Baby fetuses in food
State Bill Outlaws Using Fetuses In Food Industry; Meets Visceral Reaction : The Two-Way : NPR
State Bill Outlaws Using Fetuses In Food Industry; Meets Visceral Reaction : The Two-Way An Oklahoma Senate bill that prohibits "the manufacture or sale of food or products which use aborted human fetuses" has some folks scratching their heads, and wondering if it's real.
America
A scientist holds a tray of stem cells in a lab, in this file photo from 2010. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
toggle caption
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A scientist holds a tray of stem cells in a lab, in this file photo from 2010.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A bill introduced in the Oklahoma Legislature has some folks scratching their heads, as it prohibits "the manufacture or sale of food or products which use aborted human fetuses."
Since the bill was introduced late last week by State Sen. Ralph Shortey, a Republican from Oklahoma City, corners of the Internet have been buzzing with the news, as people try to figure out two things: 1) is this real; and 2) is there any reason the bill might be needed?
News of the bill was first reported by the AP and The Daily O'Collegian, a student newspaper at Oklahoma State University. It sparked a lively debate in the O'Collegian's readers' comments section, which is connected to Facebook.
The AP and the O'Collegian say that Shortey didn't respond to calls for comment. Two calls from NPR to the senator's office went to voicemail and were not returned.
But Tulsa radio station KRMG managed to get in touch with him to ask about the legislation, Senate Bill 1418.
The senator says that his research shows there are companies in the food industry that have used human stem cells to help them research and develop products, including artificial flavorings.
"I don't know if it is happening in Oklahoma, it may be, it may not be. What I am saying is that if it does happen then we are not going to allow it to manufacture here," Shortey tells KRMG's Nicole Burgin.
To that end, his proposed statute reads, "No person or entity shall manufacture or knowingly sell food or any other product intended for human consumption which contains aborted human fetuses in the ingredients or which used aborted human fetuses in the research or development of any of the ingredients."
My own research suggests that Shortey may have noticed a boycott directed at PepsiCo, which since 2010 has worked with flavor research firm Senomyx to develop sweeteners and other flavorings.
Based in San Diego, Senomyx has been accused of using proteins derived from human embryonic kidney cells in its research, which has been used by many large food companies. An article in the Miami New Times summarizes those claims, notes the company's denial of them — and also notes that in 2003, the company filed a patent for "recombinant methods for expressing a functional sweet taste receptor."
That patent, for what is essentially an automated taste test, was granted in 2008. It mentions HEK 293, or Human Embryonic Kidney 293, a widely available cell line that was originally cultured in the early 1970s from a human embryo in the Netherlands.
Other Uses Of Stem Cells
So, it seems that Sen. Shortey's bill mostly targets the potential use of stem cells in food research. But in the past decade, several attempts have been made to use animal stem cells to produce food. For instance, NASA has tinkered with using pigs' stem cells to grow "lab meat," according to a Popular Mechanics article from 2009.
The article continues, "Today, scientists funded by companies such as Stegeman, a Dutch sausage giant, are fine-tuning the process. It takes just two weeks to turn pig stem cells, or myoblasts, into muscle fibers."
And the group New Harvest has long been involved in the search for "meat alternatives," in the form of "plant-based meat analogs and cultured meat," according to its site.
Shortey's bill was among hundreds submitted just before the state's Thursday deadline, as Oklahoma legislators vied to get their bills entered for discussion in the upcoming session, which runs from Feb. 6 into late May.
Thanks to NPR Southern Bureau Chief Russell Lewis and KOSU's Rachel Hubbard for flagging the story.
Sponsor Message
Become an NPR sponsor
Processed foods contain human fetal cells claim is pure junk
An Instagram user is warning people away from processed foods, posting a meme which claims many products are flavoured using fetal cells from aborted babies.
The claim is false. It is a longstanding myth based on reports US company Senomyx used laboratory-grown cells in the early stages of flavour development. The laboratory cells were derived from a real human cell taken from an aborted fetus in the early 1970s, but were many generations removed from the original cell.
