garum, the fermented fish intestine sauce the Romans used to love? I believe that Heston Blomethal, has tried to recreate it for one of his shows. I have a friend who actually made some of it just out of curiosity. I tried some in a dish he made (he didn't tell us what was in it till we'd eaten it) & I have to say it actually tastes kinda good. It's basically tastes like a REALLY rich & nice shellfish stock, I can see why the Romans LOVED it. If you want I can ask my friend for the recipe he used if you'd like to try it yourself. You can see why the Romans were so keen to expand their empire, if making it smells as bad as people say it did. They would have wanted it, but wanted it made in the remotest place possible. |
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Post by Cybermortis on Mar 16, 2014 18:12:25 GMT
That would be interesting. In fact I might start a thread in the hobbies board for people to post recipes on. Formermarine once shared his chilli recipe on the MBFC under circumstances we won't go into, since it was humiliating for the entire US Marine Corps...  |
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Post by the light works on Mar 16, 2014 23:23:38 GMT
That would be interesting. In fact I might start a thread in the hobbies board for people to post recipes on. Formermarine once shared his chilli recipe on the MBFC under circumstances we won't go into, since it was humiliating for the entire US Marine Corps... that sounds like a good thread. /tangent |
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Post by mrfatso on Mar 17, 2014 14:01:45 GMT
If you want to go a bit historical how about Garum, the fermented fish intestine sauce the Romans used to love? I believe that Heston Blomethal, has tried to recreate it for one of his shows. I have a friend who actually made some of it just out of curiosity. I tried some in a dish he made (he didn't tell us what was in it till we'd eaten it) & I have to say it actually tastes kinda good. It's basically tastes like a REALLY rich & nice shellfish stock, I can see why the Romans LOVED it. If you want I can ask my friend for the recipe he used if you'd like to try it yourself. Yes, if you have that recipe, I would be interested in seeing it, thanks very much. Jackfruit, smells awful, but IIRC tastes a lot like the fruit bubblegum flavours. |
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Post by Lex Of Sydney Australia on Mar 18, 2014 13:58:42 GMT
I have a friend who actually made some of it just out of curiosity. I tried some in a dish he made (he didn't tell us what was in it till we'd eaten it) & I have to say it actually tastes kinda good. It's basically tastes like a REALLY rich & nice shellfish stock, I can see why the Romans LOVED it. If you want I can ask my friend for the recipe he used if you'd like to try it yourself. Yes, if you have that recipe, I would be interested in seeing it, thanks very much. I'll get a hold of my friend sometime during the week & see if I can get it for you then. Does anyone else want it while I'm at it? |
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Post by Cybermortis on Mar 18, 2014 14:09:45 GMT
You can post in in the recipe thread over in the Hobbies forum for all too see. (If your friend is OK with that of course, you might want to make them aware of the boards disclaimer first)
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Post by Lex Of Sydney Australia on Mar 19, 2014 14:38:02 GMT
You can post in in the recipe thread over in the Hobbies forum for all too see. (If your friend is OK with that of course, you might want to make them aware of the boards disclaimer first) Ta I've cleared it with him & he says it's fine. I've posted the recipe in Hobbies for those who are interested. |
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