# What's the "weirdest" thing you've ever eaten? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 6, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620 "2013-05-06T14:56:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/1 "2013-05-06T14:56:35Z")
I don’t know how high on the weirdness scale this one goes, but I had deep fried alligator at a fair here once; I’ll probably get slapped for saying this, but it really did taste like chicken. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/2 "2013-05-06T14:59:18Z")
Sweetbreads, tripe, pickled deer heart (tasted like roast beef!). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/3 "2013-05-06T15:02:50Z")
Probably [mopane worm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonimbrasia_belina). Not that I consider that weird at all. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/4 "2013-05-06T15:03:27Z")
[Surstromming](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgV2imaOCao). (Video contains some foul language.) It really was that disgusting. Smells like a cross between a human corpse and a dog’s ass. It’s fermented herring. Doesn’t sound so bad when described as that (at least not to me), but several years ago (c. 2005), after hearing how foul this stuff was, I ordered it from a Swedish import company expecting to be disappointed. The smell is _intense_. And the folks who say “oh, it doesn’t taste as bad as it smells” are full of shit. It tastes exactly as bad as it smells (especially since taste is mostly related to smell.) ETA: The worst part for me was that I washed it down with some beer, so I was burping up that putrid taste for hours afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/5 "2013-05-06T15:25:14Z")
While I probably eat Brazilian barbeque about once a week, I just had my first corazao (chicken heart) last week (after people trying to get me to eat it for about 2 decades). I’m not a fan of the texture. I suppose it a taste that’s acquired, since many Brazilians (including my girlfriend) can eat a dozen of them during a meal. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/6 "2013-05-06T15:28:54Z")
The one that comes to mind is [fried silkworm pupae](http://foodtube.livejournal.com/2390.html). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/7 "2013-05-06T15:30:21Z")
The worst thing I’ve ever put in my mouth that theoretically is potable is some spring water from the mineral springs at Saratoga Springs park. People are actually able to collect this water to drink and/or bathe in. It tastes like what you drink in hell every day. It wouldn’t be so bad if it were just a pure sulphur taste. But it has some saltiness too which somehow adds depth and complexity to the rotten taste that puts it over the top somehow. It’s the only time I’ve retched from tasting something in my adult life. Thankfully I spit it out before I swallowed it or I may have actually heaved. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/8 "2013-05-06T15:33:57Z")
Peppered chicken liver with a garlic chocolate glaze. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/9 "2013-05-06T15:37:14Z")
My sister (as a teenager) once served the family a dessert of chocolate-covered olives. It was not a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/10 "2013-05-06T15:40:56Z")
Wow, after reading the previous comments on this thread, I feel as if I’ve had a pretty tame culinary life. The most unusual things I can boast of eating are ostrich, African Lion and alligator. At different times, not all together (though it might make for a heck of a meatloaf…). ---
**Author:** ![kcor1953](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kcor1953/32/3221_2.png) [@kcor1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kcor1953)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/11 "2013-05-06T15:41:03Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > While I probably eat Brazilian barbeque about once a week, I just had my first corazao (chicken heart) last week (after people trying to get me to eat it for about 2 decades). > > I’m not a fan of the texture. I suppose it a taste that’s acquired, since many Brazilians (including my girlfriend) can eat a dozen of them during a meal. From an American farm family, and we kids used to fight to eat the chicken heart. It would, like the rest of the chicken, have been pan fried. It does have a unique texture, among fired organs/tissue. But not unpleasant to me. We also used to fight over the cabbage heart. Not analogous except for its limited supply and how much we desired it. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/12 "2013-05-06T15:41:35Z")
Well, lutefisk. But that’s a family thing. Kangaroo-tail soup (was given a can). Camel stew. Oh, and I think she said her name was “Sunshine.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/13 "2013-05-06T16:02:35Z")
I’ve had some of the standards like sweetbreads, alligator, kangaroo, and tacos made with unusual animal parts, but the weirdest was probably some bull penis chowder in Jamaica that a guy was selling from a beat up cart. It was supposed to be an aphrodisiac, but I noticed nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/14 "2013-05-06T16:48:12Z")
Fricasseed (Polynesian) rat, in New Zealand. No, it didn’t taste like chicken. It tasted very much like rat. I would certainly not order it in a restaurant.🙂 In my opinion the tastiest rodents are Guinea pig (deep-fried, not boiled), and paca. Very much like pork. I’ve also eaten musk rat and squirrel. I’ve had buffalo (bison) burgers, as well as elk and red deer venison, and salted peccary in and Indian village in Panama. When I was a kid, I tried canned whale meat once, and kangaroo tail stew. As far as birds go, I’ve had ostrich, curassow, and guan. For reptiles, crocodile, alligator, and (a long time ago) turtle soup. And frog legs. > [@kcor1953](#): > > From an American farm family, and we kids used to fight to eat the chicken heart. It would, like the rest of the chicken, have been pan fried. It does have a unique texture, among fired organs/tissue. But not unpleasant to me. When I was a kid I loved chicken hearts fried in butter. My mother used to get packages at the store, since they were very cheap. Like chicken liver, but milder in taste and with a chewier texture. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/15 "2013-05-06T16:49:47Z")
Probably either lambs brains or goat spleens. Lamb brains aren’t bad, just a kind of unusual texture. Goat spleen is foul, avoid at all costs. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/16 "2013-05-06T17:13:33Z")
I have eaten chapulines (fried grasshoppers) in Oaxaca, Mexico. Pretty tasty. The chichanerias here have every part of the pig deep fried. Buch is a pig stomach stuffed with chopped meats and spices then fried. Morcilla is a pig intestine stuffed with blood, rice and spices then fried. Then, of course, all the organs are fried. And pig head parts, nose, ears, cheeks, eyes (all deep fried) are for purchase also. Never have seen a skinny person working in a chichaneria. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/17 "2013-05-06T17:34:55Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > I don’t know how high on the weirdness scale this one goes, but I had deep fried alligator at a fair here once; I’ll probably get slapped for saying this, but it really did taste like chicken. I won’t slap you, but I’ve had alligator too, and to me it tasted like baloney. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/18 "2013-05-06T17:49:42Z")
Pickled pig lips. Of course, if you’ve ever eaten Vienna sausage or Potted meat you’ve eaten the lips, snout and heaven knows what else. Still, plucking a delicious pig lip from the gallon jar of brine just adds to the experience. ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Pumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@Ms.Pumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Pumpkin)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/20 "2013-05-06T18:06:12Z")
I feel very sheltered - strangest for me would be deer or rabbit. _Yawn_ ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/21 "2013-05-06T18:25:29Z")
Probably chocolate-covered ants. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620.md?page=2)