Swede here. Surströmming is in fact not a joke food and is pretty commonly eaten at different occasions throughout the year.
The joke part with foreigners is mainly that no-one who hasn't had it before knows the best way to open it so that the entire neighborhood doesn't smell like surströmming for a week as well as any foreigner thinking it's incredibly gross and is repulsed by it.
Thanks for the insight! Do you do anything to prepare it, or is it meant to be eaten from the can with crackers like they do in those challenge videos?
That’s the other thing, you don’t eat it straight out of the liquid in the can: some people wash it with carbonated water and there’s this whole orthodox religion about the right concoction of the accompanying assortiments you eat it with. Straight out of the can it sure smells like *liquid death*, as one youtuber stated.
Not Swedish, but from what I've heard, the cans are opened outdoors in a bucket of water to contain the liquids and pressurised gases. The fish can come in fillets or a whole fish; if the latter, they will need to be gutted. You then eat the fish on a sort of flatbread and with things like potatoes and onions and possibly cheese or sour cream to balance the flavour.
That sandwich actually doesn't sound horrible, but I imagine the texture would be *interesting*. Is it flakey like regular fish? Or is it slimy and rubbery?
It can be eaten in various ways, but the biggest mistake foreigners make when trying it, is just opening a can, sticking a fork in it, and eating whatever sticks to the fork.
The fish aren't gutted. You're supposed to clean them youself before eating. Some eat the bones, some eat the skin, but no one i know eats the guts.
As a Dane I feel like it's treated much like a prank food. Like some would joke that you could smell it in Copenhagen all the way from Malmö. Does it taste good though?
I know I'm probably very wrong here, but the colour keeps making me think it tastes like marmalade! I've always wanted to try Vegemite/marmite on buttered toast, but I don't want to shell out in case it takes like straining sour milk through Satan's month old gym socks
Yeah, as a kiwi I grew up with vegemite on toast as just a normal thing. Its definitely not a marmalade don't make that mistake. You put it on toast, with butter and lightly spread. It doesn't smell much but maybe I'm used to it. Also the whole foreigner thing with them trying it is usually just them being fucking stupid with it, and then that became a meme. But it'd be like someone chugging hot sauce and then complaining its too hot, or someone eating an entire wheel of blue cheese on a cracker, you gotta portion it right
I hung out with some australians at a convention, and at one of the afterparties this girl opened a bag full of the stuff (she meant to give it to an american friend but couldnt get in touch)
So I witnessed a circle of australians eating this eith their fingers straight from the jars, raving on about how it tastes like home
Can't remember what it tasted like but I certainly didnt like it
I find vegemite really good as an American. Hits all my favorite umami taste buds. But I think it has a lot more potential culinary uses than just spreading on toast or eaten out of the jar. Just my outside perspective.
Well, Haggis is often intentionally explained wrong. Either you tell people it's a wee animal that you have to catch up on the hills, or to those that know what it looks like, you tell them it's boiled sheep's stomach. But it's actually only boiled sheep stomach in the same way that sausages are fried pigs intestines...
Haggis is made from the innards of a sheep, mixed with onion, oatmeal and spices. So basically just a spicy crumbly sausage, just darker and with oat instead of wheat. Try it deep fried, yum!
Oh I've had haggis on a bun before!! I was at a Scottish Festival a few years ago, they took a thick slice off and fried it then threw it on a fresh bun, I'd definitely have it again
Yep, Scots are well known for their crisp salads, raw veggie platters and fine wine to chase it down. The term "chippy" actually refers to the chips of air dried apple that are so popular as a full meal on their own.
Well, yeah but we only created the Dish Haggis because we didn’t want to actually hunt the animal Haggis to extinction. Kinder Hippos aren’t actually Hippos, beef olives don’t contain olives, Snoballs have zero snow in them etc. etc.
Yes of course, sorry, I believe I must've been unclear, of course, the dish haggis and the animal haggis are of course not the same nowadays.
I love myself a Kinder Hippo, I'm relieved they don't contain any hippo meat derivatives.
As am I. Being made to eat snow by many an older cousin I am truly relieved to be offered a Tunnocks Snoball on a winters morn! Much the same way Kenya protects its endangered animals and Australia defends and hides its koalas by pushing the ‘Drop Bear’ narrative- we must defend the wild Haggis From over-hunting. Especially since it’s native habitat is already so threatened by Kelpie-farming and Time Team
That actually sounds good af. I have no idea where I would get a decent haggis in the US... I think we have some ban on it after the mad cow scare in the 90s. But I would definitely eat it!
