What Do Penguins Taste Like?

Have you ever wondered what penguin’s taste like? Yes, not many of them would have tasted or have seen in the menu of any hotels. Some scientists who went to Antarctica, have eaten penguins as medicine for healthy survival.

From the famous physician Frederick Cook’s information, we have come to know that it gives a mixed taste of beef, odiferous codfish, and canvas-backed duck. Also, like other animals it has blood and a phenomenal amount of fat which serves similar to cod liver oil.

The myth of replacing chicken with penguin will not be possible since the meat and the flavor are a total contradictory.

There are almost many countries that restrict penguin’s consumption and termed it illegal. The eating of penguins yet looked like a strange thing where many communities do not accept it.

Antarctica’s protocol in conserving wildlife prohibits the consumption of any wild food until there is a demand for survival during expeditions.

The Texture of the Meat and the Eggs:

The meat of penguins are hard to compare accurately with any other meat but we can describe it as the combination of fish, mammal, and bird.

Eggs of penguins are quite interesting. They are far distinct from chicken eggs. The eggs even after thorough cooking don’t get set and remains translucent. The yolk appears to be in bright red and orange color. The completely boiled egg after removing the shell out looks like jelly with a big yolk inside.

We have heard of people from Falkland Island telling they have eaten penguin’s egg and also some telling they have also eaten the penguin’s meat.

Since the Falkland Islanders are eating penguins leading to destruction, the government has started collecting eggs and few licensed members do share the penguin’s eggs.

Comparison with Other Animal Meat:

Muttonbird:

The muttonbird can also be compared with the penguins for their similarity with meat. They moreover give fish flavor which is meaty and oily.

Chicken, fish, and duck:

Penguins’ meat has the protein content of all the poultry, fish, eggs, beans and nuts. They are the package of all the nutrients that contribute to biological growth.

Penguin’s meat has the essential B-12, iron, zinc, and manganese along with the nutrients. Excluding the fat, the penguins’ meat can be a replacement for chicken and beef.

The taste of the penguin’s meat did not have an appreciable taste. It will take a lot of time to cook to achieve a simple good taste. Because of the strong fish palate, it wasn’t favorite meat even for the sailors in the past.

The sailors were attracted more towards the eggs for the nutritional benefits. When they hunt the penguins, the meat was salted and kept for nearly a month and used in case of a healthy diet in the voyage.

And, it happened only in the history, not in the current situations where the hunting and taking of penguins’ eggs are illegal. Though there are a lot of ban for collecting the eggs, there are some people who stealthily get the eggs and hunt penguins which may cost them huge if they are found guilty.

Punishment if Hunting Penguins:

According to the Antarctic conservation act, the scientist who has permission to reach the penguins can do that for research purpose or any emergency need.

• If you were to touch a penguin, you would be charged around $5,000
• If you were accused and proved of killing or harming the penguins then the fine would be $10,000 and a year jail sentence.

The breast of the penguins was considered to be the best part for the diet and the meat has the dominant of fish flavor since the penguins’ food includes small marine creatures like fishes, squids, krill etc.

The Realism:

Penguins are edible by any carnivore human. But, during the long voyages in the early Antarctic diet, penguins’ fresh meat was consumed. It is because the food which they carried were not having the nutrients that were required for the Antarctic and also the foods were decaying.

There are places where the penguins’ eggs are collected. But, the quantity of egg collection has comparatively reduced from the time it was in history. The eggs were opted by the sailors because of the nutritional benefits as that of meat.

In the current situation, there is no easy reach towards penguins and penguins’ eggs because of the conservation of the ecosystems.

Eskimos and the Penguins:

There is a myth that Eskimos eat penguins, but in reality, Eskimos live in the Arctic and the penguins live in the Antarctic. They are far away from each other. Thus, Eskimos cannot eat penguins.

Eskimos eat polar bears, walruses, fishes, reindeer, and earless seal.

Places Where Penguins Meat Consumed as a Chance:

Antarctic penguins stayed near the South Pole far from the human’s easy reach and they were kept undisturbed to some extent now.

Penguins such as fairy penguins otherwise called little penguins that are found in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and South America can be an easy target. They fall as prey mainly because of their inability to fly.

The body of the penguins offers skin, oil, bones, feathers, eggs, and meat. In the early nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, the skin, oil, and feathers were extensively used for industrial purposes comparatively to the need of the meat.

Conclusion:

Most of the experiences tell us that the Penguins’ meat is oily and doesn’t taste as good as other common birds’, fishes and mammal’s meat that we consume usually.

Moreover, the species have become endangered and it is our accountability to conserve their community no matter where they live. Apart from the information, penguins are cute and endearing which makes many of us not think of tasting the meat.

References:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/a-different-kind-of-dinner-bell-in-the-antarctic-22002918/

https://ask.metafilter.com/53331/What-do-penguins-taste-like

http://www.rishiray.com/curry-a-penguin/

Image source:

1. Emperor penguin by Bill Harrison / CC BY
2. Adelie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) Incubating by Gregory Smith / CC BY
3. fairy penguins/little penguins by JJ Harrison / CC BY