North America, especially United States, is particulary famous for its greasy dishes and its junk food. However, there is also very stranges meals which aren’t served into fast food. Let’s interest about all of this.

Junk food & Food competitions

North America is the country of the fast food, where were born the most famous companies such as McDonald’s or KFC. For a lot of persons (including me), fast food are “tasty” and a good way to eat outside with friends from time to time. But for others, it is only fatty meals and a symbol of our consumer society. Indeed, they can be criticized at many points, mainly environmental and sanitary. For example, do you know that your nuggets are more than 50% composed of chicken’s grind bones and cartilages ? And those chicken come from intensive farming with deplorable conditions.

Moreover, junk food consuption can become completly stupid when we have a look at  food competions which are organized in USA. For example, the wing bowl is an annual competion where participants, also called Eaters,  have to eat the most chicken wings they can in a limited time, the world record is 501 wings in a half hour. This event his recognized as a hobby and widely broadcast. Here we discovered the madness of man. There is no pleasure anymore to eat food at that point. Some Eaters are even willing to put their own live at risk by drinking huge amount of water just to extend the size of their stomach. Each year,  people suffocate and died during this event…

Strange food ?

Jello salad : It’s a salad made with pork gelatin, fruits or vegetables and cheese. Served for dessert or as side dish. I no longer feel hungry.

Sweet potatoe and marshmallow : Two delicious ingredients separately. If you considered that marshmallows are just sugar, then it is just sugary potatoes. Like my grandmother said, never criticized before having tatsed.

Chicken and Waffles: The name and the photo tell you everything. Nothing to add. I will never do that. Never.

Until now we have dealt with the worst taste dishes, but in this article we will speak about the worst (not ethical) food. Many things can be denounce in the Agri-food industry (pesticides like the chlorodecone, deforestation of the Amazon for the cultivation of cereals to feed livestock, the horrible conditions of intensive breeding of certain animals…) nevertheless we will speak about animals threatened with extinctionThe first was widely publicized by the news, the Pangolin. Pangolin is consumed in China for its meat and scales used in traditional medicine

Like it many animals are used in traditional Asian medicine. This is the case of rhinoceros threaten by poachers who resell rhinoceros horns more expensive than the price of gold. Why such a price? In question the traditional Vietnamese and Chinese medicine which ( falsely ) attributes benefits. 

So the Bengal tiger is hunting for her bones consumed in infusions, supposed gives vigor and strength. And the Asian bear captured for its bile, popular in Asia. Its bile is taken when the bear is alive. A gram is sold 170 euros, popular belief grants it a faculty to dissolve gallstones and kidney.

However some animals are also consumed because recognized as delicate foods like the whale in Japan traditionally fishing. Officially, Japan stopped whaling 30 years ago. But in reality, cetaceans were still hunted for « scientific purposes ». However, Japan announced its withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission in 2019 and resumed commercial whaling.

Still in the registry of marine animals, the Atlantic bluefin tuna recognized as a delicate delicacy is now threatened by overfishing and illegal fishermen who do not respect quotas.In France (Guyana) some endangered species are also consumed. The leatherback sea turtle, it, could die in the next 20 years for many causes, but the most harmful is the poaching of their eggs easily accessible on the beaches and therefore consume by many people.

Let’s continue our travel around the world in South America, where we will discover unforgettable dishes ! Indeed, this continent is no exception to the rule, like the following meals show us. Enjoy your meal !

Fried chicken feet

This dishes come from the south of Mexico and is also eat in many countries of South America. Served with rise and vegetables,  they are mostly prepare for great instances such as wedding. Eating this isn’t that easily, you will have to take the foot into your hands and to chew the skin until the bones. For the most courageous one, a legend say that the most delicious part is inside bones. Just don’t forget to wash your hands and wipe your mouth before kissing the bride.

Grilled Guinea Pig

Feel strange to see your cute guinea ping called Alfred in your plate ? The “Cuy chactao” is a speciality of the region of  Arequipa in the south of the Peru. It’s very spicy and usually with a side of potato or cron. In the “real” restaurant, the dish is always served with the entire animal in the plate. Good luck to boned it. At least, you won’t have to wash Alfred anymore.

