Weird Food Ingredients

"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot) 01/22/2015 at 06:46 • Filed to: Foodlopnik

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Yesterday I was talking with someone at work and we got on the topic of odd things some foods are made from. A few examples would be !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! hot dogs, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (mmhmm, ham), or even !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Oppo, what are some other foods with awkward/weird (possibly delicious) ingredients, that we eat? [Pic of delicious natural casing hot dog for reference].

davedave1111 > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 06:51

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochineal

zeontestpilot > davedave1111 01/22/2015 at 06:57

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Ha, nice! My personal rule, if it's not staring at you, it's ok to eat, :).

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 07:00

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McDonalds Chicken McNuggets, being glooped into the same cardboard boxes that they make their fries from.

Sam > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 01/22/2015 at 07:02

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At least they taste good.

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > Sam 01/22/2015 at 07:06

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That's debatable, have you ever eaten one without the batter?

Tinfoil Hat in a thunderstorm, now with added diecast > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 01/22/2015 at 07:13

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"the same cardboard boxes that they make their fries from." Are you saying the fries are made from cardboard? If so, that's hilarious, if not, I'm drunk and over thinking shit.

zeontestpilot > Tinfoil Hat in a thunderstorm, now with added diecast 01/22/2015 at 07:21

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No, it's just that your tinfoil hat is finally picking up the signals, :).

zeontestpilot > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 01/22/2015 at 07:21

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Is that why they are so good?

Tinfoil Hat in a thunderstorm, now with added diecast > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 07:32

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Signals! What signals? My tinfoil hat is only 2 months old. Still got a month of use to go before it wil let the radio waves into my brain. Aluminium rocks man.

CalzoneGolem > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 07:57

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Not really widely eaten but blood sausage and tripe were big with my gramps.

davedave1111 > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 08:10

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My rule is not to eat anything that might take a bite out of me. So no shark, no crocodile, no mosquito. So far the sharks and crocodiles have left me alone, but not the mossies, the ungrateful bastards.

OkCars- 22k Crossroads > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 08:18

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lol. I saw the lead picture right after getting up. And i had for some reason a very blurry vision temporarily. I managed to read the word curve and saw an orange curve.

Also read the user zeonte pilot, and i thought: Hey! they finally got some curves for that HW track down the stairs. And went to sleep again some more minutes.

zeontestpilot > Tinfoil Hat in a thunderstorm, now with added diecast 01/22/2015 at 08:22

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Huh, that's weird. Mine worked perfectly right out of the box. Maybe yours is defective? Oh, I got the premium one, the seller insisted on it. Maybe you got the basic model?

zeontestpilot > davedave1111 01/22/2015 at 08:24

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Mosquitos serve no purpose as far as I'm concerned.

Chteelers > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 08:28

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Sodium nitrite. Monosodium glutamate. Hydrolyzed vegetable protein. Potassium in low sodium products. High fructose corn syrup. Blue red and yellow food colorings. Those don't grow on trees, folks.

Most people don't realize these are in nearly all the food they purchase.

zeontestpilot > CalzoneGolem 01/22/2015 at 08:28

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If I remember right, I think Germans ate blood sausage, or some European country did.

zeontestpilot > OkCars- 22k Crossroads 01/22/2015 at 08:33

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Ha, nice. I think the turn pieces are gonna be a b-day present or something. I'm think currently hunting for a loop, :).

davedave1111 > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 08:34

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http://www.nature.com/news/2010/1007…

There have been semi-serious debates about whether it would be a good thing to eradicate mosquitos completely, if we could. The consensus seems to be 'very probably' - which of course isn't strong enough to act on, but says a lot about how little good mossies appear to do.

CalzoneGolem > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 08:38

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I think it was bigger during the 30's. It's more or less impossible to find.

zeontestpilot > Chteelers 01/22/2015 at 08:40

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My wife and I have this thing where we try and taste different root beers. Then she went on a vendetta against High Fructose corn syrup. So we 're severely limited in what new brands to try, since most have HFCS. Except Virgil's, which is amazingly good and smooth, but expensive, :/.

505Turbeaux > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 08:44

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Agar I always thought was bizarre. It is in everything.

"Throughout history into modern times, agar has been chiefly used as an ingredient in desserts throughout Asia and also as a solid substrate to contain culture media for microbiological work. Agar (agar-agar) can be used as a laxative , an appetite suppressant, a vegetarian substitute for gelatin , a thickener for soups , in fruit preserves , ice cream , and other desserts, as a clarifying agent in brewing , and for sizing paper and fabrics."

zeontestpilot > davedave1111 01/22/2015 at 08:49

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Huh, I wonder what kind of impact that would cause the environment. Also, can the genocide of a insect species be rationalized simply because it's 'annoying'?

DarrenMR > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 08:49

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Not exactly the same, but can anyone explain why pickles have yellow and blue colorings added? Doesnt make any sense to me at all.

Flat Six > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 08:51

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I like Abita and Saint Arnolds - neither have HFCS.

Yossarian > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 08:59

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They're more than just annoying. Mosquitos and malaria kill more people than basically any other disease throughout the world.

davedave1111 > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 09:00

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The article discusses the ecological impact it would have, and generally the answer seems to be 'remarkably little'.

And 'genocide' of mosquitos isn't proposed because they're annoying, but because they're lethal. Still the world's biggest killer, I believe - well ahead of humans.

zeontestpilot > DarrenMR 01/22/2015 at 09:02

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Never heard of that, what do you mean?

