Strange Foods: Bush Meat, Bats, and Butterflies: An Epicurean Adventure Around the World

by Jerry Hopkins

In this gastrological romp, Jerry Hopkins, shares tales of gustatory tidbits from six continents. Weaving history and autobiography, Hopkins regales with an array of startling facts about the world's eating habits. Strange Foods begins with rat tales from the Roman Empire and imperial China and continues on to stories form locales where rat remains a mouth-watering hors d'oeuvre or hearty entrée today. There are at least 40 serving suggestions for crocodile alone! And there are more than 250 photographs from acclaimed photographer Michael Freeman, whose aim is true and who eats what he shoots. This is gonzo food writing that's sure to change your mind, if not your palate.

Genres: Food, Nonfiction, Cooking, Travel

232 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1999

About the author

Jerry Hopkins was an American journalist and author best known for writing the first biographies of Elvis Presley and Jim Morrison of The Doors, as well as serving for 20 years as a correspondent and contributing editor of Rolling Stone magazine.

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a mistake in this very interesting and inclusive book - everything from the food to recipes by way of conservation and economics. Not all of it is palatable, eating stir fried dog tongue or supping a glass of bat blood as it drips from bat is not my idea of a cosy tv supper I'd rather have a curry (beef, lamb, fish or veg. please, I'm not an adventurous eater). Book is definitely a 5 star and maybe even a 10 star read.

The mistake is, "Some like keluak, a fruit found in the Caribbean, is actually banned from import into the United States because it is regarded as life-threatening." It doesn't grow here, it's a Far Eastern fruit.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I learned a number of Fun Facts from this book (and that is the sole reason it garners 3 stars),

1. There were some TOTALLY EGREGIOUS GRAMMATICAL ERRORS in this book! Proofreading, zuh!

2. Some of it seemed blatantly untrue. By "seemed", I mean I fact-checked some of the sketchier-sounding facts and they WERE untrue.

3. Considering the mindblowing subject matter, the photos were shrugworthy.

That having been said: DUDE, there are lollipops with scorpions, with grasshoppers, with worms (they're tequila-flavored!) and with GOLD LEAF!!!

[Dorcas · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love learning about wacky, or cultural unique, foods from history and around the world, you might be interested in this one. The graphic photos and illustrations of things we may or may not deem edible, yet at some time have been consumed by humans are disturbing and fascinating. The author shares personal accounts with strange foods (For example, he uses his child's placenta as a pate for guests), historical documentation and contemporary uses in modern day. From Balut to durian to human flesh.

[Annamarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting, if a bit anti-climactic in the end. I had to wonder why the author would start with the goriest bits (mammals) and end with plants and dirt. Yes, it grabs you, but I almost didn't finish reading the whole thing.

BUT, I did learn interesting tidbits and got to address why I am unwilling to eat certain things (live lobster, bile) and think about eating some new things, should the opportunity ever arise (waterbugs, snake).

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 5 out of 5]

328 - 2014

Pernah mencoba menyantap makanan yang tidak biasa dimakan?

Sejauh ini, makanan yang tidak biasa yang pernah kucicipi cuma sedikit variasinya, di antaranya telur penyu, ubur-ubur, dan belalang goreng. Sementara itu, banyak makanan yang sudah dianggap biasa di Indonesia, barangkali malah termasuk makanan aneh bagi warga negara asing, misalnya buah durian yang aromanya begitu luar biasa (dan aku termasuk yang tidak begitu suka rajanya buah ini gara-gara aromanya).

Jerry Hopkins, penulis buku ini, adalah koresponden dan editor majalah Rolling Stone selama hampir dua puluh tahun. Ia juga telah menulis puluhan buku,  termasuk biografi Jim Morrison dan Elvis Presley. Buku-bukunya mengulas beragam hal, dari sejarah, humor, jurnalisme, makanan, lingkungan, kebudayaan, dan tentu saja biografi. Ia juga bekerja sebagai penulis feature, reporter, dan kritikus musik. Tapi di atas segalanya, ia seorang petualang, bukan hanya sebagai traveler, tapi juga petualang makanan. Prinsipnya: "Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung", dan makanan bukan perkecualian.


When in Rome, do as the Romans do

Buku ini dibagi dalam enam segmen, yaitu enam jenis bahan makanan, yang terdiri dari:
- mamalia
- reptil dan makhluk air;
- serangga, laba-laba dan kalajengking;
- burung;
- tumbuhan;
- leftover

Mamalia
Sebagai bahan makanan, mamalia bukan hal yang aneh. Toh kita biasa makan daging sapi dan kambing, atau daging babi buat yang nonmuslim dan nonyahudi. Mamalia yang dibahas Hopkins di sini mencakup yang berukuran kecil macam tikus dan kelelawar, sampai yang berukuran raksasa seperti gajah dan ikan paus. Oh tentu saja, anjing juga umum sebagai bahan makanan di Asia (termasuk di beberapa daerah Indonesia). Para aktivis animal rights di Eropa dan Amerika sudah pasti mencak-mencak, karena anjing dan kucing di sana adalah binatang peliharaan di Eropa, dan tidak diternakkan untuk bahan makanan. Dan bahan makanan yang juga memancing protes dan bisa menimbulkan ketegangan antara negara yang berbeda budaya kuliner termasuk primata dan ikan paus.


