Weird things people eat around the world

[cute fuzzy bunny]

The Weird Things People Eat Around the World - Gadling

My favorites at the top of the second page.

What weird things do we eat here in the US? Besides Spam...

 

[Martha]

Lutefisk. Headcheese. Fish jerky. Limburger cheese. White Castle sliders. Jello. Jello with vegetables in it.

 

[Goonie]

Some would consider crawfish weird, but they're really yummy! Ya haven't lived, 'til you've been to a Cajun crawfish boil!!! (notice my avatar of the crawfish playing the squeezebox?!)

Or how about menudo.....soup made from a cow's stomach.

Or cow's tongue....we had that once in a while at home when I was a kid. It's actually pretty good in tacos down at the Mexican restaurant...order the "lengua".

My Dad used to absolutely LOVE fried hog brains! They were GROSS! I will NEVER eat them again!!! YUCK!!! And to go along with that, my buddy really likes mountain oysters. But I have to draw a line somewhere!!! And that would be the place for the line!!! There's just some parts of the animals anatomy that I will NOT....under any circumstance....eat!!! Not even ONCE!!!

I did, however, enjoy going to the buddy's house for a nice breakfast of biscuits & gravy, and fried squirrel. Or a church potluck where he'd bring bar-b-qued raccoon, as his 'dish-to-pass'! Now THAT's good eatin'!!!

Pan-fried beef heart is another one that's pretty good....as long as it isn't overcooked and becomes 'shoe-leather' tough.

And going back to the crawfish boil, how about a side of deep fried 'gator to go with that?! YUMMY!!!

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Jello with headcheese in it?

Desperately trying to not make another spotted dick joke.

How about this?

 

[Tiger]

There are Asian countries where they still eat dogs and in Thailand they eat the brains from a live monkey.

A Chinese associate said his grandmother once told him that in China they eat anything with legs except the kitchen table.

 

[ladelfina]

Those Ore-Ida "funky fries" (chocolate french fries on p.2) look pretty darn disgusting.

I knew a guy from Kentucky where folks occasionally ate bulls' testicles.

Squirrel? Armadillo?

A corn dog would likely be wierd to someone outside the US. Marshmallows are unheard-of/non-existent in Italy.. so Marshmallow Fluff would be wierd, or a Hostess Sno-ball. "Combos" are fairly wierd. Space Food Sticks were wierd.

I also don't personally know any Italian that has ever eaten peanut butter. My husband thinks it is repulsive and won't even taste a tiny smidgen. He doesn't even like to look at it.

Gooey salad dressings would gross them out (me too). Also most combinations of sweet/salty; BBQ, PB&J, Cracker Jack/Beer Nuts, baked beans, bacon or sausage with maple syrup, "honey" ham, salt-water taffy, etc. would all be non-starters. They hate cilantro and dill almost universally, and most don't like heavily-spiced things like gingerbread or baked goods with lots of cinnamon or cloves, either.

 

[Moemg]

Shoofly pie !!!

 

[bright eyed]

martha, i've heard of the jello w/ veggies - but what veggies are exactly used? and w/ the fruit flavored jello or just the gelatin?

I saw emeril make a post thanksgiving gelatin mold of the turkey leftovers and i have to say it looked pretty gnarly.

the "haw" on the list is a fruit - (uh,like the one on the package!) and it's very sweet. you can get little dried coin slivers at the chinese market...

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

cabage, celery, peppers and carrots are all often featured in vegetable jello molds...

Mustard is also often added to the jello.

 

[Goonie]

I knew a guy from Kentucky where folks occasionally ate bulls' testicles.

A.K.A. - mountain oysters

YUCK!!!

 

[Martha]

The popular vegetable jello molds where I grew up usually had shredded carrot and string beans. Maybe some celery. And a few globs of cream cheese. Not half bad.

 

[justin]

Durian fruit. Ever had it? I bought some durian fruit flavored creme wafer cookies at the asian grocery store this weekend. Holy crap did those things smell nasty. I'm talking rotten rancid chicken fat baking in the hot sun for 3 days nasty. I've had fresh durian before it got really ripe, but that stuff really ripe is awful!

My little asian babies love eating dried candied sardines (again, from the asian market). And squid jerky. How about any of the assortment of shrimp flavored crackers and cookies (those are actually pretty tasty!)?

My in-laws eat a dish that is basically congealed cow blood (raw) minced with fresh herbs and spices.

Weird US things? Deep fried Snickers. Really pungent cheeses (fresh parmesan) are considered weird by the in-laws (and wife). Plus blue cheese or any cheese with mold on it.

 

[Martha]

Don't forget fruitcake. With those nasty candied fruits.

