Disgusting Food You've Tried
Very interesting entries so far in this thread! And here are the ones I've tried, some by reference to the one on display at the Disgusting Food museums.
What I've learned is
- Sometimes the food we categorized as disgusting is just something we're not used to eating (bugs, inner part).
- It is disgusting when the texture / smell reminds you of something bad (rotten food, stinky feet, etc)
- Perhaps the food itself isn't disgusting, but how we got to the food is (how we treat the animal, or how we prepared it)
- If the food isn't actually food, but it's just laden with a bunch of chemicals (preservatives, unnecessary substances).
1. Roquefort Cheese
Growing up in Indonesia, the only cheese I'm familiar with is processed cheddar. Very mild, completely tasteless by European standard. I've been trying to get into the cheese culture and I am getting on quite good, but of all the five cheeses, I could only eat the roquefort. As you see my expression when I'm about to smell the next one.
2. Durian
The most controversial food in existence. In Southeast Asia I grew up with it and you either love it or hate it. The museum note said it smells like "a mix of rotten onion and raw sewage". When I was a kid, I hate it also, and the thing is, if you bring it in your car it will smell like it for days. As a grown up though, I started to love this fruit. It's super creamy like ice cream, and has this sweet, buttery with a bit of fermentation.
Tip: If you want to try durian in the future, you could start easy by trying an ice cream flavored durian, or just a tiny bit of it combined with other desert condiments.
3. Surströmming
I would bet that you'll never forget how this one smelled like. The taste itself isn't too bad, it is fermented fish, but it's the smell that's really horrible. The legend says you can get rid of bears in the wood with this smell. Opening a can in your apartment would guarantee nobody will visit you for the weeks to come.
4. Crickets
This is the fanciest plate of bugs I've ever had. I ate this in an upscale restaurant in Jakarta, and the bug is properly spiced, mixed with nuts and herbs. It's tasty although it feels a bit gimmicky. They are still not my favorite protein because of its earthy taste, plus I still shiver at the thought of finding a head when I flossed.
5. Kopi Luwak
One of the most expensive coffee in the world, and it's because it comes from a cat's poop (luwak/civet). I wonder how anyone came up with this idea (my guess is because in colonial Indonesia, we weren't allowed to drink coffee so someone might to try to extract the leftovers).
Taste-wise, it's good, although I couldn't find a great difference with other properly roasted good beans. Nowadays I don't want to drink this anymore because the bad treatment of the cats in the farms.
6. Century Old Egg
It's a common delicacy in the east, and I wonder why it was in the museum, really. Honestly, I didn't find it particularly bad or stinky. It's just something we put in congee.
7. Escargot
I've had the French version, but also in my hometown it's a common food to eat (although a smaller sized one).
8. Tripe
Again, it's a common food in Indonesia. I don't like the texture and I won't eat it again, but I don't find it particularly disgusting.
9. Coriander seeds
I know, it's weird. But it's on display in the museum. The smell could be rather bug-like, and I remember it exactly like when I accidentally ate some ants in my childhood.
10. Salty Licorice
For the longest time, I thought this one tasted like boogers. I still kind of think so, but it grows on me. I started to like it, which says, most likely, we can adapt to enjoy food we used to think as disgusting.
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