Kepala gorila, anyone?

Omong-omong tentang primata, Hopkins juga membahas bahan makanan dari mamalia yang paling akrab dengan kita: manusia. Bukan berarti Hopkins sudah menyantap daging manusia sih (meskipun dia membuat dan memakan hidangan yang berbahan dasar plasenta), tapi sejarah kanibalisme dari zaman prasejarah sampai zaman modern dibahas total di sini.

Reptil & Makhluk Air
Takut dimakan ular, buaya dan ikan hiu? Tenang, statistik membuktikan jauuuuuh lebih banyak ular, buaya dan ikan hiu yang dimakan manusia. Sebagai omnivora yang bisa makan apa saja, manusia juga tidak sungkan-sungkan menyantap kadal (termasuk iguana dan komodo!), katak dan kodok, ikan fugu, ubur-ubur, siput, ulat, dan telur ikan.  

Ih, seladanya layu! #salahfokus

Burung
Saat ini, burung paling populer sebagai bahan makanan di dunia adalah ayam. Berikutnya, kalkun, bebek, angsa, dan itik. Saat ini, burung unta dan kasuari juga sudah mulai masuk katalog bahan makanan. Dan meskipun kecil, burung-burung seperti merpati, gagak, dan walet juga biasa dimakan di banyak tempat. Dan bukan hanya telurnya yang juga disantap, tapi sarangnya juga. Buatku tidak ada yang aneh, sampai ketemu balut: telur bebek rebus berisi embrio berusia enam belas sampai delapan belas hari. Sudah hampir jadi anak bebek!



Serangga, Laba-laba, dan Kalajengking

Kalau bahan makanan yang ini, baru deh kuanggap aneh (meskipun aku pernah makan belalang goreng, yang rasanya memang enak, renyah kriuk-kriuk, asal tidak memperhatikan kepala, kaki dan sayapnya :P). Katanya sih kandungan protein dan nutrisinya luar biasa, tapi... makan capung, semut (ini juga pernah, tapi nggak sengaja biasanya), rayap, laba-laba, kalajengking, kumbang, jangkrik, tonggeret, kupu-kupu...



Asparagus-nya kelihatan enak, ya?

Tumbuhan
Bahan makanan yang dianggap aneh di sini adalah jamur beracun, buah keluak, kelopak bunga, kaktus, dan iya... buah durian.

Leftover
Yang dimaksud di sini memang makanan sisa, atau bahan yang umumnya tidak dipakai bahan makanan, seperti darah misalnya. Tapi selain itu dibahas juga bahan makanan yang disantap hidup-hidup macam ikan, udang, gurita, belut, atau lobster... di mana makanannya masih bergerak-gerak, setengah hidup, malah bisa kabur sekalian.

Jangankan sampai mencicipi makanan yang aneh-aneh, membaca buku meja kopi (apa sih terjemahan yang benar dari coffee table book?) yang tebal dan bersampul keras ini sudah merupakan petualangan tersendiri. Foto-foto makanannya asyik-asyik dan kelihatan lezat pula, meskipun mungkin aku tidak seberani itu untuk menyantap sebagian besar di antaranya.

Berani mencoba tantangan ini?

[Scoots · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eye-opening read!

[LG · Rating 2 out of 5]

read as a curiosity

[Amanda Vogelbaum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever wondered about some of the stranger foods consumed by humans the world over? Well, here's your chance to see them, read about them and possibly prepare some from the outrageous recipes provided (that is, if you can find the ingredients). Both author and photographer assist one another in producing a well-written, often humorous, informative and beautiful narrative of strange, bizarre and yet beautiful foods.

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

WARNING: Don't read this one when you are eating or preparing for a meal.
It will spoil your appetite...or get your saliva going, it depends.

I'm still amazed at how adaptable we humans are. And ingenious, we eat foods
that, were processing not highly developed, would kill us.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book slowly so I could "digest" the chapters. The photos and text to accompany each of the strange foods was great. It is about 10 years after it was published and for the most part it holds up. The part about Olean...not so much.

[Sae-chan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not many that Indonesians don't eat. Even less that I found appalling...

[Nikka Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

It really helped us get through our term paper! Really informative. Thanks a lot!

[Kookie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great pictures. Boring text.

[aldo zirsov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jadi ingat pasar Tomohon di Minahasa :D

[Scott Lesperance · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of the best coffee table books ever!!! Great photos to accompany the brief stories of what people eat around the world.
I only wish it had more pages.