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wash it many times and then I put..." "Stop right there, said the German, "that's the mistake." "What?" the Greek shook his head in wonder. "I don't wash it." answered the German.

At an American dinner party in Frankfurt some years ago corn casserole was served. The German guests were insulted, because they consider corn fit only for animal fodder. You can imagine how the Germans felt after the war when the U.S.A. sent them shiploads of corn to eat!

Sauerkraut is cabbage that is left to ferment (or rot depending on whether you like it or not), and the Germans just love it. Non-Germans often remark on the sauerkraut's peculiar pungent odor.

Century egg is a fermented delicacy eaten by the Chinese community in Taiwan, China and Singapore. The raw egg is buried for at least three months in hardened clay soil. When the clay is broken and the egg removed, the egg is totally black. This delicacy is sliced and eaten as an appetizer with pickled ginger. For the Western palate, according to the World Encyclopedia, the taste and smell is like a very strong cheese.

The Koreans enjoy another version of fermented cabbage, called kim chee. This Seoul food is prepared with loads of garlic and hot peppers. Koreans swear by it and insist that it keeps them from becoming ill, providing all the basic nutrients a person needs.

Some Western travelers in South Korea complain about the strong aroma of cabbage and garlic. Koreans seem to agree with the Rumanians and southern Italians who wore cloves of garlic around their neck to drive away all evil including disease. This may well be true since germ bearers are unlikely to approach them!

But strong odors are not the sole property of the Koreans. The Chinese detest the strong aromas that Western connoisseurs go in for." Japanese and mainland Chinese, who never touch dairy products after infancy, often complain that Westerners smell of sour milk and strong cheese. Tourists from Europe complain of the combined smells of boiled pork and fish in the covered food stalls in Taiwan and Singapore. Indians complain of the strong breath that meat eaters have.

In the Philippines and Thailand, bagong, a paste made from fermented shrimp is used as a flavoring. A cook in the British High Commission in Manila was using bagong to flavor one of the dishes for a diplomatic dinner party when the ambassador wandered into the kitchen for a glass of water. Glancing around he wrinkled up his nose and said, "Someone should really get rid of the dead rat in here."

An

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