I wish Zimmern's show was less Fear Factor and more No Reservations. My parents watch his show and I'll catch snippets when I visit them. It's hard for me to watch, I just don't enjoy even looking at the guy. I've not run in to anything yet that has been too drastic for me to at least "try" but I would definitely think twice about Chicha if it's made by using peoples saliva. That's just gross. But if Dogfish Head makes it.... maybe.
Against all logic that says its fine, I don't think I could eat insects. My cousin has told me about eating ants in Mexico and Cicadas in Peru (apparently they are a lot like shrimp), and he says its fine. I can't get past it. So many cultures around the world revere different types of bugs, but they aren't for me.
Logic doesn't play a strong role in most of our food-fear. When I was in Peru I ate Guinea Pig and Alpaca. I didn't enjoy the guinea pig though because I had one as a pet as a kid. Just didn't seem right. No logic there, all emotion. We used to dare each other as kids to eat ants. I don't recall what they taste like.
Quoted at dinner tonight. Laughs ensued. Then came everyones stories of ant eating; it is more common than I thought.If they tasted good more people would eat them.