Food is an essential part of any culture. Trying local foods can be an enriching and delicious
experience. Exotic, new dishes can be a way to truly experience the location you’re visiting.
That being said, different cultures will offer dishes that you have never even seen!
What some might consider disgusting, others consider a delicacy. And in today's video,
we will tell you about the weirdest foods from around the world. With grasshoppers from Mexico,
fried tarantulas from Cambodia, live octopus from Korea, fried brain sandwich from the USA
to worms from Zimbabwe and more, watch till the end to learn about all of them.
Wasp Crackers - Japan: These Japanese biscuits are, as you’ve probably guessed,
stuffed with wasps. Digger wasps, which have a mean sting are dried and incorporated into
the cracker mixture. They’re said to taste like slightly acidic raisins.
Would you dare try one of these? Tell us down below in the comments!
Century Eggs — China: No, unfortunately, these eggs aren’t actually a hundred years old,
but they are pretty rotten. Also known as pidan, these eggs are preserved in a mixture of clay,
ash and quicklime for a few months, until the yolk turns dark green and stinks of sulphur.
Though apparently it tastes just like a hardboiled egg.
Stargazy Pie - England: This unusual fish pie has the heads of the fish stick through the crust,
like they’re ‘star-gazing’. It dates back to the 16th century from the Cornish village
of Mousehole in England. A local legend claims that a fisherman, named Tom Bawcocks,
went fishing during a storm to feed the hungry people and made the pie.
Casu Marzu — Italy: This Sardinian “Maggot Cheese” is made with sheep milk Pecorino.
It contains the live larvae of cheese flies which are added during the cheese fermentation process
and digest the fats. It is banned by the EU but can still be found on the black market.
Jellied Moose Nose — Canada: Back when every part of the animal was eaten,
some adventurous eaters from Canada and northern Alaska began preserving the moose’s long snouts.
They’re boiled up with onions and spices, then the hair is removed, and they’re boiled again.
Finally, they’re sliced and covered with a broth that sets into a jelly.
Fried Spider – Cambodia: Available throughout Cambodia, but a specialty in certain areas, these
delicacies are deep-fried in garlic oil until crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.
Typically of the tarantula variety, the practice of eating these spiders may have started during
the brutal reign of the Khmer Rouge, when poor villagers had to find alternative sources of food.
Spiders are often sold to travellers passing through town and looking for a quick snack. B
Puffer Fish - Japan: You’ve got to be careful with this delicacy or you might end up in the morgue.
The deadly Puffer fish, or fugu, is the ultimate delicacy in Japan. Even though its skin and
insides contain the poisonous toxin tetrodotoxin, which is 1,250 times stronger than cyanide.
Only expert chefs in Japan at licensed restaurants are allowed to prepare it.
Trying it at the wrong place can leave you paralysed and eventually
death from asphyxiation. This is because there’s no known antidote.
Live Octopus - Korea: Sannakji is a raw dish consisting of live octopus typical in Korea.
Live octopus is cut into pieces, lightly seasoned with sesame oil and served immediately,
the tentacles still squirming on the plate. Eating live octopus is a serious challenge.
The first hurdle is to get the tentacles off your chopsticks.
And once the octopus is in your mouth it will suction to your teeth, the roof of your mouth and
your tongue essentially trying to preserve its own life. Special care should be taken to chew
thoroughly, however, because if the suction cups stick to your throat, you might choke.
Muktuk - Greenland: A traditional Inuit meal of frozen whale skin and blubber, muktuk is normally
served either raw or pickled. It looks a little bit like licorice allsorts and has several layers.
The skin, which apparently tastes like hazelnuts, the fat which is chewy and the
protective layer in between which is even more chewy. Don’t eat if you are wearing dentures.
Haggis - Scotland: Haggis is an excellent example of resourcefulness, using parts of
the animal you typically wouldn't think about eating. It is made with various sheep organs,
such as the heart, liver and lungs. The organs are mixed with spices and oatmeal,
creating a savory meat pudding. The mixture is then boiled in a hollowed-out sheep stomach.
Balut - Philippines: Popular in the Philippines, Balut is considered the most bizarre way to eat
eggs in the world. It is made from hard-boiling an egg with a developing duck-fetus inside.
The egg is hard-boiled after the duck fetus has about 12-18 days to form after fertilization.
The egg part and the duck fetus are cooked and served in a broth.
