I totally agree with a lot of what you said, but I think it's interesting how food is in society or most cultures eating traditions. (I never finished this sentence) It's just interesting how different societies and cultures view food is what I intended to say.

I myself am a rather picky eater or was moreso of one as a child. I wouldn't eat certain foods just because I didn't like how it looked or what it was. But going out to eat with my boyfriend has been interesting because he's more of an adventurous eater. He'll try just about anything at least once. Though he too can be picky about certain foods like celery, broccoli, coriander, etc.. but he'll try things like sweetbreads, pig intestines and other more "adventurous" foods. Anyway, he has managed to convince me to try things that I otherwise would never eat. One time we went to a restaurant that it's main cuisine isn't sushi, but I don't like or eat sushi/sashimi/maki etc.. and the waiter came up to us and asked if we've tried this certain sushi, and we said no, and he said if he brings us a free "sampler" of this sushi if we would eat it and I was like "no, I don't like sushi" but the waiter convinced me and I figured you know I'm not paying for it and he's being generous for bringing it to us for free so I decided to try it and I didn't hate it. I'm still not convinced that I'll even like sushi or other raw fish etc... however, I'm more open to trying it now and especially if it's from a place that does sushi as their main thing. Though I guess this restaurant does the "free sushi" thing regularly because we've eaten there more times since and almost every time the waiter asks us if we'll try it. I assume it's a thing they do to drum up business for their sushi which I mean it might not be a sushi place but they do make good sushi (my bf confirms it since he has more sushi/raw fish experience). But I've also recently tried sweetbreads (which were delicious) and some other things that I normally would've refused to try. So I'm still a picky eater and will stick to my comfort foods, but once in a while I will maybe be convinced to try other foods. It definitely helps more when it's free. ;) But yeah, I agree forcing someone to try something is not gonna end up well. I often times get really stressed when someone tries that with me and I'm like "nope" and they don't understand that the more they force it the less likely I'll want to try it.

Also, for most of my life I would refuse to eat pork or any meat from pork, but my friend introduced me to XiaoLongBao (soup dumplings with porkmeat) and ever since I've been more open to trying and/or eating pork. So I've definitely opened up even if a little to try new foods. (Also I now love dumplings too. all dumplings... mmmm dumplings...)

Sorry for the super long post to read, your post just kinda inspired me to share my experiences (and also a few other stories I've skimmed).

On another note, I had recently watched a Buzzfeed video of the try guys trying some different foods including bugs, super hot-spicy foods and such fresh octopus, literally chopped while it's still alive, that its nerve cells were still firing as they ate it so it was wrigling in their mouths. I may be willing to try bugs (if they don't look like bugs or if I'm blindfolded and don't see them just eat them) and I can't handle really hot-spicy foods, but I do outright refuse to eat anything that is moving while eating it so the octopus is not happening. I guess the dish is called Sannakji. And I would probably never be willing to try it ever just because the whole moving thing is just... too much for me. I guess you're also supposed to chew it a lot before swallowing in order to prevent choking on it.

This is the video if anyone wanted to watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEqknalf6OQ

As an Australian, I'd never eaten tongue until my family went to live in Europe. Then my dad kept buying it (and horse, which you also don't eat in Australia) by accident because he thought the name looked nice (langue). XD Tbh that's about as adventurous as I ever really got... I like trying things from other cultures at restaurants though. c: I guess I could also say that I've had kangaroo, but it's a bit boring.

