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Best of Yuck!

What I'm talking about, is the Yuck Factor, of course. For those of you unfamiliar with this expression, it refers to nearly anything that induces the response, "yuck!" in someone who sees it. In my day, it was limited to certain foods that kids often felt were inedible. In recent years, of course, it has extended itself into the world of vegetables, something that I absolutely cannot understand.

But I did want to discuss those food items that the vast majority of the population still consider worthy of the word Yuck. For example organ meats.

As a child, I grew up in a home with a father and mother who both went through the Great Depression, as did their parents. During that time, the best cuts of meat that are available to us now in any supermarket were not available to them. So families like ours relied on organ meats.
This category of Yuck includes things like liver, kidneys, brains, tongue, sweetbreads, and tripe. While all organ meats are rather rich and rather high in cholesterol, eaten in small quantities and only occasionally, they can add great variety to most diets.

Have I eaten them? Yes. At one time or another I've eaten all the yucky organ meats I've listed above and still like some of them, such as tongue.

Like anything else, I don't recommend you just roll up your sleeves take off your shoes and socks and dive in. However, if you're given an opportunity to taste these items, do give it a try.  For example, many good Chinese restaurants, such as my favorite Szechuan eatery, offer appetizers such as Szechuan Tongue and Tripe (pictured above). It's spicy and goes great, with green pea sprouts.

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