Most major food and drink companies state they do not use Senomyx products or any ingredients developed using cells derived from human fetuses.
The meme published on Instagram on August 28 is headlined: “THERE IS HUMAN FETUS CELLS IN THE FOOD PRODUCTS YOU BUY”.
The meme’s text says: “The food products you buy use Aborted Fetal Cells as Flavor. All processed products you buy has it … they are using HEK 293 – human embryonic kidney cells taken from an electively aborted baby”.
It goes on to claim there were “40+ million” abortions each year. “What do you think they do with this amount? They use them for flavor … Research: Senomyx.”
The Instagram post claims aborted human fetuses are used in the food industry.
The claim appears to be based on a misinterpretation of Senomyx’s flavour-testing research. In 2011, the Miami New Times reported Senomyx used laboratory-grown ‘cell lines’ to replicate human taste receptors.
Cell lines are ‘immortal’ laboratory-grown cells used in research in place of real human or animal tissues. Cell lines are often used in research because they provide an unlimited supply of cell matter and bypass ethical concerns associated with the use of animal and human cells.
Senomyx used cell lines in the early stages of its flavour-testing process to identify which flavours created a reaction when mixed with taste receptor proteins. A Senomyx executive described the process to the Miami New Times as “basically a robotic tasting system”.
Flavours that showed potential in laboratory experiments were put forward for taste tests with real people.
The cell line used in the Senomyx experiments was reportedly HEK-293, widely used in biotechnology research.
Research describing Senomyx’s flavour-testing using HEK-293 cell lines was published here in 2002 and here in 2010.
Some people have raised ethical concerns about the use of HEK-293 (see here and here), because the cell line was derived from a kidney cell taken from an aborted human fetus in 1973.
The original cell was isolated and cloned, and its ‘offspring’ have since been used in biomedical research and vaccine production. No new fetal cells are required to keep the cell line in production.
In 2011, US-based anti-abortion group Children of God for Life campaigned against Senomyx’s use of what it called “aborted fetal cell lines”, urging consumers to boycott food and drink manufacturers partnered with Senomyx.
PepsiCo, a Senomyx partner company targeted in the campaign, responded by saying the claims were “misinformation”.
“These claims are meant to suggest that human fetal tissue is somehow used in our research. That is both inaccurate and something we would never do or even consider,” a Pepsi representative told the group, according to emails published on the Children of God for Life website.
“It also is inaccurate to suggest that tissue or cells somehow are being used as product ingredients. That’s dangerous, unethical and against the law. Every ingredient in every one of our products is reviewed and approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,” Pepsi wrote.
Claims that food and drink products contain aborted fetal tissue have since been debunked here, here, here and here.
In 2019, UK fact-checking organisation Full Fact asked several global food companies if their products contained flavours developed using HEK-293 cells.
Campbell’s, KraftHeinz and Coca-Cola said they did not use any Senomyx products or any flavourings developed using HEK-293 cells. PepsiCo said it had a research partnership with Senomyx, but none of that research used cell lines derived from embryos or fetuses.
A food expert says it’s illegal to use any form of human tissue in Australian food products.Food scientist Gary Kennedy told AAP FactCheck it is illegal to use human fetal cells or any other human tissue in Australian food and drink products.
“In Australia, it wouldn’t actually be allowed,” he said in a phone interview.
“You could do it within a laboratory or a medical research facility, but if there was even a hint of a human fetal cell in a food product, that would be illegal in Australia because we can’t eat humans in Australia. If there was, in any way, any human product in it, it would be illegal in Australia.”
Mr Kennedy said Senomyx’s flavour-testing process was “unusual” and appeared to be novel technology.
Most flavour and scent companies tested new formulas using what he called “traditional methods” including putting a small amount of scent on a piece of paper and “wafting it” in front of human testers.