Adventurous Food-Challenge

historical cooking! In Europe we have a lot of collection of recipes from 14th century, and... well, our ancestors knows the pleasure of food (despite the lack of many edibles that will come from New World: potatoes, tomatoes, corn, cocoa)! There are many interesting dishes, using often a lot of spices and with an uncommon combination of sweet and salty, acid and savory. I have a weakness for two recipes of food and one of drink:

• boar meat stewed with apples, wine and plums (and a lot of spices: juniper, sage, etc)
• a thing that among friends we call "fruttino" (not the real historical name), that you could translate as "little fruit": pieces of apple/pear/peach cooked with red wine and caramelized with honey. You can eat them as a dessert, or upon slices of aged cheese, maybe with a dash of cinnamon or ginger. It's a bit of an organoleptic shock, but it worths the trouble. And more better if cooked in iron pan, on wood fire (and dozens of tents and medieval fellows all around)
• let's talk about drink: spiced wine. Red wine with ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, honey. Or white wine with sage, thyme and honey. We're speaking about paradise, and forget all that modern drinks and cocktails and hard liquors.

edit: that said, I'm italian. Each travel, as little as few miles far, could be an amazing adventures in food culture :)

Challenge I ate a spicy pepper of some kind on a dare at a Korean restaurant. My usual spice tolerance is like -5 (hate spicy things!) so needless to say I was dying after one bite!

I wouldn't say it changed my food outlook, but rather reinforced my spice wussiness.

Adventurous Food-Challenge

It was many years ago in greece, where i firstly ate a fig. It looked like something green aged and inside like a red mashed potatoe or something like that xD But it tasted very very good. =)

I'm about to update the first post with the entries up to this point! Thanks for being so awesome and helpful!

Adventurous Food-Challenge

I've tried a lot of new foods during my exchange semester in Sweden.

One day I went to a gasque and they served a soup with topinambour which I've never eaten before (not even heard of...) and blue/dark potatoes. I really liked the taste of both. I also tried shrimps when I had Smörgåstårta ('sandwich cake') with them as a topping. I normally don't like fish much and I've always avoid shrimps, mussels and other sea food. But I figured I could try the shrimps, since they were on my plate anyways. They didn't taste bad, but I also didn't like them much and haven't eaten them again. And I tried a tiny bit of roe (caviar) on the ship to Helsinki. We had the all-you-can-eat buffet booked, so I figured I could try it. Didn't like it, probably mostly because I just thought of it as disgusting.

But I generally love to try out new food, especially when it's vegetarian (I'm a bit picky with meat/fish as you can probably guess from the above xD), and when I go to other countries, I always try some typical dishes.

NEW CHALLENGE! :)

Creative Writing - Challenge

Write us an original story, poem, prose, or any piece of writing. It must be related to the theme of the plot (eg. Adventure, treasure, islands, temple, sea witch, etc..) It must be original! Please don't plagiarize. There is a 400 word maximum but no minimum. Please actually try to write something, don't just give us a sentence and call it a story. We understand that English is not everyone's first language, just do the best you can. :) We will pick 1-2 of our favorite stories to win extra entries.

You have until 11:59pm subeta time on Sunday Oct 9th to get it posted.

If you have any questions, please ping me and hopefully I can answer them. :D

Ps. You still have until 4pm today to get in your Challenge posts done.

Challenge

I am not an adventurous person, food-wise, mostly just because I rarely have the opportunity to try something completely different than what I'm used to. I'd have to say the most adventurous thing I've eaten is some kind of blue cheese. I don't know which kind specifically, it was simply labeled, "blue cheese," but it was disgusting, lol.

Challenge

I am a very picky eater, so I have not tried many things that would be considered adventurous. Calamari was something that was way out of my comfort-zone and the thought of eating it really grossed me out. My husband ordered it and told me to try some. He knows how picky I am, but he seemed convinced that I wouldn't hate it. So, I gave it a shot and it turns out it wasn't that bad. That has helped me to try other new foods as it showed me that just because something sounds gross doesn't mean it actually will be. That said, he later had me try some type of spicy Indian curry and that one did NOT go over well with my taste buds. :P

I am pretty open-minded about food, which isn't hugely surprising given that my mum is from the West Indies and they eat some pretty... interesting foods. By far the most "adventurous" food I've tried on several occasions and still can't stomach is black pudding (a type of blood sausage). Most of the other foods from the region I like, but most of my American friends think it's a bit weird! Goat water (basically stewed goat) and saltfish (usually cod that's been preserved in salt) are some big family favorites.

