Fenny they say is an acquired taste. In the 1990's, my father did export our own fenny with the name 'Donna Maria' once, to the gulf, but its was unviable as the market was small (just for the Goans working there). Here in India, fenny is very popular with the domestic tourists as fenny not only is cheap, but gives a great kick and has a 'Goan' image to itself. Is there a market for fenny outside India?
When I visited Sweden in 2003, I carried 2 bottles of Cashew fenny, and some sausages among other things from Goa for my friends there. Apparently Goans living there already had stocked their share of sausages from Goa, but the cashew fenny was welcomed. However, when I let some of my Swede friends try some fenny they all found it disgusting and wondered how we Goans could drink the stuff. According to them, fenny contains something called as 'finkle' which must be removed using charcoal and filtration before it can be called a 'drinkable arak spirit' like tequila and schnapps. My friends dared others to try the fenny, and almost all of them could not go beyond a sip. Some didn't even taste it as they found the smell disgusting. (But I love the smell.) The Goan pork sausages however, was a big hit. I had just 10 packets, and it was swiped with everybody coming back for more, even though it was 'terribly spicy' by Swedish standards! I have yet to find a Swede that likes fenny. :-( I hear that in Sweden, they have something called Aquavit, which is a homemade equivalent of cheap alcohol and could be dangerous to drink since it is usually bootleg versions that available. But before I returned, I did bring back some Absolut Vodka (ofcourse!) and a bottle of 'Swedish Punsch which I thought was like fenny. According to me tastes a little sweeet, similar to cashew fenny, but minus the flavor and smell of cashew. Funnily enough, the Swedes suggest pea soup as an accompaniment. What I miss most though is the fruit based ciders which have a low alcohol content. Mmmmmm.... Clinton.. Message: 7 Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2005 23:54:27 -0400 From: Tom & Carolina <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Subject: [Goanet]Caju Feni.....in Sweden ? Reply-To: [email protected] Alfred de Tavares. Re: Caju Feni. Seing in the Goanet Caju Feni arouse my interest in your article. Is the quality of caju feni good in Sweden. keep in touch and all the best. Tom de Sousa in Hong Kong.
