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Comment by sn41 | Hacker News Reader

Even in the present day, civet coffee [seeds from the excrement of civets who had eaten coffee berries] is used for its milder taste. [1]

Not really related to food, but urine was used in leather tanning etc. I read about this in the book "Eskimo Life" [1893] by Fridtjof Nansen, the famous explorer. [2] It is not unusual to have used animal urine and excrement for various purposes.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_luwak

[2] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/46972/46972-h/46972-h.htm

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> "The civets are taken from the wild and have to endure horrific conditions. They fight to stay together but they are separated and have to bear a very poor diet in very small cages. There is a high mortality rate and for some species of civet, there's a real conservation risk. It's spiralling out of control. But there's not much public awareness of how it's actually made. People need to be aware that tens of thousands of civets are being kept in these conditions. It would put people off their coffee if they knew"'.

> In the coffee industry, kopi luwak is widely regarded as a gimmick or novelty item.[18] The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) states that there is a "general consensus within the industry ... it just tastes bad".

I agree. Industrial scale exploitation of animals for gourmet items of dubious taste abound, and should be discouraged. I was just pointing out that the practice mentioned by OP was not as rare as it sounded.

Why is this relevant?

Tanning and tannins share a common root.

Acorns are high in tannins, which, among other things, make foods astringent (painfully chalky). Repeated soakings in water reduces them and you can make a flour.

But now you have a bunch of water high in tannins, which work as a preservative. I'm not sure how someone figured out you could soak leather in it. But I know that walnut colored stain can be made from walnut husks, so decoration may have lead to observation of improved durability. If it works for walnuts why not acorns?

I think this is why pottery was such an important step in human technology. After pottery, the process of boiling the shit out of things to make them palatable, safe to eat, or useful for crafts expanded our resources tremendously. There are cultures that simmered things without ceramics but it's complicated work to keep from damaging your container. Imagine doing all the detailed work to weave a water-tight basket and then your child manages to burn a hole into the damn thing.

I learned that from Tony Robinson's "Worst Jobs in History"

http://www.unofficialtonyrobinsonwebsite.co.uk/pages/worst_j...

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