Eye hot chocolate

You aren’t dreaming, there are people who eat eyes. But don’t worry, eyes are first soak in a plate of sugar ( phew !). More seriously, this beverage come from Ecuador and is often drink after a meal. Cow eyes are cooked until they go soft and soak in sugar as said above. Finally, they are add in a hot chocolate, similar to those who eat in France. I don’t really understand why eat my hot chocolate with an eye instead of a cookie, but fine ! Hope you will never criticize your grandmother herbal tea again after reading that. Keep your eyes open. 😉

Pork’s small intestine

What do you eat for dinner ? Small intestine and you ? This conversation can only takes place in Colombia, where it’s an everyday life fact. It can be fry or steam cook and is alaways eat warm. You can find them in small street restaurants. According to the Colombian, it’s delicious and the taste is similar to the french “andouillette”. I don’t like it in any case, so the small intestine is definitely not for me. May be you will be more courageous.

Tortoise’s body

In the North of Colombia and Venezuela, indigenous called the Wayuu have as ancestral tradition to hunt and eat tortoise. They lived shut away from our society and live by hunting. Every parts can be eat, from the brain to the legs and include tortoises’ eggs.  They offer a huge variaty of meal : soup, grilled meat, raw meat, omelette… I’m not sure it’s a good process when we know that tortoises are an endangered spicies. By the way, since 2010, indigenous are supposed to protect them but poachers still hunt them. Poor tortoise. 😢

Find the following tasties meals in the grid !

Baby mouse; Bat soup; Bugs; Bull testis; Cow blood; Duck foetus; Flies cheese; Giant Tuna eye; Jelly eels; Woodworm;

Be carreful ! Words can be in straight line…

Solutions :

Today we will test your common sense with a blind restaurant so, are you ready to order?

For beginning your main course : 

A.  B.

Some meat ?

A.  B.

Some sauce ?

A. B.

Are you ready to order dessert?

A. B.

Your menu :

For beginning :

A. Mosquito eggs (dried and roasted) from Mexico.

B. Quinoa

Meat:

A. Chicken nuggets

B. Rocky Mountain Oysters, from USA. They are peeled, floured and fried. But they are not real oysters, they are testicles of bull calf. 

Sauce:

A. A BBQ sauce homemade

B. Fresh Blood Soup from Vietnam. Known as « tiet Canh » in Vietnam, the soup is made entirely of goose, duck and even pork blood, kept in the refrigerator, then served fresh with herbs and chopped peanuts.

Dessert :

A. Akutaq or « Eskimo Ice » from Alaska. Eskimo ice cream may seem sweet and creamy, but it is not. It is composed of reindeer fat, seal oil, freshly fallen snow, berries and fish.

B. Red berries ice cream 

We hope you’re satisfied by your meal, enjoy 🙂

I tell you clearly, if the sight of blood disgusts you or if you have a weak stomach you are not in the right place. On the contrary, if you want to discover the horrible dishes that Asians can eat then prepare yourself.

The images are not going to be all tender!

baby mouse wine (China and Korea)

Let’s start directly with a Chinese wine made from rice alcohol in which baby mice are immersed. The Chinese believe that this wine is a remedy for asthma and liver disease.

From the looks of it, I prefer to have a disease than to drink this wine.
It’s a good thing we don’t find baby mice in our French wines, even if it might stop the alcoholics.

Shirako  (Japan)

Sometimes I wonder if all human beings are thinking the same way because I don’t see how eating bags of fish sperm is a good idea. Few dishes repulse me (I reassure you I wouldn’t eat any of the dishes on this list except insects maybe) but Asian dishes leave me perplexed.

Then when you see how the caviar is recovered it’s not much more appetizing.

Seahorses, starfish and scorpion skewers  (China)

The Chinese have a gift for eating every living creature on this planet…
No, but really, how can they eat seahorses?
Scorpions can be so fresh that they still move, no comment. And then there are the starfish, I don’t think there is much food inside the shell but it disgusts me less than half live scorpions.

Do Chinese people eat dog? is a question some people ask. And indeed in some regions, not the majority, the Chinese eat certain breeds of dog.
But I find the images far too repugnant and I can’t see myself doing an article about dog meat.
So I’ll just make this little comment.

