Top 10 Disgusting Foods
Published on September 11, 2007 - 135 Comments
WARNING: This post contains disturbing images. Around the world today, people of all races and creeds eat some of the most disgusting things you can imagine. This is a list of the ten most disgusting things that people eat. Considering the least disgusting thing is poo-related, if you are squeamish, you may not want to read on. The list is, of course, from my personal perspective which is western. If you know of any worse or equally disgusting foods, be sure to mention them in the comments.
10. Kopi Luwak
There is no beating around the bush on this one - Kopi Luwak are coffee beans that come from Civet (a cat sized mamal) poo. The animals gorge on only the finest the ripe berries, and excrete the partially-digested beans, which are then harvested for sale. Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world, selling for between $120 and $600 USD per pound, and is sold mainly in Japan and United States, but it is increasingly becoming available elsewhere. The beans are washed, and given only a light roast so as to not destroy the complex flavors that develop through the process.
9. Ox Penis
In Western countries, Ox Penis is usually dried and sold as dog treats, but in many Oriental nations, they are commonly eaten by humans. The penis is generally cooked by steaming or deep frying, and can also be eaten raw. Some westerners compare the tastes of some penises with overcooked squid.
8. Bird Spit
The nests in question here are produced by a variety of Swifts, specifically Cave Swifts who produce the nest by spitting a chemical compound that hardens in the air. The nests are considered a delicacy in China and are one of the most expensive animal products consumed by humans. It is generally served as a soup but can also be used as a sweet. When combined with water, the hard nests take on a gelatinous texture. This is one that I have eaten myself, on a trip to Hong Kong and I included it on the list of Top 10 Luxury Foods. My experience of the nest was that it tasted slightly musty and had the texture of snot. It is probably the only pudding in my life that I could not finish!
7. Caterpilla Fungus
Image from Weirdmeat.com
Caterpilla Fungus is a species of parasitic fungus that grows on insect larvae. The fungus invades the body of the Thitarodes caterpillars, eventually killing and mummifying it. The dark brown to black fruiting body (or mushroom) emerges from the ground in spring or early summer, always growing out of the forehead of the caterpillar. The fungus is commonly used as a Chinese or Tibetan medicine where it is used as an aphrodisiac and as a treatment for a variety of ailments, from fatigue to cancer. It is also served in soup (as you can see in the image above).
6. Rats
Rats are surprisingly common food in some parts of the world. In North Korea they are eaten because there is often little else to eat in the villages. They are generally field rats rather than the city rats that most of us are familiar with. They are described as being tough and stringly with a taste like chicken (surprise!) Recently Reuters had this to say:
Live rats are being trucked from central China, suffering a plague of a reported 2 billion rodents displaced by a flooded lake, to the south to end up in restaurant dishes, Chinese media reported.
You can read the full article here.
5. Monkeys Brains
This is disgusting primarily because of the very high risk of contracting fatal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies such as Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other similar brain diseases. In parts of China, the monkey’s brain is eaten raw. While it is most likely an urban legend1, some people claim that monkeys’ brains are, or were, eaten from the head of a live monkey. Here is a common description:
The monkey’s head was supported by its neck in a bracket, two pieces of wood with a semicircular hole on each side such that when you put them together, they form a complete circle around the animal’s neck, allowing the head to be exposed above the plank. The hair around the head is shaven with a shaving razor. A small chisel and a hammer is used to quickly chisel a circle around the crown, and the top part of the skull is removed. A teaspoon is used to scoop up the brain, which is immediately eaten. This has to be done before the monkey dies.
And here is an article from The Straight Dope talking about this alleged practice.
4. Spiders
Image from Weirdmeat.com
These spiders from Skuon in Cambodia are similar to North American Tarantulas. They are bred in holes in the ground especially for eating and are deep fried. The texture is described as crispy-chewy and some say it tastes similar to crab. Like Tarantulas, these spiders can bite. They were a regular survival food of the Khmer Rouge. The photograph above is an actual photo of one of the spiders ready to be eaten. Here is a rather unfortunate description by Michael on Weirdmeat:
The taste itself is not strong, it’s the cripsy-chewy texture that is most appealing. Make sure you have some paper napkins, as the black juice from these is greasy and it doesn’t look good on your goatee.
(I had to write this item with my eyes closed.)
3. Bee Larvae
Image from Weirdmeat.com
Bee Larvae is eaten in China and Japan (where it is called hachinoko). Hachinoko became popular years ago when country people, deprived of fish and meats, turned to other wildlife in search of protein. The larvae are cooked in soy sauce and sugar and taste mildly sweet with a crumbly texture. These days, it is mainly a nostalgia item at parties. It makes a grand entrance in the festivities, and the older folks grin with expectation. The actual task of eating hachinoko, however, is not nearly so exciting.
2. Balut - Duck Fetus
Balut is a fertilized duck egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell. They are considered delicacies of Asia and especially the Philippines, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac and considered a high-protein, hearty snack, balut are mostly sold by street vendors at night in the regions where they are available. They are often served with beer. Michael, from WeirdMeat, describes the experience thus:
After you choose what kind you want, the vendor grabs them piping hot from the basket and passes you a little stool, salt, and a vinegar-onion sauce. You hold the hot egg and flick carefully but forcefully at the top of it with your middle finger. It cracks a bit and you gently remove a small hole from the top, so you can sip the savory broth before removing the whole shell. I agree that the 18-day one is better than the younger ones. You might come across some small chunkies but it’s usually just eaten all the way through, in about 3 mouthful bites. You can see feathers, head, wings, and skeleton forming, but it’s basically an extra-chewy easter egg.
Fertilized duck eggs are kept warm in the sun and stored in baskets to retain warmth. After nine days, the eggs are held to a light to reveal the embryo inside. Approximately eight days later the balut are ready to be cooked, sold, and eaten.
