Tastes like tetrapod

by Nick Vagnoni, Posted Dec 1st 2005 @ 7:09PM

I had always assumed that the reason most people liken exotic or less common meats like aligator or rabbit to chicken is because chicken is a bland meat and, in many cases so are the others. Joe Staton of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard has another theory. He says that many meats taste the same for evolutionary reasons, namely that there are common flavors among tetrapods, four-legged animals with toes. If lots of different animals taste like chicken, it's because, according to Staton, they all share a common ancestral beast. For some reason, avians are tetrapods too, I believe. From a biological standpoint, I really can't tell how valid his theory is. Nevertheless, Staton has a good sense of humor and a neat little chart--both of which go a long way.

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Filed Under: Science, Ingredients
Tags: beef, fish, pork, poultry

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

12-01-2005 @9:07PM sarah said... i think the alligator and frog tasting like chicken might have less to do with the number of legs, and more with birds descending from reptiles. they're all a bunch of reptiles.

or, maybe chickens having four legs at one point is the same thing.

LOL!
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12-02-2005 @4:04AM Kelley Ritchey said... OK, good, I thought it was just me who feels obligated to ask anyone who devours an exotic meat if it tastes like chicken. Maybe this is heriditary as well.
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