The Nome daily nugget., 1935-12-02

o bringing a new food To the o worlds dining table which Is already replete with a generous cross section of the living things found on the earth and in the sea,
 Grasshopper ragout the new ar tiele is called. For many years the Chinese and Arabs have relished grasshoppers, which were once de stroyed as they attempted ruination of South African crops. Now great masses of the insects are captured, carefully cleaned, conserved and shipped to the Orient and Asia Minor ready to be eaten.
 Strange foods are to be found on the markets of all continents. In fact, one part of the world is rath- CT ignorant of what satisfies the other part.
 He who would enjoy his food, should not look over the kitchen wall" the Korean proyerb warns; but there is much of interest to be found by looking over the geo. graphical wall of space and regard ing the food habits of other peo- pie. Rats and dog steaks in China have regular market prices, and thoroughly ripened eggs are deli caces. our food is often looked upon as queer and heathenish by these same people. The Turk re- gards oysters as we do some Afri- can and West Indian dishes. But "all human history attests that hap piness for man-the hungry sinner since Eve ate apples, much de- pends on dinner"
 Russian borsch Is probably one of the best known soups. The large quantity of meat floating in a sea of cabbage and sour cream is n meal in itself, heavy and filling. Chinese fish soups are known the world over for their delicate flavor. as is Swedish bouillon, made of all kinds of birds with elks' meat as the piece de resistance of the soup.
 In a Swedish home, the Christmas porridge is an affair of great im- portance, made in gigantic copper washtub. being stirred by several women, who take turns stirring. two at time for no less than ten hours on end. In this same home, cooks are pensioned to prevent family recipes from being given away.
 Some Queer Sea Foods.
 By Andorrans and Polynesians, landlubbers and seafaring folks, seafood is held in high regard. Tn Siberia, owing to climatic condi- tions, frozen sliced fish Is the epi- curian's delight. Kukson. the local fish of the salmon family, nearly takes the place of bread. Frozen, the skin removed sliced. and eaten with salt, it is a sayory treat.
 But the South Sea islanders, far from the freezing point, hunt their treasured palolos by the light of the moon. The tiny worms which come to the surface of the water once each year are eaten raw "on location" or taken home In pails. In Spain, little. white, transparent eels two inches long, called angulas. are attracted and caught with the aid of oil lamps, fried in patches in popping olive oil, and served hot.
 Australians hunt dugong (sea. cow), like whale, but owing to the thickness of the hide, their spears are often turned aside or broken. The flesh of this mammal has flavor akin to both beef and pork, the meat being used like ba- con. A good sized specimen may reach 12 feet in length and weigh 600 pounds.
 The river-dwellers of Brazil and other tropical South American coun- tries have remarkably large fish in the jacaretinga, from which large steaks are taken. Fried alligator tail Is also to be had there. as well as the lizardlike iguana. The flesh of the female iguana Is supposed to be as delicate as a young chicken, although occasionally experience has proved it to be as tough as an old hen. Iguanas are sold alive, tails tied together to prevent escape.
 Liberia Likes Dumboy.
 Dumboy, the national dish of Li- beria, is prepared principally from a sweet, non-poisOnous- cassava root --ealled cassada in Liberia. The roots are peeled, boiled, and the fbers from the center removed be- fore the process of pounding in a mortar with a pestle is begun. This process calls for considerable skill and experience because the cassada sticks to any dry thing. The pestle must be kept moist, but not so moist as to make the mass soggy Dried and fried dumboy becomes so hard that 1t is used as shot in rifles.
 To the north of Liberia, in Africa, is found another standard, meal-in- itself dish, couscous. Mutton or fowl, various vegetables, cooked separately before mixing, and served with steamed wheat dump