The World's Weirdest Food

It’s hard to say what is normal and what is weird when it comes to food – it all depends on the individual and which part of the world you come from. One person’s nightmare is another person’s delicacy. Here are a few of the strangest (or most normal) types of food from around the world.

Haggis – Scotland: A world-famous dish, haggis is made from the parts of a sheep many people would throw away. Mix the heart, lungs and liver together with onion, add spices and oatmeal, then put inside a sheep’s stomach and boil for three hours. Enjoy!

Brain Sandwiches – the USA: These are not as common as they were in the past, but in parts of Ohio you can still get fried brains served on hamburger buns. Brains don’t have much flavour, so you eat the sandwiches with plenty of sauce.

Insects – Asia, Africa and South America: Many insects are high in protein and contain important fatty acids and vitamins. In Thailand, it’s common to find fried grasshoppers, crickets, scorpions and worms on sale in the street. In Cambodia, fried tarantula are a delicacy; people eat the legs two at a time.

Sannakji – Korea: Now that Japanese sushi is popular around the world, people are used to eating raw fish. But this Korean delicacy is quite different, since the seafood isn’t dead. They slice up a baby octopus alive and the tentacles are still wriggling about when the dish is served. If you don’t chew the octopus carefully, there is a real danger that it can stick to your mouth and throat and choke you.

Fugu – Japan: Fugu is the famous Japanese puffer fish, filled with enough of the poison tedrodotoxin to be lethal. Chefs receive a special training for two to three years before they can prepare the fish. Fugu actually tastes quite bland; the excitement is in surviving the experience of eating it.

Frog Legs – France: What’s there to say? Basically the back end and back legs of a frog, grilled, baked, fried or stewed. It feels like chicken when you touch, but has a very faint taste of fish. People usually eat it with chilli or with a garlic and cream sauce. Unlike most of the other delicacies, frog legs is quite affordable.