# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Latimera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/latimera/32/497_2.png) [@Latimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latimera)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/42 "2013-05-07T04:46:08Z")
In a little village in the Peruvian Amazon I had chicha once. Women make chicha by chewing cassava root and spitting the juice into a bowl. You can drink it freshly made, or fermented into a beer. I had it fresh. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/43 "2013-05-07T05:47:14Z")
Grasshoppers, baby bees in honey, freeze-dried caterpillars, chocolate-covered ants. But I guess the weirdest was vegetarian haggis. Itā€™s made with oatmeal, and somehow they make it taste just as repulsive as the real thing. ---
**Author:** ![NIKI50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/958977/32.png) [@NIKI50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NIKI50)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/44 "2013-05-07T05:52:38Z")
Back in the eighties I went to Germany with a friend to visit his family. Iā€™d never been overseas so it was very interesting seeing all the differences from the States. I donā€™t speak any thing other than English so it was an experience. I love trying new things so when his Uncle got excited over his favorite restaurant meal I said Iā€™d like to try it! It ended up being a lamb head cut in two vertically with all the body parts put back in their original places ,eye,tongue,brain etc. I ate it all, not gonna back out now! Never want to try it again. ---
**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 7, 2013, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/45 "2013-05-07T10:44:32Z")
> [@NIKI50](#): > > Back in the eighties I went to Germany with a friend to visit his family. Iā€™d never been overseas so it was very interesting seeing all the differences from the States. I donā€™t speak any thing other than English so it was an experience. I love trying new things so when his Uncle got excited over his favorite restaurant meal I said Iā€™d like to try it! It ended up being a lamb head cut in two vertically with all the body parts put back in their original places ,eye,tongue,brain etc. I ate it all, not gonna back out now! > Never want to try it again. Aah, yes, locally this is known as a ā€œsmileyā€ (because the roasting pulls the lips back off the teeth, I guess) ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/46 "2013-05-07T11:47:10Z")
Iā€™ve eaten raw horsemeat and raw chicken sushi, both in Japan. But the oddest thing Iā€™ve ever eaten was sea cucumber. Imagine eating pure gristle. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/47 "2013-05-07T11:48:28Z")
Iā€™ve also had alligator. It was blackened Cajun style. I, too, thought it tasted like chicken only it had the texture of steak. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/48 "2013-05-07T11:53:58Z")
Why are people saying squid? Is it that weird? Itā€™s certainly more common than crab. Things you guys might consider weird: sharkā€™s fin soup and birdā€™s nest. I try to avoid sharkā€™s fin now. Itā€™s just like gelatin anyway. Things I consider weird: mule (or is it donkey? Chinese isnā€™t very specific) and snake. Oh and chicken feet. I donā€™t like chicken feet. I have to say something about thousand year/century egg: most shows present it as a weird food and dare people to eat it. Thatā€™s because theyā€™re eating it wrong. Youā€™re not supposed to bite half of it and chew, like a hard-boiled egg. Thatā€™s like thinking soya sauce is a soup. Youā€™re supposed to cut it into small pieces and nibble it. Also, the ā€œwhiteā€ (now black) is the best part. The yolk is a bit too strong. Speaking of eggs, you might also consider salted duck egg weird. Theyā€™re justā€¦ salty. Here, the yolk is the best part. Itā€™s like hmm, a firm, salty piece of butter. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/49 "2013-05-07T12:13:57Z")
Iā€™ve had many of the ā€œweirdā€ foods mentioned; I hardly ever pass up an experience. Except. Maybe 25 years ago some goofy friends had a baby and I was invited to come over and share in the placenta. No thanks. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/50 "2013-05-07T12:19:11Z")
Probably conch. Sweetbreads sound strange but theyā€™re so danged good itā€™s hard to call them weird. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/51 "2013-05-07T12:41:49Z")
I was just telling someone about my experience at a salad bar. I had a little plate of lettuce and put a few items on top - beets, olives, cucumbers, and on the side, a scoop of pasta salad. Pasta salad was remarkably chewy. In fact, downright gristle-ly. Squid tentacles cut into rings, looking like big white pasta circles! It was the awful, gross texture! Never came across squid salad again. Ewww. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/52 "2013-05-07T12:55:12Z")
Youā€™ll like it better fried as calamari. ---
**Author:** ![OtisCampbellWasRight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@OtisCampbellWasRight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtisCampbellWasRight)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/53 "2013-05-07T13:18:15Z")
I hate to be the turd in the punchbowl, but if youā€™ve eaten a hot dog - especially a store brand/non-kosher - youā€™ve consummed some pretty nasty animal bits. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/54 "2013-05-07T13:29:04Z")
