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Strangest Foods

The strangest things that people eat in the world

By Rasma RaistersPublished 3 years ago 9 min read
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When it comes to strange foods it all depends on how people look at them, where they live, and what they can afford. We all know food is expensive but to live we have to eat. There are places in the world that do not have supermarkets or are far from where they live. Many people are living in poverty and struggling to feed their families and particularly their children. Among the strangest food that is eaten is blood pudding or blood sausage as it is known in Latvia. I was born in the US but my parents came from Latvia. I grew up in two cultures and learned to eat a lot of food I would otherwise not have even known about.

My parents survived WW II and escaped from their homeland. They lived in the DP Camps in Germany and got married there. When they arrived in the New World in New York Harbor in 1951 they had a whole new world to explore. They spent one of their first Christmases with another couple who were their very best friends and even though at that time they could have prepared something delicious like perhaps even a roast turkey as they sat by the Christmas tree my father and his best friend popped open a can of chocolate-covered grasshoppers. Hey, you could get almost anything imaginable to eat in New York City and their wives were appalled but they enjoyed their snack and were glad to have it and to be alive and happy at Christmas after all they had gone through.

The mention of blood pudding comes from England in this article but Latvians are very fond of it too and I can tell you no matter how this sausage is made it is a delicious taste treat. When my husband and I were living in the suburbs of Riga, Latvia we had some tough financial times. That is when my husband taught me how to enjoy beef lungs. They were available at the Riga Central Market and you could get a lot for a little. Once they were properly boiled tender we ground them and then I took the minced lung meat and fried it up with chopped onion and bacon and stuffed pancakes with it and even made a gravy to pour on top. It was an inexpensive and delicious meal. The top photo shows a boiled lung. So as you scroll through this article keep an open mind. Sure some of these foods mentioned you might not imagine eating but then if prepared right they would feed you and your families and keep you from starving.

Europe

UK and Ireland

Black Pudding or Black Sausage is an ancient and traditional breakfast food that is a delicious sausage that has been prepared with the blood of a pig and pork fat. The sausage also includes onions, herbs, spices, and groats. People who enjoy it say it has a savory, nutty, and at times spicy kind of taste. Once the casing is cut the sausage is crumbly and can be easily crumbled onto a dish and eaten with fried potatoes and other foods. The sausage is usually fried.

Bulgaria

Shkembe chorba is a popular Bulgarian soup prepared with tripe. Tripe is a kind of edible lining from the stomachs of different farm animals like cattle, pigs, and sheep. Cooks start with minced tripe and then boil it in milk. To this, they add oil, garlic, and vinegar and for additional spice paprika and chilli. Traditionally the soup is served with a side of warm bread and a shot of a popular spirit called rakija or a beer. Shkembe chorba is also a traditional hangover cure.

Italy

Casu marzu is known as "rotten cheese." In Sardinia, it is made from Pecorino cheese that has gone bad. Larvae of cheese flies get added to the Pecorino, hatching inside and burrowing around. However, it is said to be a delectable delicacy and there are variations.

Portugal and Spain

Percebes (Gooseneck Barnacles) is known as the most expensive seafood in the world. Percebes are crustaceans that attach to rocks along the coast in the eastern Atlantic from France to Morocco, the Canary Islands, and Cape Verde Islands.

Harvesting these delicacies can be a hazardous and expensive task that only those with experience should do. Percebes are primarily found on the Iberian Peninsula and the only edible parts are the stems. Cooks boil them in salty water with a bay leaf. They are served with a dash of olive oil and they have a salty taste similar to crab.

Asia

Japan

Shirako translates to "white children" but this delicacy has nothing to do with children. This is a delectable delicacy that is prepared with the sperm sacs of either cod, angler fish, or pufferfish, The food resembles white blobs or miniature brains that have a sweet custard-like taste.

Tuna eyeballs are quite large and when prepared right they can be found on menus in restaurants all over the country. There are various tuna eyeball recipes and the simplest way of preparing them is by boiling or steaming and then seasoning with garlic or soy sauce. The taste is rather like squid.

Mizu Shingen Mochi is an interesting sweet dish that has a lovely name "Raindrop Cake" Once it is prepared it has to be eaten within 30 minutes or the cake will melt. Cooks start this dish with a funazara or bamboo boat plate. The "raindrop" on the plate consists of water and agar powder and actually looks like a raindrop upon a leaf. It is served with kinako, a soybean powder and kuromitsu, a brown sugar syrup giving it a sweet taste.