As disgusting as this dish looks, the duck fetus is said to taste like chicken.
Fried Brain Sandwich - USA: Originating in the late 19th century, fried cow brains
became a popular dish in the Midwest. Local slaughterhouses often harvested
the brains to use as a cheap meat to fill a sandwich after being deep fried in a skillet.
After mad cow disease started popping up in the 80s, cow brains became even less appealing than
they already were if that's possible. And they finally faded into obscurity. However,
there are still places in Missouri and Indiana that serve fried pork brains.
Ortolan - France: This is a controversial gastronomic treat eaten by the aristocracy
of France. Once captured, this small bird is force-fed until it is about
four times its normal size. Traditionally, it is drowned in brandy, roasted and eaten whole.
While the bird is now a protected species in France and its capture is illegal,
it is estimated that hunters still kill about 50,000 birds per year.
Blood Soup - Korea: Chicken, duck or pig blood is popularly eaten in places like Shanghai,
Poland, Philippines, Singapore and of course, Korea. A popular version of this soup is made
with ox blood and is often used as a hangover cure. Now, that's what we call a bloody good meal!
Rocky Mountain Oysters - USA: Oysters? In the mountains? Doesn’t sound right does it?
That’s because Rocky Mountain Oysters aren’t actually oysters. They’re deep-fried bull
testicles, a favourite among cowboys and often served at rodeo events in the USA.
You’re going to need a lot of beer to wash the taste of that out of your mouth.
Mopane Worms - Zimbabwe: These might be called worms but are in fact caterpillars
of the emperor moth, which are native to Southern Africa. It’s not something you
will find on the menu of a restaurant or on the shelves in supermarkets in larger cities.
Mopane worms are traditionally eaten mainly by people in the rural areas of Zimbabwe, Botswana
and a small part of South Africa. For them, these worms are an important source of protein.
Proteins are one of the most important nutrients that you need. To know why it is so beneficial for
your body, watch this video titled “Eating More Protein Would Do This To Your Body”
Now, back to the strangest foods from around the world.
Grasshoppers - Mexico: Adventurous eaters in Mexico shouldn’t miss trying chapulines or
grasshoppers. This traditional indigenous snack is most widely eaten in Oaxaca.
It’s also popular in Mexico City and surrounding areas.
The insects are roasted on a traditional griddle. They are then seasoned with chile,
lime, garlic, and salt. You can find them most commonly during Mexico’s rainy season.
Excrement Coffee - Namibia:
Kopi Luwak is the rarest, most expensive gourmet coffee in the world. Sounds divine
right? It’s actually made from the excrements of an Indonesian cat-like creature called the Luwak.
The Luwak eats only the ripest coffee cherries but its stomach can’t digest beans inside them,
so they come out whole. The coffee that results from this process is said to be like no other. The
stomach acids and enzymes perform the fermentation of the beans that give the coffee a special aroma.
With an expensive price tag of anywhere between US$120
– $300 per pound, you might want to start saving now if you want to try it.
Snake Wine - Vietnam: Fancy a different sort of wine? A bouquet of reptiles with
some notes of venom perhaps? Snake wine is rice wine bottled with a venomous snake.
It has a slightly pink colour like a nice rose because of the snake blood in there. It’s believed
to have medicinal purposes, but is probably more useful as a conversation piece than anything else.
The snake is left to steep in the rice wine for many months to let the poison dissolve
in the wine. Ethanol neutralizes the venom so it’s not dangerous. Snake wine shouldn’t be
confused with the potentially more dangerous snake blood wine, which is made by slicing
the belly of the snake to let the blood drain into the wine and served immediately.
Hákarl – Iceland0: A national dish of Iceland, Hákarl is a Greenland shark that has been
allowed to ferment and decay. If fresh, the shark is actually poisonous and cannot be eaten.
It is known for its strong ammonia smell and fishy taste. This is why it’s recommended
that beginners chase the fish down with a shot of local spirit. Icelanders are able
to eat their Hákarl year-round, as the fish is sold in regular supermarkets.
While you wouldn’t want to eat these delicacies everyday, there are certain
foods that you should make a part of your daily diet. Find out more about what they are by:
Learning about the healthiest foods you should eat in the morning
Or
Watching this: Delicious foods that contain almost zero calories
These 2 videos will definitely help you get that healthy body you're after.
Which of these foods would you give a try ? Let us know in the comments below!