Benedict XVI: “The right to life includes freedom from hunger”

[tomarin]

Let’s face it, fat tastes good in most of its forms. But it’s an acquired taste, I believe, at least when it comes to excess. I can enjoy a well-marbled steak, though I don’t prefer it, but when I was growing up I couldn’t stand even the slightest amount of fat on or in meat, and I would remove every bit of it no matter how long the surgery took. Same with a lot of forms of fat. I didn’t like butter especially and despised cream and nearly every form of cheese. I liked pork but didn’t like sausage. Lots of kids don’t like fat. I think we acquire that taste for added fat, some at younger ages than others. I’m not condemning fat totally. We need it to metabolize a lot of things, and women in particular need it for fertility. I eat fat, and I’ll admit it. Put homemade ice cream (with real cream) in front of me with fresh fruit in it and I’ll eat it down and ask for more. But there are limits, even to my jaded palate. I just plain don’t prefer it in meat, and particularly not in beef.

(shortened by Tomarin)

Interesting post. I thought that fat was the origin of flavor in food, so that the less fat the less flavorful the food; therefore the leaner wild animal meat such as bison and wild turkey should therefore be less flavorful, but obviously it’s somewhat more complicated than that.

I’ve had deer meat and it definitely had a flavor I didn’t care for.

I can think of a lot of fatty things that I like, if not love, as an adult: bacon, refried beans (from lard), of course cheese in a major way, creamy sauces for pasta. I don’t remember how I felt about those things as a kid, but I don’t think I actively disliked them. I do remember finding the gristle in steak (which we ate a lot growing up) disgusting – like you I would do anything to avoid getting it in my mouth. I still feel that way to some extent.

Hunter gatherers and pastoralists from what I remember have a great taste for fat. They would probably consider the gristle on a steak to be a delicacy reserved for high status people.

 

[Ridgerunner]

(shortened by Tomarin)

Interesting post. I thought that fat was the origin of flavor in food, so that the less fat the less flavorful the food; therefore the leaner wild animal meat such as bison and wild turkey should therefore be less flavorful, but obviously it’s somewhat more complicated than that.

I’ve had deer meat and it definitely had a flavor I didn’t care for.

I can think of a lot of fatty things that I like, if not love, as an adult: bacon, refried beans (from lard), of course cheese in a major way, creamy sauces for pasta. I don’t remember how I felt about those things as a kid, but I don’t think I actively disliked them. I do remember finding the gristle in steak (which we ate a lot growing up) disgusting – like you I would do anything to avoid getting it in my mouth. I still feel that way to some extent.

Hunter gatherers and pastoralists from what I remember have a great taste for fat. They would probably consider the gristle on a steak to be a delicacy reserved for high status people.

I don’t like venison either…tastes like a wild plant that grows in low places here. Don’t know what it is.

Fat is a big deal for “feast or famine” folks. People need it, particularly if they expend a lot of energy and aren’t guaranteed a meal.

Your post reminded me of a practice the ancient Greeks had. When they sacrificed bullocks and such to the gods, they would take some of the fat and the bones and burn it completely. The gods, you see, subsisted on the smell alone. The Greeks, being material creatures, would then eat the rest of it themselves.