If you’ve ever watched Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods, you know that people around the world eat things that we find strange. From eyeballs to insects to all sorts of concoctions that sound unappetizing at best, those in other countries and cultures have varied palates. Just because you live in the USA or Canada, though, does not mean that you don’t eat some pretty weird foods at times. Here are a few from various areas of North America that might make others think, “how bizarre!”
Alligator Meat
Before visiting Florida several years ago, I had no idea that people actually ate the very reptiles that, as tourists, we were on the lookout for whenever we passed a canal or lake. We found ourselves at an alligator festival near the Everglades, though, and were surprised to be able to sample cooked alligator on a stick. It tasted like a mushy cross between shrimp and chicken. Most gator meat in the USA is served in the Deep South.
Chitterlings
Often called chitlins, this Southern “soul food” dish consists of boiled or stewed pigs’ intestines. Sometimes the cooked intestines are fried after being coated in batter, and served with hot sauce, mustard or cider vinegar. Chitterlings are often used as sausage casing as well; if you’ve eaten sausage, there’s a chance you’ve eaten this delicacy!
Scrapple
This is a dish that’s popular in the mid-Atlantic states, particularly among the Amish in Pennsylvania. In order to minimize waste during butchering, the scraps (such as the head, liver and heart) from pork are boiled, strained, mixed with flour, cornmeal, sage, thyme and other spices, and formed into a loaf of meat. This loaf is sliced and fried for serving, often at breakfast with eggs and a variety of condiments.
Ketchup Chips
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to dip a potato chip first in salt and then in ketchup? Neither have I, but I found out when I visited Canada and bought a bag of bright red ketchup chips. I found them salty and unpleasant, but I know that our northern neighbors find them delicious. If you go to Canada (or some of the northern states), give them a try.
Poutine
This is another Canadian bizarre food. Cover French fries with cheese curds, then turkey gravy, and you have poutine. It doesn’t look terribly appetizing, but from what I’m told, it’s a great comfort food! It’s high in fat and calories, to be sure, but if you’re on vacation, you can indulge! And if you live in Canada, you already know that it’s not a food for every day.
Every region has foods that those in other areas find strange, weird or just plain yucky. Even besides the less common “bizarre foods” listed above, visitors from other countries may find our foods and food habits strange: I’ve had European guests who found peanut butter and root beer to be utterly weird, and pizza consumption at breakfast time unacceptable. I once had a foreign house guest warn me that eating uncooked green beans could be detrimental to my health. Ideas about food differ greatly from place to place.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten on vacation?
