# Tripe - Offal



## xarruc

After a lifetime, allbeit so far a short one, of turning my nose up at offal, I have now started to experiment with and appreciate traditional meals using offal. 

When I say offal I mean any part of an animal that does not count as a cut of meat, so kidneys, liver, tripe, feet, tails, tongues, brains, ears, snouts, hearts, cheek, blood (= black pudding/ blood pudding /morcilla) etc.

How is offal regarded in your culture? How does your attitude differ to that of your closer ancestors/offspring? Is it a poor man's food? Is it disgusting and if so do you know why?



**Please note that the thread is about perceptions about eating offal, not your favourite steak and kidney recipe. If we can stay on topic we should be able to have an interesting and educational discussion of this topic. I hope.


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## elpoderoso

Offal doesn't seem to be very popular in the U.K despite famous dishes like Haggis and the aforementioned Steak and Kidney pie. 
I think that it's unpopularatity is due to its texture and its smell,which may be a bit too rich for some. Another reason that some people have for not eating it is that it's the cheapest part of the animal, though this doesn't stop them from going out and buying products made from ''meat'' recovered from the floor.


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## palomnik

In the USA it's traditionally been looked on as a poor man's meal, and most people turn their nose up at it, at least the ones who only shop in supermarkets.  The cholesterol scare starting in the 1980's didn't help matters much, since most offal is considered to be high in cholesterol.

Nowadays it's even hard to find it in the supermarkets here - even liver is hard to find, to say nothing of kidneys and tripe.  My grandfather loved to eat tripe, but he was one of the last of a dying breed.


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## xarruc

In my experience itis definatly an older generation's thing. My grandma apparently used to get quite excited at the idea of cooking up pig's trotter. yet my Dad couldn't stomach it.

I read that faggots were very popular during the war and during the subsequent rationing.

In Barcelona its much more common. Liver steaks, roast or stewed cheek and Pig's trotter are all common. When I go to the offal counter at the market which sells bits I've never even heard of, there is a good mixture of ages and class/status/wealth, although perhaps the younger generations were more likely to be immigrants and those of wealther appearence perhaps skewed towards the senior generations. In the supermarkets the offal seems to be fighting a losing battle agaist the accursed ready-meals.


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## Paulfromitaly

I do like tripe and I quite like lamb kidneys and liver too.
Although I don't consider myself old, I must admit that most of the people of my age loathe them (or as they say, they can't even stand the stink of offal).
Fifty years ago there was no choice, especially for the lower class: nothing edible were to be wasted whereas nowadays the younger generations would just eat chicken and burgers.
If I trust the cook, I enjoy my tripe dish very much and I'm sorry for those who don't even want to try it.
Buon appetito!


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## Thomsen

I generally think that it is a sign of progress that we don't need to eat the whole animal anymore.  (I'm sort of joking.)

I think the association is still with the rural mostly (as opposed to poor) and I think it has to do with the agricultural background of the region.


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## emma42

Yes, offal in general is looked upon with disgust by many people under the age of, say, forty.  Generally.  It is looked upon as a poor person's meal.

I was brought up with it, mainly liver, and I still like it now.  Many older, working-class people to whom I have spoken have memories of things such as tripe, pigs' trotters, chitterlings etc.  

Having said all that, I read that in many upmarket restaurants, certain types of offal are very fashionable.  Things such as chicken livers, sweetbreads.


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## ireney

Offal is most certainly not looked down upon in the Greek society  We eat and love to eat all kinds of offal and it is not considered as food for the poor (some of these things cost a lot anyway) but  the majority of them are considered traditional (on the other hand fois gras pâté for example is neither is it  )


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## Venezuelan_sweetie

*- How is offal regarded in your culture?* 
In my culture... Hhhmmm... Hard to say. You can find offal in many restaurants (and in every butcher shop). Youngsters hate it, 'senior citizens' love it, rural people consider it part of our cultural heritage, poor people consider it vital...

*- How does your attitude differ to that of your closer* *ancestors/offspring? *
Well, my mother never prepared any of those liver things, or kidneys stuff. She knew I couldn't see a cow's stomach or lamb's intestines without throwing up, so she'd rather spare the experience. Other mothers, back in my childhood, used to prepare that. My peers would say they didn't like them, but most of them did. Why lying? See next question.

