# What's the Strangest Thing You've Eaten



## mr drinky (Dec 12, 2011)

I was recently on vacation and I saw a termite nest and remembered that I ate termites while in Trinidad four years ago. The guide during a hike poked his finger in a nest and termites flowed out, and he said they were edible. So I liked my finger to make it slightly adhesive, captured a few, and ate them. 

To this day, I still strangely crave termites. They had a very strong herbal taste, and the taste remained in my mouth for close to four hours. It was sort of like a super-charged Ricola cough drop. 

k.


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## sachem allison (Dec 12, 2011)

2 week old fermented raw whale blubber


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## PierreRodrigue (Dec 12, 2011)

sachem allison said:


> 2 week old fermented raw whale blubber



I give up! You already win!


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## jm2hill (Dec 12, 2011)

I feel like I've eaten just about everything minus endangered species. I love travelling and heading back home. Always new foods to try. 

I love ostrich burgers and giraffe biltong is also superb.


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## Andrew H (Dec 12, 2011)

Wow, definitely not competing with this crowd.


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## apicius9 (Dec 12, 2011)

PierreRodrigue said:


> I give up! You already win!



LOL:surrendar: And *NO* pictures:begging:


Well, how about this one: 



P.S. I was wondering what my 1000. post would be about, I hadn't expected that


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## mr drinky (Dec 12, 2011)

sachem allison said:


> 2 week old fermented raw whale blubber



Yeah, wow, that is messed up. You have some explaining to do. 

k.


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## JohnnyChance (Dec 12, 2011)

mr drinky said:


> Yeah, wow, that is messed up. You have some explaining to do.
> 
> k.



It's just muktuk! It's tradition!


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## jm2hill (Dec 12, 2011)

I'll add something similar to fermented whale blubber.

I wasn't pleased about this one and I would never ever do it again. Fermented raw sheep's heart/liver/lungs (Haggis) but it was yet to be cooked.. I hate Scotland.


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## Andrew H (Dec 12, 2011)

I didn't know haggis was fermented before it was cooked. Makes me want to eat it even less.


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## jm2hill (Dec 12, 2011)

I don't believe its meant to be. But my scottish friends are not normal. I try not to hang out with them to much.


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## ecchef (Dec 12, 2011)

Horse sashimi. I used to do a Robbie Burns night with the haggis. It's pretty good with a large whiskey.

Fermented whale blubber wins.


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## mr drinky (Dec 12, 2011)

Btw, if you live in the DC area Jose Andres' restaurant Oyamel has crispy grasshopper tacos. It isn't that bizarre, but different enough to make you think twice.

k.


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## PierreRodrigue (Dec 12, 2011)

I know this is a weirdest thing you ate thread, but I damn near got tricked into eating Prairie Oysters. If they were a different shape, they woulda fooled me!


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## tk59 (Dec 12, 2011)

PierreRodrigue said:


> ...I damn near got tricked into eating Prairie Oysters...


:rofl2:

I guess wierd is in the eye of the beholder. I guess fermented squid (that's what I was told) would be the grossest. Live (or at least still moving) sea urchin is definitely interesting. Some cheeses are downright raunchy but I couldn't tell you which they were. Some people think durian is pretty nauseating...


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## Andrew H (Dec 12, 2011)

tk59 said:


> :rofl2:
> Some people think durian is pretty nauseating...


:eeew:


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## NO ChoP! (Dec 12, 2011)

I worked with a Filipino girl who brought Balut to work.... it's cooked eggs with a developed embryo. Did I eat the entire thing? No....but I did taste it.


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## steeley (Dec 13, 2011)

Escargot eggs.



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## Andrew H (Dec 13, 2011)

NO ChoP! said:


> I worked with a Filipino girl who brought Balut to work.... it's cooked eggs with a developed embryo. Did I eat the entire thing? No....but I did taste it.



New front runner perhaps.


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## Eamon Burke (Dec 13, 2011)

I dunno. I've eaten several of the things mentioned, and they aren't nearly as freaky as they seem. I can't think of anything like andrew zimmern eats.


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## jheis (Dec 13, 2011)

Chocolate covered bees and fried grasshoppers are about as strange as I've gone - or intend to go....

