The Kitchen of the Unwanted Animal
According to its website, The Kitchen of the Unwanted Animal is "the kitchen that sells products from unwanted animal species. This installation makes a statement about the absurdity of meat production and socially unacceptable animals."
The website is in Dutch, so that quotation is via Google Translate.
The Kitchen is located in Amsterdam and, from what I can gather, it's primarily a food truck. Though it does cater some sit-down events.
The "unwanted species" on its menu include pigeon, goose, muskrat, crow, and horse.
More info: npr.org
The website is in Dutch, so that quotation is via Google Translate.
The Kitchen is located in Amsterdam and, from what I can gather, it's primarily a food truck. Though it does cater some sit-down events.
The "unwanted species" on its menu include pigeon, goose, muskrat, crow, and horse.
More info: npr.org
Comments
The only thing Google Translate is good for is a laugh.
Posted by F.U.D in Stockholm on 05/03/22 at 08:35 AM
We eat squab, so why not wait until it's a little older and called a pigeon?
Horse is acceptable in many cultures, and it's supposedly better for you than beef.
Crows are right out -- eating omnivores is a tricky call.
Geese were once the mainstay of holiday feasts (while I agree wholeheartedly with the idea of killing Canadian geese just because they're Canadian geese, even they are edible).
Muskrat is down by two -- they're omnivorous, and they are so repugnant, they even have 'rat' in their name.
Horse is acceptable in many cultures, and it's supposedly better for you than beef.
Crows are right out -- eating omnivores is a tricky call.
Geese were once the mainstay of holiday feasts (while I agree wholeheartedly with the idea of killing Canadian geese just because they're Canadian geese, even they are edible).
Muskrat is down by two -- they're omnivorous, and they are so repugnant, they even have 'rat' in their name.
Posted by Phideaux on 05/03/22 at 10:59 AM
Their menu could indeed be improved. Why not replace horse (normal), goose (delicious) and pigeon (so normal I ate some in Toronto) by possum, rat, and seagull? And let's add donkey, jellyfish, skunk, and those pesky carps that are slowly invading our lakes while you're at it.
Posted by Yudith on 05/03/22 at 06:45 PM
I'll bet that Granny Clampett works there.
Posted by KDP on 05/03/22 at 07:55 PM
@Yudith -- Anyone who's tasted fried, broiled, or poached carp and lived to tell the tale would probably be amazed to learn (and maybe not really believe) that smoked carp is wonderful! I detest freshwater fish in all their forms except for that. It's really a delicacy. On a par with, but different from, smoked salmon.
You could buy slabs of it in grocery stores. Then, maybe twenty years ago, it started becoming rarer and rarer. I suspect it fell prey to the same FDA regulations which killed off so many other ethnic foods like the good kind of liver sausage and real blood sausage.
You could buy slabs of it in grocery stores. Then, maybe twenty years ago, it started becoming rarer and rarer. I suspect it fell prey to the same FDA regulations which killed off so many other ethnic foods like the good kind of liver sausage and real blood sausage.
Posted by Phideaux on 05/03/22 at 10:37 PM
maybe sweeten up everything, Roadkill Roll-Ups
Posted by Anthony on 05/04/22 at 02:48 AM
Asian carp is the hot item at "Can't Beat 'Em, Eat 'Em!" You will also find yummy recipes for bullfrog, wild boar, kudzu, and of course, nutria:
https://www.cantbeatemeatem.us/
https://www.cantbeatemeatem.us/
Posted by Virtual in Carnate on 05/04/22 at 10:56 AM
OK, Dutch perspective here.
Pigeon, goose and horse are not even weird foods, here. Unusual, as in, for special occasions, yes. A bit (or rather) more expensive than chicken or beef, yes. But not weird. In fact, I probably (too lazy to check) have some sliced smoked horse in my fridge, for sandwiches.
Pony is weird only because it's pony and not horse. Crow is weird. There's normally no reason to hunt crows, and there's no reason to suspect they taste good.
Muskrat is weird only because it's not native. But that's all the more reason why it should be made normal to eat. It's an invasive species from Northern America, and it's undermining our dikes. It's not only an environmental pest, it's a downright threat to our safety. It should be eradicated, and to that end, it should be made fashionable to eat wild-caught ones (and illegal to farm). Also, according to the Belgians, it tastes somewhat like rabbit, and they know about good food.
