World's Grossest Foods

Usually, traveling comes with the added bonus of trying delicious new
cuisines. But, sometimes, that just isn't the case. In some ports of
call, locals like to spice up their dishes with maggots, insect eggs,
blood or deadly chemicals. But, hey, to each his own, right?

There is no shortage of gross food out there. But, here is a list of
10 cringe-worthy edibles to watch out for on the road.
Have you encountered any gross foods in your travels? Leave any
nastiness in the comments below, your fellow travelers will thank you.

10. Durian: This fruit is so notoriously gross and smelly that in
Southeast Asia it is prohibited from being brought into certain
buildings and onto public transportation. Durian is a love it or hate
it kind of a food. To some, it is the "king of fruit," to others it
has a taste and odor akin to garlic, armpits and gym socks - all
rolled into one. Hard and spiky on the outside, on the inside durians
have a pale yellow flesh with a custardy texture.

9. Hakarl: This Icelandic specialty is, in essence, rotten shark meat
though cured and fermented might be the more preferred description.
Gutted and decapitated sharks first spend 6-12 weeks buried
underground under gravel and rock weights to allow the fluids to
drain. At this point it might be good to mention that when fresh, this
species of shark is poisonous due to a high ureic acid content. After
the shark has leeched its poison juices, it's cut into strips and hung
to dry for several months, forming a delightful brown crust. The
crusts is removed, however, and the meat is served cocktail style, on
a toothpick.

8. Lutefisk: Another sort of putrefied fish, Lutefisk is a dish
popular in the Nordic countries. It's made from dried cod that has
been saturated with lye, which is, of course, poisonous. But a few
days' soak in cold water makes the fish edible. It has a jello-like
consistency and is typically prepared baked or boiled.

7. Century Egg: In this bizarre Chinese dish, eggs are preserved in
some combination of salt, tea, lime, wood ash, clay and rice hulls for
a few months. This process results in a petrified looking egg, with
the white becoming brown and jelly like and the yolk turning greenish
gray and creamy. They can be eaten straight up or as a component in a
variety of other dishes.

6. Kopi Luwak: According to some sources, this is the most expensive
coffee in the world. Funny, because much of the production is done by
an animal called a civet and its digestive system. The civet eats
fresh coffee berries (which are actually fleshy) and then defecates
the undigested coffee beans. These beans are collected, washed, sun
dried and roasted. Supposedly the pre-digestion produces a sweeter
brew for human consumers.

5. Tiet Canh: A nice, steamy bowl of soup, totally normal, right? Yes,
if that soup is expected to be based around a broth of blood.
Traditional in Vietnamese cuisine, this dish can be made in a variety
of ways. In one of the simplest preparations, blood is placed in a
bowl, chilled and eaten with crushed peanuts on top. The blood can
also be served in a pudding-like style for a little more texture.

4. Fruit Bat Soup: Speaking of the horrifying practice of cooking
things while they're still living, there's also fruit bat soup, a
popular dish in Palau. A simple dish, fruit bat soup is prepared by
boiling a live fruit bat in water or coconut milk. For those totally
repulsed, the site Animals Asia encourages people to send letters
expressing their disgust. Should we mention that these little guys are
also known as disease carriers?

3. Escamoles: In today's increasingly globalized world, the idea of
eating insects is becoming a lot less strange. But escamoles still get
our vote as one of the grossest creepy crawly edibles going. They are
the eggs of Liometopum ants, and these puppies are huge. They have a
cottage cheese like consistency with a buttery, nutty taste. They're
often prepared sautéed in butter and served taco style with guacamole.
So, make sure to take a closer look next time you order a taco in
Mexico.

2. Balut: Balut takes hard boiled eggs to a new extreme. This Filipino
delicacy begins with a fertilized duck or chicken egg. The bird embryo
is allowed to grow inside, not quite to maturity, at which time the
whole egg is boiled (yes, the embryo is still alive). The entire
contents of the egg are then eaten -- the brothy goodness around the
embryo is slurped up and the fetus itself is taken with a dash of salt
or perhaps a bit of chili and vinegar.

1. Casu Marzu: The name of this Italian delight roughly translates to
Sardinian maggot cheese. Ok, not really, but it really is cheese
that's been purposefully infested with maggots. To produce casu marzu,
a wheel of Pecorino is left outside with part of the rind removed to
allow the "cheese fly" to lay its eggs in the cheese. Though the
practice of making this stinky cheese may be centuries old, modern
health concerns have prompted Italian authorities to actually declare
Casu Marzu illegal. The icing on the cake? Those little maggots jump
into the air while the cheese is being consumed.
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