A couple years ago I worked in a deli and amongst all the craveable dishes that the deli produced: fried fajitas, fried burritos, fried jalapeno poppers, fried cheese sticks, fried--I think you get the idea, nothing spiked more midnight, or at least, late night cravings than fried chicken livers or fried chicken gizzards. We did not make these fried items daily so if one particular customer did not see fried gizzards and liver, he would make me go back into the freezer, fry up a bag of them, and bring them back to him soaking of grease straight out of the paper bag.
I tried these chicken gizzards and livers one day to see why they sparked such a craving in a my customers and I was immediately dumbfounded. What was wrong with these people? The minute I bit into the fried liver I was hit with an overwhelming taste of iron and grease, and I liked some liver, liverwurst at least. I spit that out and tried a gizzard and could not even get through chewing one gizzard. First because of the texture it was like chewing on an erasure that tasted like liver soaked in grease and batter.
Chicken is a long time staple in American cuisine and for most Americans the phrase "it tastes like chicken" sparks comfort in an uncomfortable meal. Also a long time staple with some Americans seems to be fried food. However the unusualness of this part of the chicken did not spark comfort in me and I think that the fact that it was covered in batter and fried made it even more unappetizing. Fried gizzards and liver are ultimately the grossest thing I've ever eaten.
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All American Meal. Boston: Houghton
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I was not done! I must have pressed enter so I didn't not edit: oh well. Here my second book.
ReplyDeleteSchlosser, Eric and Charles Wilson. Chew on This: Everyting you didn't know about Fast Food. Boston [Mass] : Houghton Mifflin, 2006
Hi Emily! I would never have guessed that people like and look for deep fried chicken gizzards or chicken livers! (By the way, what’s a gizzard?-it sounds a lot like lizard but that’s a live thing). Speaking of grease, my friends and I ate a big plate of onion rings from a local franchise located in Barkley Square and they were delicious! –that is, the grease was delicious! So…I kinda get the grease thing.
ReplyDeleteAlan Richmond notes in his article, “Waiter There’s a Cloven Hoof on My Plate” that what people of all cultures long for is a food that is, “familiar, poignant, and soothing” (GQ 93) when living or traveling in another country with unfamiliar food. When we’re in unfamiliar places there is a comfort in something familiar-that taste of home provides relief from stress when traveling-those golden arches do look good sometimes! Another aspect of the familiar and food is the connection of the food we ate growing up with our families at holidays or birthdays. I my case, we had big dinners with each uncles wife bringing their specialty or favorite food and we children had lots of cousins to play with. Memory is connected with the taste of some foods. Do you suppose some of those gizzard lovers were missing the taste of home?
That is super gross, good job for even trying it. When I was younger I remember when my family would have chicken my mom didn't like to waste anything so she would cook those up and feed it to the dog. But the smell/sight of them was really bad, I remember just thinking it was soooo disgusting. She would cook them on top of the stove so it was probably a little different texture, but still not good. My mom could eat them too, it didn't bother her because she partially grew up in different parts of Europe. But it still wasn't something she craved. I can't imagine that being the thing I craved. I guess it must be those people who grew up with it and it must just be comfort food to them or something like that.
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