sf wrote:

>
> Grammar correction, cathy.... you don't say "a" balut. It's "balut",
> plain and simple.

Gee thanks sf - now I can sleep tonight...
>
> In any case.... given my limited experience with balut, it's not
> universally liked among the Filipinos I know. I haven't ever heard
> one single person who has tried it say it's worth a do over. Given
> the choice, all would decline (think about munching on pin feathers
> and cartilage). They call it a "delicacy", but it's not anything most
> people (who aren't driven by extreme hunger - unless you're Peter
> Lucas) will touch with a ten foot pole w/o being under the influence
> of something.
>
> Going back to the origins.... starving people are driven to eat what
> non-starving people won't, if that makes any sense.
>
Oh rubbish! People who it eat don't do so because they are "starving",
they eat it because it's "popular" in their cultures.

Have a look at this, quite informative:

http://www.deependdining.com/2005/09...noy-pinay.html

<quote>
There is a delicacy infamous in Filipino culture that can put a
crippling chill in the spine of grown men almost as quickly as talk of
aswang. That delicacy is the notorious balut. Balut is a popular
Filipino street snack and is essentially a duck egg with a fetus inside,
typically between seventeen to twenty days in gestation. In the
Philippines balut is so popular that it is equivalent to what the hot
dog is in the U.S. There are balut vendors who push around carts full of
fetal treats and bark their wares in a sing-song chant of “baluuuut,
baluuuut!” Balut is also a popular aphrodisiac for men. But even with
the good vibes and positive spin surrounding balut, the stigma attached
to eating it overshadows all the warm and fuzzy aspects of this very
Deep End Dining dish.
</quote>
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy