Last night I tried a few bites of something I have only heard of before. Living in Colorado for thirteen years now, I had heard about Rocky Mountain Oysters, but had never tried them. Have you heard of them? Do you know what they are? And most importantly, have you ever tried them? Well, of all the places for me to try this particular food, it was not in Colorado. Instead, it was in the small mountain town of Jarabacoa in the Dominican Republic. At a cousin’s home, sitting up on a beautiful lush, jungle-forested hill-top, I took a bite of this meat. 

Mountain oysters, as their referred to here in the Dominican and other places besides the Rocky Mountains, are the testicles of a bull. Yeah…you read that right. From what I understand, they are typically boiled and then fried. My first tasted of them last night, was of the meat fresh from the boiling pot. They weren’t fried and they only had fresh lime squeezed on them. It’s how the Dominicans seem to enjoy them.

They were tasty and as the saying goes, taste just like chicken, at least to me. The texture was tender and juicy, but I did not have much since the thought of what it was and where it came from, just seemed to not do it for me and my appetite. It was a fun experience and one of the joys of traveling for me. Not only does traveling open my mind and eyes to new sites and people, traditions and cultures, but also to new taste and experiencing things I have never tried before. So next time you have the opportunity to taste something new, go for it! Let your taste buds travel and make sure to enjoy traveling through your stomach as well.