Bizarre Foods…In My Fridge? Chit Chat #33
The weirdest thing in my fridge.
“What’s the weirdest thing in your fridge right now?”
That’s what loyal reader and fellow Substack author Holly Heyser recently asked me.
So, what qualifies for you?
I had to look, and I was surprised at how much everyday yumminess I have collected over the year. Here is what I have that qualifies. Remember, Webster’s Dictionary defines weird/bizarre as something “unique or interesting.”
Saffron from Afghanistan and Iran
35-year-old Chinese fermented bean paste that was a gift from the regional Sichuan government
Homemade fish sauce
Moose shanks (freezer)
2 squirrels (freezer)
Bag of elk offal, hearts/kidneys etc (freezer)
Tuna bottarga (salted/pressed/dried tuna eggs)
4 types of anchovies, including a jar of whole preserved ones, organs and all
Several ducks (freezer)
Lobster roe (freezer)
Hot dogs …I love them, but there is no stranger food on earth. Pureed meat ‘parts’ that the US government legally protects makers from sharing what’s really in them!! I eat them every week.
I could go on and on! So please share…
That didn't disappoint!
Our fridge is mostly weird. We don't even have ketchup. Highlights:
-Rendered wild duck fat in a jar
-Rendered beef fat in a jar
-Pickled shad
-Pickled plums
-Something orange and blended in an artisanal mezcal bottle (undoubtedly a hot sauce)
-3 varieties of tiny chiles picked from the garden this week
-Prickly pears that will get !@#$ glochids all over the house
-Gobo root and about 10 other weird things from Hank's field trip to the Japanese market
-Shad roe on salt (to become bottarga)
-A tub of chanterelles sent by a generous reader in Alabama
-A container with a bit of congealed half-assed chicken stock and meat shreds (because if Imma buy a rotisserie chicken, Imma use it for all it's worth)
Let's see, Sea urchin pate, dried longan, pickled fiddlehead ferns, and that is in the refrigerator! The freezer has duck, pheasant, Wagyu, foie gras, elk tenderloin, and a huge variety of seafood!