What is the most unusual food you have cooked or eaten?

Philip Bombard wrote:Hundreds of whole mice while living primitively. A deadfall trap squeezes the poop out then throw that sucker in a fire to singe off the tail and hair and you have veritable easy of flavors! Nibble a thigh here and the brains there or blend them all in one mouth size bite!

Holy cow!  Cool! If you're hungry, it must taste great!

Pig brain fritters. Mix the brain of a pig, corn meal, salt, garlic, hot pepper, parsley and welsh onions. Then make small balls and deep fry them. It tastes good!

Dian Green wrote:
Funnily enough, the thing that has been throwing the most people lately is that I've tried, and am encouraging people to eat hostas! ( nice fried and a great way to stretch a small supply of asparagus)

I didn't know hostas were edible. I'm going to have to remember this.

Cécile Stelzer Johnson wrote:T.Bates mentioned calamari/ octopus, tongue, saying that the calamari was a bit chewy. The secret with tender calamari or octopus it to not overcook, just like deer heart. Tongue, on the other hand, I put in the pressure cooker so I can peel the tongue. After that, the way I like it best is with a spicy tomato sauce.
For the kidneys there is a trick: they have to be peeled carefully, and it is not very easy to peel each little ball. Cut the kidney lengthwise so you can cut out the objectionable membrane, that  thick vein, on he inside; It is especially that tough vein that doesn't taste good. After that they need to soak. [in the fridge, 24 hours, but I didn't put vinegar. I didn't need to.]
to cook them, I roll them in flour and fry them with winecap mushrooms or whatever tasty mushrooms you have, also rolled in flour. Cook in butter. Finally, and that's the best part, add either a Madeira wine or a good Burgundy. I guarantee, there will not be any pee taste!]. Wine is so expensive in this country that I substitute my cheap beet wine. It is really tasty!

Thank you for the suggestions. I had no idea how to cook the calamari/octopus, and you've given me a clue on how to make it less chewy.

I never thought to cook tongue in a pressure cooker (I have an instant pot that has pressure cooker abilities). I think I'll search recipes on doing this if I can ever afford to buy tongue again (the price has gone sky-high, and it wasn't cheap before). I eat the skin on the tongue except for the very rough parts.

Thanks for the info on cutting out the thick vein in the kidney, and that after that vinegar isn't necessary when soaking.

Philip Bombard wrote:Hundreds of whole mice while living primitively. A deadfall trap squeezes the poop out then throw that sucker in a fire to singe off the tail and hair and you have veritable easy of flavors! Nibble a thigh here and the brains there or blend them all in one mouth size bite!

Way too gross for me to eat, but definitely an unusual food in this country (USA)!

Bruce Southers wrote:Real Scottish Haggis, while delicious, is definitely not something you can get here in the US. Ground up sheep heart, lungs and liver, cooked inside a sheep stomach.

I have also tried chitlins, and while many do not consider that unusual, eating pig intestines in hot sauce was pretty unusual for me.

That reminds me of another unusual food I've tried. Menudo. It's a Mexican dish (what I had looked like soup) that has cow's stomach in it. I didn't care for the taste. Maybe with different spices, I might have liked it.

To T. Bates. That's why I pressure cook the tongue. Let the pressure go down so you can open it. After that, it peels very easily. there is no way I could eat the skin on it, though. The consistency just isn't appealing to me
Mom would slice it across in about 1/3" pieces and fry it. It is OK, but I do prefer the muscles in the back of the throat. They have a better consistency. Oh. that reminds me: I ate the sweetbreads too. That's yummy.
I soak them in milk, though.
https://www.allrecipes.com/article/what-are-sweetbreads/#:~:text=What%20Are%20Sweetbreads%20in%20French,sweetbreads%20are%20ris%20d'agneau.

T Bate wrote:

Bruce Southers wrote:Real Scottish Haggis, while delicious, is definitely not something you can get here in the US. Ground up sheep heart, lungs and liver, cooked inside a sheep stomach.

I have also tried chitlins, and while many do not consider that unusual, eating pig intestines in hot sauce was pretty unusual for me.

That reminds me of another unusual food I've tried. Menudo. It's a Mexican dish (what I had looked like soup) that has cow's stomach in it. I didn't care for the taste. Maybe with different spices, I might have liked it.

