I’m talking food here and not the blotting paper you used to chew up and swallow at school 😉
It seems to me that as more weird and wonderful foods come onto the market, people become more and more happy to try something different or even bizarre.
Crocodile/alligator, buffalo, kangaroo and ostrich are fairly “common” these days. More exotic meats like zebra and springbok are available from our South Africa cousins’ butchers stores and of course online.
I have tried a lot of these meats before and must say they make a good talking point but didn’t really set the world on fire in my humble opinion.
Will we see any of these meats make it into the mainstream? Ostrich was touted as being the “next big thing” some years ago, it was pushed heavily as a low fat, high protein super-meat, but it never caught on. It’s basically just a giant turkey, so why not just eat turkey?
That’s just their problem…they are mostly an “alternative” and not a replacement.
It would take a very long time (or possibly never) for people to change from what they know and love like a good cut of beef or a chicken to something which tastes “a bit like it”.
So let’s move it up a notch on the weird scale and look at insects. I have tried BBQ flavoured meal worms (basically maggots but that’s a much less appetising name!), chocolate covered ants and crunchy, spicy locusts which stuck in the teeth a little too much for this writers eating enjoyment.
But the weirdest thing I have eaten is probably scorpion…in a lollipop. Now anything with a nasty sting in its tail (literally) is not something that immediately springs to mind when snacking and certainly not when it’s delivered as a sweet!
So how was it? It was ok I suppose but you couldn’t really taste it in it’s sugary tomb.
The thing is with all of these strange foods is that they are just that…strange. I won’t be cooking up a locust vongole anytime soon.
I can only say that greatest benefit of these foods is that they give you a fantastic story to tell, and a sense of one-upmanship. It’s like foodie top trumps just like everyone’s favourite the expensive restaurant game “I’ve been to this place”, “Well I’ve been to that place!”
So anyone who announces that they ate wildebeest bourguignon the night before should not be too surprised when they are shot down by someone who describes the delicious llama steak sandwich they had for lunch.
So put your cards on the table…what’s the weirdest thing you have eaten?
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Hey Micheal, Scorpion in a lollipop, maggots chocolate covered ants and crunchy, spicy locusts.. I am not thinking so. This reminds me of the show Fear Factor.. Let’s see the weirset thing I ever ate was snapping turtle. We cut it up and made little nuggets out of it, then grilled it over the campfire at the lake.. It was actully quite good to. Each nugget had a different taste Weird..
I will try almost anything once but bugs Perhaps Not.. Thanks for sharing.. Chery 🙂
Chery, it does sound a bit like Fear Factor lol. Snapping turtle is a good one. My sister tried that in Japan (see lived there for a few years), as she was the guest of honour at the dinner they served her the heart as the final piece and she had to eat it in front of the whole table. She didn’t talk kindly of the experience 😉
As a veggie – the weirdest and most horrible thing I ate was Durian ice-cream – it smelt horrible and was horrible…! I have seen meat eaters eat a whole load of stuff – game animals from masai mara – but I think it is more novelty factor…!
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Haha Durian is notorious, they have a saying “taste like heaven, smells like hell”! I quite like Durian ice cream, it doesn’t smell anywhere near as bad as the fruit itself 🙂
Well I’m pretty boring!! I wouldn’t eat escargot, or mussels, or clams, nor would I eat the octopus that was served in a seafood salad I was offered… I like to stick to basics!! Although some raw foods are showing up in my diet, they pale in comparison to some of the things you have mentioned here!!
I’ve eaten rawtella ( raw chocolate and hazel nut spread) and ashwagandha powder and maca powder, even some Dulse ( wild atlantic sea vegetable). That’s about as wild as I get.. Although I guess there will be someone who thinks that what I have eaten is bizarre!!
Holly, sea vegetables could be seen as “weird” as they are outside of the mainstream. Although most people will have eaten something with cochineal food dye in it and not even know!
Hi Michael, Thanks for your article, very informative.
Coming from South America, I like to experiment with food, but I have a limit,
Maybe one day i will try some exotic food.
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Jose, if you are comfortable with it then go ahead and try some unusual foods. I am sure in South America there are quite a few interesting things worth trying 🙂
Eyeballs, and I didn’t eat them. I was ten years old and in a souk eating (for eating read pushing the food around the plate) and an Arab insisted on giving us a delicacy (I had a blonde hair sister that was considered lucky and he wanted to keep us there as long as possible so my sisters hair could bring in more people…).
He served up a thin greasy gravy with a fried egg in the centre and a sheep’s eyeball in the centre of the egg. How I kept the contents of my stomach I’ve no idea and how my mother extracted us without causing a scene I don’t remember…
Sarah, I think you trumped mine then…eyeballs are weird and not sure what I would do if they were placed in front of me…in a fried egg 😉
Interesting post to say the least! The weirdest thing I have eaten was alligator sausage tested good but I just can’t get my mind to stay on that fact the thought of what it is probably won’t allow me to eat it again. I do like to watch food show where the host travels around the world tasting different types of food. Chery is right does remind me of fear factor. Thank you this was a great post Michael!
Lydia alligator/crocodile are really great. I was in Australia recently and had salt and pepper crocodile and it was delicious. Don’t fear it…eat it! 😉
Ok…so most of these foods that are on the strange side terrify me, but I have to admit that I have eaten a wildebeest burger – in South Africa. I had NO idea what I was eating at the time…but when my mother and I finished the burgers, we both agreed that they were the tastiest burgers we’d EVER eaten!! No joke!! I won’t look down on wildebeest eaters. That meat is incredible!!
I doubt I would ever eat a scorpion in a pop, though. You’ve got me beat, there, my friend! Fascinating article!!
Christi, the wildebeest burger sounds delicious! Here in the UK there is a lot of interest in water buffalo at the moment for the same reason the meat is rich and “gamey” but very low in fat. Glad you enjoyed the article 🙂
Hmm. I don’t think I’ve eaten anything weird! I’m sure I’d remember it if I did! I eat very basic with my vegetarian or vegan, gluten-free, organic food that also takes allergies into consideration. It’s a bit limited . . . and no meat or insects! Just lots of veggies, fruit, non-gluten grains, seeds, some nuts . . . not much else!
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I forgot to add beans and superfoods to my previous comment . . . and some people do think that some of the veggies and superfoods I eat are weird.
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Leanne, There are some veggie foods that many would consider “weird”, like seaweed for example. I guess it is all relative as some cultures find the idea of eating cheese (milk left to go bad!) disgusting lol