Tripe can taste wonderful; soft and buttery with a faint hint of meat if it has been stewed long in either a tomato based sauce or in a sauce without tomatoes (the French stew it in Calvados, an apple brandy, and call it "a la mode de Caen").

Unfortunately, if the tripe is not fresh, it can reek of a nasty ammonia-like smell which cooking does not dissipate. Also, like squid, it can take on an unpleasant rubbery consistency if it is not cooked properly.