1. Snake Blood and Bile
This is less a food than a medicine, but it is so disgusting that it warrants a place on the list. In Central Jakarta, a man who calls himself the Cobra man specializes in preparing blood and bile for medicinal uses. Typically, he cuts off the head and drains the blood into a glass of arrack. He adds the bile and serves the drink as a treatment for respiratory ailments, skin problems, aches or indigestion. It is also said to improve a man’s stamina and sex life. Drinking the blood straight from a snake can also be done as an act of bravery or manliness. In defense of the blood eaters, I should remind everyone that pigs blood is very commonly eaten in most European nations in the form of black pudding or blood sausage.
Sources: WeirdMeat, Wikipedia
1. In bold so the skim readers won’t yell at me in the comments for referring to an urban legend as fact.
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1. Che - September 11th, 2007 at 8:53 am
Ever tasted Corsican cheese ? Some of them are only considered mature/edible with live maggots in them.
Weird thing is - it’s quite tasty. And very nutritious.
2. jfrater - September 11th, 2007 at 9:02 am
Che - I haven’t, but I have heard of cheese with maggots in it - I guess it can’t be much worse than blue vein cheese and I love that.
3. sakul - September 11th, 2007 at 9:11 am
I have seen video of a live monkey brain feast. It was pretty grainy and old, from the 70s, but it looked definately real. (No home movie editing sofware back then). It was from a clandestine video that was floating around my high school called ‘Faces of Death’. However, if I remember correctly, the patrons at the table were given little mallets, and they beat the monkey over the head until it was dead , then cut open the head and ate the brain. It was gross. (But not half as gross as the rest of the video mind you)….
4. jfrater - September 11th, 2007 at 9:18 am
sakul: that film was going around while I was at school - I never saw it but did come across mention of its monkey eating scene while researching this article.
5. sakul - September 11th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Yeah… it is a bit of a nasty film.. Everyone was talking about it, and when it was finally my turn to see it, I took it home right away and put it in the vcr… Boy did I regret that.. didn’t sleep really well after that for several months.. it was shocking..
6. jfrater - September 11th, 2007 at 9:35 am
Sakul: when I was younger I just couldn’t stand to see graphic images - even the ones I have posted on this site. I am better now but still not that good. Horrors like that really can have a long term effect.
7. dalandzadgad - September 11th, 2007 at 9:36 am
*squirm*
8. noel - September 11th, 2007 at 9:45 am
I have read stories and seen pictures of foetus soups in China. Although I’m not sure if it was all a scam.
9. RobS - September 11th, 2007 at 10:12 am
Wonderful. I HAD to check this out right after lunch. Such an idiot.
10. jfrater - September 11th, 2007 at 10:44 am
noel: yuck - I hope they were fake!
RobS: I was eating crunchy pumpkin seeds when I came upon the deep fried spiders - needless to say I don’t think I will be eating pumpkin seeds for some time.
11. RobS - September 11th, 2007 at 10:51 am
Jamie,
I saw a special on Nova or some program similar to that several years ago, where they showed some South American tribesmen cooking a HUGE tarantula-like spider. They basically just tossed it in the fire and then pulled it out and began eating it. Then, when they were done, they used the fangs to clean between their teeth.
I sat there, unmoving, my mouth slightly agape in horror.
I still have flashbacks to that scene.
Rob
12. jfrater - September 11th, 2007 at 11:20 am
Rob: That is just so disgusting!
13. steve - September 11th, 2007 at 11:25 am
am i one of the few people who dont get squirmish at the mention of weird, disgusting foods? I saw this list and didn’t think twice.
would i eat any of the things on the list, no, but thats an entirely different story.
14. purvislets - September 11th, 2007 at 11:39 am
sakul: I watched an interview with the creator of the “Faces of Death” films, and he admitted that a few of the scenes were recreated due to legal issues. The monkey brain scene was the one he specifically mentioned that was a recreation. He said that the disgusted faces the people made was not because they were eating monkey, but because of the taste of the red dye they used to make it look realistic. He won’t really say what else was and wasn’t real, but it makes the whole movie seem like a big fake to me now. It still gives me nightmares though!
15. sakul - September 11th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Bummer that the show was faked, or at least parts of it.. I personally thought that the execution in the electric chair was faked too… with the non-chalant doctor indicating for more juice…
16. jfrater - September 11th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
steve: I will generally eat anything - but the though of eating spiders does make me squirm.
17. RobS - September 11th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
I won’t even put anchovies on my pizza.
A friend of mine was eating calimari once and invited me to taste it, but looking at the dish, I’m positive I saw part of a sucker, and there’s NO WAY I’m eating anything like that.
Escargot? I don’t think so.
I refuse to eat anything that leave a trail of slime across my driveway.
Let’s face it, when it comes to food, I’m a sissy.
And I have no problem with that. :^)
Rob
18. jfrater - September 11th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Rob: hehe that is terrible! Those things are all lovely! Live a little!
19. Adam W. - September 11th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Great list man. Was makin’ me hungry ’bout half way through. I’ve always loved disgusting stuff, whether it be food or other… even as a child.
20. jfrater - September 11th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Adam W.: That is so weird! Were you a dirt-eater as a kid?
21. Adam W. - September 11th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Nah, I did eat lots of ants though. And a dragonfly once.
22. Hannah - September 11th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
I’ve tried escargot, but nothing else really too daring! And I almost didn’t make it all the way to swallowing. I held it together, but wouldn’t try it again. It doesn’t gross me out, but i highly doubt I would try anything on this list…… I’ll leave the monkey brains for the next guy!
23. conni - September 11th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
AAAgh! I had a Filipino boyfriend a few years ago and no food scared him! He talked me into trying balut with him. I tried so hard to prove I was a tough cookie, but that did it! I just barely got my teeth into it and I had to drop it and run to the bathroom, gagging all the way! Never again!
24. Molly - September 11th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
What about human placentas???
People eat them after birth sometimes.
Now i think that is just… digusting. Its like cannibalism!!