“A bit like master winemakers or master cheesemakers, masters in flavour houses are in demand because they pick up really subtle notes,” Mr Kennedy said.
Senomyx was acquired in 2018 by Swiss fragrance and flavourings company Firmenich.
The claim processed foods use flavourings made from aborted babies is false.
US firm Senomyx previously tested new flavours using laboratory-grown cell lines reportedly derived from cells taken from the kidney of an aborted human fetus in the early 1970s, but they are many generations removed from the original fetal cell.
Most major food and drink companies say they do not have a commercial relationship with Senomyx and do not use any human tissue or human tissue derivatives in their products.
False – The claim is inaccurate.
* AAP FactCheck is an accredited member of the International Fact-Checking Network. To keep up with our latest fact checks, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
All information, text and images included on the AAP Websites is for personal use only and may not be re-written, copied, re-sold or re-distributed, framed, linked, shared onto social media or otherwise used whether for compensation of any kind or not, unless you have the prior written permission of AAP. For more information, please refer to our standard terms and conditions..jpg)
Three ideal Pashots with a meaning
Error Get Alias
Error Get Alias
Text Ivan ZhukovPhoto BEER HAPPens, Saxon+Parole, Le Restaurant
conditioned by economic realities, the most banal and simple products become the most interesting ingredients, in relation to which you only need to show a little imagination. Although, for example, a poached egg is one of those ingredients that is described by the word “perfect” without any economic realities there. At a minimum, poached on its own is an ideal sauce, if, of course, it is prepared correctly. As a maximum, there are almost no limits to the transformations of poached into something else. See for yourself.
The star of any hotel breakfast - eggs Benedict, or rather their canonical recipe, comes from the States. Although it is not clear who exactly was the real author of the recipe, its universality is well known. And any normal chef, at least once in his life, but certainly cooked Benedict, changing the basic recipe in his own way.
Here, Timur Abuzyarov, leaving everything that is supposed to be according to the classics (bread, eggs cooked without shells and Hollandaise sauce), turned the ordinary dish into a mega-sandwich, where eggs, as it was said, are the perfect sauce for Sakhalin shrimp and South American avocado. There is such a sandwich, maybe not very convenient, but tasty.
Ingredients
Chicken egg 2 pcs.
Sakhalin shrimps, peeled 40 g
Avocado 25 g
Tomatoes without skin and seeds 25 g
Smoked paprika 1 g
Mayonnaise 10 g
Lime juice 2 g
Radish 1 g
Hollandaise sauce 1 40 g
Shchibat bread
Cilantro 1 g
Greens for decoration
For hollandaise sauce
Chicken yolks 3 pcs.
Butter 150 g
Wine vinegar
Salt
Chives 1 g
Cooking
Sauce. Melt the butter. Put the chicken yolks with salt in a hemisphere and pour in the butter in a slow stream.
Boil the mixture in a water bath for about 3-5 minutes. At the end, bring to taste with vinegar and herbs.
Benedict. Grill the bread on both sides. Cut the avocado and tomatoes into cubes, season with mayonnaise, lime juice, chopped cilantro and bring to taste with salt.
Blanch the cleaned shrimp in salted water for about 10-15 seconds. Boil eggs in the usual way poached - in salted water with white wine vinegar, creating a funnel in boiled water - for 3 minutes. Before serving, top with seasoned vegetables, then shrimp, then eggs. Season with hollandaise, paprika and herbs.
Turkish eggs from Brad Fermery, Brand Chef of Saxon+Parole
York is also quite the perfect breakfast. Although, of course, it is not the function of this dish that is much more interesting, but the history. This author's variation is based on a really Turkish, or rather Ottoman dish Cilbir made from poached eggs, and the first mention of the dish dates back to the 15th century.