James


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## tk59 (Dec 13, 2011)

NO ChoP! said:


> I worked with a Filipino girl who brought Balut to work.... it's cooked eggs with a developed embryo. Did I eat the entire thing? No....but I did taste it.


My brother loves those. I've choked down a couple 'cause I was hungry but I think I'd rather go out and dig up grubs.


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## jm2hill (Dec 13, 2011)

Apparently fried worms taste like bacon? Anyone want to confirm or do a taste test?


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## sachem allison (Dec 13, 2011)

PierreRodrigue said:


> I give up! You already win!



:biggrin:A while ago I used to be real big on the pow wow circuit, traveling around the country making and selling knives and traditional regalia and jewelry and I made a lot of friends from different tribes. Since I made extremely traditional old school crafts and medicine pieces using stone and bone tools, I made a lot of friends amongst the medicine men and women and the elders. I was making things the way that their grandparents and great grandparents did. This was considered a very honorable thing to do as the younger generations didn't want to learn these old crafts and they began to die out with the elders. 
Well, one day I met a Makah Medicine man and Thee mask carver for the tribe and he asked me to make some beaver tooth chisels and a whalebone d- adze for a special project he was doing for both the Makah Nation and the Smithsonian. I told him that it would be a great honor and that I would do it just for that reason only. We shook hands and that was a done deal. A few months later after collecting everything I needed I finally was able to present him with the finished pieces. That's when he told me what the pieces where for. It seems that the Makah were finally going to be allowed by the federal government to hunt a whale using traditional methods. Wooden canoe and handmade shell tipped harpoon. My tools were going to be used to make the adornments on the canoe and some of the gear. Well they went out and got their whale and it was the first one in over seventy years i believe.:thumbsup:
After winning the right to continue a tradition that the tribe had been doing for thousands of years there was a huge celebration. The whale was divided up amongst the tribal members and a giant feast ins-sued .:knife: A couple of weeks later the Medicine man and a few tribal elders showed up at a show I was doing and presented me with a gift. A nice big chunk of two week old fermented whale blubber. They unwrapped it from its skin wrapper, right there at the show table and began cutting off chunks and passing it to me to eat. What can you do, when elders bring a gift like this you smile and choke it down. It was rough. I ate four pieces before I realized that they were waiting for me to offer them some, which I gladly did. I made sure that they ate all the rest, the generous host that I am.

Taste: Think old stinky sardines mixed with bluecheese,salmon oil, rotted rancid fat, toasted almonds and the consistency of a slimy rubber band and you might , just might have an inkling of what this tasted like. I imagine if it was fresh it might not have been so bad, but leaving it in a bloody seal hide wrapper in the sun for two weeks and only brushing off the maggots from the surface really makes it special.uke:uke:


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## JohnnyChance (Dec 13, 2011)

So what you're saying is....it's not going on your menu any time soon?


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## sachem allison (Dec 13, 2011)

not unless I have a bunch of old Makahs coming over.


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## PierreRodrigue (Dec 13, 2011)

Fantastic story! I have tried a few thigs considered traditional by some of the local Cree Nations. Most were very good! Pemmican, preserved fish and meats that sort of stuff. Ate my fair share of seal at home when I was young, mom considered it a treat. VERY rich, to the point, it would make you sick if you ate too much. To much of the fatty oils, and vitamins and minerals forund in fish, I can't remember them all. Very nutritous is small doses.


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## oivind_dahle (Dec 13, 2011)

Hákarl Link
Smalahove Link
Lutefisk Link

To be honest, this is served with lots of alcohol. I mean LOTS...


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## mr drinky (Dec 13, 2011)

I've had lutefisk. It was eaten by the barrel where I came from. I'm surprised you didn't put fermented rakfisk on your list. I've never had it in the US, but the last time I was in Norway in one meal I had lutefisk, rakfisk, and whale. That was quite a trio.

k.


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## oivind_dahle (Dec 13, 2011)

Ah forgot rakefisk.
Whale was normal when I was young, however I don't like it 
Norway was once a very very poor country, until we found oil (lucky bastards). Lots of Americans have norwegians grand grand parents, as lots of norwegian almost starved to death and therefor seeking luck in USA.

So in the old days, lots of different food was eaten. Some more tasteful than others. 

Congrats on rakefisk and lutefisk. Guess you had alcohol to it


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## heirkb (Dec 13, 2011)

Hmm...not that weird but I've eaten a fair bit of lamb's brain. It's not bad actually...