25. WillyChuck - September 11th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
So maybe submission will spark a new list - Top 10 Disgusting Drinks. Anyway, I have a friend who went to a wedding in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The national drink, Kumis, fermented mares milk. Yes he did partake.
26. jfrater - September 11th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
Hannah: I love escargot! If you have a bit at a time and try it six times you will love it
conni: I can’t believe you got that far! I am pretty adventurous but I draw the line there!
Molly: That is true - it is a worthy addition
WillyChuck: That sounds truly vile! Thanks for mentioning it
27. carlo - September 12th, 2007 at 5:56 am
the yellow part of the balut is delicious. i never eat the duck fetus, though…
28. jfrater - September 12th, 2007 at 6:33 am
carlo: I don’t think I could even stand to crack one open!
29. Jackie - September 12th, 2007 at 7:08 am
Rob, try eating fried calamari first before eating it where you can see the tentacles and stuff, it’s delicious! There’s a spanish restaurant where I live where they serve the tentacles in this really good sauce and it’s sooo good.
jfrater I love all your lists, I go to this website like five times a day.
30. RobS - September 12th, 2007 at 7:19 am
Jackie,
Sorry, I just don’ think I could try it. And I realize I’m being completely unreasonable about it. I imagine the texture is rubbery (while it probably isn’t) and I think it would taste real “fishy” (although it probably doesn’t).
Jamie,
Why 6 times with escargot? Is it a magical number or would I need to build up that much tolerance? ;^)
31. Jackie - September 12th, 2007 at 8:06 am
Aw Rob you should at least try it, it’s not that rubbery although it’s kinda chewy and it actually doesn’t taste fishy at all (not to me anyway). Having the fried calamari is kinda like just eating an onion ring. But no you’re not being completely unreasonable about it, there are many foods that I refuse to even try (um…like tofu believe it or not…looks disgusting)
32. RobS - September 12th, 2007 at 8:23 am
Jackie, I have a problem with foods that are too chewy.
I must be lazy.
Tell you what. The next time I’m at a seafood place, I will try a fried calimari appetizer. Even though, in my heart of hearts, I liken it to eating flan prepared by a gibbon.
33. jfrater - September 12th, 2007 at 8:57 am
Jackie: thanks
I am glad you like it enough to come back!
RobS: Calamari is very subtle in flavour and if it is well cooked it isn’t too rubbery. I strongly recommend you try it
34. jandaman - September 12th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
WOOHOO!!! Balut is the best! I can eat 8 in 1 sitting, in broad daylight, duck fetus and all! I wasn’t even hungry. I just love eating that stuff.
35. jfrater - September 13th, 2007 at 12:26 am
jandaman: do you live in a country where it is quite easy to come by?
36. jandaman - September 13th, 2007 at 1:46 am
Yeah. The Philippines. Basically a place where you can eat everything on anything that moves.
37. Des - September 13th, 2007 at 1:46 am
I had number 7 when i was smaller, not knowing it was larvae… until now. They told me it was healthy roots or some crap.
Looking back, i must’ve been pretty gullible as a kid.
38. jfrater - September 13th, 2007 at 1:49 am
jandaman: ah okay - I figured that must be the case
Des: There is something good to be said for that though - if I wasn’t so gullible as a kid I wouldn’t eat black pudding now and I LOVE black pudding!
39. Monkey - September 13th, 2007 at 9:42 am
I’ve seen almost all of these on “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern” on the Travel Channel. Very interesting show. I don’t recommend it if you have a weak stomach though.
40. Brandi - September 13th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
YOU PEOPLE ARE ALL F#@KING DISCUSTING- GOD WILL GET YOU FOR THAT SHIT!!!!! I HOPE YOU GET A DISEASE- THATLL TEACH UR ASSES!!!! FREAKS!!!
41. chadster - September 13th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
I can’t understand what would possibly inspire one to eat a birds nest, or caterpillae fungus in the first place. These so called delacasies must have been discovered by pure starvation, or long reaching tradition. I live in the C.A. bay area, and many, many people eat balute around here. I had a friend who said it was good, but she had to eat it in the closet.
42. conni - September 13th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
Brandi,you’re just adorable =)
43. alice - September 13th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
How about hundred year old egg? It’s a Chinese dish where they bury a raw egg in lime and leave it there for 3 months until it turns black. I had the unfortunate experience of watching someone try to eat one on Fear Factor, and it almost made ME vomit.
44. jandaman - September 13th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Wow! Century Eggs are good too! You just gave me an idea. I’m going to have century eggs for lunch then balut for the drinking session tonight. Too bad I can’t have Kopi Luwak for breakfast. It’s just too expensive.
45. jfrater - September 13th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
chadster: I wouldn’t be surprised if that is how some of these foods were discovered to be edible. I know I would have to be near death’s door to touch most of them!
alice: Thank you for reminding me of that - I was trying to remember what they called it while I was researching because I saw them in a documentary as a kid.
jandaman: what does century egg taste like?
46. Andy - September 17th, 2007 at 12:11 am
Balut is delicious! Maybe I just think so because I’m Viet haha. I get it all in America
47. jfrater - September 17th, 2007 at 12:19 am
Andy: you can buy balut in America?
48. conni - September 17th, 2007 at 9:23 am
I bought balut at a local store called Sari Sari in Sacramento, Ca. It’s a little Filipino food/ stuff store.
49. draker - September 21st, 2007 at 2:44 am
balut is good…
well… it might be ugly to look at… but it’s cooked… that duck in the picture is so big that even us filipinos wont eat…
actully baby ducks in balut doesnt have internal organs yet…
you should search for our fried one day old chick!!!
another thing about balut is being clean, after cooking with the shell, youll just have to open it for eating…
50. noel - September 21st, 2007 at 3:59 am
Century eggs are rotten eggs I think. The egg white is black in color and the yolk is a disgusting darkish yellow, quite a bit like the fetus in the balut. It sounds a turn off but it tastes awesome! The Chinese like it with porridge.