*- Is it a poor man's food?* 
In the city, yes. And it's even logical, once one reads the posts above. But in the countryside, that's another story...

*- Is it disgusting?* Yes! *And if so do you know why?* 
I must confess offal is not for me. Actually, I hate the simple fact of stepping into a butcher shop. All those bloody pieces of animals, red, black and brown all over, and the smell, goodness, that smell!!

So whenever I think of "vísceras", my appetite disappears. I, just like our dictionary, consider offal inedible.


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## danielfranco

The mexican tradition, fortunately, has many uses for "offal". Although it seems to me that the definition might be inappropriate for a society where it is nothing out of the ordinary to eat:
Liver, brains (and the meat around the head), tripe, blood sausage, pig's uterus, pig's knuckles, pig's skin, chicken necks, chicken ass - for cripe's sake! -, chicken feet, flank of horse, lungs, kidneys, and other solid organs.

In tacos. In soups and broths. Pickled in brine. Deep fried. Just about in any conceivable manner.

The thing is, I have tried most of those things and they are quite tasty. I guess Mexico City, where I grew up, was a bit more eclectic and metropolitan, so the divide on who ate what was just a personal choice, and was difficult to say, "oh, well, he's poor, no wonder he's chewing the pig's uterus in a taco."

Even now, living here in the USA, we still have cow's brains and head meat, and fried intestines for breakfast tacos every so often. And tripe (menudo) whenever the spirit moves us.


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## cherine

Hey Xarruc, nice subject  Maybe you'll find this thread interesting.


xarruc said:


> When I say offal I mean any part of an animal that does not count as a cut of meat, so kidneys, liver, tripe, feet, tails, tongues, brains, ears, snouts, hearts, cheek, blood (= black pudding/ blood pudding /morcilla) etc.


Thanks for the definition, you spared me the effort of looking in the dictionary 
In Egypt we eat liver (very famous, prepared in different ways, and I love it), kidneys, tripe, feet, tails, togues, brains, hearts.
I'm not sure about the snouts and cheek.
The blood is sure not used, at least not by muslims (it's illicit in Islam to drink/eat blood).
And guess what's also eaten (specially by men): testicles , they believe it has an aphrodisiace effect  . I don't know if that's true.


> How is offal regarded in your culture?


It's very widely eaten. We almost throw nothing from a slaughtered animal, except maybe for the blood.
Some people are disgusted from some parts, but it's a matter of personal taste. Hating/disliking/feeling disgust from one of these doesn't necessarily mean you feel the same about the others.
You won't find this kind of food in every restaurant, but as far as I know all butchers sell them.


> How does your attitude differ to that of your closer ancestors/offspring?


I don't think there's any difference betwee the generation regarding this kind of food.


> Is it a poor man's food? Is it disgusting and if so do you know why?


I'm not rich, but I don't think I can be considered poor either. So maybe I can safely say that this is not a poor man's food. Some poor girls I know won't swallow these things, other more or less rich persons just love them.
Maybe the very rich people consider this food as low, but I guess they'd still eat some of it, like grilled liver and those testicles.


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## TRG

We used to eat some organ meats such as liver and heart, but not any more. Liver, in particular, is regarded as somewhat unhealthy. I think what you consider tasty is all a matter of custom and what you've grown used to and I'm afraid that unless I were starving I would not be able to choke down any offal type food. But if I were starving, I'd eat a cock roach in heartbeat.


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## tvdxer

Most Americans seem to consider offal disgusting or at least unpalatable.

However, some regions and locales in the country have their own specialties that contain "other" parts of the animal.  One example is the fried-brain sandwich.


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## geve

It's not that easy to say, really. In France part of offal food is considered cheap and/or typical of old rural people, but part of it is rather widespread and also often appears in festive meals. In the latter I include of course _foie gras_ (goose liver), but also _boudin noir_ (black pudding), _boudin blanc_ (don't know if there's an English equivalent for that one?), _gésiers_ (gizzards), _andouillette_... Not every French likes these dishes but it's generally not regarded as disgusting or low-class food.

