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What they’re eating…

Today’s zombie economy no doubt has a bunch to do with all things vampire, but Twighlight? True Blood? Get real, or get the real thing, or, it’s what’s for dinner…

Hungry folks over in Chad (a country in Africa, not a ballot bugger. Sarah Palin reads this blog. Sorry.) are returning to hundred year old recepies for – (hide the kids!) fried blood. Bluh!

They call it “Vampire”, and is a traditional dish making a comeback amid a global surge in food prices that has left meat too expensive for many.

In Chad, meat is often eaten only on special occasions such as religious holidays. Conversely, in the United States, the consumption of meat is limited to rare occasions, like,  when one is not financially embarrassed.

Nutritionists say “vampire” is actually an excellent alternative to goat and sheep, especially for children. (Give it to Mikey, he’ll try anything!)

“I make it with peppers, salt, onions, spicy sauce and maggi (stock cubes). I fry it all up like that; it’s good,” said Modestine Danbe, who lives in the N’Djamena. (Yummy. What time did you want me?)

Ms Danbe is one of many women in the city’s Walia neighborhood, close to the Cameroonian border, who has taken to frying up huge vats of blood and selling it to her neighbors on the streets.

She buys buckets of fresh blood from the abattoir near her home for about $1, which makes about 40 plates of “vampire”.

Each plate sells for about $0.2, so after the costs of the other ingredients her profit is about $7. (Hey Burger King, are you paying attention? Stick a toy in the bag, and offer a free drink. It’ll sell.)

“It’s actually an excellent source of nutrients, especially for children,” said Robert Johnston, a nutritional specialist for Unicef in Chad, which is exactly why he works for Unicef and not Le Cirque.

“Blood pudding and liver have been used in other countries to promote high-protein intake for families who don’t have daily access to meat.” (Other countries? HA! Ever been to South Carolina? Georgia? Liver pudding comes with a side of eggs and the morning paper.)

Making a killing

Meat-based products make up a large part of the average Chadian diet.

Many people in the north of the country come from nomadic backgrounds, where drinking an animal’s blood without actually killing the beast is a survival technique in lean times.

Vampire is making a killing in Walia’s ubiquitous bili bili (local millet brew) bars, where liquid diets require some supplements.

“The taste is good, a bit like liver. I really like it,” said James, a Saturday-morning drinker.

“I suppose it doesn’t sound very good to be associated with sucking blood, but I don’t really care. Perhaps it will give me the strength of a vampire! (Budweiser, hey! ‘This ‘blood’ is for you!’)

whoa!

This entry was posted on Monday, June 1st, 2009 at 2:54 pm and is filed under Losungen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.