51. jfrater - September 21st, 2007 at 5:35 am
draker: I could cope with deep fried day old birds - but not embryos - the idea just seems to awful to me!
noel: century eggs with porridge? Do they eat them separately or mix them together?
52. noel - September 21st, 2007 at 12:30 pm
it’s mixed and cooked with it, normally topped off with spring onions and this.
53. jfrater - September 21st, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Okay - I can cope with the dough
At least I ate the bird snot!
54. noel - September 21st, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Oh yes the bird snot. It’s a delicacy, my father actually has a factory that lures the birds there using audio sounds just so they would make nests. We like to prepare it with papaya and milk. Just remove one end of the papaya, clear the seeds, put in milk and the erm snot, slow cook it and served chilled. Awesome stuff I tell you.
55. NightProwler - September 27th, 2007 at 6:13 am
I don’t believe I could ever bring myself to try any of these,um,”delicacies”. For anyone interested in watching or re-watching the “Faces of Death” mockumentary,here is link to the film on google video. Enjoy.
Faces Of Death
56. jfrater - September 27th, 2007 at 7:14 am
noel: wow - how amazing that your father has a factory for it!
NightProwler: thanks for the link. I am sure everyone will love it
57. Punjar - September 28th, 2007 at 9:54 am
Those are pretty nasty. Though I don’t think I’d mind rats too much since people eat rabbit over here and thats not much different if you think about it. (Granted not many people eat rabbit but I work at a grocery store and a few people buy it each week)
You missed coagulated balls of blood though. They eat those in parts of Asia and are supposed to be pretty nasty (my cousin had them once). Also, why no rocky mountain oysters?
58. ReggaePunk - September 30th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
i wanna try snake.
not duck fetus though, no unborn babies for me.
59. ReggaePunk - September 30th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
no fetuses for me, snake’ll do just fine.
60. jfrater - October 1st, 2007 at 12:50 am
Punjar: coagulated blood? That is revolting. I love black pudding but that has been prepared and spiced and cooked.
ReggaePunk: I could eat snake - but I am with you on the fetuses.
61. 2overpar - October 3rd, 2007 at 9:26 am
dorian or durian fruit of southeast asia is considered the most vile fruit on the planet. i saw a program on the discovery channel where the host said the smell was repulsive. i don’t remember if he could even force himself to taste it.
62. heavybison - October 8th, 2007 at 3:42 am
This one is true. I’ve been hearing this since i was a kid. In a remote eastern tribal part of India (Nagaland, to be specific), people feed dogs till they’re almost ready to burst and then chase/ beat the poor thing till it pukes and then u guessed it…the puke supposedly makes for one hell of a side dish.
63. jfrater - October 8th, 2007 at 3:49 am
heavybison: that is truly revolting. Can you find a reference on the net for it?
64. TMo - October 8th, 2007 at 8:59 am
A recent BBC article showcases a Chinese penis restaurant (complete with pictures) including mention of dining on an aborted reindeer fetus.
65. jfrater - October 8th, 2007 at 9:32 am
TMo: ugh. I hope they don’t sell penises from endangered animals!
66. Bacon - October 8th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
My friend once pulled a fetus-esque item from his cheese at Taco Bell once. Don’t know if that counts.
Suprisingly, he still eats there.
67. Pet Factor - October 9th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
Hey guys this is really great… we do something like this every year in woodland, WA. We call it Pet Factor. We put this event on at Halloween. We found your website looking for some new and exciting ideas. This year… I think it is going to be balut and tarantula…yum yum !!
Can you give us any other ideas ???
68. Clovis Sangrail - October 9th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
so far, the most digusting food I have heard of is “dinubuk”. I am not joking btw- this is an exotic dish prepared in cebu, philippines.
BTW- “dinubuk” means “to rot” in the vernacular
preparation:
1) catch fish
2) wrap said fish (ungutted and uncleaned) in banana leaves
3) hang in a dry place
4) wait till worms come out
5) unwrap rotten fish, and serve…
69. Clovis Sangrail - October 9th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
I guess rotten fish is popular in some cultures
You can Surströmming to the list
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surstr%C3%B6mming
http://www.svensson.com/norge/sur1.htm
70. Clovis Sangrail - October 10th, 2007 at 2:31 am
hehehe…. yup, ox penis and testicle soup is quite popular here in the philippines.
it’s reputed to be an aphrodisiac.
Soup #5 we call it here
71. deadhand13 - October 13th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Clovis: On the topic of Scandinavian nasties, theres lutefisk (fish thats a little too clean), rakfisk (more bad fish) and some drink of curdled goats milk thats name escapes me. There is a reason there are no ethnic Scandinavian restaurants around
72. magnolia_snooze - October 23rd, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Clovis guy: I have a big family and they tried to feed me that… i fainted, they even pictured me while i was in unconscious form! lousy cousins…
BTW: i like balut so shut up! i mean i’ll rather eat them than the rest of the other disgusting food…
73. Butterfish - October 24th, 2007 at 4:54 am
On ‘Casu marza’ (rotten cheese), it is recommended that you wear eye protection when eating this, since the cheese fly larvae can jump several feet.
Talking to a Swede a while ago about surstromming, he said people across the street can smell when you’ve opened a jar. You are also forbidden from sending the stuff airmail or transporting it in your flight baggage, because if the jar breaks the smell cannot be removed from clothes etc, and the whole container load has to be dumped.
74. jfrater - October 24th, 2007 at 5:04 am
Butterfish: wow - that is incredible! How can people eat it?!
75. alisa - November 1st, 2007 at 4:33 am
Caterpilla fungus? Yuck. Geez, what do people see in eating this stuff? And don’t even get me started on the spiders. I didn’t think they were that bad until I read the part about the black greasy stuff that looks bad on your goatee. haha.