It is not known at what point it became customary to serve eggs with melted butter seasoned with Aleppo pepper, but it is this serving that is now considered the reference. But it is easy to guess the origin of the pepper, its name, if read literally, sounds like “from Aleppo” - a place in Syria. Another name for the same pepper is halabi, and it is used not only in Syria and Turkey, but throughout the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The special features of Aleppo are a moderate, gradually revealing sharpness, fruity and sweet flavors, with notes of raisins and cumin, and the aroma of sun-dried tomatoes. Aleppo flakes are mainly used, slightly salted, because traditionally peppers are dried with salt.
Ingredients for 2 servings
Eggs 4 pcs
Onion sibulet to taste
For yogurt
Yoghurt (natural) 200 g
Extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp.
Lemon juice to taste
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
For Aleppo oil
Aleppo pepper flakes 1 tsp.
Butter 200 g
Olive oil 2 tbsp
Preparation
Boil poached eggs in the usual way. Boil 1 liter of water in a deep saucepan, add vinegar and salt. Break eggs into a bowl. While stirring the water clockwise, carefully pour the eggs one at a time into the center of the funnel. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Then immediately transfer the eggs to cold water.
Aleppo oil. Bring the butter to a boil in a saucepan, reduce the heat and simmer until the milk component of the butter is rendered, until a characteristic nutty aroma appears. Add the olive oil to the butter and cool as quickly as possible (eg put the pan on ice), add the Aleppo pepper flakes.
Heat the yogurt in a water bath (to a temperature of about 40 degrees), add salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil.
Pour the yoghurt into a bowl, add the poached eggs, drizzle the Aleppo oil over the top and add the finely chopped cibulet. Serve with grilled baguette slices.
Poached egg in thai broth with seaweed and black caviar toast by Jean-Luc Moll, Le Restaurant brand chef
Egg consommé is a classic. Poached with dashi broth is also a classic option, if we recall the history of the relationship between French and Asian cuisines of the last forty years. Jean-Luc Moll's appetizer reveals the theme of umami and the game of "umami" as clearly as possible, making fun of all gastronomic clichés at once. Consomme is one of them. And then - even funnier. The broth itself is a taste extract, almost a sauce, and the poached, being opened, also turns into a sauce, and in this whole meeting on the Elbe, the center is not the broth and not the egg, but the algae. But all together, of course, takes on a completely new form and content. A sandwich with caviar, sorry, a toast with caviar and oyster oil practically repeats the taste essence of the main part of the dish with all its minds, and with all its eggs, representing an almost perfectly mirrored set of ingredients.
Simply put - the same eggs, only in profile.
Ingredients
for the broth
Bouss dashi
Water 1 l
Tunets chips 10 g
lemon Lemon
Ginger 20 g
Soy sauce 25 g 9001 Juza 5 g
Cream butter 100 g
Oyster 1 pc.
Wakame seaweed 20 g
Sibulet 5 g
For toast
Bread 25 g
Hazelnut (hazelnut) oil 50 g
Black caviar 6-7 g
Poached
Water 1 l
White vinegar 15 g
Egg 1 pc.
Cooking
Broth. Peel the ginger and cut into thin slices. Finely chop Melissa. Add all ingredients to the saucepan. Heat for 10 minutes at a temperature of 80 degrees, without bringing to a boil. Cover with a lid and leave for another 10 minutes without fire. Strain.
Oyster oil.
Soak dry wakame seaweed in cold water for 10-15 minutes, then squeeze and chop coarsely. Finely chop the oyster. Mix the chopped ingredients with oil and onion in a container and leave at room temperature.
Toast. Fry a slice of bread 15 cm long, 2 cm wide and 1-2 cm thick in hazelnut oil until golden brown. Put the toast on paper.
Poached. Add a few drops of white vinegar to boiling water. Crack an egg in there. Boil 5 minutes. Remove the egg and put it in cold water with ice.
Supply. Put oyster oil (4-5 g) on a toast, black caviar on top, decorate with siboulet. Heat the broth in a saucepan and submerge the egg in it for 1 minute. Put seaweed with broth in a deep plate, place an egg in the middle of the plate, pepper. Put the toast on the edge of the plate.
