Bone marrow, not on Tory’s list but, maybe it should be? (Roboppy)
I consider myself an adventurous eater, and from an early age, I had a French-leaning palate. As soon as I learned to chew solid foods, I began inhaling Roquefort, paté, and on occasion, entire sticks of butter. But despite my penchant for richness, there are certain French foods that still scare the living daylights out of me. In some cases, it’s the result of a past trauma, and in others, it’s just an instinct that whispers in my ear, “Run far and fast away from this food.” These are the items on my Do-Not-Eat list:
Boudin noir and mashed potatoes (Roboppy)
1. Boudin noir (a.k.a. blood sausage) is just that: a disturbingly purple sausage full of pork and pig’s blood. The name alone is enough to make any rational person run for the hills, but then of course, there’s the taste. Have you ever been on a car trip and passed through rural territory, only to have your air supply adulterated by the putrid smell of cow and pig manure? That’s pretty much what blood sausage tastes like, only more potent, because this time you’re not just smelling it, you’re eating it.
How do I know? I used to work for a French man who cooked lunch for our team every day. In general, these lunches provided me with the opportunity to happily eat like a real Parisian. On some days, we’d have tomato tartelettes followed by roast chicken and fiery mustard, salad, yogurt and fruit, chocolate, and to punctuate it all, a strong espresso.
But on one occasion, I sat down and was promptly served blood sausage. Still a newbie, I was excited to try a regional specialty, especially one that was served with yummy cooked apples. But after one excruciatingly nasty bite, boudin noir went on my list of foods not to be repeated. I haven’t felt the same about poor, innocent apples ever since.
Boudin noir and caramelized apples (Sifu Renka)
2. It comes as no surprise that andouillette (a corse-grained sausage made with pork intestines and other mysterious chunks) is a polarizing food. One portion of the population loves to complain about its nastiness, and the other portion licks its lips at the very mention of it. When I first heard the complaints of the former group, I used to think, “How bad could it really be?” Surely these weaklings were exaggerating. But recently, I had my first (and last) run-in with the dreaded thing.
I had taken off for a lovely weekend in Normandy, determined to eat “locally”: Calvados, caramel, apples, cider, Camembert… how can you go wrong? Well, here’s how. We were almost done with an incredible meal at Le P’tit Resto in Bayeux (which I highly recommend) when I opted for the cheese course: Pont-l’Évêque wrapped around a delicate slice of andouillette. After one bite, it was clear this was not going to happen. Trying to keep my gag reflex in check, I stealthily hid the remains of the offensive thing under the few salad leafs on my plate. I thought I had done a fairly convincing job, but when the waitress returned, she immediately recognized my trick and made a frowny face. I began to make excuses, and then suddenly realized, “Wait a minute. You just fed me intestinal chunks. Shame on you.” Then again, I just voluntarily ate them in the name of haute cuisine. Shame on me.
Left: steak tartare (NwongPR); Right: a Parisian butcher truck (Austinevan)
3. It’s time for a breather: steak tartare. This one isn’t so bad. When mixed with the right proportions of onions, raw egg, capers, mustard and Worcestershire sauce, it basically tastes like a raw hamburger. It’s just that I prefer my hamburgers cooked—go figure. I will eat occasional bites of tartare, but a whole plate? No thank you. It’s an issue of volume, I suppose. Everything in moderation, especially ground-up cow.
Fromage de Tete (Roboppy)
4. And then there’s fromage de tête, or head cheese. Call me unsophisticated, but this name just does not appeal. It generally comes in a terrine and consists of “parts of a cow’s head” set in gelatin. The parts can vary, of course, and sometimes they’ll even throw in some tongue, feet, or heart. Bonus! I have yet to eat this delicacy, and I must admit, I’m in no hurry.
Oursin (Noodlepie)
5. Oursin. Sea urchin. I realize a lot of people like these guys, but to me, they taste and feel like a salt-saturated sponge in my mouth. You’re more likely to encounter them in the south of France, where people sometimes spread them on grilled bread and munch away. Just thinking about it makes me want to rinse my mouth out with soap, which would be an improvement on the briny explosion oursin imposes on the palette. I’ll stick with the good old cheese-and-baguette formula, thanks very much.
So there’s my list. What about you, readers? Any French food traumas to report?
Related links:
- And that’s not it! Check this list out for more freaky French foods
- It had to happen: Haribo Fraise Tagada flavored macarons
Written by Tory Hoen for the HiP Paris Blog. Looking for a fabulous vacation rental in Paris, London, Provence, or Tuscany? Check out Haven In.
WRITTEN BY
Tory Hoen
Tory Henwood Hoen has been published by New York Magazine, Vogue, Condé Nast Traveler, Bon Appétit, Fortune, and others. She was Creative Director of Brand at M.M.LaFleur, where she founded the brand’s digital magazine, The M Dash. Her debut novel, The Arc, is available in bookshops near you and online.