And then there's a large variety of offal dishes that are part of a regional tradition and still widely eaten in these places, when the rest of the country finds it slightly disgusting without even trying (I'm one of these white-livered  people). I'm thinking about _pieds de porc_ (pig's trotters), _langue de boeuf_ (beef's tongue), _pâté de tête_ (made with the head of a pig)... Maybe the _andouillette_ and _gésiers_ ought to be in that category - the distinction is not that clear.

I would say that liver (apart from _foie gras_) is typically this sort of food that parents used to make their children eat, and their children now won't even come close to it. 
Have our papillae evolved that much, that what was part of daily food for our ancestors is now considered so despicable?


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## invictaspirit

I would say that its becoming very rare in England now as 'normal' food cooked in the home. You will occasionally see top chefs or gastro-pubs serving fancy-schmancy liver dishes, but I predict that they would tell you that these are the least-ordered menu item. It's unusual to find it on a menu. One or two cheap/workers' cafes might still serve liver and bacon casserole.

Offal is at best looked on here as a minor *ingredient *in a larger dish that features some other meat as its main component. Pate, steak and kidney pie (which always has far more steak than kidney), black pudding. Black pudding is a pan-European blood-sausage, found in Spain, France, GB and some other countries, although again, in all of those countries it is not really considered a regular dish these days.

However...unlike America (as stated above) offal is not hard to buy. You will see it in most supermarkets and all independent butcher shops. It's usually tucked away at the back of the displays and is sold in small quantities, but it is always there. It is bought by the older generation, perhaps those on very low incomes, and as a leser ingredient of meat dishes.


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## emma42

I wholeheartedly agree with that.  A good summary.


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## don maico

Offal is still found here and there in the uK but nowhere to the extent it once was. I believe the eating of it is somewhat more prevalent in the west country and maybe the north of England
In Argentina offal still represents an important part of an asado(barbecue ) or parilla. Sweetbreads , black pudding and  chitlinnes ( chinchulines in Spanish) often form part of this dish. I once saw Chinchulines transalated into English as grilled bowel and wondered how many English speaking people would choose that.


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## Lugubert

Liver à l'anglaise (fried slices, with fried bacon) isn't cheap in Swedish restaurants. Still, they often overcook it. A pity.Sweetbreads also are in the upper price region. I'm not enthusiastic, but don't fear them. Kidneys have a bad reputation. Most books say that they should be soaked in milk for quite a long time before being prepared, but a Chinese friend taught me the trick: you have to be very careful in removing the fat and the chalices. Then it will be delicious.

I once encountered brain in a Swedish restaurant, don't know of which animal. Unispiringly grey, no delicacy, strange texture, but perfectly possible to eat. For more humble meals, there's the Swedish blood pudding and blood sausage. Used to be among my favourite food when I was much younger - with lots of lingonsylt (preserve of _*Vaccinium vitis-idaea*_, often called *cowberry*, also called *lingonberry* (due to its Swedish name _lingon_), *partridgeberry* or *mountain cranberry* [thanks, Wiki]). Cheap, but not really looked down upon. It is much milder in taste than black pudding (which I just can't eat).

On Christmas tables, tongue of beef is almost mandatory. I'm no big fan, but most others are. Even less is my passion for brawn (Xmas and Easter traditionals). And I don't even know what parts of animals go into it.

My father liked pig trotters. Even in jelly, I don't count them as eatables. I find nothing on them that a human could even try to digest.

Heart should be OK, being a very pure muscle, but I've only seen it cooked in dog supply stores.


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## sarcie

geve said:


> _boudin blanc_ (don't know if there's an English equivalent for that one?)



Handily enough, "white pudding" . Not sure if you see it much elsewhere, but it's a staple, along with black pudding, in the traditional Irish "fry-up". I prefer white pudding to black actually, the texture is nicer and it's more pepper-y. 

As regards offal being a "poor man's" food, you often see Clonakilty black pudding on the menus of the most expensive restaurants in Ireland. And I tend to associate things like liver, kidney, ox's tongue, tripe and pig's trotters with the aristo "hunting" types.


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## Venezuelan_sweetie

In any normal butcher's (in Caracas), you can find things like gigantic beef tongues, cow's eyes, chicken's feet, pigs (the whole dead animal, just hanging there...), lamb's intestines, and aaaaall kinds of tripes you can imagine of virtually all kinds of animals (poultry's being the most expensive ones, for sure)...


