 |
| Cuy (Guinea Pig) |
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been catching up on watching my recordings of the Travel Channel show Bizarre Foods America. In the show Andrew Zimmern travels around the U.S. seeking out “weird and wonderful” foods. When Andrew first came onto Travel Channel with his show Bizarre Foods, he traveled all over the world looking to see what the locals eat, learning a lot about the people and their customs.
While watching the show, it got me thinking. I decided to put together a top 6 list of odd foods that I’ve tried during my travels.
Here is my list (in no particular order):
1- Cuy- Guinea Pig: Peru
I had to try cuy on my visit to Peru. I decided to give it a try while spending a few days in Cusco. Getting over looking at the guinea pig was the first challenge. Trying to eat around all of the tiny bones was the next issue. Difficulties aside, I found the meat to be a bit greasy and gamey. There also wasn’t a whole lot to eat from the animal. Regardless of this, I think guinea pig is a must try if you visit Peru.
 |
| Purchasing the hormigas |
2- Hormigas Culonas- (Fat Ass Ants): Colombia
We saw a woman selling this delicacy in the main square in Bogota. After some thought, we decided to buy a small packet of the hormigas for about the equivalent of 50 cents US. Kim tried one first and got it down like a champ. I found them to be pretty disgusting and dry, which made them hard to swallow.. I offered a dog in our hostel some hormigas and he trotted off pretty fast. I’d give this a pass unless you really want to taste an insect.
 |
| Cow Heel Soup |
3- Cow Heel Soup: Trinidad
I first heard of this dish from Bizarre Foods. While at a (very) local food market one night, I wandered around and asked the vendors about their foods. I was offered a taste of Cow Heel Soup so I had to accept. It took a while for me to get up the nerve to take a taste of the cow heel. The thought of it alone skeeved me out. The texture was gelatinous and very hard to swallow. It’s not on my list of things to try again.
 |
| Mud- (on right ) |
4- Mud– Peru:
This might be the oddest thing I’ve ever tried. We were at a local village on a day trip while staying near Lake Titicaca. The locals had some mud, corn, cheese and other things set out. One of the villagers started to mix up mud in a bowl and offered everyone a taste. One guy stepped up and tried it. Then I dared another guy to go for it. He said if I would try it next he would give it a taste. We both tried the mud which was creamy and tasteless. I’m not sure what else anyone would expect here!
 |
| Sting Ray |
5- Sting Ray– Singapore:
The sting ray looked weird prior to being cooked but smelled great once it was brought to our table. This was one of the pricier dishes at a local hawker market in Singapore. The sting ray was a bit spicy due to the sambal (chili) rubbed on top. I was really impressed with how tasty the sting ray was. It also had great texture and was pretty heavy, almost comparable to a steak. I’d definitely order sting ray again and highly recommend trying it if you visit Singapore.
 |
| Sorry for the blurry Zebra! |
6- Zebra Carpaccio– Namibia:
Earlier in the day I had an incredible zebra steak for lunch so when I saw zebra carpaccio on the restaurant’s dinner menu, I had to give it a try. I’d say at least 6-7 people from my tour group ordered the dish as an appetizer. The meat was served raw and came thinly sliced. The zebra tasted very fresh and was covered with oil and parmesan cheese. Everyone really enjoyed the dish but my stomach did not agree with it the following morning. I’m not sure that the carpaccio was really to blame. Out of the group of us that tried it, only one other person besides me felt sick. I have to say though, I’ve avoided any kind of carpaccio since!
What are some of the oddest foods that you’ve ever tried? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
