THE UNMENTIONABLES – DISHES WE JUST DON’T TALK ABOUT.

Are you an adventurous eater? I’m not talking about Escargot, Blood Pudding or Uni. I mean really adventurous, eating the “unmentionables”, animals and parts thereof which most Western countries would cringe at the mere mention of.

If you’re curious about unique dishes and their origins, Unmentionable Cuisine by Calvin W. Schwabe is the book for you. I received a copy of this book in the late 90’s, although it was first published in 1979. Unmentionable Cuisine is filled with 460 pages of recipes, descriptions, as well as the history of some amazing dishes. It includes recipes such as Calf Udder Croquettes, Battered Sheep Trotters, and Calalou, which is not to be confused with the Caribbean Callaloo.  This type of Calalou is essentially a pot of opossum,raccoon, pigeon, chicken, duck, shrimp tails, crayfish, okra, onion, eggplant, and so on. Yum! I also don’t want to forget to mention Suzume Yaki, broiled sparrow from Japan. To make Suzume Yaki, broil birds slightly over charcoal; dip in a sauce of equal parts shoyu, sake, and mirin, and broil again. Repeat this dipping and broiling process several more times. When done, split open the sparrow and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.

Step out of your comfort zone, and try some new foods! This book is available online.