You are here:

Strange meal facts

Quite Interesting Facts

Helpful Tools

Select your bookmark

What is social bookmarking?

Strange meal facts

In North Africa and the Middle East, nomadic tribes feast on roasted camel. Thanks to their North African Empire, the French developed a taste for camel too, though in France the preferred dish is camel's foot.

Puffer fish are highly prized in Japan, but they can only be prepared by licensed chefs. This is because a mouthful of its liver can be fatal – around 20 people die from eating it in Japan every year. Symptoms of poisoning occur in 10 minutes; death follows in 30.

In some parts of Indonesia, bats are grilled or deep-fried. Fruit bats are skinned and the head and wings removed. The body is cut into cubes and stewed, while the wings are served in coconut milk.

In Mexico, tortillas are sometimes made with red and white Agave worms - the same worms found in mescal bottles. Their popularity largely stems from the belief that they are an aphrodisiac.

Kenya's Masai have an odd recipe for milkshake. They mix cow's blood with their daily milk, as they believe it makes them stronger. They collect the blood by shooting an arrow into the neck of the animal.

The Chinese are fond of eating honeybee larvae and the pupae of silkworms in stir fries. In some parts of the country fried scorpions and dragonflies are consumed.

In Columbia people fry or roast black ants to eat. The ants are chip-sized and have a smoky flavour. They are often served in cinemas and are actually quite a healthy alternative to popcorn.

The South Koreans love dogs, especially when served in stew. In Andean parts of
South America, you might be offered a delicacy known as 'cuy' - guinea pig roasted whole.

Strange foods can also be found closer to home. A traditional English breakfast may contain black pudding made from cow's blood, while the Scottish haggis is offal cooked in a sheep's stomach.