Food traditions can be comforting, but they can also be bizarre. A recent Reddit thread asked people to share the most bizarre dish from their country, and the answers ranged from fried ants in Colombia to a Canadian cocktail served with a preserved human toe. Yes, you read it right.
The story
Someone recently asked the community on Reddit, “What’s the most bizarre dish from your country?” They also shared what they find most strange: “Rocky Mountain Oysters. The name is misleading; they aren’t oysters at all but deep-fried bull testicles, often served in North American bars.”
From there, people from all over the world shared what they find the most bizarre food from their home countries, or what they have tried elsewhere. Some were defended as tasty despite their reputations, others made even locals shudder, and a few had readers wondering if humanity had gone too far in the name of tradition.
The reactions
From Colombia, someone mentioned a dish that usually shocks outsiders: “Deep-fried ants…” A reply followed almost instantly: “I would probably eat that. It sounds just a bit easier to eat than crickets.” Another person added their firsthand experience: “I’ve tried this when visiting Bogota a few years back. I recall they tasted surprisingly nutty.”
Ants and other insects have been part of the diets of people across South America for centuries. The only thing that concerns us is how they get the ants to the frying pan.
A person from Scotland brought up a dish that felt unusual for him: “Deep-fried pizza. Surprisingly good and probably worth the 5 years of your life you take off.” Someone else responded by saying, “Scotland keeps surprising in the ‘we can deep fry this!’ category.”
I recall trying fried pizza in Naples! It’s surprisingly delicious, but sure, it´s not the lightest choice if you are on a diet.
One person from Ireland added a dish made with pig blood and sheep’s stomach, “Packet and Tripe; sheep’s stomach lining (tripe) and pig’s blood sausage (packet) served cooked in milk with onions and breadcrumbs…”
Blood sausage alone already divides people, but boiling it in milk made even some locals in the thread hesitate. Maybe not every traditional food is as cozy and appetizing as we thought.
Sweden’s famous food (well, that’s what social media has led us to believe it is) was harder for many to imagine eating. One commenter didn’t mince words: “Surströmming. I have no idea why anyone wants to eat that.” Surströmming is a can of fermented herring that’s notorious for its overwhelming smell, strong enough that people often open it outside.
While many go against this dish, some people say it’s exaggerated, as one person said, “Surströmming is just fermented herring. Tons of things can be fermented, nothing that strange.”
But a reply pushed the conversation further, pointing out a dish that’s arguably even more bizarre:
“Where Swedish food gets really mental is Lutfisk. Fish that has been spending a week in a bath that contains calcium hydroxide and has a pH of about 12 (roughly the same pH as bleach). Making it not just the possibly most basic food item in the world, but so basic that if you get that liquid in your eyes, you should rinse them and get to the hospital.”
This fish may make sense to those who have grown up around it, because to outsiders, it sounds like chemistry class gone wrong.
Now, moving on to the United Kingdom. Not many know the country has its own fair share of bizarre food items, as one commented,
“Stargazy pie. Basically, a fish pie with the heads looking up.”
The idea of staring into the eyes of your dinner creeps people out more than the taste itself. A reply summed it up: “This is terrifying and funny at the same time.”
Historically, it was meant to celebrate fishermen’s variety of catches, but in practice, it’s hard to get past the visual.
One user mentioned a dish from Italy, “Casu Marzu. It’s cheese… with insect larvae in it.” This Sardinian delicacy is banned from commercial sale, but people continue to eat it. Alongside that, they also mentioned, “Cervelli Fritti. Fried brains.”
Italians aren’t shy about using every part of the animal, but brains are definitely one of those foods that divide people right down the middle.
Someone from New Zealand also shared what they consider bizarre but locals love to eat, “Kina. Sea urchin eaten raw. Oh, and Huhu grubs, also eaten raw and alive. They say they taste a bit like peanut butter.”
If you’ve ever tasted fresh sea urchin in sushi, you’ll know it has a creamy, briny flavor. But grubs? Describing them as peanut-buttery almost makes it sound appealing, until you remember they’re alive.
From the Arctic, Alaska’s traditional dish got people curious. One comment explained: “Alaska ice cream. Athabaskan Alaska natives make it with a fat (whale, seal, caribou, sometimes just Crisco) meat, like pike or dried moose, and berries. Mix it all up until it’s light and fluffy.” A reply described it vividly: “Tastes like wedding cake icing with a subtle fish flavor.”
The most bizarre food from Canada, you’d not think it’s real, “Sourtoe cocktail. There is a hotel bar in Dawson City, Yukon that will serve you a shot of alcohol containing a genuine, mummified human toe.”
The rule is that your lips have to touch the toe for the drink to “count.” As they say, “You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow, but your lips have gotta touch the toe”.
The drink itself has a wild backstory. In the 1920s, a Yukon rum-runner named Louie Linken lost his toe to frostbite after stepping into icy water during a run. His brother chopped it off with an axe, doused it in rum, and kept it preserved in a jar.
Decades later, the toe was found in an old cabin by Captain Stevenson, who turned it into the infamous Sourtoe Cocktail tradition. Since then, more than two dozen toes have been donated to keep the ritual alive.
The takeaway
Reading through the thread reveals how much taste depends on one’s background. Fried ants in Colombia or lutfisk in Sweden might seem outrageous, but for the people who grew up with them, it’s their tradition that they are still keeping alive. What one person sees as disgusting can be another’s comfort.
The truth is, most of these dishes were born out of necessity, utilizing what was available, stretching ingredients, or finding ways to preserve food before the advent of refrigeration.
Dining and Cooking