Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Liz Waid.
Voice 2
And I’m Adam Navis. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
The Fugu fish is extremely poisonous to humans. Some people say it is hundreds of times more deadly than the poison cyanide. And there is enough poison in one Fugu fish to kill 30 people. Would you want to eat this fish? It can be safe if it is prepared correctly. But if a person eats a piece of incorrectly prepared Fugu fish, he will die.
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Preparing Fugu is a difficult job. Before a person can prepare Fugu, she spends at least two years studying under a master chef. She must pass a special Fugu test. The test is very difficult. One third of people taking the test fail.
Voice 1
Fugu is unsafe to prepare and eat. It costs a lot of money. And it can have a weak taste. But Fugu is very popular. So why would so many people want to eat it? Fugu is taboo.
Voice 2
Taboos are very important in any culture. A taboo describes something that is set apart. It is usually something that a person should not do for a particular reason. A taboo food is a food that most people will not eat. But a food that is taboo in one culture may not be taboo in another culture. But what makes food taboo in one culture and acceptable in another? Today’s Spotlight is on foods that are taboo.
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People have strong opinions about what is good to eat and what is not. Fugu comes from Japan, but food taboos exist all around the world. For example, in many countries, people do not eat dogs. This is because people keep dogs as pets – as their animal friends. But in some countries, eating dog meat is not taboo. For example, in some parts of Asia, people eat dog meat. In these places, eating a dog would not be a taboo.
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Some food taboos come from religion. What we eat is sometimes connected to what we believe. People eat cows in many parts of the world. But to Hindus in India, cows are taboo. The people there choose not to eat these animals.
Voice 1
Some taboos develop out of tradition. Food taboos can celebrate a common history and bring people together. Every February, the people of Iceland hold a celebration, called Thorrablot. This is a celebration of Iceland’s history and culture. And food is an important part of Thorrablot – especially taboo food. Usually, decaying food is an important taboo. Decayed food can have dangerous bacteria. But at Thorrablot, one of the important foods is called Hákarl. It is a decaying – or fermented – shark meat.
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Sharks are large dangerous fish. Sharks are found in many places around the world. But in Iceland, the sharks contain many particular chemicals to protect them from the freezing water. These chemicals make the shark poisonous to people. So, to eat the shark meat, cooks must use an unusual method.
Voice 1
Traditionally, a person removes the shark’s head and insides. They set the shark on sand. Then they cover it with more sand and heavy rocks. This will press the liquids out of the shark’s body. It stays like this for six to 12 weeks. After the shark is cured like this, it is cut into long thin pieces. The pieces hang to dry for a few months. They develop a hard brown outer layer. It also has a particular smell. The shark meat is now fully fermented. The outer layer is cut off and the shark is cut into smaller pieces.
Voice 2
People say that when you are going to eat Hákarl, you should not smell it first. That is because the finished Hákarl smells like liquid human waste. But people say it tastes like cheese. Icelandic people say that eating the shark is a way to remember their history and culture. Even today, you can find Hákarl almost anywhere in Iceland — even in grocery stores.
Voice 1
Another reason people eat taboo foods is because they believe the foods will give them health benefits. For example, in Asian countries, some people eat the male sex organ of a bull, a male cow. This food taboo has a special effect. People believe it will give them a strong desire for sex. This thinking is not always based on modern medicine. Instead, it is part of a long tradition that connects eating well to good health. After all, food was the first medicine.
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Not all food taboos have a tradition that goes back many hundred years. Until 1947, India was under British rule. During this time, children with one British parent and one Indian parent were rejected by both cultures. These rejected people formed a separate culture. It has its own rules about food. One special food is kutti pi.
Voice 1
Kutti pi is made from a taboo food – a fetus. A fetus is an unborn animal, taken from the body of its mother. Usually, people make kutti pi using a goat fetus. But people do not eat kutti pi often. It can only be made when a pregnant animal is killed. This food is so taboo that sometimes meat sellers will not admit to selling it. They will only deliver it in secret.
Voice 2
Food is important to us. It is easy to react to taboo foods with emotion. New or strange foods may be the most difficult thing to accept about a new culture. When we hear what other people eat, it is easy to judge them. It is easy to believe that since they eat strange things, they must be strange people.
Voice 1
But, we can remember that what people do is more important than what they eat. How people love is more important than what they cook. And the food they put in their mouth is not as important as the words that come out.
Voice 2
Would you eat kutti pi? What about decaying shark meat? Have you tried a strange food from another culture? Tell us what you think. You can leave a comment on our website. Or email us at contact@spotlightenglish.com. You can also find us on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter.
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Voice 1
Members hear more! We will tell about more taboo foods in exclusive videos for members of our YouTube channel. Members are thanked in every video, get access to exclusive content and PDFs of scripts, and can join our private Spotlight English Facebook group. If you are on Youtube, click Join below.
Voice 2
The writer of this program was Adam Navis. The producer was Liz Waid. The voices you heard were from the United States. You can listen to this program again, and read along with it, at www.spotlightenglish.com. This program is called “Taboo Food: Would You Eat This?”
Voice 1
Visit our website to download our free official app for Android and Apple devices. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye!
Question:
What taboo foods do you have in your culture? Have you tried a taboo food from a different culture?
When I went to Peru, I tasted Cui, a kind of hamster. Cui is a tradicional food served at weddings. I found the meat tough and didn’t like it.
Actually there are to kinds of taboo foods in my religion I know the first is pork we as Muslims don’t eat anything made from pork cuz that’s forbidden in our religion and the other is alcohol as Muslims we can’t drink alcohol and we don’t want to thanks spotlight for this amazing podcasts
I’m from VN, my country is quite a lot of taboo food, but the more taboo , the more they like.
No I didn’t like to eat taboo food in any way
In my religion (Islam) the taboos foods is a wrong thing..and other foods like pork..alcohol drinks..animals that are dead..and sauvage animals.. All this things are rejected by our believes and hamdulah for the Islamic greatest
yes we do have taboo food like eat pork meat and kill animals with electrations and alcohol drink this is rejected in my religions , its taboo food islam .
no i have not tried because my religion stop me
Yeah I had taboo food.i have eaten beef curry.lol.it is a toboo in Hinduism.
Pork and alcohol are taboo foods in my cuture. I think I’ve never tried to eat taboo foods from other cultures. However, I like to try traditional foods from all around the world if they are not forbiden.