From garlic-sautéed garden snails in Paris, guinea pig in Ecuador or deep-fried scorpion in Beijing, there’s a taboo snack for every taste bud. For wannabe “Fear Factor” contestants, or if you’re just on the hunt for gross gastronomical delights, here’s a list of icky delectables from around the world.
If Oscars were awarded to countries with the most bizarre foods, China would dominate. From animal aphrodisiacs such as deer penis to traditional herbal brews, China boasts some unusual ingredients. In Beijing, the heart of shocking street snacks can be found in the quirky culinary market of Donghuamen. The Night Market, located just west of the popular shopping street Wang Fu Jing, boasts dozens of stalls selling some of the world’s weirdest foods: silkworms, scorpions, starfish, centipedes — you can find it and try it here. Check out this video of me choking down all of this extreme cuisine.
Watch out Starbucks, there’s a new bean in town. It’s called kopi luwak , and it’s the most expensive coffee bean in the world, with a most unusual production process. Roaming freely in the wilds of Sumatra, Asian palm civets love to eat fresh coffee berries. These pulpy coffee berries pass through the digestive system of these rodentlike creatures. Enzymes work their fermentation magic and the undigested beans are excreted. They are then laboriously collected, washed (hopefully), sun-dried and roasted, for the ultimate aromatic cup of coffee.
Maggot-infested cheese anyone? Casu marzu is a fermented sheep’s milk cheese found in Sardinia, Italy. Left to rot, the Pecorino becomes infested with a special type of maggot, whose digestive enzymes aid in the fermentation process. The traditional way to eat this cheese is with the writhing translucent white worms still inside. There’s nothing like a little maggot that can leap up to 6 inches as an accoutrement to your decaying cheese. Casu marzu is banned by Italian health laws and not sold in shops, but people continue to enjoy the black-market cheese, particularly during special occasions.
With their big innocent eyes, catlike whiskers and soft fluffy fur, guinea pigs make great family pets. But in the Andean highlands of Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, guinea pigs aren’t treated as cuddly companions, they’re bred, boiled and deep-fried for dinner. Guinea pig, or cuy, as it is called in South America, is a local delicacy. An indigenous tradition that dates back hundreds of years to the Incan Empire, cuy is most often eaten during special occasions and celebrations. Several restaurants specialize in the dish, and travelers are encouraged to try the greasy, chickenlike meat.
Balut is a hard-boiled 18-day-old fertilized duck embryo. Picture cracking open an egg to find a partially formed fetal duck: You can actually see its black feathers, beak and eyes. The satirical website Cracked.com called balut “one of the most terrifying foods in the world,” enjoyed in the Philippines and some other parts of Southeast Asia, and the fifth and seventh levels of hell. Jokes aside, balut is a quick street treat that’s rich in calcium and is wildly popular in Filipino culture.
Found in markets across Southeast Asia, the durian fruit is a popular pungent snack that can be easily identified by its thorny green husk, smooth pale yellow flesh and distinctive putrid smell. The durian's odor, reminiscent of rotten onions and gym socks, is so fierce it can waft long distances — even without removing its shell — and seep into unsuspecting nostrils. It’s no wonder that many buildings, hotels, even public transportation services have banned this “king of fruits.” Similar to no smoking signs, it’s common to see No Durian signs posted around town. Rich in raw fats, natural sugar and vitamin C, this succulent, albeit stinky, fruit is one of the most beloved.
In the remote jungles of Venezuela, among the indigenous Warao people living along the riverbanks of the Orinoco Delta, lives a slimy delicacy called the moriche worm. It’s a plump, thumb-sized slug with fangs that makes its home in the moriche palm tree. Dubbed the "tree of life," the moriche palm provides local communities with a variety of foods, including juice, fruit, pulp for bread and even edible beetle snacks. Squirming moriche worms are believed to be high in protein, a good dietary supplement — and nature’s Viagra.
The British may have blood pudding, but the Vietnamese have tiet canh , a blood and congealed meat soup. This traditional dish is far from the steaming rice noodle soup found at a typical Vietnamese restaurant. Ingredients include freshly drawn blood (ideally from a duck), goose gizzards or finely chopped meat from whatever food source you just Dracula-ed, fish sauce and a sprinkling of peanuts and herbs. Broth-blood soup is pretty unusual fare in the U.S., but in the countryside of northern Vietnam, this chilled, gooey red stew is a typical protein-packed breakfast.
The Korean dish of sannakji gives new meaning to the term “fresh seafood.” It’s a raw dish of lightly seasoned live baby octopus: Slurp back these rubbery tentacles as they wriggle and squirm in your mouth. Studies suggest that the octopus isn’t actually still alive, it’s merely the animal's nerve activity that keeps its tentacles writhing on the plate. As you gulp back this weird dish, your throat may feel a suction cup sensation, as the sticky octopus makes its journey from bowl to belly. Be warned: There have been several cases of people choking on the squiggly octopus bits, so adventurous eaters should be careful when consuming this centuries-old delicacy.
In the Yukon, at the Sourdough Saloon in Dawson City’s Downtown Hotel, they serve a local concoction called the Sour Toe Cocktail. It combines a healthy pour of Yukon Jack whiskey and a garnish of pickled human toe. Yup! Hard to believe but a salt-preserved big toe is the key ingredient in this most unusual beverage. As you chug back the shot of whiskey, the toe must touch your lips (don't actually swallow or eat the toe). Once your glass is drained, the toe is then placed back inside a treasure-like chest and preserved until the next person orders the drink. The toe tradition was created more than 30 years ago by Captain Dick, a local entrepreneur who saw an opportunity to profit from selling shots, complete with an amputated frost-bitten toe donated by an unfortunate miner, to adventurous customers. Amazingly enough, more than 65,000 people — myself included — have tried this drink, joined the Sour Toe Cocktail Club, received certificates and proven themselves to be “real Yukoners.”
One of the traditional delicacies among the Yup'ik people in southwestern Alaska are fermented salmon heads, appropriately nicknamed “stink heads.” A slab of king salmon is buried in a pit and left to rot for several weeks. When the time is right, the fermented heads are harvested and the decomposed salmon pulp is eaten. While it may be a long-held culinary tradition among Alaska’s indigenous people, eating stink heads can lead to serious health concerns, including bacterial contamination and botulism.
