The Most Extreme Foods People Eat Around The World

[FarCenter]

From fresh, crunchy locusts to eggs hard-boiled in urine, cultural ideas about what constitutes a delicacy vary drastically by region.

But the world is getting smaller, and ideas about what's acceptable to eat are changing. The U.N. recently told people to suck it up and learn to eat bugs, which are filled with protein and fiber.

And in the wake of the January's horse meat scandal in the U.K., many people wondered aloud: Why don't we eat horses when we eat cows and other similar mammals?

We found 18 amazing pictures of some of the most extreme cuisines from around the world, and it turns out that people living in Western nations are pretty picky when it comes to what they will and won't put on their plates.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/extreme-foods-from-around-the-world-2013-6?op=1

[onehandle]

1. Nattō is our most extreme food.

It's the stinky cheese of vegetable proteins.

[Igel]

6. Tell me about it.

We have natto no moto spores, basically. About once a month I boil up a kilo of dried soybeans, sprinkle an absurdly small amount of this stuff over them, mix well, spread the beans into pans, and let them rot in the oven at 105 degrees or so for 24 hours.

It goes against everything I was ever taught about food safety. Take food. Contaminate with bacillus. And let sit at a pleasantly warm temperature for a day. I used to think of yoghurt as extreme.

Last time I made some it was a weekday, so we weren't in the house from start to finish. We came home from work and my wife said I really needed to take out the trash. "That's not the trash. That's the natto--not that there's much of a difference." Our kid held his nose then took refuge in a distant part of the house because he couldn't stand the stench.

You left out that not only is it stinky, but there's that visually appealing ropy consistency to the slime that covers the soybeans.

I won't eat it. My wife has taken a liking to it.

[AsahinaKimi]

7. eeee?

I love Natto! Especially with eggs and rice!

[onehandle]

11. With sushi grade tuna slices on rice with scallions.

Love the sticky texture and web like strands that come up with each chopstick full.

[AsahinaKimi]

12. Natto Maki is good too

I had some tonight, oishiii ne!!

[onehandle]

14. That's how I have it most often.

My wife is a vegetarian and turned me on to it at various Japanese restaurants and sushi places when we lived in Atlanta.

Did you ever see the Nattō episode of Iron Chef?

[AsahinaKimi]

15. have never watched that show

Though people have told me about it. I will book mark for later, thanks.

[Gin]

2. Watching Globe Trekker and she had a King Cobra heart....in liquor.....killed in her honor

She almost gagged.....very unusual for her..she was in Vietnam..

[TheCowsCameHome]

3. I'm sorry I clicked that link.

[HolyMoley]

4. And for dessert...

[Posteritatis]

5. Camel or turtle meat is "most extreme" now? That's one incredibly sheltered author. (nt)

[KittyWampus]

16. Camel Hump, Finally. Interesting story from a Lebanese woman who is a foodie

http://www.anissas.com/camel-hump-finally/

[Igel]

8. Wimpy article.

Heck, oysters and baby octopus are more "extreme" than many of those foods, once you get past the minor shock value of eating pets or--the horrors of it all--something that's endangered.

Iron Chef routinely had more extreme ingredients.

http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/spanishterms/a/Jumil.htm strikes me as more extreme than any of the ones in the article. Not only are they insects, but you crunch them in your mouth while they're still alive.

I will grant you, the 30-varieties-of-penis hot-pot restaurant does have a certain yuck factor. Who knows where those things have been?

And if you keep kosher, or something like to kosher, then, well, most of them are pretty yucky. Just like oysters. And pork chops.

[KittyWampus]

9. Vegemite is pretty extreme. Not to mention Lutefisk.

[sufrommich]

10. Seriously,who's the first person to decide

eggs in young boys urine would likely be a tasty treat? Other than the shock value of that,deep fried giant spiders...just...no.

[kenny blankenship]

13. Balut, anyone?

One more time, a little clearer....