Caviar.

Caviar are the black eggs of the sturgeon fish, known to be extremely expensive and hard to get.  The best come from Russia, but as the species is endangered, the primary source now is American captivity.  You can tell them apart from other fish eggs because of their black color: most other eggs are red.

The sturgeon fish, the source of caviar, was supposed to be extinct for millions of years during much of the 1900s, but they sighted a sturgeon off the coast of South Africa in the second part of the century.  All scientists were astounded when they found that the fish had been alive and well.  In fact, everyone was surprised except the local South African fishermen who had been catching the fish all the while.  Caviar is normally served on a piece of bread at the fanciest parties, and is a delicacy with fishy flavor that is strange and yummy.

Something Strange but not Yummy: Margerine.

People have been eating butter for thousands of years, but in the early 1900's an alternative was invented.  Its name was margerine, and it was cheap to produce and similar in consistency to butter.  However, the two are in no ways similar.  Butter is churned cream.  Here is a recipe for margerine:

Take any kind of polyunsaturated, liquid vegetable oil made rancid from extraction under high heat.  Mix with tiny, inexpensive metal particles--usually nickel oxide.  Put the mixture in a high-pressure, high-temperature reactor and bombard the unsaturated cabon bonds with hydrogen atoms.  Add soaplike emulsifiers and starch to make the mixture soft and creamy.  Steam the mixture to remove the foul odors.  Use bleach to remove the grey color.  Dye the mixture yellow.  Add artificial flavors to make the mixture palatable.  You have now created margerine.


Don't be fooled: this is margerine, not butter!

Margerine is often used during wars and other times when there isn't enough food or money because it is cheap and easy to produce.  There's only one catch: it's disgusting!

Calamari.

Calamari are some of the more famous strange and yummy foods.  They are fried or baked squid, usually formed into rings and served with a cocktail sauce.  When fried, calamari are extra crispy.  This is, in my opinion, the better of the two methods of cooking calamari.

Calamari are traditionally from the Mediterranean, and it is normally served plain. They are found in Italian and Greek cuisines, as well as Australian, in fish-and-chip shops.  They are an example of a fried, strange, and yummy food.

Mushrooms.

Mushrooms are a diverse example of food that's strange and yummy.  Not all of the 10,000+ mushrooms are edible: some will kill you!  They are found all over the world in endless colors, sizes, and shapes.  The ones we're most familiar with, the yummy ones, are delicious as the star of a meal or as a side flavor.  They soak up flavors, so they go well with almost anything.

Mushrooms are fungi, the family that houses truffles (see earlier post).  The main difference between mushrooms and truffles is that truffles are always found underground while most mushrooms are not.  They are found in many countries' cuisine, so you might know about them already.  But if you don't, next time you're at a restaurant, order the mushroom dish!  You'll see that they really are strange and yummy.

Pumpkin Seeds.

Pumpkin seeds are Halloween-y, strange, and yummy.  They come from pumpkins (obviously) and are in the insides, along with the pulp.  Often, pumpkin seeds are prepared while Jack-o-lanterns are prepared, because as you clean out the pumpkin, you come across the seeds.

Pumpkin seeds are cooked in the oven, with salt, and then are ready to eat!  They're savory and usually salty after being cooked with salt, and are also crunchy and not too bad for you.  Pumpkin seeds are the perfect, homemade, strange, and yummy Halloween snack!

Capers.

Capers are really strange and yummy.  They are used to season mainly European food, especially from France, Greece, and Italy.  They are exceptionally salty and a little bit bitter, because they are packed in salt or vinegar, which you rinse off before eating.  They go well with olives, and although some peole may not like them, they are very yummy to others.

Capers are the immature bud of the caper bush and are native to the Middle East and Mediterranean, where they are mainly used.  They go well with fish, lemons, and other salty foods, but you shouldn't use too many because their flavor is very strong.  Any time you need your salt fix, look to capers, yet another strange and yummy food.

Truffles.

Truffles are unknown to many, strange, and yummy.  They come in black and white varieties, and are found mostly in Europe, especially Italy.  They are delicious on pasta.  They are remarkably expensive, and small, but their out-of-this world taste makes it worth it.  The white truffles are in season from October to December, and the black ones are in season in late autumn and winter, reaching their peak in January.

Truffles are a type of fungus, like mushrooms, except they grow underground and are rarer and smaller.  It is for this that they are so much more expensive.  Truffles are best when fresh, and they can easily make a meal the best meal ever!