They also, currently, sell crayfish of some sort. The same thing goes for that: there is an invasive, American species which is killing off our local crustaceans, and it needs to go and is edible. (If they were English rather than Dutch, they'd probably add the grey squirrel, which has driven the red squirrel up to Scotland and down to Wight.)
As far as I can tell at a glance, their aim is not to make these species normal to eat, but to point out that we kill a lot of animals and don't eat them. They have a point. For instance, geese flocks near Schiphol are regularly exterminated. With good reason: ask Chesney Sullenberger! But, then, why destroy the carcases, when so much energy is put into the raising of livestock? Geese are good meat!
(OK, I do basically know why. It boils down to "Don't put that in your mouth, you don't know where it's been." But they're right that we need to be rather more nuanced about that.)
Pigeon, goose and horse are not even weird foods, here. Unusual, as in, for special occasions, yes. A bit (or rather) more expensive than chicken or beef, yes. But not weird. In fact, I probably (too lazy to check) have some sliced smoked horse in my fridge, for sandwiches.
Pony is weird only because it's pony and not horse. Crow is weird. There's normally no reason to hunt crows, and there's no reason to suspect they taste good.
Muskrat is weird only because it's not native. But that's all the more reason why it should be made normal to eat. It's an invasive species from Northern America, and it's undermining our dikes. It's not only an environmental pest, it's a downright threat to our safety. It should be eradicated, and to that end, it should be made fashionable to eat wild-caught ones (and illegal to farm). Also, according to the Belgians, it tastes somewhat like rabbit, and they know about good food.
They also, currently, sell crayfish of some sort. The same thing goes for that: there is an invasive, American species which is killing off our local crustaceans, and it needs to go and is edible. (If they were English rather than Dutch, they'd probably add the grey squirrel, which has driven the red squirrel up to Scotland and down to Wight.)
As far as I can tell at a glance, their aim is not to make these species normal to eat, but to point out that we kill a lot of animals and don't eat them. They have a point. For instance, geese flocks near Schiphol are regularly exterminated. With good reason: ask Chesney Sullenberger! But, then, why destroy the carcases, when so much energy is put into the raising of livestock? Geese are good meat!
(OK, I do basically know why. It boils down to "Don't put that in your mouth, you don't know where it's been." But they're right that we need to be rather more nuanced about that.)
Posted by Richard Bos on 05/07/22 at 10:25 AM
Oh, and...
@Phideaux: being omnivorous has nothing to do with it. The most omnivorous creature in the world, even more so than ourselves, is the domesticated pig. Don't tell me you don't eat bacon.
@Yudith: there are no possums here, so there's no need to put them on the menu. Feel free to do so in the USA. Ditto skunks. Rats don't have enough meat on them, unless you live in Africa (and they do eat them there). Seagulls have been tried, and found inedible. Donkeys fall under the same heading as ponies (and I think some people do make donkey jerky). Jellyfish are not a problem here, but are eaten, I believe, in Japan. As for carp: what @Phideaux says. They're commonly eaten in many European and Asian countries - in fact, carp is a traditional Christmas meal in Poland.
@Phideaux: being omnivorous has nothing to do with it. The most omnivorous creature in the world, even more so than ourselves, is the domesticated pig. Don't tell me you don't eat bacon.
@Yudith: there are no possums here, so there's no need to put them on the menu. Feel free to do so in the USA. Ditto skunks. Rats don't have enough meat on them, unless you live in Africa (and they do eat them there). Seagulls have been tried, and found inedible. Donkeys fall under the same heading as ponies (and I think some people do make donkey jerky). Jellyfish are not a problem here, but are eaten, I believe, in Japan. As for carp: what @Phideaux says. They're commonly eaten in many European and Asian countries - in fact, carp is a traditional Christmas meal in Poland.
Posted by Richard Bos on 05/07/22 at 10:32 AM
@Richard Bos -- You're assuming I'm not Jewish.
Omnivores are 'tricky' because there are considerations of what they eat (carrion can be a source of disease) and how stringy their meat is.
Omnivores are 'tricky' because there are considerations of what they eat (carrion can be a source of disease) and how stringy their meat is.
Posted by Phideaux on 05/07/22 at 11:50 AM
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Category: Food