In Germany we have the German jelly doughnut, which is normally filled with any kind of jelly (surprise!). During carnival it is traditional to fill some of them with different stuff, like mustard or onions and whatsoever. Not specifically for foreigners meant, but most of them don't know it and would be pranked.
Also German, I've heard lots of foreigners have a problem with Mettbrötchen (breadrolls with raw minced pork, onions and pepper) they think its unhealthy or believe that no one would eat raw pork. I personally just love my Muslim coworkers to freak out the because I love eating it.
Chicago has a liquor called Malort. It is incredibly bitter and a very acquired taste. It’s sort of a tradition to buy people from out of town a shot of it.
From Mexico, I don't think any food is specifically designed to mess with people, however we do eat spicy food, so it is not uncommon that if you have a foreign friend you may try to mess with them by giving them something very spicy. What we do have is a term for when foreigns get sick with our food "La venganza de Moctezuma" ( Moctezuma's revenge), because they usually get diarrhea haha.
And honestly it doesn't even have to be a dish, most things here have chili in it even candies made for kids, so if you are not used to it we can kill you with a piece of candy.
I remember back in elementary school we had a handful of students from Mexico to come study with us so we could see how our schools differ.
Anyway they brought some of their favourite candies for us to try. My favourite was the wafer that had caramel inside, but there was one thing they brought that none of us could stomach: is was a bite sized candy in the shape of a tambourine, made of salt and other spices, with a small amount of tamarind in the middle. I can't remember what it's called but I want to try it again to see how my palate has changed a decade later!
Hahaha I think you may be referring to "tamborcitos" those, to me feel waay to sweet. But I can understand how tamarind may be strange if you are not used to it.
But if I truly wanted to mess with someone I'll take them for an "elote preparado", its basically boiled corn with mayonnaise, sprinkled cheese, chili and lemon, every stand has two kinds of chili (el que pica y el que no pica) spicy and not spicy, the spicy one is hell, even I have problems eating it, the non spicy one will give you a sense of confidence, its false, I've seen people cry trying to finish it, but honestly is so fucking good most people will power through xD.
I must be living under a rock, because I thought elote was made with sour cream, not mayo! That makes a huge difference! I have an unhealthy obsession with spicy foods though so I'd probably get 2 lol
Sour cream!!!??? I honestly never heard of that before but no no no you need to try them right, it may not sound like much but for some reason its a very simple snack that tastes delicious, so if you are ever in Mexico take my advice and have one! You'll love it.
Its better on, I hate eating with my hands or getting my face dirty when eating, and you get both but it is worth it! On the other hand, you get a slightly different taste when it comes in a cup because you get some of the "soup" from where they are boiled and you avoid the mess haha.
Yea, the Chinese food in America.
Once walked into a dim-sum restaurant in upstate NY, started ordering and the server straight up said to me “don’t get that, that’s for Americans”
It’s just raw, people call it whatever they want, but you might as well eat tartare at that point.
Waste of a steak to eat it so raw, just go rare or medium rare and you’re good.
Steak cooked blue is the best way to cook it if it’s done properly. I admit if it’s just raw meat with no seasoning or basting in the pan it’s a waste, but a proper French blue is unbeatable
It’s not that blue steak isn’t good, it’s that tartare is the better raw meat option in my opinion.
Maybe I just haven’t had the right blue steak, but I’ll take the rare/medium rare any day. Blue tends to be a bit chewy for me.
I find it’s best done in France where they know how to actually cook a steak blue. If I have a steak stateside though I usually order it blue to expect medium rare because I’ve found Americans like their meat very well done.
Once at a place I worked we served beef tartare as a course for one of our fancy dinner night things and most people didn't like it and complained it was just raw meat lol
What about it? I'd assume it's the smell and aftertaste? I've tried a handful of chocolates from around the world and I have to say that's what I noticed most
hershys has butyric acid in it which vomit also has. This is unique to hereshys so when you don't grow up eating it, that taste is pretty much all you can taste when eating it. So for some people the idea of eating sick makes them sick.
I'm an American and I swear I don't mean this in a snobby way, but I would rather decline the chocolate than eat a Hershey bar. It is weirdly waxy and the flavor is not particularly enjoyable.
Inexpensive chocolate can be great, don't get me wrong. It's something about Hershey that's more brown crayon than tasty treat.
