What does ambergris taste like

Who would think, then, that such fine ladies and gentlemen should regale themselves with an essence found in the inglorious bowels of a sick whale! Yet so it is. By some, ambergris is supposed to be the cause, and by others the effect, of the dyspepsia in the whale….

Despite this very prominent reference, among others, ambergris is still today often mistakenly referred to as whale vomit. But, as previously noted, it is actually closer to whale poop. In a nutshell, ambergris is produced when a sperm whale has an upset stomach, as Melville very astutely noted. While sperm whales eat things like crab, octopus, fish, shrimp, and small bottom-living sharks, they love squid. Normally, the hard beaks of squids are vomited back up by the whale, but occasionally, the beaks sometimes pass through into the intestines.

As a growing mass, they are pushed farther along the intestines and become a tangled indigestible solid, saturated with feces, which begins to obstruct the rectum. It also acts as a dam. Feces builds up behind it. It becomes a concentration- a smooth and striated boulder. At the same time, a fatty bile-like substance is secreted inside of the intestine that ultimately surrounds the sharp beaks and more or less blunts their points, as well as helps the mass slide its way through the whale.

In the end literally , the substance mixes with partially digested mass as described and is eventually secreted. Billy Sunday West Logan Blvd. Chicago, IL Sign up for the best of Food Republic, delivered to your inbox Tuesday and Thursday. Home Recipes Drink Travel. Food Republic June 26, You Might Also Like.

I think maybe the ambergris would have been better mixed with other things, vanilla for example. I think in history ambergris was seldom used on its own; one of its properties that it is prized for is ability to amplify whatever it is mixed with, as well as blending and smoothing out the other ingredients. Name required.

Mail will not be published required. Subscribe in a reader. Facebook here Instagram here Twitter here ITunes here. Powered by WordPress and K2. Entries Feed and Comments Feed. Four Pounds Flour. Published on September 11, in 17th century and ice cream. Janine September 11, at pm.

Karen September 12, at pm. Sarah Lohman September 17, at pm. Miggie February 15, at pm. Thomas May 1, at am. Green Tea Ice Cream May 22, at am. Trina June 15, at am. Legal, no—at least not in the United States, where the mere possession of ambergris is illegal under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, as is the eating of whale meat itself. The taste remains mostly unknowable, an apt metaphor, perhaps, for the mysteries contained in our oceans at large.

Peter Smith is a writer specializing in stories about food, science and technology. Post a Comment.