Testicles (food)
Testicles of different animal species are part of the innards and are generally edible. In Central Europe , their use in the kitchen is uncommon today, but was relatively common in the past. Since most of the male sheep and cattle were castrated by the cattle farmers in the spring , lamb and bull testicles were traditionally prepared during this time of year, mostly grilled or roasted.
English cookbooks from the 17th to 19th centuries contain various recipes, especially for lamb testicles, sometimes also as fricassee . In English, lamb testicles are often referred to as lamb fries , in French as rognons blancs ("white kidneys"). In the US, bull testicles are known as "Prairie Oysters" or "Rocky Mountain Oysters". In old English cookbooks there is also talk of "stones". There are also recipes for the cock's testicles ; the castrated roosters are fattened as capons . "Testicles are still eaten in many countries, perhaps especially in Spain, Italy and the Orient , and their identity is almost everywhere obscured by euphemisms ."
Bull testicles
Bull testicles , also called bull sack or bull sack , are the testicles of male cattle . In Germany they are approved for consumption in accordance with the Meat Hygiene Ordinance, but they hardly play a role for human consumption. In contrast, they are prepared in various forms as meals in southern Europe, in various regions of the USA and in the Middle East.
In the USA they are known as Rocky Mountain Oysters or Prairie Oysters ("prairie oysters") and are mainly eaten in the American West, in the region of the Rocky Mountains . In Mexico they are called criadillas .
Above all in the past, they were said to have potency-enhancing effects. In some regions they are still considered a delicacy today. “Eating bull testicles can be interpreted as the male attempt to acquire the bull's powers. A festival that celebrates this as raison d'être becomes, conversely, a celebration of masculinity. "
Every year in Montana and Phoenix there are special festivals where bull testicles are eaten en masse. In June, Eagle , Idaho hosts what is believed to be the world's largest event of its kind, called the Rocky Mountain Oyster Feed . The Testicle Festival in Clinton near Missoula in Montana also makes this claim .
At the time of the earlier home slaughter, the butcher mostly kept the testicles for himself.
As Spanish kidneys , they are offered as a dish in Spanish bullfighting regions . The testicles cut into strips are fried and seasoned with onion and garlic and white wine . In Spain , the testicles are usually only eaten by men.
When dry, they are mainly used as food for dogs .
Trivia
In the film Knockin 'on Heaven's Door , Rudi and Martin order at the Hotel Stierhoden without knowing what it is about.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Alan Davidson: The Oxford Companion to Food , 1999, Article Testicles. P. 790.
- ↑ Original quote: "Testicles continue to be eaten in many countries, perhaps especially in Spain, Italy, the Middle East and the Orient, and their identity continuous to be disguised almost everywhere by euphemisms." Alan Davidson: The Oxford Companion to Food , 1999 , Article Testicles. P. 790.
- ↑ Original quote: "The eating of bull testicles can be interpreted as the human male's appropriating the bull's virility for himself. A festival that features this as its raison d'etre, becomes in turn a celebration of human masculinity. ”Source: Article Food in Folklore in the Encyclopedia of Food and Culture
- ↑ Article Rocky Mountain oysters in the English language Wikipedia
- ↑ Rocky Mountain Oysters History and Recipe What's Cooking America, accessed August 30, 2018.
- ↑ Article Food in Folklore in the Encyclopedia of Food and Culture
- ↑ Homepage of the Testical Festival
