Unusual Foods

[thalassa]

Re: Unusual Foods

cactus. Word to your madre'

PRICKLY PEARS!!

I'm growing a prickly pear in a pot, so I can transplant it when we have our own house, just for this purpose.

[Munin-Hugin]

Re: Unusual Foods

It's probably not super unusual, but this weekend I'm going to try deep friend soft shell crab. I had it once about 30 years ago, but c'mon, an 8 year old trying something different isn't a good judge of whether it's good or not.

[LearningMan]

Re: Unusual Foods

cactus. Word to your madre'

I think I've heard of that as a food. It's called nopales, right? Or are you talking about a different cactus?

[habbalah]

Re: Unusual Foods

Octopus, I suppose? It's good when it's fried.

[Näre]

Re: Unusual Foods

I've had octopus once. It tastes like chicken.
In my previous hometown there was/is a nice Thai shop that had pork flavoured porridge or something like that. I wonder how that tastes...

[Rae'ya]

Re: Unusual Foods

I have to resurrect this thread, because Torey took me to Restaurant Orana for dinner last night for my 30th birthday and we had all sorts of weird and wonderful things. They are a fine dining restaurant with a set degustation menu which is made almost exclusively with Australian native and local ingredients (including some which are foraged and wild harvested here in Adelaide). It was OMG AMAZING. There were 24 different dishes (15 canape style 'snacks', 4 main courses, 4 dessert 'snacks' and 1 dessert course), matched with different wines and one beer. Some things I've eaten before, some things I've been wanting to try for a while and some things I didn't even know were edible! I ate...

- Emu
- Kangaroo (which I've eaten before plenty of times, but I guess it counts as 'unusual' for you non-Aussies lol)
- Kangaroo tendon, puffed up like a prawn cracker.
- Gubinge (a type of wild 'plum')
- Davidson plum
- Sea blite (a type of tidal succulent plant)
- Moreton Bay Fig shoots (as in, little baby shoots, not the fruit)
- Pandanus
- Saltbush
- Quandong
- logan berry
- Brush Cherry
- Green ants. Yes, ANTS!
- Pipi (which is like a cockle)
- yam bean
- Neptune's pearls (aka sea grapes)
- Sea purslane
- Riberry
- Sunrise lime
- Min min
- Water lilly
- Mangrove seed
- Bush tomato
- Itty bitty tiny little wild garlic bulbs
- Ice plant
- Bunya nut

Plus a lot of non-weird things, like spelt, mulloway, beef, scallops, prawns, mussels, macadamias, wattleseed, native thyme, mountain pepper, damper, mullet, lentils, green currants, leek and the most awesome sourdough and butter (hand churned with extra buttermilk) I've ever had.

[kalynraye]

Re: Unusual Foods

I have to resurrect this thread, because Torey took me to Restaurant Orana for dinner last night for my 30th birthday and we had all sorts of weird and wonderful things. They are a fine dining restaurant with a set degustation menu which is made almost exclusively with Australian native and local ingredients (including some which are foraged and wild harvested here in Adelaide). It was OMG AMAZING. There were 24 different dishes (15 canape style 'snacks', 4 main courses, 4 dessert 'snacks' and 1 dessert course), matched with different wines and one beer. Some things I've eaten before, some things I've been wanting to try for a while and some things I didn't even know were edible! I ate...

- Emu
- Kangaroo (which I've eaten before plenty of times, but I guess it counts as 'unusual' for you non-Aussies lol)
- Kangaroo tendon, puffed up like a prawn cracker.
- Gubinge (a type of wild 'plum')
- Davidson plum
- Sea blite (a type of tidal succulent plant)
- Moreton Bay Fig shoots (as in, little baby shoots, not the fruit)
- Pandanus
- Saltbush
- Quandong
- logan berry
- Brush Cherry
- Green ants. Yes, ANTS!
- Pipi (which is like a cockle)
- yam bean
- Neptune's pearls (aka sea grapes)
- Sea purslane
- Riberry
- Sunrise lime
- Min min
- Water lilly
- Mangrove seed
- Bush tomato
- Itty bitty tiny little wild garlic bulbs
- Ice plant
- Bunya nut

Plus a lot of non-weird things, like spelt, mulloway, beef, scallops, prawns, mussels, macadamias, wattleseed, native thyme, mountain pepper, damper, mullet, lentils, green currants, leek and the most awesome sourdough and butter (hand churned with extra buttermilk) I've ever had.

This is amazing!! It is soo great you were able to experience something like this and I'm not going to lie I am a little jealous. I know Adelaide is 4 hours from Melbourne but if you make it that way and you have the money and the notion you should go to Attica Restaurant. Ben Shewry is the Chef that pioneered using only Australian ingredients. This is his love and passion, AND Tuesday nights is test night. Its cheaper then normal because you don't know what your getting. Because they don't even know what they are making. They test new recipes and you the guest are the test bunnies.

[Azvanna]

Re: Unusual Foods

I really wish Masterchef would do a segment on Australian native ingredients only. Or a season.

