Do You Expect Me To Eat That? Quiz

Answer: Frogs' legs

I have sampled frogs' legs and yes, they do taste like chicken. During the Middle Ages, on days they could only eat fish, European Catholics would eat frog and beaver meat. Apparently, if it swam in the water it could be eaten. Frogs' legs are considered a delicacy of many countries besides France.

They're eaten in Asia, Portugal, and regions of Greece. They're also enjoyed in the southern regions of the U.S. which is where I sampled it.

Answer: Turtle

I tried a bowl of turtle soup many years ago. I was young so I think the novelty of what I was eating was lost on me. In Asian cuisine soft-shelled turtles are used in making the soup. The soup itself consists of the meat, skin, and the insides of the turtle. Hungry yet?

Answer: Earthworms

Long ago, the only member of the Maori tribe of New Zealand who was allowed to eat certain earthworms was the chief. Today Australian worm-eaters enjoy feasting on long white worms dug from rotten logs and eaten raw. Throughout history, the French, Aztecs, and Vietnamese have all dined on worms. Think I'll stick to gummi worms.

Answer: Rats

Rat catchers were well paid for their work. After all, not only did they catch the meal of the day, they were essentially early pest control workers. The rats that were caught were made into stew. Barrel-makers for France's wines liked their rats to be well fed. The rats were allowed to grow fat on the wine so the barrel-makers could grill them using broken barrels for fuel.

Answer: Robin

As recently as the Civil War, robins and other small birds were fried and served on toast. The method of preparing robins for human consumption consisted of salting and dredging them with flour, roasting them over a small fire for about ten or fifteen minutes, then seasoning with butter and pepper.

The Migratory Bird Treaty of 1918 stopped this practice. This treaty protects all wild birds except game birds like ducks and geese.

Answer: Sushi

Sushi started out as fast food in Japan as early as 1680. First developed in Southeast Asia, sushi spread to China before making its way to Japan. I don't know about other parts of the world, but sushi bars have become quite popular in the United States. Preparing sushi dishes can be quite an art.

In addition to raw fish, sushi artists use, among other delicacies, seaweed and raw squid in preparing sushi cuisine.

Answer: Snakes

Known as sidewinder salad, rattlesnakes aren't usually the first thing that springs to mind for use in salads. There's only about a pound of meat on the body of a six-pound snake. Snake farms provide skinned whole snakes (minus the head and rattles) for use in restaurants. Chefs cook the entire snake, skeleton and all, then hand-peel the meat from the bones. Add spices and arrange the meat on a bed of mixed greens and you have yourself a proper sidewinder salad.

Answer: Violet

English royalty used violets in candy, salad, and hare stew. Violets are not the only flower to be used in food preparation. Romans used rose petals mixed with animal brains to make pudding. Immigrants from Europe brought the dandelion flower to America for use in frying pancakes, salads, and scrambled eggs. Dandelion greens are also used to make dandelion soup and dandelion wine is made from the flowers.

Answer: Truffles

There are many varieties of truffles, most commonly grown in close proximity to trees and thus sharing a symbiotic relationship with the trees. White truffles are found in regions of Italy and Croatia. They are associated with hazelnut, poplar, and oak trees. Black truffles are found in regions of France, Spain, and Italy.

They grow close to hazelnut and oak trees. Chinese truffles are also black truffles but are winter truffles and harvested in China. They are considered to be an inferior quality of truffle.

Answer: Tarantulas

The Cambodian people learned to be really creative with their diets during the food shortage experienced under the brutal Kmer Rouge regime during the late 1970s. Tarantulas must have tasted mighty good on an empty stomach. The Cambodians call fried tarantulas "a-ping" and the city of Skuon seems to be the center for a-ping street vendors enticing passersby with their crispy snacks.