We have truely lost our connection to food, we much rather eat crap from an industrial processing plant- of something made out of corn and wheat sweetened in HFCS and artifically colored the perfect hue, told it is healthy and recycle the cardboard box then to honore the animal and eat it all- so not to waste anything in its death, they way it has been done since man walked the earth. SAD
Cupcakes. Overrated crap. Twinkles really.
Andouillettes smell rather like poo, but taste good if you can get over it – a truly weird experience I will likely not repeat.
How could anyone not like bone marrow though? Heaven.
Andouillette has to be the nastiest thing I’ve ever eaten, aside from ants and maggots in Cambodia! Rubbery and difficult to digest without a good swig of red wine, it’s got to be my least favourite French food. Boudin noir on the other hand (especially when cooked with Calvados and caramelized apple) is simply delicious!
I could subscribe to your list easily…. although bone marrow is delicious but not on its own as it is served in France. We serve it as part of beef slowly cooked and there is just a dollop of marrow within the bone 🙂
I love a well prepared salmon tartare, Hero Husband adores steak tartare (and salmon) – my heart just doesn’t beat for THIS kind of raw meat. Love carpaccio however which is also raw…
Nice post and something different!
You can get Steak Tartare seared 5cuisson or cuit) most places and it’s delicious
Oh, where did you take the pic of that lovely-looking bone marrow? I want to try this when I’m back in Paris in July 🙂
Hi Paige! The bone marrow image is by this flickr user: http://www.flickr.com/photos/roboppy/ She’s a great photographer!
Tete de Veau, pigs feet, blood sausage, rabbit and horse meat are no nos on my list. I thought I didn’t like foie gras when I first came to France but quickly converted. It is wonderful. My husband likes calf brain which I just can’t make myself try.
My list includes MacDonalds, Krispy Kremes, Submarines, Steaks as big as a plate,Iceberg lettuce, Tex Mex….it’s all a matter of the food that you grew up with.Sea urchins on the quay in Collioure certainly tops grits in Alabama in my book:)
Weirdo-like, I have eaten and liked everything on the list, expect for steak tartare. Like you, I prefer my meat cooked.
Maybe the boudin noir and andouillette were poorly prepared? That would do it.
Come to Sens, France on Friday market and I guarentee you will change your mind about the boudin noir 🙂
Y’know, I just can’t deal with blood anything. In the West Indies we have blood sausage and blood pudding. It still doesn’t make me want to eat it. I’ve also (unknowngly) eaten heart too. You can imagine my dismay and near vomit-induced state I was in.
Oddly enough, one of my favourite things is manish water, which is also called goat’s head soup because, well, y’know. Still, it’s a tasty and spicy soup. Just don’t eat any of the squiggly, odd-looking bits.
My husband, daughters and I were traveling through France last year and stopped at restaurant on the road. Very different experience than here in Canada; certainly not a fast food experience. My husband thought he’d experiment and try this sausage looking dish. He got it close to his nose and even after smelling it, he went for it and took a bite. Afterall, the nice looking elderly couple next to us seemed to be enjoying it. Turns out it was andouillette. He had us in fits of laughter every time he would describe what it tasted like. We even video taped him describing it, as each time he came up with more creative ways to explain the process of how it got to his plate and could smell and taste so bad.
Then there was the first time I introduced him to my Babcia (polish grandmother) who was in the middle of making head cheese. I think he will forever associate that smell with my little Babcia.
I am not exactly running out for the tête de veau again. Quickly learned to scrutinize a menus after that one.
Love it. I always though black sausage would be good. So now I know it’s not at all what I thought it would be like. I wonder if it might have been badly prepared? Also the other sausage sounds seriously nasty, who would imagine? I generally love all sausages but those sound gross. Headcheese never did appeal, nor steak tartare. I’m with you on cooked meat.
I’m also surprised that sea urchin sounds so yucky. This is one of those foods the food show stars are always slurping up with expressions of rapture but I will avoid or at least approach with caution!
My waiter was much kinder. I ordered andouillette thinking it was andouille, you know the spicy one. I struggled through half of it and tried to explain to the waiter in my poor French that while it was certainly good (a lie) that it was not to my taste. It tasted like wet dog and I realized then and there that there are some things that should not be eaten. I got high marks from my French hosts when I told them the story.”Oh, you are very French, even we do not eat this!”
I was surprised when blood sausage (boudin noir) was first on the list : it’s one of my favorite meat dishes! While, I admit, I think the Irish do it better (black and white pudding), what I had here wasn’t bad, just incredibly filling. I had it at ‘Le Temps des Cerises’ on rue Cerisaie.