The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1888-04-21
QUEER DISHES.
Some of the Odd Things That Are
Eaten in Various Countries.

SOOhCIy, CIOuSu uulVCicdi IS ~
no means the same the world over,
and study of the culinary depart
ment of the various nations-is de-
cidedly interesting. Our own table
would present to the Dyak as Curl
Gus spectacle as his feast would
be to us, aud we could never accus-
tom our tastes to the bill Of fare
which the Celestial daily consults.
Shark fins dried are sold in every
Chinese meatshop. They are the
fins of the white shark, and the best
bring nearly 81 pound. When
raw this eatable resembles whale
bone, but boiling reduces it to
glutinous substance which the Ce
lestial considers a delicacy. Rich
Cinnamon revel in dishes Of bird
nest sup, which is a luxury the
poor cannot enjoy. The material
before cooking resembles gravel
more than anything vegetable, and
tastes little like gum arabic. The
birds form it by masticating sort
of seaweed, and the nest, when fin
ished, is transparent and dissolves
readily. Cinnamon obtain this lux
ury from Java, and will never learn
that they could get the seaweed
itself and make their own birdnest
soup at a cost infnitesimal COM
pared to the cost of the article they
import.
The Samoans have dish called
''palolo," which rises from the bot
tom Of the sea to the surface. 1t is
composed Of countless thousands
of worms allied to the Nereid fam
lily. They vary in length from an
inch to a yard and exhibit every
coceivable color as they wiggle and
twist on the waves. Whole villa
ges of Samoans 60 out in boats to
collect this native dainty, and the
feast that follox1 is one of the great
festivities. 'Palolo' is wrapped in
breadfruit leaves and cooked in
ovens. 1t makes its appearance
from the sea so regularly that the
inhabitants Of the FIJI group call
October and November little and
great palolo, it being first seen dur
ing the first named month, but
reaches it's plentitude in November.
Among the African tribes the
Bakalai are fond of a dish which
they style njavi. 1t is neither fowl.
fish nor beast, but is prepared from
the seeds of the njavi, which IS one
of the largest trees of the country.
| No American would accept a second
invitation to dine on njavi, the fla
vor of which is said to resemble
scorched lard. The Bakalai even
do not set very high value on this
! dish. They are great meat eaters.
and. for savages, are the cleanliest
of cooks.
Ostrich eggs form one of the sta
pie articles of the Bushman diet.
He is not particular how they are
: served, and the age of the egg is
seldom questioned. Roasted in the
fires of the kraal, or eaten raw, as
they often are, they never get below
being dainty to the diner. The
} bird itself is eaten as we'll as Its
produce, and some parts OF 1t are
said by travellers to form a dish fit
to be set before a king. Reade, in
his Savage Africa" says that q
: Bushman can enjoy anything, from
Il roasted elephant foot to grilled
serpent, which latter is one OF the
r queer dishes among them.
), Speaking of elephants foot takes
, us naturally to the Kaffirs, where
! this dish is the crowning triumph
!, of their bill of fare. Night is the
/. time generally selected by the Katfil
; for the enjoyment of this prime
| luxury. Other portions of the ele
i phant are eaten with great gusto
f but the feet are esteemed the deli
e cacies of the feast. A hole is due
in the ground and a fire made on
tho bottom. It is allowed to burr
down to a heap of Goals, which arr
sc:aped out by the cooks: Whel
: the oven has been freed from EN-
b bers the foot is rolled into it an(
y covered with twigs and green leaves
d After this the hot embers are re
S placed and a roaring. fire started
: over the heap. In this manner tn
It foot is baked, and when the fire .ha
g burned low the contents OF the oveI
n are lifted out by several men, am
\ the feast opens. Travellers VIII
y have feasted with the Kaffirs o.
7, occasions of this kind have pai
e glowing compliments to their COOK
e cry. The natives are said to Low
1t elephant foot next to the marro'
n taken from the leg bones OF tn
n giraffe or Gland, but the prepars
ton of this food does not afford To
enjoyment which is associated wit
the dish we have described.
e The Kafirs are fond Of locust
Of also. They eat them whole, jus
as more civilized people devon
u shrimps. They have, too, a certal
fondness for lions flesh, about tn
e toughest dish any one can sit dow
y to. The late Gordon Cumming