Strange food from

North America
Barbu Elena                    Moraru Cristian
Mihalache Alexandra     Vasluianu Mihai
Vieriu Mihaela
Chicatanas
• When the first rain takes place in Oaxaca, the flying ants
called Chicatanas leave their nests and people of all ages collect
them in order to elaborate the well known "salsa de chicatanas".
• The first rains of the year are always welcomed and celebrated
because the warm weather of May and June. It is supposed that
the day of Saint John, June 24th, the chicatana ants leave their
nests at the first rain of the year. Children love to collect these
insects, they sometimes organize fights among collected ants
just for fun.
• The real value of chicatana ants is related to gastronomy; In
Oaxaca people really like to eat salsa of chicatana. After the ants
are collected they are washed and grilled on a comal, a metal or
clay dish, in this first step they lose their wings.
Then chicatanas are ground in the molcajete as if were
guacamole. After that, garlic, salt and chili are added and
everything is ground until getting a consistent salsa.
• If you ask any person in Oaxaca what chicatanas taste like,
nobody could answer; people would say
that flavour of chicatana salsa is a little hard to describe, they
just say that they taste like chicatana.
The salsa is spread on a freshly hand-made corn tortilla, it tastes
a little spicy, salty, it has the flavour of something roasted, it is
truly a particular flavour.
• Chicatanas, an insect that adds flavour and flocklore to Oaxaca's
traditional and milenary gastronomy, something different to try
on, another particular flavour of Oaxaca.
 CHAPULINES
(GRASSHOPPERS)

• Insects are a substantial part of Mexico’s culinary

history. Aztec warriors survived on worms, bugs,
larvae, and other insects that offered high
protein and very little fat.
• Mexico holds the title for having the most edible
insects in the world, with over 550 different
species. Grasshpopers (or chapulines) are one of
the most popular, especially in the Oaxaca region.
These insects are seen as one of the cleaner bugs
since they rarely touch the ground and
generally hop from leaf to leaf.
• Most commonly, crispy grasshoppers are fried and
covered in a chili powder and topped with a
squeeze of fresh lime juice. They are a popular
snack food and often find themselves on bar-tops
right next to the peanuts. They are sold in heaping
piles at markets, they’re stuffed into tacos, and
they are sprinkled over guacamole and sauces.
Sourtoe Cocktail
• Established in 1973, the Sourtoe Cocktail
has become a Dawson City tradition and is
exactly what is sounds like: an actual human
toe that has been dehydrated and preserved
in salt, used to garnish a drink of your
choice. The first toe is said to have
belonged to a miner and rum runner named
Louie Liken, who had his frostbitten
appendage amputated in the 1920s. Liken
preserved it in a jar of alcohol in his cabin
for memories. Roughly 50 years later, in
1973, Yukon local Captain Dick Stevenson
found the jar containing the toe while
cleaning a cabin. Captain Dick brought the
toe down to the Sourdough Saloon and
started plunking it into the drinks of those
who were brave enough.
Red eye gravy
• One story is that former United States
President Andrew Jackson requested ham
with gravy as red as his cook's eyes,
which were bloodshot from drinking the
night before, or that the black coffee in
the gravy will keep people awake. After a
ham has been cooked, the grease is
removed from the pan. Black coffee is
then used to deglaze the pan. The coffee
and grease are then poured into the same
container in a one-to-one ratio. Less
traditional preparation techniques do not
always result in the "red eye" appearance,
leading to folk legends surrounding the
origin of the name
Pickled pigs' feet
• Pickled pigs’ feet is a type of pork associated
with Cuisine of the Southern United States, Mexican,
Chinese, and Scandinavian cuisine.
• The feet of domestic pigs are
typically salted and smoked in the same manner as
other pork cuts, such as hams and bacon. It is common
to preserve them in a manner very similar
to home canning and processes for pickled vegetables;
typically a saturation of hot vinegar brine is used.
Such methods allow them to be preserved without the
need for refrigeration until the jar is opened.
• Pigs’ feet that are pickled are usually consumed as
something of a snack or a delicacy rather than as the
primary focus of a meal as its meat course. However,
pigs feet are not always pickled and in the
aforementioned cultures, may be cooked as a part of a
meal, often with vinegar and water to preserve their
natural flavor. They have a high fat content, with
almost an equal portion of saturated fat to protein.
 Burgoo
• Burgoo is a spicy stew, similar to Irish or Mulligan stew, often served
with cornbread or corn muffins. It is often prepared communally as a
social gathering.
• Traditional burgoo was made using whatever meats and vegetables
were available—typically including venison, squirrel, opossum, raccoon,
or game birds—and was often associated with autumn and the
harvest season. Today, local barbecue restaurants use a specific
meat in their recipes, usually pork, chicken, or mutton, which, along
with the spices used, creates a flavor unique to each restaurant.
• A typical burgoo is a combination of meats and vegetables: Common
meats are pork, chicken, mutton or beef, often hickory-smoked, but
other meats are seen occasionally. Common vegetables are lima
beans, corn, okra, tomatoes, cabbage and potatoes. Typically, since
burgoo is a slow-cooked dish, the starch from the added vegetables
results in thickening of the stew. However, a thickening agent, such
as cornmeal, ground beans, whole wheat, or potato starch can be used
when cooked in a non-traditional way. In addition, soup bones can be
added for taste and thickening.
• The ingredients are combined in order of cooking time required, with
meat first, vegetables next, and thickening agents as necessary. It is
said that a spoon can stand up in a good burgoo. Cider vinegar, hot
sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or chili powder are
common condiments.
 Jumiles
(stink bugs)
• If you don't like the idea of live bugs crawling
around in your mouth, stop reading now. In the
once silver-rich town of Taxco, south of Mexico
City, jumiles are plucked from their mountain
homes, sprinkled into a taco and doused in lime.
As you bite in, they can continue to scamper:
even when headless, these scarab-beetle-like
bugs writhe around, so you might need a strong
tequila chaser to wash down their ticklish feet.
They have a strong flavour like a cocktail of
mint and cinnamon, and can be both slightly
sweet and bitter (think fresh green bark). The
strong odour they let off will be enough to keep
many from trying them, but that same chemical
might be the secret of their famed analgesic
effect. Now that you’re getting more
comfortable with the idea, here's one other
thing to let you in on – jumiles can fly.
Turtle Soup
• Turtle soup is soup or stews made from the meat of turtles.
Differing versions of the soup exist in some cultures and are
viewed as a delicacy.
• In the United States, the common snapping turtle has long been
the principal species used for turtle soup.In this case the soup is
also referred to as snapper turtle soup, or simply snapper
soup (not to be confused with red snapper soup, which is made
from the fish red snapper). It is a heavy, brown soup with an
appearance similar to thick meat gravy.
• In Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, snapper turtle soup is an
established part of Philadelphia cuisine. The famed seafood
restaurant Old Original Bookbinder's, is known for its soups,
including snapper soup; a canned version is also sold in grocery
stores.
• Turtle soup (and other dishes from turtle meat) are still served
by a few restaurants in Minnesota, mostly on Fridays
during Lent. It is said that it is primarily older customers who
have previously eaten turtle who order the turtle dishes;
younger diners are much less interested.
• Among Creole communities, turtle soup is known as Caouane.
In New Orleans, it is a specialty of several neighborhood and
classic Creole restaurants such as Commander's
Palace, Brennan's, and Galatoire's.
PEJELAGARTO (ALLIGATOR
GAR)