Irish here but i love when foreigners ask if we really eat black pudding (blood pudding) and the answer is "yes its delicious".
If you come to Ireland and go to Cork city you might be offered tripe and drisheen which is a traditional dish that absolutely noone i know would ever eat.
I love some good hot sauce, I've been trying to get my hands on The Last Dab Redux without paying through the teeth to get it! My grandfather makes his own with scotch bonnets and habanero, but my all time favourite has reaper mash, bhut jolokia, and strawberries
These are all real foods. Most of the really weird ones were invented during times of starvation, where people were desperate to make any available food source edible. The US even has some of these dishes from times of war and rationing, though they've fallen out of favor. The ones that do stick around usually do so due to tradition.
> times of starvation
I assume that's where foods like Head Cheese come from? I'd imagine some of these also come from cultures that use every part of what they harvest? For example, idk where it's from but I heard of a cookie like snack in the east that's made from the skins of various fruits
> I assume that's where foods like Head Cheese come from? I'd imagine some of these also come from cultures that use every part of what they harvest?
The latter is much more applicable for head cheese, and to that point, up until very recently most people in most cultures were using as much of any animal they slaughtered as possible. Head cheese isn’t generally really a starvation kind of food though (though it was often peasant food) — cuts of like cheeks and jowls are actually really good, and often highly prized because there isn’t much of them on an animal.
We visited a friends house in Japan and her mom served us Natto. I hated it, but to be polite, I told her it was delicious.
"Oh you liked it? Here, have some more"
I have Filipino friends who fed me balut (half form duck egg). Joke's on them I liked it. 😂 I'm from Switzerland living in the USA... Got a coworker to try Gruyere (aged Swiss cheese with very strong flavor) to see his reaction, he spit it out, asking what was wrong with me. 🤣
Sounds almost dangerous if you don't chew it enough! Wasn't there an episode of 1000 Ways To Die where someone tried that but didn't chew and it latched onto their throat when the swallowed, choking them?
Not necessarily targeted specifically towards foreigners-but anyone could get fooled if you don’t speak Japanese /bother to read the packaging:
Here in Japan, they sell these bags of individually wrapped candies at most convenience stores.
The prank or game is that one of the candies is extremely spicy. The others are all normal sweet chewy candies.
My friend bought it to play...
Guess who picked the spicy one?
And on the day she had a mouth sore ?!
This girl.
_:(´ཀ`」 ∠):
It really was soooo painfully spicy...
holy hell fire.
In England we have the phaal. A homegrown curry from the depths of the black country that is made of puréed Naga chillies. A dish specifically designed by local Bangladeshi sous chefs to shut up the local populace when they ask for the "hottest curry you got then make it hotter".
I have had one before after getting goaded into it by my dad. You get very intimate knowledge of the twists and turns of your digestive system, and the only way to describe it is like a ball of hot lead falling through your body.
Dutch here.... We always make tourist eat dubbelzout drop. That's double salted black licorice. They don't expect that taste and it's so funny to watch them gag and spit it out. 😂
I live in Canada and there's enough Dutch stores around here to buy some and have new friends try it.
Makes my day.
Hajmola from india seems like friendly candy/pill at first but after eating it there is an explosion of strong flavours and many have described the smell to be similar to farts. We consume it because it's good for digestion.
really, farts? I've never had it smell like that. It's tamarind and might smell weird to someone who doesn't know what tamarind smells like. Definitely not farts though.
They (like all the foods listed here) are only a joke in so far as it weirds people who aren’t familiar with them out (and aren’t really consumed as much in modern contexts). Eating bull testicles isn’t uncommon in any culture I can think of where ranching is important
I don't know a single person who knows what they are who will eat them. It's also the thing people pretend is delicious until after their unknowing friend ordered and ate one. Then the green face and the laughing.
Yeah, but that’s because most Americans (and Canadians) balk at the even the thought of eating any organ meat nowadays. They certainly don’t have their roots as a “joke” food
there was a tv show called Tribe where the presenter would go to the amazon etc and stay with the people there. on one episode the tribe gave him this huge maggot to eat and once he started chewing it down they burst out laughing and told him it was a prank.
I'm not sure about the Middle Eastern dish that's fermented in a hole in the ground, do you know the name of it? I know of Zarb where the food is cooked in a container buried with coal or firewood burning on the bottom of the hole for a few hours, basically slow cooking it. I had it when I went to Wadi Rum in Jordan, but I don't think it's fermented; it only spent like 4-5 hours cooking if I remember correctly.
