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Eyedunno
The Great JuJu at the Bottom of the Sea
Joined: 13 Aug 2005
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 Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 7:30 am Post subject: Whale of a meal (Vegans: check blood pressure first) |
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I had whale both today and yesterday. Normally at the middle school I'm working at, it's served only once a year, but yesterday I went to an elementary school, and by chance, they were serving it there too. Anyway, whenever the school has something special on the menu (usually either some regional specialty or something that's expensive and thus only served once a year, as is the case with whale and eel), they print up flyers for all the students to teach them about the food. Japan is a food-obsessed culture anyway, so every day I have to hear an announcement over the PA explaining what makes that day's lunch so delicious (IMO, Japanese school lunch actually falls slightly below American school lunch in terms of taste, believe it or not).
So I went ahead and took a picture of today's flyer, in case anybody's interested in Japanese whale consumption. I don't have a scanner anymore, but I tried to make this look as good as I can under the cicumstances (and keep it down to 16 colors).
Here's a quickie translation:
| Quote: | School Lunch Flashback (#3) Fried Whale in Aurora Sauce
For people who experienced school lunches from the fifties to the eighties, whale meat is unforgettable as a component of school lunches. It's one item that's really nostalgic for your parents and teachers.
Q: How were the meals prepared?
Aside from the Aurora Sauce Fry we'll be having today, there were also such things as Tatsuta-age (similar to fried chicken), Koumi-yaki (grilled in an onion and garlic sauce), and Sukujira (like sweet and sour pork with whale meat substituted).
Q: Why was there so much whale on the menu?
In 1960 or so, whale was apparently cheaper than beef or pork. Whale provided a lot of nutrition on a limited budget, and was therefore indispensable.
Q: Why isn't it so common anymore?
Most of you probably already know this, but many countries engaged in excessive whaling, and from the 1970s onward, limits were imposed on whaling. From the mid-1970s, prices gradually increased, and whale largely ceased to be used in school lunches. In 1982, the International Whaling Commission decided to disallow whaling altogether until whale populations returned to normal. Currently, whales caught for research are brought to market under the regulation of the Japanese government, in order to ensure fair prices and distribution. With regard to whaling itself, there are various opinions on the subject. Please look into it on your own.
[Inset: Taking body measurements on a minke whale.]
Pix:
[Note: Numbers were (obviously) added by me.]
Today's whale is this one!! [#1] It was caught in the Antarctic Ocean for research purposes. [Edit: This has to be a mistake. Apparently Bryde's whales are tropical and subtropical whales.]
(1) Bryde's whale
(2) sperm whale
(3) fin whale
(4) gray whale
(5) bowhead whale
(6) blue whale
(7) sei
(8) humpback whale
(9) right whale
(10) minke |
And if anybody's curious about the taste, it was pretty similar to pork, as you might expect from the fairly recent common ancestry shared between whales and pigs. Quite a bit tougher though. I'd had whale before, but each of those times, it was sashimi (raw meat), and I'd place the taste of that somewhere between raw tuna and raw beef. |
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Nimitz
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| Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 8:16 am Post subject: |
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Hmmmmmm Can you get it in a can? I'd rather harpoon my own but I'm not close to the coast.
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Eyedunno
The Great JuJu at the Bottom of the Sea
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rock
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| Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 8:26 am Post subject: |
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Moloth
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CET
The Spiritual Atheist
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| Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 12:48 pm Post subject: |
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I've always wondered what whale tastes like.
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Moloth
Coin Operated Boy
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| Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 12:50 pm Post subject: |
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this thread is just aching for a "yo' momma" joke.
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Last edited by Moloth on Tue Feb 30, 2026 13:61 am; edited 426 times in total |
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A_Atheist_named_Christian
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| Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 1:39 pm Post subject: |
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Last time I checked, that was illegal. |
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Eyedunno
The Great JuJu at the Bottom of the Sea
Joined: 13 Aug 2005
Posts: 3800
Local time: 5:00 PM
Location: Cin City, OH!
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| Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 11:06 pm Post subject: |
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| A_Atheist_named_Christian wrote: |
Last time I checked, that was illegal. |
Yeah, I don't think it's suggesting blue whales are used for food in Japan; they're just pictures. They typically use Bryde's whales, minke whales, and a few others. |
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