Do you eat jellied eels?

[kittyP]

OK kittyP grab a spoon, we're going in

If there is vinegar and white pepper I am on board!!

 

[xenon]

My dad, a proper cockney , tried to get me to try them once. Fuck that, jellied anything, jelly is rank.

 

[xenon]

Eel populations in the River Thames have fallen by 98% in just five years, scientists have said.
The numbers of eels - which have been a traditional east London dish for centuries - fell from 1,500 in 2005 to just 50 last year (2009)
BBC News - Eel populations in London's River Thames crash by 98%

("The dish, served in Pie and Mash shops, is made up of chopped eels, boiled in a spiced stock that is allowed to cool and set, forming a jelly and can be eaten hot or cold. Most eels used in Pie and Mash shops now come from Holland or Northern Ireland.")

Cant find more recent figures...

ISTR A lot of eels are sourced in Norfolk and exported to Japan.

 

[xenon]

Do you suck the jelly through your teeth?

We need a sick smiley. .

 

[High Voltage]

We need a sick smiley. .

comme ça?

 

[Spymaster]

I'm probably the least fussy person I know when it comes to food and I can stand the fucking things.

I tried to like them many times as a kid as there was a thing amongst my friends that you weren't a proper Londoner if you didn't eat them. Every time I tried to force some down they made me gag. They're quite tasteless really, most of the the taste just comes from what's put on them, usually salt, pepper, and vinegar. The rest is texture; which is evil. The snotty, cold jelly is bad enough but the real horror of JEs is that massive lump of hard sharp bone in each piece. Almost human. And the skin. Cold, slimy, fish skin. Fuck off.

My last ever attempt at eating them was over 30 years ago from a stall like fishfinger's in a pub car park. I decided enough's enough, threw them in the bushes and bought a pint of prawns instead.

 

[Plumdaff]

My late step Nan, very old school South London, used to eat them. I love seafood but draw the line at the abominations. I also hate liquor on pie and mash.

 

[Spymaster]

I also hate liquor on pie and mash.

Same here. Devil's piss. Nothing that colour should be eaten. I always have gravy.

 

[purenarcotic]

I like eels but not jellied. Urgh. The thought makes me heave,

 

[Spymaster]

I like eels but not jellied. Urgh. The thought makes me heave,

Filleted and smoked they're delicious. It makes you wonder which old time Londoner thought that boiling and jellying them was the best thing you could do with them. Same with parsley liquor, just WTF

 

[EastEnder]

I would rather eat my own puke.

 

[Sea Star]

I would rather eat my own puke.

Ok. More eels for me!!

 

[Spymaster]

Eel populations in the River Thames have fallen by 98% in just five years, scientists have said.
The numbers of eels - which have been a traditional east London dish for centuries - fell from 1,500 in 2005 to just 50 last year (2009)
BBC News - Eel populations in London's River Thames crash by 98%

("The dish, served in Pie and Mash shops, is made up of chopped eels, boiled in a spiced stock that is allowed to cool and set, forming a jelly and can be eaten hot or cold. Most eels used in Pie and Mash shops now come from Holland or Northern Ireland.")

Cant find more recent figures...

I've never seen them being eaten hot.

 

[Mrs Miggins]

I would rather eat my own puke.

Jesus Christ is that what they look like? *barf*

 

[Sea Star]

I've never seen them being eaten hot.

I've tried them hot and cold. Prefer cold.

 

[Spymaster]

Eating eels from the Thames in the 1800s? /barf

Totally. The Thames was an open sewer until the late 19th century.

 

[Spymaster]

I've tried them hot and cold. Prefer cold.

Served hot they're stewed eels though, aren't they? The jelly would melt.

 

[EastEnder]

Jesus Christ is that what they look like? *barf*

Honestly, do a google image search for jellied eels - it's not a question of picking out the one picture where they look horrific, every single picture looks fucking nauseating!!

 

[spanglechick]

I love fish, and have eaten all manner of weird and wonderful fishy things, especially in Japan... But a couple of years ago I had my first opportunity to eat jellied eels. I managed half a bite before involuntarily expelling the rest from my mouth. The jelly isn't lovely, but I'll eat pork pies etc. the rest of the texture, though, was grim. The meat was harder than I thought, and dry - by which I mean none of the lovely oily texture you get with Japanese eels, and not flaking apart like a lovely bit of white fish. Just this dense briquette of uncompromising fishmeat. I found the taste strong and unpleasant, but I find it hard to explain why - I usually love strong fishy tastes like sardines and mackerel.

Anyway, never again.

 

[Spymaster]

Honestly, do a google image search for jellied eels - it's not a question of picking out the one picture where they look horrific, every single picture looks fucking nauseating!!

They are what they are. You can't polish a turd.

 

[High Voltage]

But you can roll it in jelly

 

[Captain Christy]

I would rather eat my own puke.

Not another bloody Katie Hopkins picture!

 

[Spymaster]

My late step Nan, very old school South London, used to eat them. I love seafood but draw the line at the abominations. I also hate liquor on pie and mash.

Food hell:

 

[Sea Star]

Served hot they're stewed eels though, aren't they? The jelly would melt.

I don't think the jelly melted - was a while ago. It changed texture but held its integrity. I wasn't particularly impressed either way. Might repeat the experiment and report back. Much prefer them cold though.

 

[Sirena]

I tried a bit of them once before I was a vegetarian.

I used to like fish but jellied eels was, like, groo-o-o. They tasted like disgusting, dirty seawater.

But I'm still happy to celebrate them as oldskool.....

 

[ElizabethofYork]

Can't stand the muck.

My mum and dad, aunts and uncles and grandparents (proper old skool cockneys) always loved them though.

 

[stuff_it]

My Kiwi boyfriend reckons everyone in Britain eats jellied eels but I maintain that nobody does and if there is anyone that does, they are exclusively from the East End of London. Who's right?

They're a joke food that Cockney's made up to disgust tourists with.

 

[Crispy]

Critically endangered. Don't eat them.

European eel - Wikipedia

 

[Spymaster]

Critically endangered. Don't eat them.

No worries.

 

[dessiato]

I like smoked eel, I like grilled eel, but jellied they make me vomit.