Sushi is generally considered pretty adventurous, and I love that! (only exceptions being some of the weird American inventions with cream cheese. Bleh)

Challenge I've tried funazushi while living in Japan, which is basically the salted whole small fish fermented in vinegar rice for a few years precursor to sushi. It was definitely an acquired taste, but interesting to try. I also tried horse sashimi (can't eat that where I come from). I think a little of my inner child died that day (I was a horse fanatic when I was little), but it was pretty delicious...

Creative Writing - Challenge (ABCB poem)

English's not my strong point but let's give it a try. To start telling a story I'm gonna need something dry.

Dry martini, that's right, I'm not going with rum. Even though it's about pira-- Oh wait, I'm dumb.

Wrong plot, my bad Let's try to fix that. So come and join me take your hook and your hat.

Wrong event again, this one is about curse. And rich men, adventurers... That connection seems the worst.

But if you took part you'll sure understand. (Not sure about the whole "Matlal is fluent")

(And maybe not the part we encountered Elwood. That may be confusing, but it was pretty good.)

At the end, sadly, We mistakenly freed a witch. And we faced ancient evil: two beasts and a grinch.

But the reward was nice, the items were cool. Let's not forget the best part: now we have the Uzgool <3

Challenge

Without a trace of land ahead, the violent seas carried him away. The ship sinked, the sea claimed their lives along with the Forgotten Muse. Later on, he found himself upon a black sand shore, amid the flotsam and bladderwrack. The storm eventually came to an end, and the sea sent him back to the coast. Far from home, all alone, he ventured into the dense jungle that covered the shoreline hoping to find any trace of civilization. And so he did - an entire city reduced down to rubble. But everything was very familiar. And the signs reading Grim Harbor didn't make him doubt it. It was home. How long did he stay afloat? Where did everyone go? He couldn't stomach the doubt. A million questions flooded his mind, yet he knew he wouldn't rest before he uncovers the truth.

— Adventurous Food-Challenge — I had crabs last night, they were tough to open. You need to eat a lot of them to get full and that's not happening for hours of cracking and slurping. I had a lot of help... Maybe those armored sea spiders weren't meant to be eaten by humans especially since we fleshy weaklings need all these tools to help. Their other predators peck or burrow pass their shells or absorb them to death after swallowing them whole. So cool.

I was still hungry and too tired to post last night after a meal like that!

...Crab butter, yum!

Adventure Food Challenge

I grew up in semi rural Alaska. At the time, the variety of food available in general was somewhat limited. And special items were expensive. Not having a lot of money, we ate basic, simple meals centered around our own heritage (German/Irish).

And then one day a friend got married. His Indonesian mom flew in and created a true indonesian feast. I'd never seen, heard or tasted most of the delicacies she served at the wedding. And I had no idea that in her culture cleaning your plate meant you were still hungry.

I was use to simple, more European style of eating. I was use to knowing what I was eating. I'm not picky, but it's a little disconcerting to be served food and not know if it's a vegetable or some other...critter.

Some of the food was amazing. Some of it...well, I could have lived a long time without it. But I politely cleaned my plate and she kept filling it up. Finally one of the family members whispered for me to leave a couple bites. She then brought me a double sized portion of cake to show that I was an honored guest. The cake was delicious, but I felt like I could practically roll home I was so stuffed.

Sorry for the delay on these:

Winners of Challenge and an extra raffle entry: Winners of Challenge and an extra raffle entry:

Also giving everyone a heads up that there is half an hour left for the food challenge.

- Thank you!! :D

Adventurous Food-Challenge

I'm a pretty picky eater, and have to be careful what I eat but the most adventurous thing I tried was when I was in Fiji. I forget the name of what I ate, but it was some kind of soup with a TON of curry in it. lol I tried it because I had to eat something and the fish (which I don't eat) was a full fish, head and all in coconut milk which I just couldn't bring myself to eat. The curry tasted not too bad but dear GOD it was hot - gave me immediate heartburn. Haha The rest of the meal consisted of the flat bread they made (which was FABULOUS) in the hopes it would settle the heartburn. XD It didn't.