76. miera - November 3rd, 2007 at 7:14 pm
er, yea. i’m from malaysia, which is in asia, and yes, i’ve either seen or heard of foods that are much worst than these. And since..well, I rarely eat asian food. I love western food. You can guess how they make me puke.
77. mabel - December 3rd, 2007 at 6:01 am
uhm.. hello..i’d like to tell you that BALUT is not disgusting.. i mean.. FILIPINOS LOVE EATING IT..i love it too..^^
78. xdarkhorsex - December 3rd, 2007 at 6:29 am
balut tastes like chicken noodle soup. I had to eat it to impress the philipina I was dating at the time, not too many white folks will eat it
79. sh216 - December 30th, 2007 at 3:47 am
the chick inside the balut is actually the “bomb” it has this taste you wanna keep tasting in yo mouth blaa bla just try it you wont be disappointed. because the egg yolk tastes like your ordinary yolk
80. yossarian - December 31st, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Balut is delicious. I usually get the kind without the developed fetus, though.
81. KTran - January 2nd, 2008 at 4:03 am
I’ve had balut many times before but it’s called hot vit lon in Vietnamese. There is a store five minutes from my house that sells it and we usually purchase it in trays of twenty-four eggs. It’s actually not as disgusting as it sounds and the duck does not look like the one shown in the photo. Also, I’ve had the durian fruit which is also available here and snake which was available in Vietnam. The strange the about the durian fruit is that if you grow up eating it, it actually smells very sweet. To someone who is exposed to it, however, it smells horrible.
82. kiwiboi - January 2nd, 2008 at 4:17 am
KTran - looking at it from another cultural perspective…do you know of any common western foods that Asians might find similarly repulsive ?
83. KTran - January 2nd, 2008 at 6:17 pm
kiwiboi - Considering the fact that my parents will eat or at least try just about anything, I can’t recall any western foods that they refuse to touch. They just find it disgusting that western foods contain so much cheese and fat so they don’t eat it often but it’s not at the level where they’ll puke if it’s presented in front of them. That’s an interesting question though. I’ll be sure to ask them at dinner tonight
Thanks for the thought.
84. KTran - January 2nd, 2008 at 6:20 pm
And also, the hundred year egg isn’t actually a hundred year egg. It’s actually not that disgusting once you get that idea out of your mind. Personally, I don’t like it but the outside is kind of like jelly which doesn’t taste like much and the inside has the consistency of soft, thick butter. I’ve heard that it tastes very creamy but I’ve never actually tried it myself.
85. Vtluvkiss - January 10th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
I absolutely love this site and I come on here everyday at work. This article is really interesting and as a Viet born in the US my family eat pretty much everything and like Ktran if you do look at it differently and understand it’s not as nauseating. I do agree that my parents do not like anything that has cheese, the smell and taste makes them nauseous. However they do find that cheese with maggots a lil too extreme.
I remember reading an article about a tribe who custom is to eat the deceased organ. Everyone one in the family would eat something and through this it is found that they were accidently passing on a disease called “Kuru” by eating the infectious tissue.
I dont think there is anything called disgusting food it’s just a matter of what situation you are in. If you are stranded, you probably have to do what you have to, just to survive. Love the site Jfrater! definitely keep it up!
HEre is the Wiki to the tribe i was mentioning:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fore_%28people%29
86. indian - January 16th, 2008 at 9:42 am
These dirty east asian countries suck!!
I am a veggie, my family is veggie, infact in my city of 2 million, 40% are veggies.
Stop this cruelty and adopt veggie!
87. reblist - January 22nd, 2008 at 4:22 pm
in the movie cannibal holocaust, there’s a scene in wich the local tribe eats monkey brains, the director had prepared a fake monkey with fake brains, the tribe however talked him out of using the fake ones cause they preferred the real ones since they are so delicious
88. Mount Teetar - January 23rd, 2008 at 11:50 am
In china human fetuses are used for soup and sometimes entire babies are barbequed. These aer considered cure-alls, and work extremely well(considering it is straight up stem cells). There are also tribes in africa which eat the brains of their deceased. Some people in the western world actually eat their babies placents(mor stem cells).
89. PinoyXPat - January 30th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
A very interesting list. Thanks jfrater for the cerebral infusion…
To each his own…I guess. One man’s gut-wrenching meal is another man’s delicacy. I am just appalled at some of the posters who resort to name-calling in the belief that their cuisine is the “right” one. What is gastronomically acceptable depends on the individual. Even being a vegetarian does not make one immune - as it can be argued that the smell of certain vegetables, spices and curries sticks to your skin & clothes.
Civility…always an important trait when surfing the web.
90. Twinkle - January 30th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
i know balut sounds really disgusting, but everyone who has eaten it entire loves it. Something must be up, I haven’t eaten the whole thing yet, no guts to do it. Anyways, you have to eat it with vinegar or it will really taste yuck.
I don’t get the disgust in eating spiders. At least they’re not eaten alive. In fear factor they had to eat roaches. I mean, THAT’s disgusting.
I love durian candy. and to me durian doesn’t smell bad at all.
As for the coagulated blood… I haven’t tried it, but they do barbecue it here (Philippines). It’s sold everywhere. Oh well, in the Philippines, when we kill a pig, not one part is wasted. Everything is eaten, from blood to intestines to brain… well everything. Lol
91. Csimmons - January 30th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Hey, What the hell happened to jandaman?
92. stormy617 - January 31st, 2008 at 12:26 am
OMG yea this kinda thing just grosses me right out. Talking about fear factor….I barely made it through one episode of that show and I was ready to lose it. Never watched it again!!
93. Hannah - January 31st, 2008 at 5:45 am
Well, I’ve had balut (at the insistence of my Filipino boyfriend) and it made me gag, but more from the idea than the taste. I’ll eat it again, because he’s going to make me! The taste isn’t too bad.
