... an occasional series in which Young Keith cooks.
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| The Hoopoe - barmy yet protected |
I've done a bit of research into why the hoopoe might have been regarded as unclean. One possibility is that they are great eaters of insects and pests. Which might make them either slightly poisonous or protected by the Bible because they protect crops. Or maybe God just liked the crest on their heads and their slightly barmy look?
But after some serious study I can tell you, the reason why the hoopoe is not a bird you want to eat. They're rubbish. Too small to roast, too fiddly to fillet and if you deep-fry them like whitebait the bones are all crunchy.
*Archdruid's note. The Hoopoe is a protected species in some countries, and an unclean animal according to the Bible (except the KJV). Probably best if you don't eat it. Young Keith does these experiments because he is an idiot. So you don't have to.
*image by Luc Viator, from wikipedia commons
It's some kind of unclean bird, perhaps a water bird, but nobody knows what. All the lectionaries give different answers.
ReplyDeleteI saw a hoopoe once, in Cornwall. It looked like a brown magpie flying past. I wouldn't bother eating it, but then I don't get that hungry. Lark's tongues in aspic used to be a delicacy; people in southern Europe are notorious for shoting small birds. So some people would probably have it.
You'll be pushed to find one of these jobbies sitting on a tree branch. They have all got singing/dancing parts on the telly in 'In the Night Garden' so they have moved up to Town and are living in a gated community on the edges of Blackheath.
ReplyDeleteJust goes to show, anyone with a daft hairdo can get on the telly these days, unclean or not.