sen domāju, nu gūglēju.

"By the way here is the exact Owl recipe from Louisiana Cookery, circa 1954.

"Pick, clean, and marinate in vinegar and oil overnight. Parboil, then dust with flour, and fricasse until done, adding water or marinade."

This recipe was just after a recipe for crows and a few before a recipe for porpoise"

I think the prohibition of owls as sustenance (at least for Judeo-Christian cultures) goes back to Biblical times; see Leviticus 11:13. The list of "detestable" birds includes eagles, vultures, ravens, storks, and curiously (or should I say erroneously), the bat. And of course, owls.


Islam forbids eating owls too.

My theory why most people don't eat owl

1. They eat rats ... rats that even cats won't eat
2. They stay up all night and sleep during the day

1. How good can somthing that eats rats taste? Also, if you have a bird that is doing pest control ... well, would you rather have to hunt rat? Isn't it easier in the long run to let the owls do the hunting and get rid of the rats?

2. They are 'night owls'. That's a little creepy if you think about it ... what is up all night? ... owls, vampires/bats, ghosts and witches (not the good/white type ... apoligies to Glenda).

There's a lot of superstition about owls with most cultures associating them with evil and witchcraft. The bird probably doesn't taste good and on top of that you are probably eating something that has connections to the underworld. That can't be good.

Don't know how much owls hide during the day, but trying to catch something in the dark can't be easy.

Here's a list of the superstitions associated with owls ... by country.

http://www.owlpages.com/articles.php?section=Owl+Mythology&title=World

Who eats owls ... here's a link from the Raptor Society ... if they don't know, who does?

http://www.raptorfoundation.org.uk/20...

To sum up who eats owls ... mainly for medicinal reasons ... it almost makes you appreciate pharmecutical companies

- Europeans ... mediaeval Europeans - charred, dried & ground owl eyeballs (for eyesight & prevent madness) ... owl eggs (for alcoholics) ... owl broth for children ... so they wouldn't need to eat owl eggs when they grew up and for whooping cough

- The Swiss (16th century) owl brains blended with olive oil
(for earaches
)

- The Romans - Owl soup (epilectic fits)

- Indians (from India) - owl fat from owl soup (for childern to prevent misfortune ... eating owl fat seems unfortuante to me) ...owl broth & pickled owl (gout) ... gelled owl soup (rheumatism) ... stewed owls eyeballs and brains (labor pains ... I guess eating owl brains would distract me too)

- Chinese ... owl soup ... various medicial purposes

- Peruvians - boiled Owl is said to be a strong medicine.

I can't believe I was lured into this discussion. Not too wise, eh. I used to eat Owl Potato chips ... does that count?

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/316065