7 ms·
>It's obvious that at least in our very recent evolutionary history we had far higher tolerance to spoilage. I would agree, both in terms of actual immunity an
by Connor_Creegan1 3y ago
>It's obvious that at least in our very recent evolutionary history we had far higher tolerance to spoilage.
I would agree, both in terms of actual immunity and taste response, although generally-speaking eating rotten meat (especially when well-sourced) is not nearly as risky as common wisdom would make it out to be. Many folks in the deeper circles of online carnivoria dabble in "high meat" (fermented rotten meat, a method of preparing meat learned from Inuit peoples who would feed it to their dogs) and swear by it, even if the taste can be unbearable to the uninitiated.
- finnh 3y agoWhere did I last read about high meat, again? Ah yes, the Nov 22, 2010 issue of the New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/11/22/natures-spoils https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/11/22/natures-spoils big h/t for "deeper circles of online carnivoria", you win phrase of the day
- SketchySeaBeast 3y agoFermentation implies an intentional process that protects against spoilage. I don't think anyone considers sauerkraut or wine rotten food.
- Connor_Creegan1 3y agoGood point, although I think whether or not animal flesh is "spoiled" after spending weeks or months fermenting in a jar might depend on who you ask.
- prottog 3y ago> Many folks in the deeper circles of online carnivoria The wonders of the internet!
- MayeulC 3y agoIt's still done in some French cuisine/hunting practices, though much less common nowadays: "Faisandage", where small game can be left to rot in a relatively controlled way for months: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_de_la_viande#Maturation_et_faisandage https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_de_la_viande#Matu...
- EdwardDiego 3y agoIt used to be traditional in English gamebird hunting to "hang them by the neck until the body separated from the head" to age the meat...
- neonnoodle 3y agoRelevant quote from the TV show _Newsradio_: Bill: In the olden days, a country squire would age his pheasants for weeks before they were deemed fit for consumption. Lisa Miller : In the olden days, people died of ptomaine poisoning and blamed it on ghosts.
- atomicnumber3 3y agoI suspect that a lot of our tolerance of this stuff in prehistory stems from a combination of: - spices and seasoning was a lot less common and meat was gamey, not the well-fattened meats we're used to. So this stuff already tasted bland and not amazing as a baseline - it was preferable to starving, and hunger is the best spice of them all