You can still get jellied eels at tesco today. Note: not very good. Eel doesn’t have a strong taste, so it’s fishy jello with some white fish meat inside. Unagi it is not.
You can still get jellied eels at tesco today.
Note: not very good. Eel doesn’t have a strong taste, so it’s fishy jello with some white fish meat inside.
Canning comes later than medieval history, and even an eel apsic would probably only last a few cool days. I have to assume they were salting these eels? Or was it like I want 2 eels every Friday...
Canning comes later than medieval history, and even an eel apsic would probably only last a few cool days. I have to assume they were salting these eels? Or was it like I want 2 eels every Friday as rent? I didn't see anything in the article about preservation.
The preservation was more for a day. Jellied eels was akin to "street food" - something a working class laborer in london would grab on the way back from work. The natural jellification would...
The preservation was more for a day. Jellied eels was akin to "street food" - something a working class laborer in london would grab on the way back from work. The natural jellification would allow vendors to make batches, cool them, and sell the batch throughout the day. But it certainly would not keep beyond it.
I went and looked up some pictures... For me, it does not look appealing. Entire cross sections of eel in greyish clear jelly. Ancestors were made of more grit and determination than me I think.
I went and looked up some pictures... For me, it does not look appealing. Entire cross sections of eel in greyish clear jelly. Ancestors were made of more grit and determination than me I think.
I remember watching some YouTube video about jellied eels. Might've been Tom Scott? I don't remember who it was, but the crazy part was that it was only like ~70yrs ago, post-war, in the UK, in...
I remember watching some YouTube video about jellied eels. Might've been Tom Scott? I don't remember who it was, but the crazy part was that it was only like ~70yrs ago, post-war, in the UK, in London, that jellied eels were still a big deal. Hundreds of restaurants served it and made bank off of it. But the tastes and culture changed in the 60s and 70s, people stopped eating them, and then restaurants started closing or at least stopped offering jellied eels. Very few still offer it today and it's more of a specialty or novelty than like the main feature it was back in the day.
The presenter did go to a restaurant in London that still served it and ordered some. And yeah...that looked grossed. IIRC, the presenter wasn't terribly enthused with the taste either lol. I remember thinking, "the Brits are never escaping the accusations of terrible cuisine..."
EDIT: It was Evan Edinger. Here's the video. Also I was wrong; he actually didn't hate it. He didn't say it was good, but that it wasn't bad either.
I guess a lot of polarizing cuisine comes down to what you ate growing up. Jellied eel does not sound like something I would seek out, but clearly many did. stu2b50 says it not a strong taste,...
I guess a lot of polarizing cuisine comes down to what you ate growing up. Jellied eel does not sound like something I would seek out, but clearly many did. stu2b50 says it not a strong taste, pair that with some decently flavoured sauce and sides maybe it's enough to get over the appearance.
Unagi (freshwater eel) and anago (saltwater) are two of my favorites. Not all sushi places have anago, but I almost always add a piece to the rest of my order it if it's on the menu.
Unagi (freshwater eel) and anago (saltwater) are two of my favorites. Not all sushi places have anago, but I almost always add a piece to the rest of my order it if it's on the menu.
barely related, but I eat a lot of bbq eel (unagi) and would LOVE to break down an eel one day (brutal process, if you're thinking of watching videos) :)
barely related, but I eat a lot of bbq eel (unagi) and would LOVE to break down an eel one day (brutal process, if you're thinking of watching videos) :)
You can still get jellied eels at tesco today.
Note: not very good. Eel doesn’t have a strong taste, so it’s fishy jello with some white fish meat inside.
Unagi it is not.
Jellied eels are one of those foods that reminds you that hunger used to be a lot more prevalent in the world.
Canning comes later than medieval history, and even an eel apsic would probably only last a few cool days. I have to assume they were salting these eels? Or was it like I want 2 eels every Friday as rent? I didn't see anything in the article about preservation.
The preservation was more for a day. Jellied eels was akin to "street food" - something a working class laborer in london would grab on the way back from work. The natural jellification would allow vendors to make batches, cool them, and sell the batch throughout the day. But it certainly would not keep beyond it.
I went and looked up some pictures... For me, it does not look appealing. Entire cross sections of eel in greyish clear jelly. Ancestors were made of more grit and determination than me I think.
And more hunger.
I remember watching some YouTube video about jellied eels. Might've been Tom Scott? I don't remember who it was, but the crazy part was that it was only like ~70yrs ago, post-war, in the UK, in London, that jellied eels were still a big deal. Hundreds of restaurants served it and made bank off of it. But the tastes and culture changed in the 60s and 70s, people stopped eating them, and then restaurants started closing or at least stopped offering jellied eels. Very few still offer it today and it's more of a specialty or novelty than like the main feature it was back in the day.
The presenter did go to a restaurant in London that still served it and ordered some. And yeah...that looked grossed. IIRC, the presenter wasn't terribly enthused with the taste either lol. I remember thinking, "the Brits are never escaping the accusations of terrible cuisine..."
EDIT: It was Evan Edinger. Here's the video. Also I was wrong; he actually didn't hate it. He didn't say it was good, but that it wasn't bad either.
I guess a lot of polarizing cuisine comes down to what you ate growing up. Jellied eel does not sound like something I would seek out, but clearly many did. stu2b50 says it not a strong taste, pair that with some decently flavoured sauce and sides maybe it's enough to get over the appearance.
Unagi though 🤤🤤🤤
Unagi (freshwater eel) and anago (saltwater) are two of my favorites. Not all sushi places have anago, but I almost always add a piece to the rest of my order it if it's on the menu.
I wonder if they accepted shrieking eels as payment?
barely related, but I eat a lot of bbq eel (unagi) and would LOVE to break down an eel one day (brutal process, if you're thinking of watching videos) :)