Exotic food Don't read for the faint of heart!
Do not read for the faint of heart! What do you have for breakfast today - a sandwich with cheese, and for lunch borscht and potatoes with mushrooms? You are boring! At the same hour, a thousand kilometers away, someone starts their day with delicious fried larvae, ant eggs or monkey brain.
Strange food is not for you to drink cucumbers with milk or fry the wings of birds. Whether it's duck embryos or a fresh tuna eye! In general - to whom what is “dessert and yummy”, and we will talk about exotic cuisine.
What do you have for breakfast today - a sandwich with cheese, and for lunch borscht and potatoes with mushrooms? You are boring! At the same hour, a thousand kilometers away, someone starts their day with delicious fried larvae, ant eggs or monkey brain. Strange food is not for you to drink cucumbers with milk or fry the wings of birds. Whether it's duck embryos or a fresh tuna eye! In general - to whom what is “dessert and yummy”, and we will talk about exotic cuisine.
For fans of exotic food and drinks, there is nothing unusual in such ... strange dishes as rotten eggs, cheese with fly larvae, wine from newborn mice or ice cream with the taste of breast milk - the recipe was developed a couple of years ago in London. It is said that many people liked it.
Mexicans, for example, are willing to eat it raw or as part of huitlacoche dishes - neither more nor less, but just growths of fungal origin that parasitize corn cobs. It is believed that this fungus is a valuable and useful product. The Mexicans, of course, know better.
There is nothing repulsive in the bird's nest soup common in Asian countries. True, the original product and the finished dish look not very aesthetically pleasing, but for some, semolina porridge with lumps is utter disgusting.
Nests are not used for food all in a row, but only those that are built by representatives of a special kind of swifts, making their dwellings from their own saliva, which solidifies in the process of building a nest. In fairness, it must be admitted that scientists have found amino acids and vitamins in swift saliva that are useful for the human body (just give them free rein, they will find benefits in the grass!). So if you don't like multivitamins, you can replace them with nest soup.
Original and useful, but is it tasty...
Representatives of the bird family generally provide a person with many reasons to have a tasty lunch. But the fantasy of gourmets is limitless. And instead of eating fresh eggs, exotic lovers go very far in their experiments ... for a hundred years. A century egg is the name of a specially prepared (if such a word is appropriate) chicken or duck egg. The freshest product is placed in a mixture of rice husks, ash, lime and clay for several months at room temperature. Chemical processes inside the egg turn the albumen into a brown-red jelly with a salty aftertaste, while the yolk becomes a dense ball of dark green color (Calm down! Breathe deeply!). Of course, as you may have guessed, eating this "delicacy" accompanies the smell of hydrogen sulfide. The Chinese, they say, are delighted! In general, they have a peculiar understanding of culinary processes. The same eggs are prepared by the inhabitants of Zhejiang province in completely unimaginable ways.
For example, the product called “virgin eggs” (“Tundzidan”) is again chicken eggs, but aged and boiled in the urine of young boys under the age of ten. Connoisseurs claim that such food works wonders, extremely beneficial effect on the human circulatory system. It's better for the squeamish to leave!
Huitlacoche
Bird's nests
Centenary egg
Tongzidan
Crispy fast food
Vietnamese and Filipinos seem to have gone even further than their Chinese counterparts in terms of exotics (although it would seem! They eat, and daily and by no means as exotic, the so-called balut. These are duck embryos formed in the shell, which already have a beak, bones and plumage. There are these babies alive or boiled - a matter of taste. The age of the embryos is 17-21 days. Here, whoever likes it: crunch on the bones or cartilage of a failed duck. Regardless of the heat treatment, the method of eating is the same: first the shell is broken, always from the blunt end, then the inside is sprinkled with plenty of pepper and salt, vinegar, garlic and lime salt are added.
Then the amniotic fluid is drunk and only then should one start eating the embryo itself. They say that beginners are served this dish in the dark to smooth out the visual impressions - they are definitely not for the faint of heart.