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## Timthebeaver (Dec 13, 2011)

Theraphosa ("Tarantula") spiders, crickets/grasshoppers, cockroaches, silkworm pupae (SE Asia), Witjuti grub (Australia), Funazushi. nankotsu? (chicken cartilage) (Japan), Cuy (Guinea pig), Llama and Alpaca charqui (Bolivia/Ecuador).

Surprised to see Haggis on here.


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## Lucretia (Dec 13, 2011)

Used to eat dirt when I was a kid. But that's just plain boring compared to some of the things you guys have eaten!


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## SpikeC (Dec 13, 2011)

"Beef" stew in the field in 'Nam. Leather liver also in 'Nam.


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## Hattorichop (Dec 13, 2011)

Muskrat


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## sachem allison (Dec 13, 2011)

Hattorichop said:


> Muskrat



hey! don't knock a good muskrat!


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## jmforge (Dec 13, 2011)

School lunchroom liver. Tasted like a rusty pencil eraser. i am not that adventurous. The most exotic thing that I have eaten is whale steak at Bernard's Surf in Cocoa Beach back in 1966 when I was 5. As I recall, it was very pricey and tasted like sauteed ass.


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## add (Dec 13, 2011)

NO ChoP! said:


> I worked with a Filipino girl who brought Balut to work.... *it's cooked* eggs with a developed embryo. Did I eat the entire thing? No....but I did taste it.



Baah, cooked you say?

Might as well go to a *Denny's* for the breakfast special....


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## Mike Davis (Dec 14, 2011)

Great read! You sure are an adventurous bunch!!!


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## jmforge (Dec 14, 2011)

How about the exotic or unknown item that you relieved to discover wasn't quite as bizarre as you thought it might be? For me, it was veal kidney in Belgium. I ordered veal something or other (knew the French word for veal, but not the word for "nasty ass organ meat") and when it came out, I was worried that it might be veal "oysters" :lol2:


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## Keith Neal (Dec 14, 2011)

Very fresh Impala testicles. Actually pretty good once you get past the idea.


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## mhlee (Dec 14, 2011)

******* said:


> As I recall, it was very pricey and tasted like sauteed ass.



Sauteed ass certainly sounds more adventurous than that whale steak ...


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## jm2hill (Dec 14, 2011)

******* said:


> How about the exotic or unknown item that you relieved to discover wasn't quite as bizarre as you thought it might be?




similar to this (although I didn't eat it, my friend did). I was going up north and a "delacy" up there is seal eyes. We had a little welcome dinner, and I was skeptical of most foods, (Anthony Bourdain can ruin a lot of experiences for you). We were kind of just handed dishes and ate what came our way, but this thing looked nasty, it was still covered in blood! I couldn't brave it out, but my friend ate it (you kind of suck the juices out) and she said it was actually okay.


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## jm2hill (Dec 14, 2011)

Keith Neal said:


> Very fresh Impala testicles. Actually pretty good once you get past the idea.




where'd you do that one?

that could be a hard thing to have on the menu!


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## WillC (Dec 14, 2011)

I would say tree beetles in thailand, very delicious actually, bit like a cross between crab and chicken. Most disgusting thing I have eaten was frogs legs I bought frozen from a chinese supermarket, put me off frogs legs for life.:sad0:


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## bikehunter (Dec 14, 2011)

jm2hill said:


> similar to this (although I didn't eat it, my friend did). I was going up north and a "delacy" up there is seal eyes.



Most adventurous I've ever gotten is in my college years. I had a girlfriend from a MidEastern country and went to her family's place for dinner. Being the guest of honor, her father offered me the goat's eye. What could I do? Gulp.


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## Lucretia (Dec 14, 2011)

******* said:


> The most exotic thing that I have eaten is whale steak at Bernard's Surf in Cocoa Beach back in 1966 when I was 5. As I recall, it was very pricey and tasted like sauteed ass.



Lived near Bernard's Surf for years--EVERYTHING they served tasted like sauteed ass!


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## jmforge (Dec 14, 2011)

LOL. Actually, back in the glory days of the manned space program in the 60's and early 70's, that place had a very good reputation.


Lucretia said:


> Lived near Bernard's Surf for years--EVERYTHING they served tasted like sauteed ass!