Many years ago, when I was vacationing in Spain, I had menudo. I didn't care for it too much either, and like you, I think it was a question of spices. Had they added wine, or perhaps a stronger spice, that might have passed.
In France, many offals are cooked with wine [like kidneys, hearts, sweetbreads and the like]. It gives a sweeter taste to the meat and it acquires a totally different taste, even consistency sometimes that doesn't at all taste like what you think that offal should taste.

Cécile Stelzer Johnson wrote:
Many years ago, when I was vacationing in Spain, I had menudo. I didn't care for it too much either, and like you, I think it was a question of spices. Had they added wine, or perhaps a stronger spice, that might have passed.
In France, many offals are cooked with wine [like kidneys, hearts, sweetbreads and the like]. It gives a sweeter taste to the meat and it acquires a totally different taste, even consistency sometimes that doesn't at all taste like what you think that offal should taste.

Your posts are making me think I should start cooking with wine. 😁

A pig's ear sandwich is probably the oddest thing I have ever eaten, prepared by my southern (US) husband, not very long after we were married.

Honorable mentions: squid-ink spaghetti, scorpion in a candy sucker, mealworm in a candy sucker, armadillo & rattlesnake (included in a big pot of Brunswick stew), ARD (accidental road death) venison

My experience of the pig's ear sandwich was one bite and done (texture). I think there's a lot of lovely cartilage-type tissue that could be used in other applications, or even made extra crispy (someone referenced a chef doing amazing things with it upthread), but this was slow-cooked and used as the main sandwich layer. A hard "nope!" from me on repeating that experience.

I'm not a huge fan of Brunswick stew - not b/c of the potential ingredients; I just prefer a chili or vegetable stew flavor to my red meat stews/soups. I think there was also turtle in that batch, which I enjoy.

Super-interesting thread!

T Bate wrote:

Cécile Stelzer Johnson wrote:
Many years ago, when I was vacationing in Spain, I had menudo. I didn't care for it too much either, and like you, I think it was a question of spices. Had they added wine, or perhaps a stronger spice, that might have passed.
In France, many offals are cooked with wine [like kidneys, hearts, sweetbreads and the like]. It gives a sweeter taste to the meat and it acquires a totally different taste, even consistency sometimes that doesn't at all taste like what you think that offal should taste.

Your posts are making me think I should start cooking with wine. 😁

In France, practically everyone can make wine and good local wine is cheaper than even "designer water", so it is tempting to use it left and right. [It is not always good to use any other way, mind you]
You see, before the French revolution, and even as late as the 1870s, the French have had to eat a lot of unsavory things, like rats and tainted meat.. There is a belief, strongly engrained in my family that stewing "uncertain" meats in wine will kill all the bad stuff in it. Now, I'm sure it doesn't always work but besides mushrooms, I can't think of any tainted meat that my ancestors ever died of. Maybe it is the alcohol, maybe we are building resistance by eating doubtful meats without dying...
I would not recommend it if you are new at it but there may be something to this building resistance...
😁😁😁

Jay Angler wrote:  got to taste a White Sapote when I was in Hawai'i with a friend. They are in the persimmon family, but I'm not aware of anyone growing them in North America. Not sure what the range is - what ecosystem they need.

They are native to eastern Mexico.  I have had a pretty good sized tree here in San Diego, before my neighbor accidentally drowned it with a leaking sprinkler.  

I made Smen one time. I think I read about it somewhere and just went for it. It's a fermented butter from Morocco. You make an oregano tea and knead it into the butter and then let it ferment in a jar. It ends up tasting and smelling like a funky cheese. It was really good!

We just got home from a restaurant that I thought might have lamprey on the menu, but didn't - their excuse being that low river flows last year made for a poor harvest this year.  A local restaurant can get it, but at considerable cost and you have to pay for an entire lamprey, enough for 4 people, not to mention that I wasn't super impressed by their bordalaise sauce the time I had it there.  Lampreys exist in my native Pacific NW, a couple species I think that are reportedly quite tasty if anyone would eat them.  The taste is rich and not much like fish, as one might guess as it is taxonomically just barely a fish.

Sara Hartwin wrote:A pig's ear sandwich is probably the oddest thing I have ever eaten, prepared by my southern (US) husband, not very long after we were married.

Honorable mentions: squid-ink spaghetti, scorpion in a candy sucker, mealworm in a candy sucker, armadillo & rattlesnake (included in a big pot of Brunswick stew), ARD (accidental road death) venison

My experience of the pig's ear sandwich was one bite and done (texture). I think there's a lot of lovely cartilage-type tissue that could be used in other applications, or even made extra crispy (someone referenced a chef doing amazing things with it upthread), but this was slow-cooked and used as the main sandwich layer. A hard "nope!" from me on repeating that experience.

