A Little of What to Expect
I remember my first experience. I was sitting with my friends, hungry, and asked what I could eat. They started listing things off:
Nakladany hermelin
“What’s that,” I asked.
“Well, it’s cold, pickled, moldy cheese in vinegar with onions”. I, at first thought that the Czech sense of humor was quite odd (which it is), but he wasn’t joking. I never knew mold was a hot item on the market. I said, “Pass. What else.”
Utopenci
“In English it’s something like “Drowned man Sausage”. Don’t you know it?”, my friend asked. “It’s also pickled in vinegar with onions. Oh yes, it’s cold, too.”
What? Cold sausage. Who ever heard of eating a cold sausage? Like going to the supermarket, picking up some franks, opening them up and starting to gnaw on them right there. Is it so hard to throw it on the grill? Really? COLD sausages? I asked him if they had anything out of the “pickled” category.
The Nightmare Continues
“Of course! For example, we have bread with sadlo”.
Bread is something I know. I can do bread. And what exactly is sadlo?
He explained, “Well, this snack is bread covered with spices, some onion, as well, and lard…” Yes, he just said lard. Something like a lard sandwich, one might suggest. You’re telling me that lard, actual lard, is something people want to “snack on” after a few beers? “Sorry honey, no dinner tonight, I’m going to the pub for some beer and lard.” I think he saw my “disinterest” in this choice and he quickly moved on.
“And the last thing they have is something called tatarsky biftek. It’s from ground beef. You know ground beef, right?”
“Oh, like a burger?” I asked.
“Not exactly,” he smiled. “it’s… uh… cold, too, and… raw. And … it’s mixed with a raw egg inside.
I was completely without words. So apparently, not only could I PAY for an almost certain tapeworm from the raw meat, I could kill two birds with one stone with the added bonus of salmonella from the egg! Wow.
Realizing My Fate
I got nothing that night. But I must say that since living here, I have tried all (and others) on several occasions and I actually can say that they were all tasty, filling, and (even more important) edible without causing my organs any harm or putting any unwanted insects to feast on them. Step out of your comfort zone a bit, or you’ll be left eating French fries the whole time. Doesn’t pickled fish sound better?