[Rae'ya]

Re: Unusual Foods

This is amazing!! It is soo great you were able to experience something like this and I'm not going to lie I am a little jealous. I know Adelaide is 4 hours from Melbourne but if you make it that way and you have the money and the notion you should go to Attica Restaurant. Ben Shewry is the Chef that pioneered using only Australian ingredients. This is his love and passion, AND Tuesday nights is test night. Its cheaper then normal because you don't know what your getting. Because they don't even know what they are making. They test new recipes and you the guest are the test bunnies.

That is an awesome tip and I'll remember that name! Torey and I are foodies of a sort... hence why he took me to Orana in the first place! It definitely pushed some boundaries for us (the emu was only lightly seared, about as cooked as you'd cook a fresh tuna fillet) but we both ate everything and enjoyed everything (though I discovered I don't like pipi/cockles, which makes sense 'cos I don't like oysters either and the flavour is quite similar). But some of the flavours were just amazing. I'm also a big fan of citrus type acidity (I love sour lol) and desserts that are almost savoury... so many of the Australian ingredients (including the ants) really suited my palate. It's really inspired me to get back into using Aussie herbs and spices, and to look more seriously at foraging and wild harvesting.

ETA: Melbourne is about a 40min plane flight and you can get quite cheap flights through the budget airlines with carry on luggage only. So it's actually a really do-able weekend trip. lol

I really wish Masterchef would do a segment on Australian native ingredients only. Or a season.

Last season they did a Mystery Box challenge that was ALL Aussie ingredients... including emu, wallaby and sugar ants! You should check to see if there's a copy of the episode out somewhere... it was really interesting and inspiring.

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: Unusual Foods

I have to resurrect this thread, because Torey took me to Restaurant Orana for dinner last night for my 30th birthday and we had all sorts of weird and wonderful things.
-

First of all, Happy Birthday! Second, I don't know what half of those things are, and I know when someone from Australia says something's weird, I'm in for a ride LOL
What are Pandanus, Saltbush, and Bunya nut?

[kalynraye]

Re: Unusual Foods

But some of the flavours were just amazing. I'm also a big fan of citrus type acidity (I love sour lol) and desserts that are almost savoury... so many of the Australian ingredients (including the ants) really suited my palate. It's really inspired me to get back into using Aussie herbs and spices, and to look more seriously at foraging and wild harvesting.

ETA: Melbourne is about a 40min plane flight and you can get quite cheap flights through the budget airlines with carry on luggage only. So it's actually a really do-able weekend trip. lol

I think thats something that most of us have lost. We don't like to use the ingredients close to home. We like exotic and things out of season. I love it when even I am reminded that we have seasons and we have great local vegetables and fruits. I am also a huge fan of savory and sweet desserts, thats my greatest challenge is finding ways to bring them together in perfect harmony. So its not to sweet or to savory but still a dessert.

Heck yes to the 40 min plane ride!! If you do go let me know how it is please, and because I didn't say it earlier Happy Birthday and I'm so glad you had a great time.

[Medusa]

Re: Unusual Foods

I love loganberry. I'm sure you all can guess why

[Rae'ya]

Re: Unusual Foods

First of all, Happy Birthday! Second, I don't know what half of those things are, and I know when someone from Australia says something's weird, I'm in for a ride LOL
What are Pandanus, Saltbush, and Bunya nut?

Thank you

Pandanus is a type of palm tree that's leaves are edible. It's used a lot in Asian cooking and desserts, but grows Iin Queensland here in Aus.

Saltbush is a native Australian scrubby bush That grows in soil thats very saline. It's got a really subtly herby salt flavour, and Iis something that grew wild around where I grew up. They use it to reduce the salinity of an area in preparation for other crops too.

Bunya nut is like a monkey puzzle nut, which is kind of like a pine nut only a bit sweeter than a traditional pine nut (and bigger).

I think thats something that most of us have lost. We don't like to use the ingredients close to home. We like exotic and things out of season. I love it when even I am reminded that we have seasons and we have great local vegetables and fruits. I am also a huge fan of savory and sweet desserts, thats my greatest challenge is finding ways to bring them together in perfect harmony. So its not to sweet or to savory but still a dessert.

Heck yes to the 40 min plane ride!! If you do go let me know how it is please, and because I didn't say it earlier Happy Birthday and I'm so glad you had a great time.

Thank you, too

One of the desserts was a 'set buttermilk', which was like a panna cotta only not as sweet. I don't normally like panna cotta but this was really creamy and silky and not at all sugary... plus served with a very tart and acidic dressing (not quite a sauce or a coulis, but more like a broth). They also did a really nice davidson plum and feral guava salad with a carbonated riberry vinegar froth... tart and fruity and deliciously not your typical fruit salad! All sorts of really inspiring flavour combinations!

[thalassa]

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Unusual Foods

We have multitudes of wild grape vines in every vacant lot and forest edge here in Michigan, and I know they are common throughout most of the eastern states. Plus, we have cultivated grapes...

Grape leaves are a much under utilized food. Wrap anything in blanched grape leaves for an interesting taste. They are also easy to preserve - wash, blanch, can.