I’ve also had live octopus in Korea - sometimes they crawl off the plate and go swimming in the hot sauce before you eat them. The taste? Meh. The experience? Out of this world.
Deep fried frogs I had in Cambodia. Salty and crunchy - perfect drinking snack.
Silkworm larvae in Korea - smells like urine, tastes like sand. I’d eat it again to be polite, but I’d never buy it myself.
My boyfriend is trying to convince me to eat monkey brains with him in the Philippines when we go there this year. I’m hoping he’ll forget about that - that’s where I draw the line.
94. JwJwBean - January 31st, 2008 at 8:39 am
I have seen balut eggs at the Asian market here in Colorado. Along with some rather interesting things. I did not buy it or try it. Some people had stuck their finger in some of the eggs and cracked them so you could see the chick.
I love calamari and escargot and sushi. I have to fight my 11 and 13 yr old off for the calamari. The 13 yr old likes escargot and sushi too. He will eat just about anything. The 11 yr old is a bit more picky. Hell he won’t even eat corn.
95. jfrater - January 31st, 2008 at 8:40 am
Hannah: I simply could not bring myself to eat balut - power to you for doing it!
JwJwBean: I am with you on the calamari, escargot, and sushi - YUM!
96. Tracia - February 1st, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Century eggs are actually quite tame compared to some of the stuff on here. Keep in mind though, that I am Chinese American and due to many trips to Taiwan, I eat stuff that many of you non-Chinese would probably find disgusting but I find normal, like chicken/duck feet/claws, cow stomach. sea cucumber (not so much though), geoduck (like a giant clam only you eat the tubey part that’s really big on a geoduck- Google it). I absolutely will not eat pig intestine though.
ANYWAY, Century eggs are, in fact, not rotten eggs. They are preserved eggs. The most common egg used is duck but chicken and quail are also used. The eggs are preserved in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, lime, and rice straw for several weeks to several months (wikipedia and what I’ve heard). The duck and quail eggs turn out with dark green yolks and the whites become brown/black and almost see through. I’ve seen the package for the chicken ones where they are depicted as bright red yolks. I’ve only had the duck eggs but I think they’re pretty similar. The flavor is very mild- I find it’s pretty much like regular hard boiled eggs. The Chinese term is Pi Dan, or literally skin egg. The eggs are most commonly prepared either just sliced and drizzled with soy paste (thick soy sauce) sometimes with cubes of soft tofu, or in rice porridge (zhou).
I was surprised that the Fear Factor people were that grossed out by those eggs, though on second though the narrator only describe them as 100 year eggs so people not knowing what they were might actually think they’re rotten eggs. I so would have won that event if I got the Century Eggs.
Another note of trivia- duck and quail eggs are often preserved even further- i think boiled and dried with soy sauce and various spices and sold in packs as snacks- these are Tie Dan (metal egg). They’re very tasty.
On the other hand, i just cannot reconcile balut. I can’t deal with the idea of eating baby anythings. I’m too much of an animal lover. boiled duck fetus is just wrong.
97. Tracia - February 1st, 2008 at 10:14 pm
One more thing- about the coagulated blood balls. If it’s the one I’m thinking about, it’s common in soups, especially hue guo (”fire pot”- hotpot). The kind I’m think about resembles pieces of liver when cooked and floating in your soup. I will not eat that version as it reminds me too much of liver and I hate liver- more the texture than anything else (except for a piece of goose liver wrapped in a slice of beef- good when you’re having teppanyaki). The version of pig’s blood cake I do eat is made with sticky rice mixed with pig’s blood and them steamed and/or added to soup. That kind is good because it reminds me of sticky rice cake and doesn’t really taste like blood.
98. JwJwBean - February 1st, 2008 at 10:55 pm
The church I teach Sunday School at has a Formosan Church (Taiwanese and Chinese members with the sermons in Mandarin) that rents a room from the Amercian Church. They have a lunch every week. I drive home some of their members and eat with them. Half the time I have no idea what I am eating. I think they had pigs feet one time. I am still not sure what I ate last week. The guy said it was a bird egg. Very small egg. I think like a quail egg. He couldn’t tell me what type of bird. It is all very interesting food. I try to not ask what it is until after I have at least taken one bite.
99. Hoshi - February 4th, 2008 at 6:57 am
I could withstand Balut but definitely NOT century eggs.
Try DURIAN. The one who could withstand its smell is the winner.
100. mishmel - February 13th, 2008 at 12:03 am
@Tracia:
Yeah, century eggs are pretty good. I remember watching Fear Factor, and also thinking that it was surprising they were putting up those eggs on there. I too, would have definitely won if I had gotten the eggs. =P
@jfrater:
Good list. ^.^ I learned some new stuff today. (Your zombie survival tips list though, will always be my favorite.)
101. Fran - February 20th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
I actually thought the caterpillar fungus was the most disgusting of all.
And speaking of blood sausages: (we call them “morcilla”) here they make them by taking pigs intestines, then they clean them and stuff them with coagulated pigs blood and rice (some like to add hot sauce too). These are either boiled or fried. But I personally think they taste better when fried.
They also have other foods like “gandinga” which is a stew made of a combination of tripes, livers, kidneys and hearts.
But overall, the food doesn’t look odd/disgusting and tastes pretty awesome.
102. Trisha - February 26th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
It’s so disturbing yet so awesome at the same time. Just to think, people make fun of us Jewish people for bagels and lox (fish). I could never bring myself to eating half this stuff. Even though it’s gross, I can’t stop staring!
103. Mir - March 4th, 2008 at 7:13 am
http://gallery.hd.org/_exhibit.....1-ANON.jpg
check this pic out, its just so bizarre
oh, and durian is not that bad actually. It’s a local fruit here. the house stinks during durian season though.
