Weird & Bizarre Foods Around the World
You won’t believe some of these strange delicacy foods! Are you ready for a unique culinary adventure?
Those who travel (and immerse themselves in other cultures) will tell you that some delicacy foods eaten by others across the globe are just plain weird. Especially if you’re typically used to eating a fairly unadventurous diet!
Buckle up, because it’s time to take a wacky and weird food adventure together from the comfort of your own home. We’ve gathered some of the weirdest foods from across the world in this list and can’t wait for you to check it out.
Would you try any of these strange delicacy foods?
1. Bird’s Nest Soup, China 
2. Turducken, USA
Next up on the menu is an American weird food classic that is typically eaten around Thanksgiving time – the Turducken. The basic recipe of a turducken consists of a deboned chicken that is then stuffed into a deboned duck, which are both stuffed into a turkey. Turkey + duck + chicken = Turducken! This unique dish was born in Louisiana, but the Turducken has quickly become a crazy holiday tradition that spans across the United States.
3. Tuna Eyeballs, Japan
Let’s take a quick trip to Japan for this next bizarre food that consists of the cooked eyeballs of a tuna fish. While most people have tried sushi or sashimi, these eyeballs are a more unique Japanese delicacy for those who may be looking for something special. Tuna eyeballs are most often prepared as an appetizer or bar snack in Japan. Once cleaned and prepared, the eyeballs are usually boiled and then are seasoned with some simple ingredients like soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and ginger. When ready, the inner contents of the tuna eyeball (lens, iris, gelatinous fluid) can be simply sucked out like bone marrow.
4. Maggot Cheese, Sardinia
When it comes to Italian or Sardinian food, many might dream of the staple classics like pasta, wine, or pizza. But nothing compares to the bizarre delicacy that is named “casu marzu” which translates into “rotten cheese”. This bizarre food uses a well-aged pecorino cheese as the base and is sprinkled with insect larvae throughout. Now banned for health reasons, casu marzu is still wildly popular on the black market for its unique flavouring and texture. The best part of this weird exotic food? The maggot cheese must be eaten when the insects are still alive in the cheese because once they die, the delicacy is considered toxic.
5. Excrement Coffee, Indonesia
Known as “kopi luwak”, this weird exotic food has been farmed for generations in Indonesia. Today, this delicacy food is also widely known as “cat poop coffee” because of the unique process that the coffee cherries undergo before making it into your cup. Wild Asian palm civets are picky eaters and often only eat the most ripe coffee cherry fruit before digesting and excreting the whole coffee beans. This digestion and excretion process was said to produce a “smoother cup of coffee” and has been touted for its potential health benefits. Kopi luwak is one of the most expensive cups of coffee in the world, with a price tag of about $35 to $100 dollars per cup! Today’s kopi luwak production no longer involves wild civets which has caused this bizarre food to be heavily criticized due to the conditions that the cats are often kept in.
6. Haggis, Scotland
It wouldn’t be a bizarre food list without the unique Scottish delicacy known as “haggis”. This weird exotic food is actually the National Dish of Scotland and is not for the faint of heart! Haggis is traditionally made from a sheep’s heart, liver, lungs, and some other spices and savoury elements. The pudding is then stuffed into the casing of an animal’s stomach and cooked. Today, the casing is usually artificial for both convenience and health reasons. Haggis is banned as an import into the USA due to the sheep’s lung component. However, this unique delicacy food is fairly easy to find in Scotland and throughout the UK if you’re feeling adventurous on your next trip!
7. Cuy Guinea Pig, Ecuador
The next weird exotic food on the list comes from Ecuador. Yes, this traditional dish is cooked guinea pig (the same kind that people often keep as pets). In Ecuador, guinea pigs are raised as farm animals just like any other livestock across the globe. Traditional preparation of this delicacy food includes placing the guinea pig on a spit and roasting it slowly over a bed of coals. The cuy guinea pig meat is then brushed with butter and spices and served with simple side dishes like potatoes, rice, or fresh pico de gallo. Some foodies describe guinea pig meat as being comparable to duck or rabbit in texture and flavour!
8. Snake Wine, Vietnam
Rounding out this list is a delicious beverage (with a bite)! In Vietnam, this unique snake wine is consumed for its perceived medicinal purposes. The wine is made by simply placing a venomous snake in a bottle of rice wine and letting it steep for months or years. The ethanol of the rice wine actually neutralizes the venom, which means that the drink is not dangerous when consumed. Some describe the taste of the wine as a rice wine flavour with a fishy chicken finish that can include some savoury herbs and spices for a heightened flavour profile.