On Pungency, Disgust and What It’s Like to Eat Wet Human Flesh

I harbor an intense distaste for Ethiopian food.

The deep disgust I feel for Ethiopian food is a rather new development. In fact, it wasn’t until a few short months ago that I even tried Ethiopian food for the first time. With just one taste, however, I knew that I’d almost rather eat my own feces than ever let Ethiopian food get anywhere near my oral cavity ever again.

For those who have been lucky enough to never eat Ethiopian food, let me describe it for you. Piles of mush are served on a large piece of porous flat bread. Think of a big pancake topped with piles of oatmeal of various colors. Instead of using utensils, those who are brave enough to try eating the mushy piles of food use small pieces of the flat bread to scoop portions from the piles.

It’s communal eating at its best. And it is rank.

For one thing, the bread that is served with Ethiopian food has a very pungent taste to it. While sourdough bread has a hint of sourness to it, this stuff will make the back of your mouth revolt. Just thinking about it makes my mouth pucker. And if that were not enough, the bread is also moist. Though I have never used wet human flesh to scoop up mush, I can imagine it is much like eating Ethiopian food.

The mush itself is also rather pungent. In fact, it wasn’t until I ate Ethiopian food that I really understood the meaning of the word “pungent.” For those who have yet to experience the horrors of Ethiopian food, the word “pungent” is defined as “sharply affecting the organs of taste or smell, as if by a penetrating power; biting; acrid.” In my book, that is not a good thing.

What made this dining experience even more unpleasant was the fact that the young man who took me to the Ethiopian eatery was also on the pungent side. The inside of his car was quite biting and acrid. I didn’t realize it until after dinner, but the man smelled like Ethiopian food. And again, that is not a good thing in my book.

Needless to say, I never saw that guy again. And I have also never had Ethiopian food again. It is possible that I had a bad batch of the crap, but I’m not willing to risk it. Some things are just not worth it.

And death by disgust is one of those things.