Man is an omnivore. And when it comes to meat, a real predator wakes up. Modern civilization provides us with the most extensive diet. It is not surprising that the hand of merciless cooks reached genetically close creatures. Monkey brains are considered a delicious dish that costs a lot of money. But before proceeding directly to their description, we learn about the culture and history of brain eating.
Brain eating
Eating animal brains is a fairly common occurrence. Many national dishes contain this “winding” filling. In general, when served, the brains resemble something like a soft fish fillet. Furthermore, the dish has no pronounced taste. It is not difficult to prepare them, but preliminary processing is very important.
The benefits and harms of the brain
From a nutritional point of view, brains are a good source of vitamins. Magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and iron in decent amounts will only benefit the body. But there is a fly in the ointment: a very high concentration of cholesterol. In addition, the brain is poorly absorbed by the body.
Therefore, such a dish is often recommended for problems with the cardiovascular system or diseases that affect brain activity. At the same time, nutritionists do not recommend eating brains for people suffering from hypertension or who are overweight. The fact is that with a relatively low level of protein, animal brains contain large amounts of cholesterol. And this means that the abuse of this product can not only neutralize the benefits, but also cause significant harm to the body.
Disease risk
Pun: before you eat the brain, you need to scratch your brain. A little ridiculous, but there is some truth to this. Eating the contents of the cranium can result in dangerous diseases. Although such cases occur quite rarely.
Cattle brains, for example, can be sources of spongiform encephalopathy. Such a disease manifests itself in different ways, but the general course is characterized by impaired functioning of the brain and nervous system. For a person is a great danger. Infection comes from an infected animal.
In civilized countries, the risk of such infection is minimal. At various stages of sanitary control, the entire carcass of the animal is checked, preventing infected meat from reaching the shelves. Although at the same time, many tribes practice ritual eating of the brains of driven animals and manage quite successfully. The risk, of course, is higher, but even in this case, such infections are not too common.
Monkey brains as a delicacy
Now that you’ve roughly imagined the gastronomy of the brain, let's move on to the main thing - our presumptive ancestors. Gourmets did not ignore the monkeys. Their brain (monkeys, not gourmets) is considered a delicacy in China. Its use is officially prohibited, but according to a few evidence it is still practiced, including for "curious" tourists. It costs, of course, a lot of money. But do we not know that for the right amount almost anything is possible.
If you look at the photo of the dish from monkey brains, then there is nothing particularly unusual in it. A bit unusual, but it is possible, if, of course, you don’t remember which monkeys are cute.
The homeland of such a delicacy is considered to be China from the Qing Dynasty. The ruling elite of that time was known for its magnificent feasts. At such dinner parties, the monkey had the privilege of an invited guest. Not only the brains of the animal were eaten. To taste the heart of a monkey was also considered a great success.
Monkey brain eating etiquette
Monkey brains are usually eaten chilled. There is even a version that they are eaten raw, but more on that later. As already mentioned, the tradition of eating monkey brains originates from a distant history. And this means that a certain "ritual" of the meal was formed. Chilled monkey brains are served on a small dish and decorated with greens. To taste, they resemble cold rice. Such a dish is considered exotic even in China, and in fact they eat almost everything that moves.
If you look at the traditional part of eating the brains of monkeys, then some more evidence opens up. Tribes in Indonesia have long practiced primate hunting. The main goal was the brain. Various beneficial properties were attributed to him, the presence of which, however, was never proven.
The tradition of eating monkeys exists among several Cameroonian tribes. They have it connected with the elections. As soon as the newly made leader takes office, he organizes "bread and circuses." However, as elsewhere. The tribes have it all just a little more exotic and in its original form. Hunters drive the gorilla and provide its leader with the brain. The meal marks the power of power of the new leader.