104. squirt - March 8th, 2008 at 4:44 am
heh…it’s funny reading all the comments and realizing what little westerners eat. i have to agree with tracia in that asian countries tend to eat a lot of foods that no one else would ever touch. pig intestines are actually some of my favorite dishes, and yet, when you think about it…westerners eat pig intestines already since theyre the outer layer of a sausage. personally, my favorite dish is a chinese dish (i’m chinese/flip/korean) which is a spiced hot pot which includes gelatinized pig blood and pig intestines.
i’ve spent quite some time in china before so i’ve had most of these foods and they’re really not that bad once you get by the western concept of these being foods that would make you sick. the snake’s blood is actually quite popular in taiwan, where there’s an entire street called snake’s alley, where they gut the snake and serve the blood. apparently, this alley used to be right next to a bunch of whore houses, so a customer could take a shot of blood and go nuts at the brothel.
balut is also quite tasty, with the delicious soupiness when you first crack it open, and a kind of cartilage crunch to the embryo.
as for foods easterners tend to shy from, i’d just have to say beef in general. i know this doesn’t include vietnamese people considering pho is just beef broth and meats, but my dad grew up not eating beef because of easterners believing that cows are meant to work on farms, and should not be eaten. i wouldn’t say he gets squirmish by people eating beef, but he definitely thinks it’s wrong.
105. squirt - March 8th, 2008 at 4:46 am
oh…and century eggs are absolutely delicious. the thought that anyone wouldn’t at least try it boggles my mind. i’ve been trying to get my girlfriend to try it forever and she swears i’m trying to spread the plague or something.
you silly europeans.
106. natalie - March 31st, 2008 at 12:14 pm
actually i’ve had duck eggs .. i dont the baby duck just the yolk its pretty tasty… mmmmmmm
107. natalie - March 31st, 2008 at 12:15 pm
typo last comment** i dont eat the baby duck!!!!!
108. Me - April 1st, 2008 at 4:57 am
Hey squirt, (dont mean to offend) do you like sea cucumbers? I love them. I eat it with soup. The thought of it farting on the seabed being the ninth most gross animal on the planet changes the good thought a little bit.
I like pea crabs too. Oh, for normal sized crabs, Singaporeans eat it with chilli, Chilli Crab. It is the national food of Singapore U gotta try it. Even Jackie Chan, Hrithik Roshan once ate this dish when they came to Singapore. They like it.
Hey Hoshi, Durisns, i can stand the smell, I smell it everyday, old men sell it outside shops and all. They stink and taste bad. Oh and dont chinese people like to eat porridge with century egs/ I cant remember how century eggs taste like but Braised duck flavoured instant porridge is NICE.
Lobsters, in my opinion taste better. I dream of eating a blue one, since only 1 in about 4 million lobsters are blue.
I love sushi, may it be salmon, crabmeat, that red gooey thingy, RAW SALMON, anything, but I am allergic to raw fish.
109. Me - April 1st, 2008 at 4:59 am
Oh, sqirt, can you tell me how many percent of the people you know have been to Singapore?
110. g3 - April 5th, 2008 at 10:27 am
I worked in Japan and we had company parties (enkais). At one they had live squid. Pull out the scissors and snip a tentacle. I can’t handle eating anything with the head still on so I chose not to indulge. I did get some great video on my cell phone of one of the guys jumping around trying to pull the tentacle off his tongue. Apparently it was a little too fresh! Revenge of the squid!!
111. KC - April 18th, 2008 at 2:34 am
hey, the balut really tastes good. you can choose not to eat the fetus part if you don’t want it. it still has the ‘egg yolk’ part, which is delicious btw.
but a balut won’t be a balut without the fetus ^_^
112. avthedemon - April 27th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
its true that people in china eat foetus . It is sold in cans there. They are generally 5-6 months embryos which were collected from hospitals. They’re from abortions. It’s the most disgusting thing i’ve ever seen. I think i’d go on number one here
113. ashooo - May 12th, 2008 at 10:24 am
it’s funny hehehe!
114. Blade will see you - May 12th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Yum all these look great I have eaten a spider taste just like chicken except when I burned it the spider cried a high pitched scream!
115. rosy713 - May 15th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
this so discusting you guys are wierd ewww im never seeing this again
116. geronimo - May 17th, 2008 at 1:13 am
this is quite a funny list….but as many people have mentioned, these foods are disgusting from a western veiw point… i am an indian and i also find these food items personally disgusting but we have have to keep in view some weird Western habits that have become common place only because it is accceptable to many people. For example i consider it disgusting that people could eat any food item made from pig intestines or from pig blood, but consider some of the Food Europeans eat… (God bless Wikipedia)
In some parts of Europe, scrotum, brain, chitterlings or andouilles (pig’s large intestine), trotters (feet), gizzard, heart, head (of pigs, calves, sheep and lamb), kidney, liver, “lites” (lung), sweetbreads (thymus or pancreas or both), tongue, snout (nose), and tripe (stomach) from various mammals are common menu items.
The traditional Scottish haggis consists of sheep stomach stuffed with a boiled mix of liver, heart, lungs, rolled oats and other ingredients. In the UK Midlands faggots are made from ground or minced pig offal (mainly liver and cheek), bread, herbs and onion wrapped in pig’s caul. Steak and kidney pie (typically featuring veal or beef kidneys) is widely known and enjoyed in Britain. Brawn is an English term for “head cheese” or the collection of meat and tissue found on an animal’s skull (typically a pig) that is chilled and set in gelatin.
Iceland has its own version of both haggis, and brawn. The Icelandic haggis called “slátur” (Slaughter) is made in two versions “Blódmör” (Bloodlard); a sheepstomach stuffed with a mixture of sheeps blood, rolled oats and cut up bits of bits of sheeps fat, and “lifrarpylsa” (liver sausage) which consists of sheep stomach stuffed with a mixture of ground lamb’s liver, rolled oats and cut up bits of sheep. The Icelandic brawn “Svid” is made from singed sheep heads and it is eaten either hot or cold off the bone or set in gelatin.
