Strange Foods. Jerry Hopkins

at the base of the tail.

      Surely, the controversy over killing whales will continue. Many whale species are now increasing in numbers and the political climate is changing. When CITES voted fifty-seven to fifty-one, supporting the trade of whale products in 1997, Ginette Hemley of the World Wildlife Fund told the Associated Press, “This indicates a significant decrease in opposition to whaling. The whole tone of the whaling debate has changed.”

      Peter Bridgewater, chairman of the ICW, added, “The numbers [favoring an end to the ban] were much stronger than they have ever been. The interpretation being put on this by a number of countries is that the way is open for trading and people are interested.”

      Greenpeace and other conservationists continue to say “No way! Feed the school children something else!”

      guts

      “Guts” is an interesting word. Literally, it is a reference to the alimentary canal, a tubular passage functioning in the digestion of food and extending from the mouth to the anus, a path that includes a lot of anatomy, and provides a great deal of food itself.

      Sausage for the Duke of Este

      “Take pigs’ throats and cut out the fat, but keep the clean, smooth glands. Slice the loins finely; also the ears (well scoured), and the snouts; peel the tongues and wash them thoroughly in hot water; bone, scrub and singe the trotters; clean the testicles. Lay the ears, snouts and trotters on the bottom of a good clean pot and cover with coarse salt. On top put the tongues, then the throats, loins and testicles sprinkled with fine salt. Let the pot stand for three days, then swill out with red wine. Soak the lot with red wine for another day. Drain, rinse several times to get rid of the salt, and dry with clean white cloths. Pack the ingredients tight into a sausage skin. Use at once or store.”

      Cristoforo di Messisgbugo, chef to the Duke of Este in Parma, sixteenth century

      It’s also now thought of—colloquially, at least in English—as a synonym for courage and fortitude. So, a robust and daring individual may be described as being “gutsy” or “having guts,” and to be without such character is to be “gutless.” Sometimes, this attribute is called “intestinal fortitude.” The famous World War Two army general George Patton was known as “Blood and Guts.”

      In addition, many people talking about their instincts say, “I feel it in my gut.”

      This is one of those rare instances when positive endorsement-using the word to mean courage and intuition—don’t do anything to make the namesake appealing as food. However many people in the world today savor the deliciously prepared parts of the alimentary canal, as many more would never even consider putting “guts” on their dinner plate. And it is interesting how many of those who will eat guts often give the meat an innocent-sounding euphemism, as if that would distance the food from its anatomical origins. Just as feet are called “trotters,” the pancreas and thymus glands are called “sweetbreads,” lungs are called “lights,” the spleen is called “melt” and testicles have a variety of more socially acceptable names, the stomach of ruminants, especially the ox, calf, or sheep, is called “tripe,” as, sometimes, are the intestines, while the intestines of young pigs are called “chitterlings.” (Or in the southern United States, “chitlins,” usually consumed with grits and collard greens.) Such foods, along with other internal organs, are called offal, meaning, literally, the “off-fall” or off-cuts from the carcass; many call these items “variety meats.” Even in Chinese households, you will never hear anyone say, “Pass the stomach” or “Could I have some more intestine, please?”