- Escamoles, Mexico
Escamoles are the larvae of a venomous ant species that lay their eggs deep down in the roots of agave or maguey plants in Mexico (so harvesting them is not a barrel of laughs). The larvae are said to have a consistency akin to cottage cheese and taste somewhat nutty; they’re normally eaten as the filling in a taco or omelet.
- Balut The Philippines
So it’s a hard-boiled egg. What’s weird about that? Think again because lurking beneath the innocent-looking shell is a tiny duck fetus that’s been boiled alive. Nice. To make it, fertilized duck eggs are incubated for up to 20 days and then cooked to create this gruesome delight. Eating the balut is an involved process. Crack it open, and you’ll see a tasty broth. It’s here where sensible people stop while the fearless go full throttle for that embryotic goodness. Take a trip to the Philippines, and you can casually devour this delicacy with a beer. But let’s be honest. It’s going to take more than that to wash this fowl dish down.
- Mice Wine China
Having a nice glass of wine is a much better idea . . . if it has baby mice in it. Then again, what’s wrong with a nice Merlot? Why is stealing mice from their parents and fermenting them in rice wine a better idea? Are we just throwing in all things that rhyme together? Let’s put some lice, dice, and an ancient sacrifice in there while we’re at it. Anyway, the baby mice are left there for around a year. Then it’s “probably safe” to drink this “health tonic.” The Chinese believe that it can help with asthma, although it apparently tastes like gasoline. We’ll stick with the Merlot, thanks.
- Shirako, Japan
As euphemisms go, this one’s a corker: shirako in Japanese means “white children” but refers to the sperm sacs of either cod, anglerfish or puffer fish. Looking like white blobs of goo or miniature brains, they are said to have a sweet custardy taste.
- Tuna eyeballs, Japan
It’s waste not want not when it comes to tuna in Japan; even the eyes are plucked out and served up cheap in supermarkets. To cook, simply boil or steam, and season with garlic or soy sauce. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it tastes a little like squid.!
- Mopane Worms Zimbabwe
Finally, we’re heading to a market in Zimbabwe where you’ll see the locals carrying cups of their favorite snack—the mopane worm. They are big, brightly colored beasts that have been collected from trees and had their guts forced out. Then they are fried.[10]Mopane worms are a form of caterpillar that apparently tastes like chicken. We’ll be the judge of that. Well, actually, we probably won’t.
