I eat weird foreign food: Head cheese

The eyeless hog's head staring at me would probably have been enough to send most Americans running back toward the door. I bit my tongue and avoided any Lord of the Flies references since most of the staff at this particular restaurant seemed to speak perfect English. This was not the sort of place where you receive menus, pick and choose your meal, and select a wine. Essentially, you sit down, they bring you out food, and then they charge you. The only paper involved is your cash. No bills, no menus. We were immediately brought a mezzo of wine and our own plates of prosciutto. Our table was then brought two plates, one with a thick slice of salami (house cured, like all the other meats) and the other was a slice of head cheese. Head cheese is not a cheese but rather the olive loaf of meats. It is prepared by boiling a pig's head after all of the organs have been removed. The meat (among other things) is then removed and put into a mold and left to cool till it becomes gelatinous.
I must say, it is as appetizing in its appearance as its preparation makes it sound. My friend who is studying in Italy insisted that I try it and I agreed to, but I implored him to not tell me what it was or what was in it. I had one bite and could not do anymore. I was bombarded with 3 different textures: gel-like, chewy, and whatever word best describes the texture of cartilage. The taste was a bit off, not quite ham but ham-esque. But the clear offender here was the texture. My friend, who is usually quite adventurous when it comes to food (he had ordered tongue the night before) had to spit his bite back out on to his plate. I would only recommend head cheese to people who have a high tolerance (perhaps if you enjoy ham hocks or pigs feet?) or as a dare.