Which Came First the Chicken or the Egg?

Caldo de Gallina

In the village of Pongo, I ordered a common soup in Peru, Caldo de Gallina. Usually it is chicken noodle soup with a leg or thigh, sometimes an egg stirred in while cooking. Not this time. I got the real deal. I turned over the chicken back and found it filled with chicken innards. Now, I grew up on a farm, and we ate the heart, gizzard and liver of the chickens we slaughtered, but let the rest of it go to the hogs. After closer inspection I discovered a complete egg, shell and all, just ready to  be laid. That was cool. I ate it, Yum.

Egg number two

Next to the uterus containing the fully formed egg, was a coiled mass that looked something like intestines, but was in the wrong place, up against the backbone. A quick taste revealed it to be yet more egg in formation. Quite good. Toward the neck was a yellow mass that was all yolk, also good. The soup was also good. I had no ill effects from the meal, and would eat it again. My mother would be appalled to know how much food she fed to the hogs all those years.

You’re never to old to learn something new.


Comments

Which Came First the Chicken or the Egg? — 2 Comments

  1. Yuck? Actually pretty good Bonnie. Adventures in eating is a fun part of travel. People around the world find creative ways to cook the same things we eat. I’m not sure I’ll prepare this for us, they don’t leave these parts in the chickens in the grocery store here, but it at least broadened my concept of what I can eat, when necessary, and hungry enough!

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