It's Not the Taste... It's the Consistency!

A few days ago, I experienced my first meal that included snails.  I have to say, my host dad can COOK.  Everything he makes tastes fantastic.  So, when he offered me a snail, shell and all, I said why not?  I am in Spain.  This time of my life is all about new experiences.

My review: interesting.  Again, the man can cook.  So the TASTE was pretty decent.  It was salty but in a good way.  Very light.  Not like chicken or beef.  I can't really compare the taste to anything.  However, there isn't really anything you can do about the texture.

If you have seen Zombieland, you probably remember Woody Harrelson saying, "I hate coconut.  Not the taste, the consistency."  I feel that way about coconuts too, and I have similar feelings about snails.  VERY tough.  I chewed on one solitary snail for a good ten minutes. So, I am glad I tried it but I'm not sure I'll be dining on snails too often in the future.
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Another thing I'd like to bring up is olive oil.  Here, if a household doesn't store vast quantities of olive oil, the family must not be from Spain.  The amount of olive oil consumed here is ASTOUNDING.  I am totally for it, and hey.... it's healthier than butter.  Every salad, every vegetable, cheese, meat (including chicken nuggets), and every single piece of bread is completely drenched from all of the oil than has been poured on top of it.  I am not sure how much olive oil you should ingest every day.  All I know is that, here, it's easy to have about half a bottle a day.  I'm okay with it.  I LOVE olive oil.
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One more food related subject.  Spaniards are really talented at peeling fruit with knives.  I've always used a peeler.  Here, they peel all fruit with knives.  Including bananas.  I just peel my bananas with my hands.  I don't know if it is easier or more polite to peel a banana with a knife, but everyone here does it, and they do it gracefully.  At lunch today, I was the only one who peeled mine with my hands, and I felt as clumsy as a monkey. It's just very interesting to me. Not really sure if anyone else thinks about such things as often as I do or if anyone cares how I peel bananas.... but it's just something I noticed!