 

[Nords]

Our kid covers just about any fruit slice with li hing mui powder-- yecch. Plum, licorice, salt, sugar, & food coloring. It's part of her "please send this stuff to me when I'm on the Mainland" list.

But it's probably better than crack seed...

 

[bright eyed]

ok, i googled a few recipes and looks like it's usually lemon or lime jello with celery, carrots or other veggies - some have mayo and other ingredients i'm finding challenging to imagine the combo...sounds like an empty the pantry recipe!

 

[Martha]

ok, i googled a few recipes and looks like it's usually lemon or lime jello with celery, carrots or other veggies - some have mayo and other ingredients i'm finding challenging to imagine the combo...sounds like an empty the pantry recipe!

You put the blob of mayo on top.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I'm going to have to stop reading this thread...

Mayo goes on three things: tuna fish, chicken sandwiches and BLT's. NOTHING ELSE!

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

the limit of four emoticons in a post is dumb.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

So is that 30 second limit between posts.

 

[Sam]

Durian fruit. Ever had it? I bought some durian fruit flavored creme wafer cookies at the asian grocery store this weekend. Holy crap did those things smell nasty. I'm talking rotten rancid chicken fat baking in the hot sun for 3 days nasty. I've had fresh durian before it got really ripe, but that stuff really ripe is awful!

Consider yourself lucky! Durian is an expensive acquired taste. This is probably one of the most expensive fruit around. I love it, but boy, is it expensive!

 

[bright eyed]

durian is definitely an acquired taste, and one i am not putting on my list to acquire!

some describe the flavor as "smoky"

but you have to get around the smell - which i've heard described as "carcass!" so plug your nose and dig in!

are there any mysterious health benefits to eating it?

i've seen durian ice cream...

 

[Nords]

Consider yourself lucky! Durian is an expensive acquired taste. This is probably one of the most expensive fruit around. I love it, but boy, is it expensive!

I have a submariner's perspective on what really smells bad, but the actual fresh durian fruit doesn't seem so bad to me.

Of course Sam's right that it's almost cheaper to fly yourself to a Thai farmer's market than it is to fly the fruit to you.

Sam, I thought your response was going to bring the whole thread down to the level of fish paste. That's a taste I'm going to need a very long time to acquire... not as easy as kim chee!

 

[Sam]

are there any mysterious health benefits to eating it?

Yes. One of the best way to lose weight. Once you spent your money on top quality fresh durian, you won't have any left to buy other food!

Sam, I thought your response was going to bring the whole thread down to the level of fish paste. That's a taste I'm going to need a very long time to acquire... not as easy as kim chee!

Fish paste, shrimp paste, and "ma('m" (pickled meat or fish or vegetable). All acquired taste from SE Asia. The only thing I can say is: If you don't know what they are, if you don't like them, keep it that way! I have seen more than my share of Americans who are addicted to these "authentic" food. They spend too much time, too much money on the few real Vietnamese, Cambodian restaurants around here.

 

[Fireup2020]

Yummy: Dried cuttlefish, crawfish, beef tongue, homemade "headcheese", oysters on half shell, anchovies & cream cheese on club crackers, snails, green tomatoes, and sometimes eel

Gross: Meatloaf, bell peppers, curry, kimchee, monkey, pigs feet, and sometimes eel, oh - and anything a la adobo prepared by the Navy

Thanks to whoever for creating Jello salads with fruit and sometimes veggies (and with a blob of mayo or whip cream - depends on the contents) My fave is a berry jello with walnuts, cranberries, celery, carrots and pineapple....mmmmmm!

 

[justin]

I have a submariner's perspective on what really smells bad, but the actual fresh durian fruit doesn't seem so bad to me.

From skimming a wikipedia article, it sounds like when it is very fresh (barely ripe), the smell isn't too bad. Once it gets overly ripe, the smell takes off exponentially.

I've had the barely ripe kind, and the taste was pretty good. Kind of a mix between starfruit and Boston Creme donut filling. Smell wasn't bad at all.

I actually mistook the extremely ripe durian fruit DW brought home once as either rancid chicken scraps she had thrown in the trash a few days earlier, or a natural gas leak.

I figured the cookies I bought would have synthetic durian flavor and not have much of an odor. To my surprise, I was very wrong. The whole house is now "stunk up". Even my wife (who has no problem with fish paste and rotted fish ("budeg" as they call it)) thought it stunk the whole house up. We quintuple bagged the cookies and they still stunk the whole house up.

The wikipedia article also stated that different species of durian (there are many) have different unique odors. Maybe we get the most funky variety in our asian stores here in NC. Or maybe they have been sitting on a boat from Thailand for six weeks before we buy them here!