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Post by circumspice on Aug 13, 2012 7:01:48 GMT -5
I have family in Taiwan. Four years ago I spent my vacation in Taiwan. At one point, we went up into the mountains so I could meet the soon to be in-laws. I've never met a warmer, more hospitable people. While there, they decided to introduce me to Lychees. I was game, I'm pretty adventurous when it comes to food. They had a HUGE wooden bowl full of the ripe fruit & bowls to discard the skins. They showed me how to peel them. The first thing I noticed was an unpleasant musky odor after peeling one, but hey! sauerkraut doesn't smell so great to me either. I poked one in my mouth & chomped down. It had a dirty sock odor & taste to me. My gag reflex took over. Apparently this reaction was extremely amusing to the whole 'fam damily'. The grandmother led me into the kitchen where I could spit it out & maybe even heave a little without disgracing myself in front of a dozen witnesses.  After that, I found myself unable to try out the Taiwanese national dish 'Stinky Tofu'. I was bitterly disappointed. Maybe if I had a cold at the time I would have been able to sample both without the gag reflex. Has anyone in this forum ever had that kind of reaction? From what I was able to ascertain, what the lychees smelled like & tasted like to me is atypical. Everyone said that they smelled fruity & tasted sweet. I just don't get it...  |
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Post by khoomeizhi on Aug 13, 2012 7:30:51 GMT -5
no idea. they've always been fruity and sweet to me. is it possible you got a bad one, as opposed to you just tasting them different?
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Post by blueadzuki on Aug 13, 2012 7:57:53 GMT -5
Yeah it sound like you had a bad one. Though I will freely admit that, while I love lychee's I cannot stand longans for a reason similar to waht you described. to me longans always have a distict taste of mold (like spoiled mushrooms, or pur-eh tea)
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Post by khoomeizhi on Aug 13, 2012 8:19:07 GMT -5
hmm. well, for what it's worth, i like pu-erh tea, too.
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Post by castanea on Aug 13, 2012 9:05:45 GMT -5
I can eat lychees, but prefer not to. I find them sweet but forgettable. I like rambutan much better.
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Post by circumspice on Aug 13, 2012 9:25:06 GMT -5
The one lychee I tried to eat looked identical to the others in that huge bowl. When peeled, it looked identical to the ones everybody else was eating. I can say, after not being able to eat it, all the others that were being eaten by the family smelled just like the one that gagged me. I wonder if it has something to do with my sense of smell & taste, because what I perceived was so vastly different from what everyone else perceived. Hmmm...  |
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Post by blueadzuki on Aug 13, 2012 9:58:15 GMT -5
hmm. well, for what it's worth, i like pu-erh tea, too. Each to thier own. As the old British folk saying goes "Different people have different opinions, Some like apples and some like inions" |
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Post by paquebot on Aug 14, 2012 0:25:28 GMT -5
Enjoyed lychees right off the tree in Durban, RSA one time and we enjoyed them. Wikipedia description calls for "floral smell and a fragrant ,sweet flavor" and that's what I remember. Apparently location may also affect the fruit. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LycheeMartin |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2012 0:33:24 GMT -5
1,000 year old eggs.
I can maintain my composure, but there's a point when the fork comes down and stays down.
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Post by steev on Aug 27, 2012 1:26:42 GMT -5
I've always enjoyed dried lychees; never had fresh.
Liked canned longhans, never had fresh.
Food is so personal and cultural, in appeal, that it is reasonably beyond judgements of good or bad on any level other than the personal. Therefore, to put serious value on anyone's rejection of a food is just someone else's personal prejudice and sensitivity.
Myself, I really like well-aged beef (sorry, Hindus, I mean no disrespect).
I don't much like either goat or venison; anyone who is emotionally invested in these: sorry, but tough noogies: more for you; don't get on my case.
The whole idea of baloot bogues me out; my problem, I admit it. Just, no. See? Personal and cultural.
Veggies? I've met veggies I didn't care for much, but mostly they're OK; ditto, fruit. I'm glad I don't have strong biases against bitter, for instance.
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Post by circumspice on Sept 8, 2012 3:22:53 GMT -5
I've always enjoyed dried lychees; never had fresh. Liked canned longhans, never had fresh. Food is so personal and cultural, in appeal, that it is reasonably beyond judgements of good or bad on any level other than the personal. Therefore, to put serious value on anyone's rejection of a food is just someone else's personal prejudice and sensitivity. Myself, I really like well-aged beef (sorry, Hindus, I mean no disrespect). I don't much like either goat or venison; anyone who is emotionally invested in these: sorry, but tough noogies: more for you; don't get on my case. The whole idea of baloot bogues me out; my problem, I admit it. Just, no. See? Personal and cultural. Veggies? I've met veggies I didn't care for much, but mostly they're OK; ditto, fruit. I'm glad I don't have strong biases against bitter, for instance. I was shocked by my reaction because I like just about any fruit I've ever tried. I'm adventurous when it comes to trying new foods. I was wondering if there was some chemical component in Lychees that caused the violent reaction I experienced. BTW, I like beef well aged & bloody rare. I like cabrito, lamb, venison, pork, any kind of liver, gizzards & just about any poultry. I don't like rattlesnake or frog legs. ICK! ;D What the heck is a baloot? |
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Post by blueadzuki on Sept 8, 2012 6:45:27 GMT -5
;D What the heck is a baloot? A chicken or duck egg which has been fertilized and allowed to mature to pretty close to hactching before being cooked. bascially a cooked chick or duckling in the shell (oh and it's usually spelled "balut") |
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Post by circumspice on Sept 8, 2012 17:46:37 GMT -5
;D What the heck is a baloot? A chicken or duck egg which has been fertilized and allowed to mature to pretty close to hactching before being cooked. bascially a cooked chick or duckling in the shell (oh and it's usually spelled "balut") Oh... Um that sounds a bit icky... Let's see... Feathers, intact intestines, beak, eyes, feet... I think I'll pass on Balut/baloot... |
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Post by steev on Sept 10, 2012 1:22:56 GMT -5
It's reputed to be very good for sexual energy. That being of the insecure/flagging male variety. Sort of "if you're man enough to eat this, you're macho and potent; yee-ha!".
Personally, I'd rather be celibate than eat a dare to psych myself "up".
Of course, I'm no fan of haggis, either, despite being largely of Scots descent; food based on a dare is just not my cup of tea. My family motto is: "Nae tuch haggis, bot a caber", which is to say, "Don't touch the stuffed, boiled sheep's stomach without a ten-foot pole". It's more pithy in Gaelic, but I think the meaning is clear enough in English.
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After that, I found myself unable to try out the Taiwanese national dish 'Stinky Tofu'. I was bitterly disappointed. Maybe if I had a cold at the time I would have been able to sample both without the gag reflex. 