Dried lizards (Hong-Kong)

I don’t know if eating dry lizards makes you want to, but it’s a popular snack on the street and to be used in soups. They can also be marinated in alcohol and are reputed to have medicinal virtues against colds for example and many others.

Lizards have little taste and are especially crisp and crunchy.

Tamilok (Woodworm) (Philippines)

What appears to be a worm is a mollusc found inside mangrove rotting (mangrove is a marine swamp ecosystem). The physical aspect being a mix between a dead earthworm and baby snot does not necessarily give much envy!
This worm, not this mollusc, excuse me, tastes like oysters. As they say, those who look alike come together. Anyway, I like oysters but I don’t want to eat that!

 Duck foetus (Philippines)

This is probably the dish that disgusts me the most!
The balut is an egg that contains an 18-day old bird fetus with feathers, beak and bones. And tell yourself that this foetus bites, yes it’s disgusting. How awful!
I’m not going to say any more about this dish and I think that’s enough for you too!

Centipede (China)

This article seems to be about China more than about Asia.

But it’s true that the Chinese eat anything and everything like pangolin for example…

Then we also had a bit of the Philippines but not to our great joy.

Something a little sweeter now (or maybe not), centipede skewers. Centipedes are fried and eaten as snacks. These skewers taste like dried spaghetti. I find this comparison weird because dry spaghetti doesn’t taste (from my personal experience) but if there are no other elements of comparison we’ll settle for that!

Fugu (Japan)

Fugu is a luxury fish in Japan, so you wonder why it is on this list?
Well, I’ll answer you. This fish is extremely deadly because it contains a poison 1200 times more deadly than cyanide. Chefs have to get a permit to cook Fugu, which is normal because the poison contained in this fish can kill thirty people in one go and there is no antidote to this poison.

Giant Tuna Eye (Japan)

You probably all know the famous Koh-Lanta test that many candidates dread, the tasting of insects and especially the fisheye.
In Japan, it is possible to find tuna eyes in supermarkets. I know it makes you dream. The eyes are very fat and surrounded by muscles. Horrible, really horrible…

Bonus

After bull’s testicles, fish sperm, here comes the yak’s penis.

There’s quite a bit of meat to eat and they say it’s good for the skin. Nothing but benefits.

Thank you for reading this article to the end!

We will now head to a continent less affected by culinary horrors to take a short break before moving on to Asia. Africa is more famous for its good family dishes than for its culinary horrors, although there are some amazing dishes.

Buccaneer monkey ( Congo )

In the Congo, we eat smoked monkey with peanuts. It’s not a dish that’s disgusting, just strange to us. Because Asians have a much more cruel and disgusting way of eating monkey. The monkey is presented alive in a cage under the table and then its head is placed on the table. They hit his head with a hammer until he is unconscious and then we eat his brain directly. Yes, it’s really sad and horrible…

This dish shows that although some African dishes are strange, there is often a much worse Asian version. But we’ll move on to that continent later.

Bugs

In France, we would never have had the idea to eat this little insect that when inadvertently squashed produces a smell of shit. In Africa, bedbugs are eaten alive or cooked. They often give off an apple flavour for sauces. When you smell them, it seems surprising that these insects can have this taste, but since I haven’t tested them, I say nothing. These insects are also known to have analgesic and tranquillizing properties.

Cow Blood and Milk (Kenya and Tanzania)

We haven’t had a chance to have a drink to let you digest. But how about a drink made from raw milk and cow’s blood? This drink is used for rituals on special occasions, so don’t expect to drink it every day and fortunately for cows. The blood is obtained by cutting the jugular artery of the cow which allows bleeding without killing the animal.

Mopane worms (South Africa)

Eating insects doesn’t disgust me, but I know it disgusts some people, especially big worms like mopane. With the over-consumption of meat in the world, we’re going to have to get used to eating insects. These insects are a good alternative to meat because they contain three times more protein. Mopane worms can be eaten dry and crispy or cooked and dipped in sauce.

Bat Soup (Guam, Micronesia and Africa)

In this time of confinement, talking about bat soup makes us smile softly. But did you know that the African version is accused of being one of the causes of Ebola in Guinea? Fruit bats are boiled with ginger and onion and served as a classic soup. I give you the recipe but please stop eating a bat, I don’t know if it’s good but it’s still the cause of Ebola.

It’s over for the best of African cuisine