I'm not a huge fan of Brunswick stew - not b/c of the potential ingredients; I just prefer a chili or vegetable stew flavor to my red meat stews/soups. I think there was also turtle in that batch, which I enjoy.

Super-interesting thread!

I've had squid ink linguini in restaurants and found it to be quite ordinary. It had a pleasant, briny flavor.  Unfortunately, the last time I had it the grated parmesan that was put on top tasted like (and I believe contained) grated plastic.  Kind of ruined the experience

Having been born and bred in France, I guess some of what seems unusual for some people was standard fare for us growing up.   Pig's trotters, sheep's brain. beef tongue, frog's legs, snails, raw horse meat, sweetbread, raw oysters, tripe, black (blood) pudding, pigeons, andouillette, sea urchins, chicken gizzard in salad, fish roe, to name but a few.

The most unusual I suppose was Jaza Hinga, a Burmese soup made out of fermented shrimp paste and rice vermicelli.  As you cook it, the fermented shrimp paste makes you want to throw up, it actually smells like rotten fish, but once cooked it is delicious.  Also a dry, sweet, sour and salty kind of umebochi plum that the Burmese called sangandi (probably not spelt  right) and eaten as a snack.  Quite an acquired taste but I guess I did acquire it and ended up loving it.  Tart apples cut in small pieces, sprinkled with salt and totally smothered in chilli powder, you shake some of the chilli powder before putting a piece in your mouth.  It sure clears your sinuses!!

Gluten Morgen Foodie Friends!

While visiting Peru, I had the opportunity to taste so so so many amazing dishes.

But! The most unusual ingredient that I encountered would have to be...**drum roll** ...cuy! Or, better known in the states as, roasted Guinea pig on a stick. While in Cuzco, our guide taught us that eating cuy is traditionally reserved for special occasions like birthdays (because it takes a lot of 'em to feed a whole family). Cuy is served teeth and all and, I gotta say, I understand why they're a delicacy. It tasted delicious even though it didn't look like it could in a million years.

If any of you lucky ducks get a chance to taste cuy with a Peruvian family, I say go for it!

P.S. But! If the cuy isn't for you, then I super recommend ordering a Pisco Sour, the Ceviche, and the Chinese-Peruvian Fusion duck if given the opportunity

P.S.S. Please feel free to hit me up if you're planning a trip to Peru, cuz I already have a guide for ya

Susan Mené wrote:I've had squid ink linguini in restaurants and found it to be quite ordinary. It had a pleasant, briny flavor.  Unfortunately, the last time I had it the grated parmesan that was put on top tasted like (and I believe contained) grated plastic.  Kind of ruined the experience

Pleasant and briny are accurate to my memory, too. Flavor was subtle; not the main event of the dish but complementary to it. The visual effect was the novelty for me, and that definitely delivered. I've only had it once, so I'm glad it wasn't covered with bad cheese!

Liv Aramendi wrote:Gluten Morgen Foodie Friends!

While visiting Peru, I had the opportunity to taste so so so many amazing dishes.

But! The most unusual ingredient that I encountered would have to be...**drum roll** ...cuy! Or, better known in the states as, roasted Guinea pig on a stick. While in Cuzco, our guide taught us that eating cuy is traditionally reserved for special occasions like birthdays (because it takes a lot of 'em to feed a whole family). Cuy is served teeth and all and, I gotta say, I understand why they're a delicacy. It tasted delicious even though it didn't look like it could in a million years.

If any of you lucky ducks get a chance to taste cuy with a Peruvian family, I say go for it!

P.S. But! If the cuy isn't for you, then I super recommend ordering a Pisco Sour, the Ceviche, and the Chinese-Peruvian Fusion duck if given the opportunity

P.S.S. Please feel free to hit me up if you're planning a trip to Peru, cuz I already have a guide for ya

If given the opportunity, I would have to try it!  Welcome to pernmies! Very interesting post!

Ugh.  Eating kidneys was like urine-flavored bubble gum.  Disgusting.

I've tried but not been able to eat natto, Japanese fermented soybeans...that stench is like moldy laundry plus something rotten, and the millions of spider-webby slimy strands is stomach-retchingly gross.

I've tried durian before, twice.  The first bite is sweet and not too bad. Subsequent bites are like rotten onions, and I won't try it again.

