Whilst reading about bánh mì yesterday, I came across this foodstuff amusingly called 'head cheese'. I mean, REALLY? Head cheese? That makes it sound like some kind of discharge from a man's unmentionables, or at least something fungal and bodily. Wow. It's chopped up bits of pig head and other things like scrotal sacs, all bound in a tasty jelly.
Somewhere down that page is a little note about a foodstuff that is familiar to me, called 'yaorou' (肴肉), which is a kind of cold pickled pork dish that I used to watch my dad make for special occasions like Christmas (imagine it instead of your turkey!). My sister didn't like it too much. I loved it. I don't know if my dad used trotters or some other cut of pork, but the skin kind of goes jelly-like and crunchy, and the pickling vinegar and punchy spices are wonderful. Sounds gross, huh? Well, I am a bit gross.
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I've never tried brawn, though I'd never say never. The American name is completely new to me, and it's certainly, ahem, unfortunate. I can only assume that the intimate byproduct you allude to doesn't have the same nickname over the pond...
ReplyDeleteThe Spanish, typically, are not at all reticent about rude names for cheese (er, real cheese now, not meat or man-stuff). Particularly fun is queso de teta (tit cheese), also called tetilla (nipple), which is appropriately, if rather voluptuously, shaped...
There was head cheese in the bánh mì that we tried in NY recently - not as bad as it sounds and actually pleasantly crunchy (must be the ears in it). Now I've just got to go to Spain and get me some tit cheese. Thanks for making me smile, Jon :-)
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