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## la reine victoria

Offal is not frowned upon as poor man's food here.  Nor is it a cheap meal.


LRV


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## Cereth

Hola Venezolana !!

Mexico´s butcheries are just like you described!!!

pig´s head without eyes
dark, sticky, smelly liver and cow tongues......that freaks me out!!!!!!

Here in Japan "Yakiniku" -grilled meat-is part of the korean heritage/boom/trend 

there are two kinds of yakiniku "normal one" (as I describe it, sweet and smooth beef cuts)
and _Horumon.....beef offal that offers these fine delicacies:_

Harami - tender meat around the diaphragm.
Reba -liver. 
Tan - tongue. 
Tetchan - intestine. 
Hatsu - heart. 
Mino / Hachinosu - tripe


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## Bonjules

danielfranco said:


> ...... -, chicken feet, flank of horse, lungs, kidneys, and other.....


 
The thing is that if you processed your own chicken, you'd quickly learn how delicious some of these parts are. But what you get at the 'Super'-Market these days is a fairly tasteles, incomplete mockery of the real thing, designed to remind you as little as possible of what a real chicken looks like(God forbid you might get the idea that you are eating a dead animal). That's why it comes without feet (long an highly appreciated part of 'Dim Sum'), without a neck -equally delicious as a little soup with veggies-, a liver: Fresh liver from a healthy chicken,
sauteed with a little onion...on a slice of crunchy french bread...what a breakfast!
What do they do with the feet? probably sell them for big bucks to China. You never get a chance to like it.
I mean, just the texture of the thing - there is nothing like it, really.
And it's pure protein, no fat.


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## tvdxer

*Mod note:*
*This post was a new thread, but I merged it here as it discuss the same topic.*


Here in the United States, we're accustomed to being rather picky as to what meats we will eat. Most Americans consider eating the heart, brain, tongue, stomach, intestines, etc. of any animal to be disgusting, despite this being completely normal in many cultures. As a result, most of us eat what probably amounts to a fraction of the edible meat of a slaughtered animal, the rest often exported. This is subject to regional preferences; Southern cuisine tends to be far more accepting of various "alternative" meats, but Americans in general tend to shun them.

Are these "other" (from an American perspective, of course) parts of the animal common on the table in your country? Are the younger generations less willing to eat them, as in the United States? 

Aqui en los estados unidos, estamos acostumbrados a ser delicados en cuanto a los carnes que comemos. La mayoria de los estadounidenses piensan que es repugnante comer el corazon, los callos, la lengua, la tripa de cualquier animal, a pesar de que sea completamente tipical en muchas culturas. Como resultado de esto, la mayoria de nosotros comemos lo que probablemente solo sea una fraccion del carne edible de un animal matado, el resto exportado en muchos casos. Esta actitud es propensa a preferencias regionales; la cocina del sur de los estados unidos suele ser tolerar mas varios carnes "alternativos", pero los estadounidenses generalmente los evitan. 

?Son comunes las "otras" (por supesto del perspectivo norteamericano) partes del animal en las cocinas de su pais? ?Quieren comerlas menos las generaciones mas jovenes, asi en los estados unidos?


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## ColdomadeusX

Even though I live in Australia, I still retain my asian culture's tradition of eating offal. Many Australians think it's disgusting and many others love it. I'm a bit pickier though, I generally think heart and some other parts are disgusting but I really like pig's trotters. 
The same pretty much goes for the rest of society.- Many people love pate and tongue but they consider intestines to be disgusting.
I'm not sure about the rest of Australia on price but offal generally isn't all that expensive (there are a few exceptions).


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## alexacohen

For me, being Jewish, is a no-no.
Well, for me and for every Jewish person I know.
I can't even think of it as "food".
But in Spain "kidneys cooked with sherry", and "liver steak" and the ears, lips, tongue and things like that are quite enjoyed.
I can't say if they're cheap or expensive, sorry. You'll have to wait for a non-Jewish Spaniard.


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## pomar

Here in Sardinia the "other" parts are traditionally very much appreciated. I don't like a few parts, and someone else some others, but not out of disgust. Just in the same way you like or dislike a normal food.