I have eaten road-kill rattlesnake (it was still alive when I found it, recently hit by a car, clearly dying). I cooked it on a stick over a camp fire and didnā€™t enjoy it much. I have eaten muskrat, which tasted similar to squirrel and rabbit. **Mangetout** needs to visit this thread. That guy will eat anything. ---
**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 7, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/55 "2013-05-07T13:49:52Z")
I ate the bones. I ATE THE BONES!!! Seriously, the first time I ate chicken when I was a kid, it was at a barbeque. I had no idea that I wasnā€™t supposed to eat the bones. The chicken tasted so good that I wanted more, and I thought that they wouldnā€™t give me more until I finished what was already on my plate. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/56 "2013-05-07T13:50:14Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I have eaten muskrat, which tasted similar to squirrel and rabbit. What does squirrel taste like? Iā€™ve hunted and eaten lots of rabbits but the squirrels I started to clean were covered with fleas so I choose against it. I know Mrs. Kay and Phil on DD love squirrel brains but Iā€™m pretty sure Iā€™ll never go to that extreme. ---
**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 7, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/57 "2013-05-07T14:17:09Z")
> [@OtisCampbellWasRight](#): > > I hate to be the turd in the punchbowl, but if youā€™ve eaten a hot dog - especially a store brand/non-kosher - youā€™ve consummed some pretty nasty animal bits. :eek: It really does depend on the hot dog. I donā€™t mind ā€œlips and assholesā€ in my dog (itā€™s all ground up anyway, and no sense in throwing away perfectly edible meat), but if you buy something like, say, Vienna Beef hot dogs (which are not kosher), theyā€™re made 100% from whole beef muscle meat (I believe brisket) and beef fat. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/58 "2013-05-07T14:30:13Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > What does squirrel taste like? Iā€™ve hunted and eaten lots of rabbits but the squirrels I started to clean were covered with fleas so I choose against it. I know Mrs. Kay and Phil on DD love squirrel brains but Iā€™m pretty sure Iā€™ll never go to that extreme. Tastes are so hard to describe. The closest thing to squirrel that I have tasted is cottontail rabbit. In all three cases, squirrel, rabbit and muskrat, I had it in stew. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/59 "2013-05-07T14:43:28Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Hmm. My ā€œweirdā€ food is downright normal compared to many of these. Iā€™ve had octopus, and escargot, and squid, the latter in several forms. And, as someone observed above about alligator, if properly prepared, squid can taste like chicken (not so octopus, which in my opinion has the chewy consistency of Old Inner Tube) > > But the weirdest thing Iā€™ve had wasā€¦ ā€œItā€™s calfā€™s brain.ā€ > Iā€™ll add that this was before we all knew about Mad Cow Disease/Creutzfeldt-Jakob/prion-caused illnesses. I havenā€™t read the whole thread, but the things Iā€™ve seen mentioned so far are normal foods ā€“ or treats, if I only occasionally have access to them. Alligator? Yummy; fried, or in sausages. Escargots? I make them at home. (And the SO thinks theyā€™re better than what we get in restaurants. We eat calamari so often, weā€™re starting to pass it over. And squid and sea cucumber is good in seafood fun chow. Octopus sushi, of course; and uni (sea urchin). My coworker thinks itā€™s gross that I eat raw oysters, and that I eat the prawn heads when I have Vietnamese or Chinese food that has whole prawns in the dish; but those things are not unusual or weird at all. So I guess I havenā€™t eaten anything ā€˜weirdā€™. We watch _Bizarre Foods_], and most of the stuff Andrew Zimmern stuffs in his gob looks really tasty. Do SPAM salad sandwiches count? Most people have to be coaxed into trying them, because theyā€™re made with SPAM. But really, thereā€™s virtually no difference between a SPAM salad sandwich and a ham salad sandwich. Iā€™ve always wanted to have **CalMeacham** secret dish. I used to not eat it because itā€™s like pure cholesterol. Now I wonā€™t eat it for the same reason he mentions at the end of his spoiler. ---
**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 7, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/60 "2013-05-07T15:03:59Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > But the strangest meal Iā€™ve ever had was at a hot pot restaurant that specialized inā€¦duck throat. My friends took me there, and so I ate a nice big pot of duck throat. Apparently this is not just something people eat, but something people go out of their way to eat in great quantity. I still wonder how many ducks throats I chowed down that night (FWIW, it was presented as a bunch of rubbery squares.) I certainly saw plenty of duck tongues and duck heads as snacks in China (not to mention duck feet, duck blood soup, etc.); I guess the throat is not a big stretch. I presume you mean the esophagus or trachea and not just the neck? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620/61 "2013-05-07T15:05:22Z")
On photo safari in Tanzania, 1987. At Seronera Lodge we were served zebra steaks - or at least thatā€™s what we were told it was. It was a long time ago now, but I recall it being pretty much like beef, except maybe slightly sweet. My mom wouldnā€™t touch hers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-thing-youve-ever-eaten/657620.md?page=4)