The Philippines

Balut is a fertilized duck egg that has been boiled alive and then eaten from the shell with the addition of salt, chilli, and vinegar. It includes the partially developed embryo inside. The way of eating this is to tap a hole in the shell and sip out the liquid and then crunch down all that is left inside.

Cambodia

Fried tarantulas were first eaten in Cambodia when people were starving under the Khmer Rouge regime. They became popular and are now eaten as a deep-fried snack all over the country. The taste is similar to crab.

Laos

White ant eggs soup is a mix of ant eggs and partial embryos from white ants. The soup is quite tasty and has a taste that combines delicate with sharp and is similar in taste to shrimp.

Korea

Boshintang is a healthy Korean soup that includes spring onions, dandelions, many spices, and the one surprising thing, dog meat. It might not be found on menus anymore in South Korea but it is still popular with the older generations.

Mongolia

Airag is made with fermented horse milk. It is used in preparing a kind of beer known as Airag. The preparation includes mare's milk and letting it ferment making it fizzy, sour, and a bit alcoholic. It is traditionally served in a bowl-shaped cup.

Northern Myanmar

Fried Hornets are a food that is high in protein and nutrients. However, harvesting hornets can be dangerous so they are expensive. The hornets are fried until there is a delicate crunch when bitten. The taste of fried hornets is similar to chicken.

Middle East, Africa, and Asia

Locusts are a popular food that can be purchased in a Middle Eastern market or at an Asian food stall. They come prepared and ready to eat on skewers. The preparation of locusts includes taking off the heads, the short legs, and the wings, but keeping the longer legs. They are fried in a light flour or tempura batter and come out plump and delicious. The taste is like quail meat and sunflower seeds.

Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China

Stinky Tofu has a salty flavor along with some sweetness and tanginess. The popular ways of preparing it are steaming, frying, and barbecuing. In Hunan province in China, they have a Changsha-style which is a super spice concoction with fermented bamboo shoots, shitake mushrooms, and koji, a type of mold.

Southeast Asia and Polynesia

Noni fruit is a pale green fruit that has many different names in various Polynesian cultures among them "vomit fruit" and "cheese fruit." The fruit scent is strong and unpleasant similar to that of overripened cheese. It has a tart flavor. Cooks often add noni fruit to curries or serve it with rice. The seeds are extracted and roasted. Noni leaves can be stewed in coconut milk to make a dish known as kaeng bai-yo. Noni fruit is high in potassium and antioxidants and has a mild laxative effect.

Australia

Witchetty Grub is a delicacy that is eaten raw or pan-fried. It has been a food of Aboriginal communities who ate the cossid wood moth at its larval caterpillar stage which was a rich source of protein. The name of the grub comes from its diet of woody roots and the sap of the Witchetty bush. The flavor is similar to almonds and when cooked the taste is like chicken or prawns in peanut sauce.

North America

Canada

Jellied moose nose is boiled with onions and spices, then the hair is removed and it is boiled again. After it is covered with broth until it sets into jelly and sliced.

Mexico

Huitlacoche translates to "sleeping excrement." Corn smut is a fungus that turns normal corn kernels into a tumor-like growth covered in blue-black spores. Many find it quite delicious and in Mexico, it is looked upon as a culinary specialty. It has a woodsy, earthy flavor.

Escamoles (Ant Eggs) is a dish the Aztecs looked upon as a delicacy. Today it is a traditional Mexican dish but on the expensive side. The ingredients consist of the ant larvae of the Liometopum apiculatum or velvety tree ant. The dish is prepared by frying the ant eggs with butter, chilli, and onions. It is served in tacos, omelettes, or with a side of tortillas and guacamole. It is a tasty combination of a buttery and nutty flavor.

The Caribbean

Barbados

Sea Egg is a delectable delicacy in this island paradise/ Divers plunge into the deep to harvest the sea egg. These sea urchins have spines that extend to six inches long and can cause injury, After harvesting the egg is cracked with a spoon to get it open, The roe inside the egg is the edible part of the sea egg or urchin. Some prefer to eat it raw with some lemon juice. It can be prepared by frying, stewing, or sauteing.

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About the Creator

Rasma Raisters

My passions are writing and creating poetry. I write for several sites online and have four themed blogs on Wordpress. Please follow me on Twitter.

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