Wacky Foods Wanna BIte?

If you think your love of ketchup and peanut butter sandwiches is a bit off , think again. There are some pretty wild and bizarre foods out there that could make you either cringe or be curious .It's amazing what some people around the world eat. Then again our Twinkies and Cheetohs may seem strange to some too.

One of the oddest I've seen is the loofahs on display at Stop & Shop. Westerners use it for a skin slougher ,while some Chinese use it as a vital ingredient in meals. It essentially is a kind of zucchini when it's green (it becomes an exfoliant when it's dried out) and made into a garlicky stir fry.Another Asian plant ,the durian is eaten despite its' disgusting smell.It can either be compared to rotting flesh or dirty socks. Most hotels have banned it from its' kitchens because of the horrendous odor, yet it's popular in home cooking. Even worse is casu marzu from southern Italy. Translated it;'s means rotting cheese  and it;s crawling with live fly larvae.These little suckers give the cheese its' unique taste and it is an acquired one.

Many think rattle snake meat is right up there with wacky foods. Yet it could possibly be the tamest compared to what's on plates around the world. Norwegians love their lutefisk, a strange concoction of lye(!!!) and cod. We have the Vikings to thank for the  fish soaked in a combination of rainwater and birch ash.It's then reconstituted with a week of several soakings until it's safe to eat again. Lutefisk is usually a Christmas treat but there are lutefisk festivals here in the US as well. Hopefully there are no escamoles festivals in Mexico , celebrating - what else- ant caviar. Yup, they look like cannelini beans but are in fact giant black ant eggs.They have consistency of cottage cheese and supposedly have a nice buttery flavor.

No matter where you go in the world, there's bound to be some wacky food. One foodie's lutefisk is another 's casu marzu. Some are cringe worthy to us. Some have that special yum factor no matter how gross they are to other people around the world..