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## samanthalee

It's a kind of contradiction for me. I never eat viscera except what my mother cooks. Somehow those prepared by others never seem clean enough.

It is a tradition for Chinese to eat brain to fortify the brain and eat trotters to fortify the legs and so on. But the young people aren't as enthusiastic about viscera nowadays, being aware of the high cholesterol level in these.


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## Encolpius

Moderator note: This is the first post of a new thread that has been merged with an older one. 

Some find it disgusting, others love it. 
1/ Is tripe a common delicacy in your country? 
2/ What's the most common type of food from tripes?
3/ What do you call it in your country?

*the Czech Republic*
1/ I think, it's very common, almost everybody knows it. 
2/ The most common food is tripe soup (I love it )
3/ dršťky


Thanks for your answers.


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## DiabloScott

*USA*
1.  Not generally considered a delicacy.  Regional and ethnic specialty.
2.  Menudo (tripe soup) and chittlins (southern USA dish)
3.  Tripe, organ meats.


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## Encolpius

DiabloScott said:


> *USA*
> 1.  Not generally considered a delicacy.  Regional and ethnic specialty.
> 2.  Menudo (tripe soup) and chittlins (southern USA dish)
> 3.  Tripe, organ meats.




Yes, I was wrong, delicacy was not the proper word. It's not considered a delicacy here either. So let's say just common food.


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## sokol

I guess tripe was in the whole Habsburg Empire a rather normal dish, eaten especially by the poor - this also was the case in Austria, my grandparents did _love _tripe, my parents didn't like them really but ate them anyway (which they don't do anymore, now); while I (and most people of my age or younger) never would have eaten them but would buy them as cats and/or dog food only.

So nowadays tripe hardly ever are eaten by Austrians (though I can't offer any statistics). They certainly aren't a dish served in normal restaurants; probably in some very traditional ones (or alternatively modern ones reviving ancient dishes, of which there are some) might at all serve them (that is, to people - not cats or dogs).

(Ah yes: and they are called "Kuttelfleck" here in Austria. By the way, I just remembered that during Solidarnosc, when many Poles fled to Austria and some came to the village where I lived then, they loved tripe and bought it at the local butcher, and my mom was at the time already disgusted of the thought of eating them: so my parents at that time didn't eat them any more, while at least some Poles then still did.)


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## ordira

Well, I live in the western side of México and here (and inmany other parts) it's "menudo."  I lived in the center of the country and it is commonly known as "pancita", which is a little bit different from menudo.  It's great for some (specially for the ones with a hangover) and it's gross for many others.


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## gurseal

DiabloScott said:


> *USA*
> 1. *Not generally considered a delicacy.* Regional and ethnic specialty.
> 2. Menudo (tripe soup) and *chittlins (southern USA dish)*
> 3. Tripe, organ meats.


And the smell during cooking does not help.


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## sokol

gurseal said:


> And the smell during cooking does not help.


Yes, I know; my parents sometimes (at the time when they didn't eat tripe anymore) bought some for our cats - and did cook it for them.
The smell alone was enough to make sure that I never will eat tripe ...


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## Encolpius

sokol said:


> Yes, I know; my parents sometimes (at the time when they didn't eat tripe anymore) bought some for our cats - and did cook it for them.
> The smell alone was enough to make sure that I never will eat tripe ...




I can imagine. We never had tripe soup at home, my mother denies cooking it, so I am forced to eat it at work, because believe it or not it's so common, you can eat it even at cafeteria here. I can't eat lungs, hearts or other offals myself. 

But if speaking about offals in general it all depends on how it is done. Offals can have really strange smell, so you need to get that smell out of them (just think of fish that have strong smell too!), then kidneys, goose liver is excellent. 

And so far nobody mentioned *bull testicles*.  Real and expensive delicacy. I never ate myself, but would taste it. 

I wonder what French would contribute in this thread.


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## mariaeulalia

I grew up in the country side of México, then I was used to eat tripes, that in my opinion are very tasty. I also like to eat sesos (brain). I have heard from some foreig friends that eating chicharrón (the skin of pork) is disgusting, but in México I guess almost all families eat it from time to time. There are only cultural matters.


