Eating horsemeat in France • Hacker News Board

Re: Eating horsemeat in France

#171

Post by unfunco » Sat, Jul 16, 2022, 5:46 PM UTC

bipson wrote: post #10

Eating horse meat was very common in central Europe before the big wars. In WWI and WWII even more so, horses were declared essential for the war in axis countries, and eating them became illegal. In Italy horse meat picked right up again after WWII, but in Austria and Germany people forgot about the reasons it seems and it stayed unacceptable/frowned upon. You can find (excellent) horse meat products in western Aust…

Eating horse meat in the United Kingdom was seemingly quite common in the United Kingdom prior to 2013 but nobody knew about it[0], when common products were found to contain horse meat and the public reaction turned into a huge story / scandal and most people in the UK would have the same ewww reaction.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_horse_meat_scandal

Re: Eating horsemeat in France

#172

Post by ibejoeb » Sat, Jul 16, 2022, 5:46 PM UTC

> A bit like goat curry, all you really taste is the spices.

Agree that cheval, flavor-wise, isn't remarkable; it's good, it's a baseline. But goat? If you think all you experience is the seasoning, your sense of taste might be diminished.

Re: Eating horsemeat in France

#173

Post by mcv » Sat, Jul 16, 2022, 5:51 PM UTC

That horse meat "scandal" also hit Netherland, which surprised me. Well, selling horse meat as beef is obviously misleading, but a lot of people seemed to be upset about the very notion of eating horse meat, which is the part that surprised me. I still remember that when I was a kid, my parents would often buy smoked horse meat. It seems to be less common these days. I guess some people aren't familiar with it and therefore see it as weird or unnatural?

Then again, my wife is horrified by the idea of rabbit meat.

Re: Eating horsemeat in France

#174

Post by xdennis » Sat, Jul 16, 2022, 5:55 PM UTC

gerikson wrote: post #27

Horse meat is not unknown in Sweden but it's uncommon. I remember being surprised during the horsemeat lasagne scandal that horse is a taboo food in the UK and Ireland.

To remind people in case they didn't know (because there was a huge backlash against Romanians at the time and newspapers never correct themselves after investigations) the meat was labeled as "horse meat" when it left Romania. It was a Dutch company which relabeled it as "beef".

Re: Eating horsemeat in France

#175

Post by ornornor » Sat, Jul 16, 2022, 5:57 PM UTC

Fargoan wrote: post #162

nathanvanfleet wrote: post #161

When I lived in Montreal I was surprised to find horse meat in a handful of regular supermarkets. It was cheaper than beef and it was pretty lean, 20 year-old student me appreciated both of those things. I found it pretty gamey and more flavorful than beef. I did a bit of research and found out that Montreal had some of the largest horse slaughterhouses in the world. Apparently there are plenty of places in the world…

Or stop breeding them?

Right? Applies to every animal though but people seem more uneasy with the idea of killing and eating horses vs other equally sentient animals.

Re: Eating horsemeat in France

#176

Post by numpad0 » Sat, Jul 16, 2022, 5:58 PM UTC

ClumsyPilot wrote: post #15

bipson wrote: post #10

Eating horse meat was very common in central Europe before the big wars. In WWI and WWII even more so, horses were declared essential for the war in axis countries, and eating them became illegal. In Italy horse meat picked right up again after WWII, but in Austria and Germany people forgot about the reasons it seems and it stayed unacceptable/frowned upon. You can find (excellent) horse meat products in western Aust…

> the reaction you get is typically "Eeehwww! i understand when people react that way to eating dog or smth, but horses and cows are same family of animald

Humans consume everything from mushrooms to mammals, it’s arbitrary as to which species in what kind of form are ewww and which are not.

Only when it comes to primates and closer that our DNA actively tries to stop us. Anything farther are matters of beliefs, preferences and safety.

Re: Eating horsemeat in France

#177

Post by k__ » Sat, Jul 16, 2022, 5:58 PM UTC

mcv wrote: post #173

That horse meat "scandal" also hit Netherland, which surprised me. Well, selling horse meat as beef is obviously misleading, but a lot of people seemed to be upset about the very notion of eating horse meat, which is the part that surprised me. I still remember that when I was a kid, my parents would often buy smoked horse meat. It seems to be less common these days. I guess some people aren't familiar with it and th…

Don't get this either.

We have a horse butcher here in the city whoms unique selling point is just that, selling horse meat.

Nobody cares, really.

Re: Eating horsemeat in France

#178

Post by yvdriess » Sat, Jul 16, 2022, 6:02 PM UTC

jeromenerf wrote: post #3

People usually eat decommissioned horses, if their papers allowed for it. Most are raised by enthusiasts, for sport. Horses bred and raised for their meat are no longer rare. What used to be endangered races (cobs, cold bloods), can now be maintained thanks to a rather unexpected business opportunity. French don’t eat them though, they are sold to Japan, to be eaten very fat, as delicatessen.

Similarly, the Ardennes draft horse genetic stock survived because of an (unsuccessful attempt at) an horse-meat breeding industry.

It's usually not economical to breed a horse just for meat, which in my eyes makes it a relatively ethical form of meat.

Re: Eating horsemeat in France

#179

Post by xkcd-sucks » Sat, Jul 16, 2022, 6:02 PM UTC

jules wrote: post #69

12ian34 wrote: post #31

When I lived in NL, I took a trip to Maastricht which is a beautiful place right in the South and tried a popular local dish - Zoervleis[0] which is traditionally horse meat. It was delicious. It always amuses me that when I tell this story, it's often met with disgust - even by meat-eaters! "But, how could you eat horse! They're so nice!". Yeah... you eat beef, have you ever met a cow up close? They're also lovely c…

If I'm not mistaken, the preparation of the dish (meat boiled in vinegar for several hours, then sweetened up with gingerbread and reduced apple juice) was traditionally intended to tenderise the tough meat of old farm horses that had been used for ploughing the land. Almost all restaurants prepare the dish with beef nowadays.

I'm reminded of an old Joy of Cooking recipe for raccoon: Boil it in baking soda overnight, then throw away the water and braise it for another few hours iirc

Re: Eating horsemeat in France

#180

Post by microtherion » Sat, Jul 16, 2022, 6:07 PM UTC

xattt wrote: post #38

12ian34 wrote: post #31

When I lived in NL, I took a trip to Maastricht which is a beautiful place right in the South and tried a popular local dish - Zoervleis[0] which is traditionally horse meat. It was delicious. It always amuses me that when I tell this story, it's often met with disgust - even by meat-eaters! "But, how could you eat horse! They're so nice!". Yeah... you eat beef, have you ever met a cow up close? They're also lovely c…

You also get this reaction if you declare having eaten what I would call secondary meats (rabbit, duck, lamb).

My (Swiss) kids enjoy eating chicken. I love eating duck, but I have to be VERY discreet about it, lest I want to be looked at like I'm a serial killer. Having referred to my food as "Donald" on one occasion probably didn't help…