Some countries like to keep it classy when it comes to food, but others really like to shock. What some people might find disgusting, in some cultures, it is actually a delicacy. Here’s our list of 7 most unusual foods in the world.
Snake wine
This is an alcoholic beverage, very popular in some parts of Asia, especially in China. It is made with snake and rice wine. Some of the snakes are venomous, but the ethanol makes it safe to drink. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is said that this beverage cures and reinvigorates the one who drinks it. Taiwan is another country where snake wine is very popular and the Huaxi street market in Taipei is renowned for its snake wine.
Tarantulas
One of the most expensive dishes in the whole world, Birds’s nest soup, as the name suggests, is actually made of a bird’s nest. These nests are composed of the hardened saliva of a male swiftlet and they are harvested only 3 times a year from coastal caves. This extremely expensive dish can be found in China and only the nest can cost up to 2000 dollar per kilo.
Casu Marzu (rotten cheese)
Casu Marzu is fermented sheep milk cheese. Nothing that disgusting so far, but what makes this dish so different is the fact that it contains live insects maggots made by leaving the cheese outside until thousand of cheese-flies lay their eggs inside. This dish is very common in some areas from Italy, especially in Sardinia.
Surstömming (rotten fish)
This unique dish is very popular in some parts of Sweden and it consists of fermented fish. After being caught, the fish is fermented for about two months before being tinned. Once tinned, it continues to ferment and its smell is so terrible, that some major airlines banned this food in their airplanes.
Balut (duck fetus egg)
Definitely one of the most unusual foods that people invented, balut is a duck embryo that is boiled alive and eaten from the shell. Extremely popular in Southern Asia, this dish is actually considered a delicacy and it’s said to taste very good.
Rats
In times of war or extreme poverty, people used to eat rats to survive, but they are consumed today in many parts of the world and they are actually considered a very tasty meal. Vietnam, Malawi and Kenya are some of the countries that consume rats. They can be cooked in all sorts of ways: fried, salted or dried.
Hormigas Culonas (ants)
This is apparently a very crunchy dish, similar in texture to nuts. They are considered a delicacy in Colombia and they are sold roasted and salted in the streets or in certain shops. People also eat it with a sauce that apparently goes well with their texture. This food is considered a delicacy, so if you dare to try it, you should be prepared to pay quite a lot of cash for it.
