"Lennie Richardson" wrote in message
.com...

Interesting! Fried crickets are something I've always wanted to try but
have
never had enough tequila around to make me brave.

I had fried grasshoppers when I was boy. I had heard or read about them
somewhere, and they sounded exotic and appealing. Lo and behold, a small
deli in Kenosha, WI., for God's sake, actually sold little tins of them. I
pestered my mother for months until she finally gave up and bought them for
me. They were crunchy and tasted pretty much like oily ashes. That was a
long time ago, so I'm not really sure, but I like to think I learned
something that day.

It's fascinating what people eat in different regions around the world.
It's
also interesting what virtually all the different "poor peoples' "
cuisines
have in common: Rice, beans, flat bread, and chilis.

Well, I would substitute cereal crops in general for just rice.....corn in
the Americas, millet in Africa, wheat in the Middle-East and Europe,
etc.....and add potatoes and a couple of other non-cereal starches (starchy
root crops are very important in native cuisines virtually everywhere in the
world)....but point taken, and it's a good one.

The vast majority of staples in virtually all cultures throughout history
have always been as bland and tastless as a deep fried turkey. The notable
exception on your list above is chilis, which differ from the rest in that
they are, in most places, not a staple at all, but rather a seasoning used
to make the staples more interesting. Chilis also happen to be, depending
on exactly how one defines the term of course, the most popluar "seasoning"
in the world.

An interesting ommission from your list is a group of foods that, in most
places, inhabit a sort of middle ground between staples and adjuncts.
Tomatoes and the entire onion family come readily to mind. Onions ARE in
fact a staple in much of India, and just try to imagine Italian food without
tomatoes. Um......****, I'd better stop before I get carried
away......people gonna think I'm obsessed with food or something.

I wonder if, given a chance, the Thais would forgo deep fried locusts with
garlic chili sauce for a daily Big Mac.

Only if sufficient pressure were applied. The psychology of advertising is
complex and fraught with all kinds of pitfalls but in the main, it DOES
work.

I know the coronary artery disease
in their country would rise to match ours if they did.

Amen.

Off to cook dinner: chateau****inbriand with vienna sausages.

Navy bean soup with onions, bacon, and Kassler rippchen here tonight!

Wolfgang