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## Mate

Moderator note:


I would like to take this opportunity to remind you all that we should remain discussing the cultural aspects of offal and tripe consumption rather than our personal tastes on the matter. 


Thanks.


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## Bonjules

ordira said:


> Well, I live in the western side of México and here (and inmany other parts) it's "menudo." I lived in the center of the country and it is commonly known as "pancita", which is a little bit different from menudo. It's great for some (specially for the ones with a hangover) and it's gross for many others.


 
I have never heard of "pancita", Ordira. How exactly is it different from "menudo" and can you make a guess
why there would be a (regional?) difference? Menudo is also available in many restaurants in L.A. where many of us got to love it.
saludos


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## gurseal

mariaeulalia said:


> I grew up in the country side of México, then I was used to eat tripes, that in my opinion are very tasty. I also like to eat sesos (brain). *I have heard from some foreig friends that eating chicharrón (the skin of pork) is disgusting*, but in México I guess almost all families eat it from time to time. There are only cultural matters.


 The fried-to-a-crisp version is sold as a snack food in stores and markets in EEUU, but I never see anyone buying it. I question whether EEUU people would eat chicharrones prepared some other way.


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## danielfranco

That's weird: here in Texas I see people eating fried pork rinds (chicharrones) out in ball games. And I think that, due to us being so close to the border (yah, like, a thousand miles away from Mexico) you can find mexican taco stands that will sell you chicharrón tacos.

D


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## ewie

We (well, some of us) eat these in the UK too: they're called _pork scratchings_. They're generally considered to be a *very* down-market 'delicacy'.


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## Grop

In France we may eat skin as part of a meal (such as a roast chicken or a ham sandwich), but I have never heard of skin being sold as a separate, edible product.

Well, I assume pork skin must be present in cheap sausages and pâtés, as well as everything from a pig: _Dans le cochon, tout est bon_ (and vice versa).

I agree with what Geve said in post 15: all kinds of animal organs are used in several kinds of meals. Some of them are low-class food, while others are expensive food we only eat on great events. Many specialties can only be found in a specific place (or at restaurants from that place).

People are not equally easy about tripes (depending on their education and personal tastes), but traditional meals are no taboo: most people won't regard you as a barbarian if you eat something they find disgusting.

Several specialties have either disappeared, or changed their recipe from an animal (like beef or mutton) to pork after the mad-cow disease (and similar events) in the nineties. Some kinds of meat are now less popular.


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## sound shift

It's difficult to talk about the "cultural" aspects of eating tripe and offal in the UK because the culture is not monolithic. That perhaps explains the large number of personal accounts in this thread. However, I strongly believe that many in the UK are very status-conscious and given to avoiding food that might be seen as "poor person's fare". Some cookery writers stress that cheap food is not necessarily bad food and that a low price may be simply the result of an abundant supply, but these writers may be doing little more than preaching to the converted. There's also the whole question of convenience: people are used to processed, fast, food and probably believe tripe and offal to be difficult to prepare (as well as off-puttingly natural in appearance). It is a disgrace that UK households throw away thirty percent of the food that they buy, but concerns about the environmental effects of producing meat and transporting it half-way round the world, combined with the current recession-induced belt-tightening, might lead to a return of "Waste not, want not", which could conceivably affect attitudes towards offal.


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## Bonjules

sound shift said:


> It's difficult to talk about the "cultural" aspects of eating tripe and offal in the UK because the culture is not monolithic. That perhaps explains the large number of personal accounts in this thread. However, I strongly believe that many in the UK are very status-conscious and given to avoiding food that might be seen as "poor person's fare". Some cookery writers stress that cheap food is not necessarily bad food......


 
I have always been bothered by the term 'offal', I think it is elitist and
'classist'. Tripe and many organ meats as well as other 'discarded' parts of a healthy animal are often actually healthier, having a lower fat/protein ratio(some contain cholesterol but it is controversial whether dietary cholesterol actually does a whole lot - how you process it seems more important, meaning to say: For some it's a problem, for others not).
Tripe: Pure protein
Heart : Pure muscle (protein)
Chicken feet: Bone and protein. Only to mention a few...