Fried grasshoppers, aka Mexican chapulines, are nothing compared to balut. They replace local residents and advanced tourists with chips, beer snacks, snacks and fast food. Spectators in the stands eat them with pleasure while watching sporting events. True, such an appetizer is available only in summer, but its taste is fully appreciated - it is an excellent source of protein and vitamins. The cooking method is simple - grasshoppers are fried in oil with salt, garlic, chili pepper and lemon juice. Mountains of fried grasshoppers are a common commodity on the shelves of bazaars and in shops.
Fried grasshoppers on Mexican stalls go hand in hand with escamoles, the eggs of poisonous black ants. Preparing this exotic is again easy - they can be boiled, stewed or fried, adding garlic, onions, peppers and other spices to taste.
For thrills, eat chapulines raw. True, they are available only at the beginning of summer, so thrifty Mexican housewives freeze the delicacy for future use. It is believed that immunity is strengthened from such food literally before our eyes, and it also supposedly prolongs youth. Are you still with us?
Mopane caterpillars with a bow - an exotic native to Africa. In general, they eat almost everything that runs, swims, flies and crawls (if you go to Africa, take sausage with you, we are serious!). Mopanes live in trees. They are harvested, dried in the sun or boiled in salt water with spices. The entrails can be taken out or eaten with them. Surprisingly, dozens of tons of this delicacy are exported to European countries every year! Probably, it's all about the protein contained in mopan, zinc, iron and calcium.
Balut
Escamoles
Grilled Grasshoppers
Specially for Gourmets
Another delicacy is rotten cheese from Sardinia, which, however, is now officially banned from sale.
However, connoisseurs of a rotten product filled with live fly larvae, who “cook” this dish, are sure: there is nothing tastier than cheese called kazu marzu! True, when using it, precautions are necessary - it is recommended to cover your eyes when starting a meal - the insects in this cheese are nimble, they can jump into the eater's eyes and mouth. Although some desperate gourmets are ready to eat this cheese even with live larvae, despite the risk of their reproduction in the stomach of the eater and the consequences in the form of vomiting, diarrhea and poisoning. There is none of this in ordinary blue cheese! True, it is possible that you will stop eating it ... completely.
Another interesting dish is Rocky Mountain Oysters. No, it's not seafood. In the United States, this is the name given to the testicles of young bulls, which are considered a delicacy among delicacies. They are deep-fried, "extracted" in the process of castration of animals on farms. The fact that these "oysters" give men extraordinary sexual strength and energy is legendary.
To verify the veracity of such stories can only be experienced. And for this it is not necessary to go to America. Such a dish is served in France under the name "white kidneys", and in other countries of the world, where it is common to erect aphrodisiacs in a cult.
Hasma is popular in China. The main ingredient of the dish is the dried fallopian tubes of frogs. These are not modest frog legs! The Chinese believe that hasma has a beneficial effect on many organs, primarily the kidneys and lungs. Chinese women firmly believe that they owe their youth and excellent skin condition to Hasma.
Kazu Marzu
Rocky Mountain Oysters
Hasma
Everything is in business!
In the countries of Asia and Oceania, the Philippines and Indonesia, they like to eat a couple of bats, and this is a really popular food, as well as a medicine. In China, eyesight is treated with bat meat, in India, a squeeze of bat fat relieves pain from arthritis and rheumatism, in Cambodia, a children's cough is relieved with a mixture of bat fat and coconut oil.
True, there is little fat in this meat, and it is better not to observe the procedure for skinning and cooking these animals for an unprepared viewer.
Japanese shiokara is made from salted squid intestines, in the brine of which the squid meat is marinated. Smell for an amateur! As eyewitnesses say, the “aroma” hurts the eyes. Calling such a dish a delicacy is a matter of taste, a very peculiar taste. In Japanese bars, shiokara is served as an appetizer. And, oddly enough, it is in demand!
