Strangest Food Practices in the World
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Strangest Food Practices in the World
Eating is universal, everyone does it. It’s the how and what to eat is what makes various cultures
different. Our eating habits may seem normal to us, but others will always find some of them quite
strange, and those are what we will be looking at in today’s video.
From the proper way to use a fork in Thailand, to a dish that can literally kill you, here are some of the
strangest food practices in the world.
Don’t Stick a Fork in It
Despite what you may think, they don’t use chopsticks that much in Thailand. Don’t ask for chopsticks in
this country if you’re eating anything other than noodles, which is the only time it is acceptable. For
everything else, Thais prefer using spoons and forks like most of the world. However, this too comes
with a Thai-specific eating etiquette that you might find strange.
When eating, let’s say a bite sized piece of meat, don’t jab it with your fork. Even more importantly,
never ever use the fork to stick any piece of food into your mouth, Thai’s find that extremely rude and
improper. Rather, use your fork to gently nudge the piece of food onto your spoon, then use the spoon
to put the food in your mouth.
A Kinder Egg with a Special Surprise
The Philippines is a prime destination of foodies all over the world. Filipinos have a culture that is largely
based around food. If there is a reason to celebrate something, I guarantee you food will always find its
way into the equation. Furthermore, there are a lot of foods to try, some looking normal while others,
just downright strange. This falls into the latter category.
Balut is a Filipino delicacy that every foreigner should try, but not everyone would have the stomach for
for it. It’s basically a cooked fertilized duck or chicken egg, and like a Kinder Surprise egg, a treat is
waiting for you once you crack into it, in this case, a ducked fetus cooked in its natural juices complete
with beak, feathers, and feet. It doesn’t look appetizing, especially when out of the shell, but people
really swear that it’s the best thing that they’ve ever tasted.
Maggoty Cheese
The most dangerous cheese in the world, casu marzu is an Italian delicacy defined by its illegal status
and the maggots that infest it. Casu marzu comes from the Italian island of Sardinia, located in the
Mediterranian Sea. The cheese is made from sheep’s milk and it takes some time to make, but the
process itself is easy. When it’s finished, a casu marzu cheese should roughly contain thousands of
maggots.
And you are expected to eat this cheese, live maggots and all. I know what you’re thinking, at least kill
the maggots first, right? Well, no. Because Sardinian tradition states that once the maggots are dead,
the cheese is no longer safe to eat.
Due to the blatantly obvious health implications, the EU European Food Safety Authority have banned
the cheese. Therefore, those wishing to eat some casu marzu must go through the Italian black market.
Don’t Be a Fish Flipper
When eating a whole fish and you’ve already finished eating all the meat on one side, logic states that
you have to flip it over to get to the meat on the other side, right? Well, not when you’re eating fish in
China, especially in southern China and Hong Kong.
That’s because “flipping the fish” in Chinese is “dao yue”, which is a phrase that sounds very similar to
“bad luck”. Being a very superstitious culture, Chinese don’t want do anything that would tempt fate.
Also, they feel that flipping the fish is like saying the fisherman’s boat is going to flip over as well. So how
do you eat the meat on the underside of the fish?
Well, the most superstitious rarely even touch the meat at all, which goes with another strange Chinese
food tradition we will discuss next. That sounds like a waste of perfectly good food, so others simply
peel off the fish bone to get to the meat.
Leftovers are Fine
How many times has my mom gone ballistic every time I don’t finish every single bit of food on my
plate? Too many to count. Believe you me, if I somehow leave a solitary grain of rice on my plate, she
will go on a tirade about how lucky we are that we’re eating properly while some kids somewhere else
in the world has to go to bed without dinner. I have learned to appreciate that as I grew older but I bet
my mom would have an aneurysm if she eats in China.
Because in China, it is perfectly acceptable to leave a bit of food on your plate after eating. In fact, it is
considered a compliment.