The Trotter Question

Its been a while since I've written anything about living in a different culture, so I thought I would take a little break from the cute Sarah photos and write about a conversation I had tonight that I think highlights an interesting cultural difference between American culture and the culture I live in.

Tonight, David and I were having dinner with a close local friend of ours, when out of the blue he asked me, "Do Americans eat pig trotter?" Now, a couple of years ago, I would have answered definitively, "No," but these days David and I have been watching celeb-chef Anthony Bourdain, and so I know that, at least in the "gourmet" world, some Americans are becoming more adventurous, and even eating pigs trotter, etc. So I said, "Not very often. Its pretty rare, but yes, some Americans do eat pig trotter."

"Have you ever eaten pig trotter?" he asked me.

"No, I haven't eaten it. But I have heard some Americans (actually only Anthony Bourdain) say they like it," I answered.

"Oh! It is so wonderful! There is a lot of skin, and eating the skin is really good for your skin!" my friend raved, going on and on about the benefits of eating pig trotter to one's skin. "I eat it all the time!" he said.

This conversation is similar to many I have had before, where the central question an American wants to know about what he or she is eating is firstly, "Does it taste good?" and secondly about nutrition. Maybe that is not true for every American, but I do believe generally that if you wanted to get an American to eat something truly exotic like the hoof of a pig, you'd need to convince them at least that it was pretty yummy in addition to its supposed benefits to your skin.

My local friends, on the other hand, are always up for trying something new if they have heard it has supposed benefits for this health aspect or that one. I have serious doubts about exactly where their information is coming from (tradition, superstition, science, some weird combination of all three?), which doesn't make me exactly super eager to jump on the pigs' trotter/fermented eggs/whatever it is bandwagon.

Its important to note, this whole conversation/thought process was NOT happening over a dinner of pigs trotter. This is all theoretical.

Still, I asked myself, would I be willing to try pig's trotter? I actually think, after only seven years of living abroad, I might actually be willing to try it. Its taken quite a while, but I am finally willing to branch out a little (only a little, mind you!) in the area of food adventurousness. I ate frog for the first time last spring, and it really was good! It tasted like chicken, as they say, but actually better than chicken--juicier, more flavorful, more tender. The only annoying part is that the pieces of meat are so small and there are so many little bones. Still, its an accomplishment I am kind of proud of!

So, yeah, I am not making any plans to try pig trotter, but I have decided I am officially willing to taste it. Though I still think the fact that Anthony Bourdain likes it is more persuasive than my friend's gushing about its supposed nutritional benefits. I guess I just can't escape being an American, or the influence of celebrity chefs.