• The large freshwater gar is a common fish

found in the Mexican Southeast, mainly in the
state of Tabasco. Gar are known for their
prehistoric appearance. The snout of the fish
is long and pronounced resembling that of an
alligator. The long, sharp teeth are another
primitive characteristic giving this fish its
unique looks. Gar isn’t widely eaten, but it is a
traditional dish in Tabasco. The fish is typically
sold at markets with a large stick running
though the body to help flip it over on the grill.
The fish is then seasoned with lime, chili, and
salt. Traditionally, the pejelagarto is served
with the head still intact.
Gusanos (maguey worms)
• This is the ultimate gateway bug. It's found in alcohol, and we know
that drunk people will eat almost anything and call it dinner. Especially
when gusanos taste a little like French fries or umami (that moreish
Japanese ‘fifth taste’).
• The grubs lie at the bottom of mescal bottles, as though in science-
lab pickling jars from another century. Mescal is made from the
maguey plant, and gusanos are grubs that feed on the aloe-vera-like
leaves. They're added to the mescal bottles as a gold (sometimes red)
seal of authenticity; to get just a few gusanos, the maguey plant has
to be killed off.
• Their plump drunken bodies filter the mescal and taste of Mexican
earthiness. Some swear by their aphrodisiac qualities; and surely by
the time you've hit the bottom of a bottle of potent mescal, you’ll
probably be feeling quite amorous already.
• If you're not convinced about their aphrodisiac properties, then gulp
down a gusano for its high levels of protein, like they did in Mexico
centuries before the Spanish arrived.
• Those shy of the full worm can sprinkle their steak in sal de gusano, a
mix of salt and desiccated gusanos. Or, for a swankier meal, try pan-
fried gusanos with a side serving of guacamole at Tirol in Tlaxcala.