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## sound shift

That's very interesting, Bonjules. In what way is the word "offal" elitist and 'classist'?


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## Bonjules

sound shift said:


> That's very interesting, Bonjules. In what way is the word "offal" elitist and 'classist'?


You explained it quite nicely yourself: Because it degrades a whole category
of perfectly good food that is not deemed 'classy' or 'refined' enough
for those who could afford ''better'.


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## DiabloScott

sound shift said:


> That's very interesting, Bonjules. In what way is the word "offal" elitist and 'classist'?


 
"Offal" in my experience is a term used mostly by producers of animal feed.  

Vegetarians sometimes refer to meat as "carrion" to make a similar point.


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## Bonjules

gurseal said:


> The fried-to-a-crisp version is sold as a snack food in stores and markets in EEUU, but I never see anyone buying it. I question whether EEUU people would eat chicharrones prepared some other way.


About chicharrón: What yoy buy as snack food these days is processed
so heavily to get all the fat out that it results in a thin, whispy, almost cotton-like (weight-wise) wafer that has
little in common with the original thing. Which was harder, heavier and had
more fat in it. It also had a lot more taste.
A version of this one can still find in some small Mexican markets in the L.A. area - ore at least one could a couple decades ago.
It is called "trompitas" , made from the pig's snout; it is solid, very greasy
and delicious - bon appétit!


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## gurseal

danielfranco said:


> That's weird: here in Texas I see people eating fried pork rinds (chicharrones) out in ball games. And I think that, due to us being so close to the border (yah, like, a thousand miles away from Mexico) you can find mexican taco stands that will sell you chicharrón tacos.
> 
> D


 Yeah, danielfranco. You're only three states west of me, but chicharrones sold at ball games is something I've never heard of. Not that I've been out to any ball games lately here in Alabama .


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## sound shift

DiabloScott said:


> "Offal" in my experience is a term used mostly by producers of animal feed.



Does the US public use the term "variety meats", Diablo?


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## ordira

Bonjules said:


> I have never heard of "pancita", Ordira. How exactly is it different from "menudo" and can you make a guess
> why there would be a (regional?) difference? Menudo is also available in many restaurants in L.A. where many of us got to love it.
> saludos


 
I've been checking and it's (supposedly) the same, but the main difference I notice is the color, here in Jalisco is more white and in the center is reddish, it's because the different use of chile. Greetings!


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## DiabloScott

sound shift said:


> Does the US public use the term "variety meats", Diablo?


 
I've seen that term in cookbooks that describe what it means, but I've never seen it used in a grocery store or heard anyone discussing it. I don't buy any meat but I haven't seen organ meats in the meat department (exception of liver which is relatively popular); I suspect the meat department people keep it behind the counter for anyone who asks though (same for dog bones etc that they don't want to display).

I have seen canned organ meats labeled chitterlings, tripe, or lungs in the specialty aisles.


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## Outsider

Offal is traditional in parts of northern Portugal, especially _tripas à moda do Porto_. This is so much so that the people of Porto have been nicknamed _tripeiros_. Another common offal dish all over Portugal is _dobrada_.


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## Porteño

You're quite right don maico. Here in Argentina, offal is still very much in demand on a daily basis, not only for the traditional weekend barbecues 'asados'. Most restaurants still offer kidney or liver dishes on their menu and of course the steak houses have everything and, as you say, the 'translated' menus can sometimes rather bewildering and frankly, offputting. -)


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## gurseal

When I was in elementary school, I remember hearing the term _souse_ meat. WR Forums dictionary says it's pork parts, some of it pickled.


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## Terry Morti

emma42 said:


> Yes, offal in general is looked upon with disgust by many people under the age of, say, forty.  Generally.  It is looked upon as a poor person's meal.



I'm not so sure. It would be remarkable *not* to find calves liver on the menu at the best restaurants. Anything with a Michelin star will almost certainly have calves liver.



ewie said:


> We (well, some of us) eat these in the UK too: they're called _pork scratchings_. They're generally considered to be a *very* down-market 'delicacy'.



Are they more downmarket than any other snack, like crisps? Mind you now they are usually just puffed corn snacks flavoured with pork rather than the bags of crackling that were served in the pubs in the late 70s.


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