I had beef tendon recently in Malaysia, cooked Indonesian style in a coconut milk and fresh turmeric curry.  Not wonderfully tasty, but I knew eating the collagen and gelatin were good for me.  The curry itself I like.  Using fresh turmeric adds a kind of a heat, similar to how fresh ginger tastes different from dried ginger.

I also had some stingray in a Nyonya (Chinese-Malay fusion) dish.  It was okay, with an unusual texture depending on which part of the fish you ate.

One of the hardest things to eat for me has been fermented noni juice.  Noni is a tropical savory "fruit" that smells like a ripe cheese.  When I brought the fruit home, I couldn't stand the odor and gagged before I could get a bit of it into my mouth.  Over time, I've gone from forcing myself to drink the fermented juice, to drinking it no problem.  It burns a little.

I also ate stinky beans (called petai), a large fava-like tropical bean that grows on trees.  I think the reason for the name is that it makes your urine stink, like the way asparagus does.

Beef tongue is nice when slow cooked.  The texture of the meat (after you've peeled off the skin) is like pulled pork, but moister and spongier.

Another strange thing was the mastic ice cream (dondurma) in Turkey.  Kind of slimy but not really.  Much more delicious than it sounds!

And visitors to Hawaii have a hard time eating the poi (fermented taro mash), but we grew up eating it with milk or water and sugar, like a pudding, so we love it.

Ditto for mochi, glutinous rice cakes.  Visitors sometimes find it really weird textureally--dense, chewy, and sticky--but we love it.

If you ever have the chance to try kulolo, sweetened taro cake, please do.  It's delicious too, and similar to mochi, with a richer taste and more texture.

Fried guinea pig. We lived in Peru and my husband worked at a carpentry shop behind a neighbor's house. As a perk, the guy's wife would feed the workers because the wages were low (about $5 a day in 2021--yes, we had my hubby's military retirement check as well).

Anyway, my husband would generally run home for lunch. Since we were friends, the woman would sometimes invite me to join them, so I'd run down there instead of him coming home. She was a good cook.

After about the 3rd time, she served guinea pig. My easy-to-please Army husband managed to eat it but I held back the gags. I know I was visibly struggling because the guy across the table kept looking at me with the biggest expressions of compassion. LOL. I ate a few tiny pieces and then tapped out, more due to taste than aversion. I'm a meat lightweight, though.

Hah, I was just talking to a friend last night about guinea pig...because she said she cannot see me raising sheep or goats or cattle on a homestead.

I said it would likely be small animals, like rabbit, chickens...and we thought of guinea pigs.

She said she had some in Peru.  "Tasted like chicken," she said.

What do you think it tasted like, or why did you have an aversion?  I'm interested, especially since I've gone back to eating flesh foods again after being a vegetarian for decades.

Alina Green wrote:Hah, I was just talking to a friend last night about guinea pig...
What do you think it tasted like, or why did you have an aversion?  I'm interested, especially since I've gone back to eating flesh foods again after being a vegetarian for decades.

The skin was tough and hard to get off of the bone. When I got to an actual piece of flesh, it tasted...garbage-y? Like what rotten broccoli and milk would smell like. LOL Sorry.

We raised them, too, for someone else, but I never cooked one. You might be one of those who likes it, but I hated it.

One time years ago in southern India, I was one of a few guests at a school gathering.  Chicken curry was on the menu, and I was surprised to find that I was given the head of the chicken!  I was aware that this may well have been especially saved for me, as if I were some kind of special guest, and in any case being in a hungry country, there was little choice in the matter.  Then I glanced over at the guy next to me.  Apparently it was a laying hen that had been cooked up, because all of the developing eggs and associated plumbing was coiled up on his plate of rice!  Ah, gratitude check!  I turned back to my chicken head curry and ate it diligently, considering what other parts of the chicken I might have gotten!

Umm...I probably should not have read this just as I sat down to dinner...sigh!

T Bate wrote:
I didn't know hostas were edible. I'm going to have to remember this.

I just found out last year and sacrificed a few. Not bad, but not a once-a-year thing that I crave (like garlic shoots). I probably won't mess with it next spring.

Alina Green wrote:What do you think it tasted like, or why did you have an aversion?  I'm interested, especially since I've gone back to eating flesh foods again after being a vegetarian for decades.

We were in Peru this spring and while I didn't order any myself, a fellow traveller ordered it in Cusco.  He had more on his plate than he could finish, so he offered it to me.  It was quite greasy, but other than that, it was fine.  It was neither off-putting nor something that made me think delicacy that I must have again.