Fugu

[cupcakechef]

There's a particular type of poisonous pufferfish, called Fugu, which is pretty famous in Japan.

It is served in restaurants, but has to be prepared so carefully that the chefs who serve it have to do three years of training! There are people who have died from eating it and it not being prepared properly.

Would you ever try it if you saw it on a menu?

 

[Bakemehappy]

I can be adventurous with my cooking but if it says poison that would make me want to run away. I heard about this puffer fish along with a sea urchin which is consumed raw. There are reports made that the said sea urchin is also poisonous if not handled or cooked properly. I would not risk my safety and I think I would have to pass

 

[cupcakechef]

I can be adventurous with my cooking but if it says poison that would make me want to run away. I heard about this puffer fish along with a sea urchin which is consumed raw. There are reports made that the said sea urchin is also poisonous if not handled or cooked properly. I would not risk my safety and I think I would have to pass

I have to agree! I know they've had training and all to serve it, but I feel like it could be a case of "what if they're having an off day?!" kind of thing...

One wrong slip of the knife and then someone's getting poisoned with their dinner. No thanks!

 

[Bakemehappy]

The Japanese are fond of the raw ingredients aren't they? They are adventurous too I must say. They have octopus and now Fugu. Come to think of it three years to train on handling a rather poisonous fish would require quite a big deal of my passion and dedication. I wonder how much it would cost me to order one Fugu dish

 

[L_B]

I would never try it if there was a risk of dying from eating it. Why would anybody ever want to take that chance and why would a restaurant even be allowed to serve it?
It doesn't make much sense to me but I guess some people are risk takers and love living on the edge. It's not for me but I guess it must be in demand or they wouldn't
be serving it!

 

[welsh dragon]

Not everyone can be a fugu chef. They are heavily licenced and are fully tested before a licence is issued. Even so, a number of people die each year from fugu poisoning. I personally wouldn't eat it or any other raw fish. 1. I don't like raw fish. 2. I wouldn't eat it because of the danger.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I think you have to put the risk into perspective. Plenty of people die every year from eating mushrooms. Tomatoes and potatoes plants are poisonous as well, but we still eat the fruit/tubers which also contain poisons. Almonds, cherries, rhubarb, apples, and numerous others are all poisonous to some extent. Apple pips contain cyanide, yet people still eat apples. Elderberries contain cyano-compounds and they are still consumed. It is all about perspective and often about preparation of the food item and the cooking.

 

[cupcakechef]

I think you have to put the risk into perspective. Plenty of people die every year from eating mushrooms. Tomatoes and potatoes plants are poisonous as well, but we still eat the fruit/tubers which also contain poisons. Almonds, cherries, rhubarb, apples, and numerous others are all poisonous to some extent. Apple pips contain cyanide, yet people still eat apples. Elderberries contain cyano-compounds and they are still consumed. It is all about perspective and often about preparation of the food item and the cooking.

That's a good point - and wow, I didn't know so many foods out there have poisonous origins! I knew about the apple seeds, and rhubarb leaves, but I don't think I had ever heard about any of the others! It was some food for thought if you pardon the pun!

 

[Corzhens]

Our Japanese friend told us the story of Fugu or the blowfish. It is a poisonous fish that had killed so many people due to improper handling. Now, there is one chef who was very good in taking away the poison of the Fugu. And it came to pass that eating Fugu had become popular because it poses a big challenge to the eater - you are brave enough to dare eat a poisonous fish. And until now, there are occasions of poisoning because the Fugu is really a poisonous fish.