There’s a certain ritual to eating Ortolan too. Diners must put a napkin over their heads and this is done for a few reasons. A. to keep the delicious aroma wafting about one’s head while eating B. to keep from getting arrested C. to keep the eyes of God from seeing one consume the soul of France. Once you’ve picked one of these creepy reasons to put the napkin on your head you then place the entire bird in your mouth with just the beak poking out of your lips and chew for like 15 minutes. It's supposed to be a varitable everlasting gobstopper of gourmet eating.
“…The first taste as you crunch on the bird is the brandied flesh and fat. Then, the bitterness of the guts follow and finally, as the tiny, delicate bones are being chewed on, they will lacerate the diner's gums, with the salty taste of the bleeding gums mingling with the richness of the fat and the bitterness of the organs. Chewing the ortolan takes approximately 15 minutes. – The Connoisseur's Series, The Global Gourmet”
Ok, here’s the thing, sometimes if I eat a gristly piece of steak and I have to chew it too long I totally put it in my napkin like a used piece of steak flavored gum. So, even if Ortolan wasn’t protected, and and even if it were legal and even if they didn’t refer to it as someone’s soul and even if it were killed humanely and even if it were served at my local diner, and even if it were boned, I don’t think I could chew on a bird for most of 15 minutes. How about you?

5 comments:
PS Yes, I'm bored today. I'm still sick and it's snowing like crazy so we are staying in.
fricking groody. and where are earth do you find things like this? i think i could have lived my whole life not knowing that this 'ritual' existed. people do some nasty things - and i mean that on all levels.
and you're getting the snow we got last night. have fun!
wow! I am completely horrified that someone could eat a little birdy and it sounds disgusting. And I am completely fascinated by other people's rituals/cultures! I had no idea, thanks for the edification.
I heard about it like months ago and read into it because I couldn't beleive it and then kept popping back into my head...
I was reading Virgin Blue last month (takes place in France) then looking out the window as it snowed yesterday... ortolan's fly south... driving to the grocery... baked ortolan... while at a resturaunt the other day... napkins over your head...
hopefully now that I've written it down I can let it go a little... ortolan therapy.
http://www.liberation.fr/france/2015/11/09/landes-des-militants-de-la-lpo-et-des-journalistes-agresses-a-coup-de-pelle_1412261
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