10 Unusual Foods from Around the World

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Most of us would like to see a cobra or an octopus in a glass tank and certainly not on the dinner plate!! But in many parts of the world, these are considered as delicacies.

Food is different around the world. What may make us cringe, others may find it appetizing and appealing. One man’s meat is another man’s poison, truly.

Caution : This post isn’t for the faint-hearted.

Let me share some unusual food from around the world.

Shirako, Japan

Shirako is the sperm sacs of either cod, angler fish or puffer fish. Looking like white blobs of goo or miniature brains, they are said to have a sweet custardy taste.

Shirako

Balut, Philippines

This fertilised duck egg, with its partly developed embryo inside, is boiled alive and then eaten from the shell with salt, chilli and vinegar. You’re supposed to tap a hole in the top of the shell, sup the savoury liquid and then crunch down the rest of what’s inside – feathers, bones and all.

Crispy Tarantulas, Cambodia

Few people would look at a tarantula and think “lunch”, so it’s perhaps no surprise that these spiders were first eaten by Cambodians starving under the Khmer Rouge regime. Bizarrely, they became popular and are now served as a deep-fried snack throughout the country. Apparently they taste a bit like crab.

Tarantula

Haggis, Scotland

Scotland’s national dish is haggis, and what it is, is a combination of sheep’s heart, lungs, and liver which has been made into a sort of crumbly sausage with the addition of oatmeal, seasoning, onions, and suet.  Haggis is commonly served with mashed potato and mashed turnip and accompanied by a glass of whiskey.

Haggis

Blood, Kenya

Blood is used in sausages around the world. But in Kenya, Maasai people drink it fresh from living cows. The animal’s jugular is nicked and a small pot filled with blood, then mixed with milk and knocked back warm. Mud or hot ash is used to seal the cow’s wound, and the animal appears to suffer no ill effect at all.

Tuna Eyes, Japan

In Japan, fried tuna fish eyes are enjoyed with plenty of garlic and soy sauce.

10 Unusual Foods from Around the World

Deep-fried Worms, Mexico

Mexico’s centuries-old tradition of eating bugs has gone upmarket in recent years and worms and ant eggs can be found on menus of numerous top restaurants. The dish is usually served with a dollop of guacamole.

Deep Fried Worms

Kopi Luwak, Indonesia

Kopi luwak is coffee made from coffee cherries that have been eaten, digested, and defecated by the Asian palm civet, a small mammal that looks like a cross between a cat and a raccoon. The beans are then cleaned and processed. Gross? With prices ranging between $100 to $600 a pound, kopi luwak is widely considered to be the most expensive coffee in the world.

Kopi Luwak

Cobra, Vietnam and Thailand

Drinking blood drained from a king cobra is believed to grant virility and magical healing. It is served as is or mixed in a drink.

Casu Marzu, Italy

Known as “rotten cheese”, Sardinia’s casu marzu is made from Pecorino that has gone bad – really bad. The larvae of cheese flies are added to the Pecorino, hatching inside, burrowing around and digesting the fats. The result is a weeping, tongue-burning delicacy that you can eat with or without the maggots.

Casu-Marzu-1

What is the most unusual or weird food you have ever eaten? Will you try any of these?

My theme for this year’s Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is Food Talks. Join me for some interesting, fun conversations about food experiences, experiments, basics, tips, ideas, hacks, trends and much more.

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