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## sudsy9977 (Dec 14, 2011)

When i was a kid i loved chips and doritos was a favorite.....i was at a movie with my dad and my mom was waiting outside.....i was mind in my own business chomp in on my diorites like a good kid does......well some frigid ******* at the diorite factory neglected to see the gigantic impressed nugget of diorite powder in this bag....i of course swallowed it.....imagine eating mace!.....i could barely breathe....i ran out of the dark theater and found my mom.....she was smoking with her friends and she had a can of coke.....well i downed the whole thing......

Yup!....it was about three sips of coke and about five cigarettes worth of ashes......that was over twenty years ago and i remember it like it was five minuets Ago.....Ryan


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## Keith Neal (Dec 15, 2011)

jm2hill said:


> where'd you do that one?
> 
> that could be a hard thing to have on the menu!



That was in Africa, in the field, not a restaurant.


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## jm2hill (Dec 15, 2011)

Keith Neal said:


> That was in Africa, in the field, not a restaurant.



South Africa or one of the northern african countries? 

Did you do it on game type tour or something else?

I ask because my friends family owns quite a few hunting lodges in SA and I visit every year and it would be nice to hear someone else's experience.


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## Keith Neal (Dec 15, 2011)

jm2hill said:


> South Africa or one of the northern african countries?
> 
> Did you do it on game type tour or something else?
> 
> I ask because my friends family owns quite a few hunting lodges in SA and I visit every year and it would be nice to hear someone else's experience.



It was on a plains game hunting trip with Uhuru Safaris out of Thabazimbi, RSA. The food was terrific "in the field", though that was usually at the very comfortable hunting lodge. The Impala was actually in the field, lightly sauteed in butter and very good.


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## half_hack (Dec 16, 2011)

I know this isn't that uncommon or stange for chinese restaurants, but I distinctly remember the time I had stewed/steamed duck's feet. Can't say I cared much for the texture of the gelatinous webbing.


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## jmforge (Dec 16, 2011)

Two words...........bird snot!!!!! and they get top dollar for it!!!!!:lol2:


half_hack said:


> I know this isn't that uncommon or stange for chinese restaurants, but I distinctly remember the time I had stewed/steamed duck's feet. Can't say I cared much for the texture of the gelatinous webbing.


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## memorael (Dec 23, 2011)

I have eaten maguey worms and they taste really good. Reminds me of pork cracklings, some of them though had some interesting creamy filling... not bad but the texture was really awful at that point in time. Sea cucumber was pretty gnarly too.


jm2hill said:


> Apparently fried worms taste like bacon? Anyone want to confirm or do a taste test?


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## Adamm (Dec 27, 2011)

in culinaey school the chef cooked brains with scrambked eggs, it sounds gross butbit tasted just like scrambled eggs kinda weird.


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## El Pescador (Dec 27, 2011)

Growing up I was forced to eat menudo. I throw up now at first smell.


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## jmforge (Dec 28, 2011)

Adam, was the chef in question from Appalachia because apparently, that was not an uncommon dish there in the past. I somehow managed to avoid that and "lamb fries" in my youth in Kentucky.:lol2:


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## mr drinky (Dec 28, 2011)

When I lived in Yemen there was this disgusting dish called salta. It was boiled meat and veggies with a fenugreek froth on top. I had to fight down vomit every time I had to eat it. It was considered disrespectful to not eat it. They would also have a slaughtered goat and the Yemenis would often pass me the stomach lining and organs. All the best stuff to the guest.

k.


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## bobhoveyga (Dec 29, 2011)

El Pescador said:


> Growing up I was forced to eat menudo. I throw up now at first smell.




Hmm... never smelled or tasted menudo, but I do throw up when I listen to it.


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## joec (Dec 29, 2011)

Well I traveled through 94 countries over a 4 year span and usually ate with the natives. I learned early on if it tastes good don't ask what it is as it might turn your stomach. I've also eaten foods that would make a billy goat puke but on got really sick one time. If figures too, London, England, a fine restaurant and had Fish and Chips for lunch. 3 days later I finally figured I would survive along with several other patrons that day. Loved the United Kingdom but not a fan of their foods to say the least.


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## SpikeC (Dec 29, 2011)

http://www.gocomics.com/bliss/2011/...edium=gadget&utm_campaign=gadget_clickthrough


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