Can you eat it? The facts
Fried cockchafers
These insects are "vegetarians, and are wholesome and delicious fare for human beings". Their white grubs, rolled up in a paste of flour, milk and eggs, were the main dish at a great banquet in Paris in 1885; there were fifty people present, and the majority had second helpings.
Sonofabitch stew
A cowboy dish with ingredients (marrow-gut, liver, brain etc) from a newly killed fat calf.
Icelandic moss porridge
Mrs Beeton has recipes for using the lichen Iceland moss boiled, as jelly, or ground, as flour. In Iceland, it is made into a porridge or mixed into soups.
Cajun wild toad
There may well be some Acadian descendants in the south of Louisiana who eat this, but if so the fact has never been recorded.
Prairie dog
A burrowing rodent which barks. It is still commonly eaten by Indians and has a slightly 'earthy' taste.
Crunchy sand-bugs with honey
Also known as sea cicada, these are a delicacy in Thailand. The head is cut off and the carapace removed, then they are deep-fried and served with 'jungle honey' gathered from the wild.
Pandowdy
An old-fashioned New England fruit dessert. 'Dowdying' is the technique of breaking up the crust partway through the cooking and pressing it down into the fruit.
Stuffed baboon's nostril
For all I know, someone, somewhere, may want to eat these, but I doubt it.
Apple slump
A pie made of cooked fruit with pieces of raised dough dropped on top; when cooked further it 'slumps' on the plate. It was immortalised by Louisa May (Little Women) Alcott.
Yuk-sik
Korean gelatinous rice.
Rendang
In Sumatra, they cook water-buffalo meat in coconut milk with spices and flavourings, then reduce the mixture until it is thick and brown.
Wart-necked piddock
Piddocks are bivalves, found worldwide. They are luminous and it is said that chewing one and keeping it in your mouth gives you luminous breath; If you can get hold of a piddock this is a good party trick when the lights are low. Several species are found on the Pacific coast of America and the wart-necked one is considered worth eating, though not warts and all; you should remove its warty protuberance before tucking in.