A shocking sight - the eye of a tuna. Yes, it is also eaten (in Japan), and this organ is offered separately from the whole carcass. And it’s good if they boil and stew with spices before that. Locals willingly eat it raw - it is more useful, in their opinion. The taste of the eyes and the muscles with which it is served are reminiscent of squid meat. Watch and taste! If you can.
And here's another - "drunk shrimp" from China - also "not a pound of raisins"! Because raisins are still and sweet food.
And these shrimp are eaten exclusively raw! And so that the mollusk does not resist, it is literally marinated in strong alcohol for a short time before serving. You take a drunken shrimp from the marinade, clean it from the insides and - Op! Right into your mouth! You need to swallow quickly. Enjoy your meal!
What are shrimp! Here in Alaska, the Eskimos eat tepa (“stinky heads”). The name perfectly reflects the essence of the process, as well as the look and smell of this food. And yes, this is not a delicacy, but the traditional food of the Eskimos, who are not accustomed to the variety of food. It prepares uncomplicated. Salmon heads are put into wooden barrels and buried in the ground for several weeks. The resulting product must also be eaten raw. It's just a matter of habit. We open the window wider and ...
Shiokara
Drunken Shrimp
Tuna's Eye
"Live" food... well, almost
Kiwiak is no longer scary after stinky heads. Well, it’s not scary .
.. If you have been living in Chukotka or Greenland for many years, you probably had to try this delicacy, which is served in those parts as a Christmas treat. This food is prepared very early, seven months before the celebration. Plucked gulls are placed in a decapitated seal carcass. Then this wealth is left for at least six months in a secluded place (it’s more reliable!). Gulls rotting in the seal's stomach stimulate the process of fermentation of the insides - as a result, a mass is obtained, which is called kiviak. What a festive meal! Just some Christmas!
Sannakji, a Korean dish for those who love the risk of death. Because sannakji is a live octopus cut into pieces before serving. The moving tentacles may well block the access of air in the throat of the eater, up to and including death. And such cases have already happened. However, this does not stop gourmets ordering in restaurants dissected raw clam in a sesame oil sauce or simply sprinkled with sesame seeds. You can choose a baby octopus to eat right there, in a restaurant, in a large aquarium.
Sophisticated tourists praise. But it is advised to chew more actively.
The survivors of all the previous tastings can go to Vietnam and try to eat the heart of a cobra. In front of your eyes, bringing it to the table, the cook will cut off the head of the snake, squeeze the poison onto a separate saucer and open its body. Taking out another pulsating heart, he will offer you to immediately swallow it. Those who tried to do this claim that they felt the beating of the snake's heart in their stomach for some time.
Not so rare, even in Europe, and snake wine, not to mention Vietnam and China, where it comes from. The recipe is simple: a live snake is placed in rice wine and infused until the recommended aging. The second option - the blood of the snake is mixed with alcohol, the carcass of the gutted snake is immersed there and also insisted. It is difficult to drink the maximum first glass. Then it goes like clockwork!
A more severe option - wine with newborns or three-day-old mice.
The process is the same: living mice are immersed in alcohol, insisted for about a year, drunk, and treated to friends. If they still come to you, after the Christmas kiwiak. In Korea and China, by the way, they drink this infusion as a medicine, although they say it tastes like diluted kerosene.
The apotheosis of extreme for gourmets - monkey brains. At best cooked in a brazier with spices. But connoisseurs say that in restaurants "for their own" in China and Hong Kong, they still serve a live monkey to the table, immobilizing it and cutting off the top of its skull in front of the client. Next - a spoon and ... You need to eat quickly, until the animal has died. In some cases, the monkey is drugged with painkillers, but the Chinese believe that the chemicals destroy the very idea of a dish's delicacy. Are you still holding on? Then "for a snack" - ice cream, prepared with the addition of breast milk. This delicacy was offered by the confectioners of the London factory, timing the release of the first batch to coincide with the birth of the second child of Prince William and his wife.
