One of my favorite parts of traveling is sampling the local cuisine and finding out what all the fuss is about. Paella was a big part of my Spanish excursion, as were street crepes when I went to Paris. However, I felt okay about skipping black pudding when I went to the UK because, despite how popular some foods are in certain regions, their gore factor is undeniable. Just because these dishes are celebrated or steeped in tradition, it doesn’t make them any easier to stomach.
1. Black Pudding
Sounds like a rich, dark chocolate dessert, but it’s actually sausage made of congealed blood, usually from a pig or cow, and grains. It’s a traditional breakfast component in the UK. Photo source: dipfan (cc)
2. Sweetbread
Another food with a misrepresentative name, sweetbread is as far from a delicious after-dinner treat as you can get. Sweetbreads can be one of two varieties—stomach sweetbread is pancreas and throat sweetbread is thymus gland. Photo source: acme (cc)
3. Head Cheese
Head cheese is a more appetizing way of saying “meat jelly,” which is various animal (usually a cow or pig) head bits set in gelatin with herbs and spices. In Europe, it’s used as sandwich filling. Photo source: Bien Stephenson (cc)
4. Lutefisk
A holiday dinner mainstay in Norwegian households, lutefisk is whitefish that’s been dried and treated with lye, a caustic chemical. Photo source: hilderbrant (cc)
5. Balut
In the Philippines, duck or chicken eggs with almost-developed embryos inside are boiled and served with salt and pepper as a street-side snack. Photo source: wmy (cc)