The Real Dacia Sandero > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 09:03

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Look up Dominion Root Beer. Really good stuff. It's ultra smooth. It doesn't have the spiciness of Virgils, and has a full creamy flavor to it.

zeontestpilot > Flat Six 01/22/2015 at 09:04

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Never heard of them. what country did you buy them in? And if the usa, which store chain?

DarrenMR > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 09:07

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Next time youre in a grocery store take a look at a jar of pickles. -Every- jar at walmart of pickles has blue and yellow coloring added.

My wife is trying to get away from all the chemicals, its become quite difficult to find pickles that dont have dyes.

zeontestpilot > davedave1111 01/22/2015 at 09:09

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True about being lethal. I suppose the idea of killing off an entire species doesn't sit well with me....

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > 505Turbeaux 01/22/2015 at 09:13

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Agar is awesome! Just try it

ttyymmnn > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 09:17

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Armour Potted Meat Food Product. Mmmm, I love me some partially defatted cooked beef fatty tissue. And salt. Lots of salt.

davedave1111 > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 09:17

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Well, we kill them by the hundreds of millions already, so it's just a matter of degree. But I know what you mean. The question is whether there's anything to it except moral squeamishness. Could you tell the mother of a child dying of malaria that we didn't kill off all the mosquitos because it 'didn't sit well with us'?

This is actually a version of the Trolley Problem, I guess.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_p…

Chteelers > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 09:17

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So long as you limit HFCS in your diet, there's no big issue. It's not a carcinogen or anything, just something that should go away. Keep tasting those root beers! sounds like a fun hobby

505Turbeaux > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 01/22/2015 at 09:18

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oh yeah I totally have. It is good, but it is weird that it is in every pre made dessert ever and it is algae

crowmolly > DarrenMR 01/22/2015 at 09:21

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Probably to make them more uniform looking and therefore more appetizing.

People don't like to eat things that don't "look" perfect.

BigBlock440 > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 09:22

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It would take away a food source for fish, but I guess they could find something else to eat.

BigBlock440 > DarrenMR 01/22/2015 at 09:24

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Primary colors. Yellow + Blue = Green.

zeontestpilot > ttyymmnn 01/22/2015 at 09:30

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Mmhmm, I love me some beef heart and mustard.

jariten1781 > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 09:30

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You consider headcheese food? I feel for you...though I haven't had it since I was a child. In fact, I don't think I've even seen it for sale outside the St Louis market. Grandpa loved it though.

Speaking of things he liked that are not fit for human consumption...Lutefisk. Gelatinous, horrendous smelling, horridly disgusting tasting fish. It's litterally soaked in lye which also is sold as drain cleaner. So gross.

DarrenMR > BigBlock440 01/22/2015 at 09:31

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Last time I checked they are already green.

zeontestpilot > davedave1111 01/22/2015 at 09:34

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This might seem stupid, but isn't there some kind of medicine we can send them to help prevent/combat malaria? And stuff that eliminates the insects in that area? Like bug zappers?

Where are the mosquitoes getting the malaria from? Other animals? I don't know honestly.

BigBlock440 > DarrenMR 01/22/2015 at 09:34

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Not really, more of a dull yellowish whitish.

Flat Six > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 09:39

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Republic of Texas ;)

Abita is from Louisiana, St Arnold's is from Texas. They are both pretty common here in Austin.

zeontestpilot > BigBlock440 01/22/2015 at 09:45

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Huh, so they do serve a purpose, I've always wondered about that. :)

jmedarts > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 09:48

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I have never told anyone what the secret ingredient in my famous christmas cookies is, but it's actually "floor"

zeontestpilot > Chteelers 01/22/2015 at 09:52

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Ha, Telling her that might be difficult. My wife's become a bit of a health fanatic. She doesn't like anything unhealthy in the house. Lol.

It is a fun hobby. We don't splurge on food, so we get it every so often as a 'treat'. It does add up, staring at 3.99 per package of 4 or 6 (depending on brand).

davedave1111 > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 10:15

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We spend literally billions combating malaria (and other similar diseases), without a great deal of success. Mosquito nets are the most effective thing we've found since DDT was banned.

Mosquitos pick up malaria-infected blood from humans, then transfer it to other humans.

davedave1111 > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 10:16

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Well, something will eat pretty much anything. If there were no mossies, though, most insectivores would just switch to eating whatever replaced the mossies. There are a few specialised species which might have more trouble.

zeontestpilot > jariten1781 01/22/2015 at 10:29

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Ha, if it's meant for normal consumption, it's food to be. I used to work in a deli. I tasted the head cheese so I can tell the customer what it tastes like. A strong ham taste in gelatin, :).

zeontestpilot > jmedarts 01/22/2015 at 10:35

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That would explain the pieces of tile I found in it.

JEM > zeontestpilot 01/22/2015 at 13:06

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Carrageenan:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrageen…

Castoreum:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castoreum…

Oh, and can't forget Isinglass:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isinglass

bugs, beaver anus juice, and fish bits - it's what's for dinner!

zeontestpilot > JEM 01/23/2015 at 06:12

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It makes you wonder exactly how they discovered the uses for castoreum. Was it on purpose, or accident? Did someone just decide "anus glad juice, let's add it and see what happens." :)

JEM > zeontestpilot 01/23/2015 at 07:45

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haha I've wondered that exactly before.