Riding the Q train last week, I spotted an ad for “Ram Goat Flavored Soup Mix – with artificial goat flavor” and I immediately shuddered in disgust and disbelief. Goat flavored soup – ick! And not only is it goat flavored, but artificial goat flavor – I mean, what does that even mean???

And then I paused and thought I was being terribly short sighted. I’ve never had goat soup – but I have and annually consume kishke, tongue, sweetbreads, gefilte fish and cholent all of which probably would make others shudder in disgust and disbelief as well. And not only have I eaten all these items above, but I actually really enjoy them!

So who am I to judge ram goa

t flavored soup!?

And then just yesterday, a colleague who was born in Russia brought me Shuba, also known as “herring under a fur coat.” Shuba is a cold layered salad made up of herring, chopped egg, grated potato and beets – and it was delicious! It was creamy, slightly sweet and very light. I brought it home to my husband, who took a bite hesitantly and promptly decided it was not for him. But I enjoyed it a second time – I guess one lady’s goat soup is another man’s shuba. Feeling adventurous? You can make your own shuba with this recipe.

Who knows – perhaps I would love goat ram flavored soup, artificial flavors or not – but for now I’ll probably stick with the tongue and gefilte fish.