Search - Eating the Uneatable on DVD

Variety is the spice of life

Kyle Tolle | Phoenix, Arizona USA | 07/15/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The place is Yunnan Province in Southern China and it is home to 3 distinct climatic regions, 15,000 species of plants, 300 animal species, and over 2400 species of insects. Various tribes are spread throughout this diverse territory and they all have a discriminating palate for unique food.

What many westerners might identify as revolting for human consumption is the daily fare for these indigenous groups and it has been this way for centuries. Not only are their diets looked at in this program, but there is interesting information regarding their cultures, cooking methods, foraging techniques, and the use of various insects for medicinal purposes.

Although insects are a primary staple that is focused on, the Yunnanese people also have some other noteworthy favorites and appearing below is some of what you will experience in this show:

Bamboo Worms
Water Centipedes
Woodworms
Deep fried Cicadas
Giant Bamboo Mice
Grilled Bats
Dragonflies
Dung Beetles
Termites
Crickets

As far as educational value and good entertainment is concerned, this documentary does a nice job in both respects. The video footage of all the food collection and preparation is done tastefully and humanely and nothing I saw in this program was even remotely unpleasant in any way.
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