Animal Bits
I’d like to think it was the pickled intestines I ate on Friday that made me sick. That would at least give me a rational reason for not wanting to eat it again. Alas, I know in my heart of hearts, I was feeling a bit sick even before I ate the intestines. This doesn’t alleviate my symptoms at all, but it does make my desire to never eat pickled intestine again an irrational one. Before I knew it was intestine I thought it was at least palatable. Regarding Taiwanese cuisine, ignorance really is bliss. I’m willing to eat most things provided I don’t know what they are. Once someone tells me which part of what animal a particular cut of meat originates from I am less likely to want to scarf it down. While I’ve heard the chicken heart shish kebabs are pretty tasty, I just can’t do it. Call me a chicken, tell me I’m a closed-minded North American, or laugh at my ignorance, I just have trouble eating offal. I’ll eat just about anything else. I don’t mind weird bugs, or slugs, or unidentifiable seafoods. I just have trouble with guts.
Liver was never served in my childhood home. Chicken hearts weren’t on the menu. Head cheese was unheard of. Occasionally liverwurst would make an appearance, but I would avoid it more staunchly than I, at that time, avoided peas (now one of my favorite vegetables). I don’t know why I make the distinction between an animal’s muscles and its organs, but I do; and it is a very clear distinction. I just don’t eat guts. I understand it is a completely psychologically rooted distaste. I’m sure lamb brains can be prepared in an array of succulent dishes, but my deep-seated distaste for offal will preclude me from enjoying any of them.
I think I can at times be an overly rational person. Perhaps I should embrace this particular irrational aspect of my personality. An excess of rationality is probably almost as harmful as the opposite. Provided I’m aware of where my irrationality lies I reckon a certain amount is a healthy part of being human. My distaste for offal is similar to many irrational fears and superstitions. They are all part of the incredibly complex array of traits that make us human. Our irrational habits and beliefs help to differentiate us from biological machines. They are all part of the wonderful mystery of what it is that makes us what we are. This at least, is how I rationalize my irrational distaste for animal guts.