• Food and Gastronomy -> Culinary history and culture

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What are some of the bizarre dishes that were popular in the past related to 'culinary history and culture'?

Netta Le

Oh boy, where do I start? Culinary history and culture are absolutely fascinating, and some of the dishes that were once popular will definitely leave you scratching your head.

Let's take a trip back in time to the Renaissance era, shall we? One of the craziest dishes from this time period is called 'Taffety Tart'. This dish consisted of a pastry tart made with sugar, rosewater, musk, and ambergris - which is basically whale vomit. Yes, you read that right. People used to eat whale vomit! Apparently, it was a delicacy amongst the rich and was believed to have aphrodisiac properties.

Moving on to the 18th century, we have 'Surprise Pudding'. This pudding was essentially a pastry filled with live birds, which would fly out of the pie when it was cut open. Umm, I think I'll stick to my bird-free desserts, thank you very much.

And let's not forget about 'Potted Moose Nose', a dish that was popular amongst the Canadian Indigenous peoples. This dish was made by boiling a moose nose until the flesh separated from the bone, then removing the hairs and slicing the meat into thin strips. The strips were then placed into a jar with spices and fat, and left to cool. Yum, nothing says delicious like boiled nose.

Last but not least, we have 'Trifle', a dessert that was popular in the 19th century. But this was not your average trifle. This trifle was made with layers of macaroni, cheese, and jam. Yes, you read that right. Cheese and jam in a dessert. It sounds absolutely revolting, but apparently, it was a hit back in the day.

So there you have it, folks. Some of the most bizarre dishes from culinary history and culture. I'm not sure if I'll be trying any of these anytime soon, but it's definitely interesting to see how our taste buds have evolved over time.