In Denmark a dish similar to haggis is called “Blodpølse” (blood sausage) and head cheese in Denmark is called “Sylte” and is made from pigs heads.
In Romania there is a dish similar to haggis called drob, which is served on Easter. Also, Romanian peasants make a kind of traditional sausages from pork offal, caled caltabos. Also, a popular dish called ciorba de burta is similar to Shkembe chorba (from Turkish işkembe çorbası).
In Greece (and similarly in Turkey), splinantero consists of liver, spleen, and small intestine, roasted over an open fire. A festive variety is kokoretsi (from Turkish kokoreç): pieces of lamb offal (liver, heart, lungs, spleen, kidney and fat) are pierced on a spit and covered by washed small intestine wound around in a tube-like fashion. The kokoretsi is then roasted over coal fire. It is a traditional dish for Easter. Another traditional Easter food is mageiritsa: a soup made with lamb offal and lettuce in a white sauce. Tzigerosarmas (from Turkish ciğer sarması, meaning “liver wrap”) and gardoumba are two varieties of splinantero and kokoretsi made in different sizes and with extra spices to improve the taste.
In Bulgaria, Republic of Macedonia and Turkey, Shkembe chorba is a widespread soup variety made from tripe.
In Italy consumption of entrails and internal organs is quite widespread, among the most popular preparations are fried or stewed brain, boiled intestines (Trippa), often served with tomato sauce, lampredotto (the fourth stomach of the cow), boiled in broth and seasoned with parsley sauce and chili, liver (stir-fried with onions, roasted), kidneys, heart and coronaries (coratella or animelle), head, eyes, testicles of pig, several preparations are based on chicken entrails. In Sicily, many enjoy a type of sandwich called “pani ca meusa”, or bread with spleen and caciocavallo cheese. In Brooklyn, New York, where it is also commonly eaten, it goes by the name of Vastedda.
In Spain the visceral organs are used in many traditional dishes but their use is falling out of favor with the younger generations. Among traditional dishes are callos (cows intestines, very traditional in Madrid and Asturias), liver (often prepared with onion), kidneys (often prepared with Sherry wine), brains,criadillas (bull’s testicles) and cow’s tongue.
In the French city of Marseille pig’s trotters and a package of pig tripe are a traditional food under the name “pieds et paquets”.
so it may be very difficult for any person to make a truly impartial disgusting food list…..
117. Taranis - May 17th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
luckly I ate a few hours ago. Some of the stuff on here I wouldn’t mind trying. I mean, if it wasn’t good, people still wouldn’t be eating it. Not too sure about the monkey brains though. Though I don’t think a field rat or spider would bother me. When on a missions trip to Peru, my friend ate hampster and said it was really good.
118. Beast - May 20th, 2008 at 10:40 am
woah go eat Faygo
119. moi - June 8th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
yummie
120. Stephen - June 11th, 2008 at 2:51 am
Balut is chicken. n_n
i dont like it either. Some parts of it look like pubic hair.
121. Tai - June 12th, 2008 at 12:15 am
nice list..I travelled all ova tha place and Ive ate stuff like: Ducks head, horse intestine, horse sushi, ostrich sandwich, chicken heart, evry part of a pig and sheep,fried scorpion, fried cockroach. I find it pretty cool that diff cultures figure out how to eat all this stuff. U gotta realise that in some places they have to eat all the parts of an animal to make the catch worthwhile. That bein sed i wudnt try the monkey brain, but my gf has, and she sed they bring a black box and open the top lid, where u can see the monkey brain jiggling and still alive, and then while the monkey is tied in the box and screaming they pour hot soup on the brain and eat gracefully whilst discussing world politics and things of that nature. Damn us human beings keep it gangster. But im still interested in eating new stuff, especially meat becos the protein is gud and eating a whole deer from head to toe makes me feel a lil bit like genghis khan. One of my friends who lived in africa sed that once he ate tiger meat!? damn i wud like to try that but im sure it wud giv the nature reserve people a heart attack. Ne1 else here tried ne tiger?
122. jc - June 12th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
in some part of africa there are people who made soup from human skeleton… they crushed the bones to powder and cooked it…. also in some parts of asia… dinuguan (from the root word dugo which means blood especially pig`s blood) is a common meal. it`s not only disgusting but it`s also a
health hazard !!!!
123. sverry - June 18th, 2008 at 12:55 am
hey i call those who eats monkey brain as “UNGGOY”!
monkeys are almost like humans, its like eating your
own brain!!!!DAMAK
124. sverry - June 18th, 2008 at 1:00 am
jc wrote:
in some part of africa there are people who made soup from human skeleton… they crushed the bones to powder and cooked it…. also in some parts of asia… dinuguan (from the root word dugo which means blood especially pig`s blood) is a common meal. it`s not only disgusting but it`s also a
health hazard !!!!
Jc with a small “c”! for your info, dinuguan is a great delicacy and its not disgusting, maybe your only saying it
because you are some kind of a religious group member who are
not allowed to eat those kind of foods! yuck!
125. Mark - June 22nd, 2008 at 5:58 pm
2 was just horrible!
126. essence - June 24th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
jc - you’re a liar and so is your friend. tigers don’t live in africa, only asia moron!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger
127. essence - June 24th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
sorry jc that comment was for tai
128. koricaedo - June 30th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
My motto is, I will try anything once that doesn’t me puke at the site or smell of it. And since nothing above make me sick looking at it and I haven’t barfed since 1997, I think I have a LOT of things to try.
My family is a regular American melting pot, and at holidays and reunions everyone brings something new “just to try”. I’ve enjoyed some insects many of my friends would squirm at, I love dairy but I draw the line at bugs invading my cheese!
I’m sure my grandfather served me every bit of a pig, from headcheese to pickled feet. I hate chitterlings though and always did as a child.
129. Vera Lynn - June 30th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Oh my, No. I would rather drink my own blood. I could never. I can live a good long time on water (or beer
), but not these. Uh uh. No way.