Weird Food Facts

James Steen teaches the perfect boiling time for a shark egg ,how to not cry when chopping onions, and other expert tips from the culinary world.

12:01 10 July 2015

James Steen is not your ordinary cookbook. With expert tips on how to boil a shark egg, how to use coriander to cure indigestion, how to best enjoy Thailand’s red ant eggs, it’s definitely extraordinary. Filled with expert tips from the culinary world, The Foodie is full of curiosities and gourmet history that is guaranteed to feed anyone hungry for food knowledge. 

 

Here are some of the book’s highlights: 

 

•For soft boil egg, pop them into boiling water for the following times: Hen: 4 mins, Bantam: 2 min 50, Gull: 2 min 10, Quail: 1 min 22, Ostrich: 45 min, Shark: 3 min, Turtle (where legal): raw or 2 min.

•In history, the 1870-71 Franco-Russian War left citizens in Paris to starved that they went to eat animals in the city’s zoo. 

•In 2003, about 75per cent of American tourists visiting Scotland believed that the haggis to be a small animal. It is in fact, a mixture of minced offal, oats, onions, spices, and seasonings. 

•When making soup, add a little salt at the beginning and more at the end. If the soup becomes to salty, add potatoes as they absorb salt. 

 

The Foodie: Curiosities, Stories and Expert Tips from the Culinary World, by James Steen, is published by Icon Books at £8.99.