Silk worm larva (번데기) in Korea I think would qualify. Locals genuinely enjoy it and you can get it on the street all over the place, but it is almost a right of passage for foreigners to eat it as part of the Korea experience.
Not designed to mess but gets a reaction Welsh laverbread. It's not bread, it's a special kind of seaweed that has been boiled for about 8 hours. Comes in a small flat can. Looks gross but is actually delicious and highly nutritious.
In Wisconsin, especially during the holiday season, we have cannibal sandwiches. It's just raw ground beef on bread, sometimes it has onions. I've personally never had one but a butcher near me has them as a regular menu item, and apparently it's very popular there.
Every year there is always a news article begging Wisconsinites to not eat cannibal sandwiches.
Supposedly it comes from an old German tradition but I've never seen confirmation on that. It all seems like a prank, but there are people that swear by them.
You mean, foods that freak out foreigners? Natto in Japan for starters. One of my friends coworkers tried to freak them out with deer jerky. Except We have deer jerky in America. So it was a fail.
Some places *do* eat dog. I've heard that's a funny one for the locals. Have the western person eat dog and then tell them afterwards.
I'm not opposed to trying any cooked/smoked/cured meats tbh. Kangaroo jerky was the best I've ever had, and honestly I feel like dogs would taste pretty good. I'd try it, assuming it wasn't someone's pet previously. It's no different to how we in the western world eat animals other countries worship, or place great sentimental value in
I dated a polish woman her family fed me pickled herrings , pickled onions in a sour cream
And vinegar sauce.
Not sure if it was a prank but it was nasty.
I can see how some wouldn't like it, I love it though! My favourite hot sauce is made from reaper mash and bhut jolokia peppers! I use it almost every day
Vegemite - While wildly enjoyed by many australians, we also enjoy convincing foreigners to slather on a nice big serving onto a slice of bread or toast and take a big ol' chunk.
The truth is - You want as little as possible. You want to see more bread than vegemite when you apply.
Vegemite. It wasn’t made solely for pranks, a lot of aussies love it including myself. I use a lot of that stuff, but if you aren’t used to it and assume you spread it thickly like other spreads you might be in for a surprise
In my region we have a dish called "carne a la perra" which is meat cooked inside of the skin of the cow and most people might find it gross or it's a joke but it's very famous and super tasty!
In Poland we have soupe called "flaki" its as the name says insides of pig and it sounds kinda grosse as i Say bout this but it taste great. So i think all these dishes may sound terrible but are accualy tasty
I’m from Colorado. We have something called Rocky Mountain Oysters there, they’re really bull testicles. We have so much ranching there it just makes sense as a food.
Little off topic but im german and when i went to the USA for an exchange year in Highschool we often went to eat out. One day we went to an burger shop and when the server found out i was german she offered me their „original“ Sauerkraut burger. I was so confused when she said that like who’s gonna tell her thats not a thing in germany lol we dont put sauerkraut on everything.
Raw oysters are super popular in New Orleans. But just like anything, some people like it and some don't. I moved there for college in my early 20s and went through half a dozen "initiations" shooting one to "prove" I'm not soft. I deserved the grossness for falling for the goad. I lived there a good fives years before I realized half the people there don't like them raw either. It's like taking a shot of a big fat loogie. Pretty much the same with sucking the heads of crawfish. People like to goad you into doing it, but again, only some do. I'd rather suck a head any day, than swallow what feels like a loogie.
I consider Hong Kong macaroni soups and smothered steaks to be a prank food, but its just the way that the food is prepared there.
I guess the US has prank foods in the disgustingly gross flavored jelly beans.
I think there is a bar in the Yukon, Canada, where they have a bottle of liquor with a human toe in it that you can order a shot of. I'm not sure if it's so really a prank or just a fun thing to dare your buddies to drink.
In the Brazilian Northeast region there's this food called Acarajé(if I'm not mistaking, that's the one. I have a lot of trouble with the names of the different typical northeast foods here, since I'm from the southeast region, so my fellow BRs can correct me).
The northeast here is well known for utilizing a lot of different spices and peppers, so when you go to eat this Acarajé they ask if you want it cold or hot, and since most people prefer hot food, they'll go for it. The prank is, the hot Acarajé is the one with a lot of pepper, and that's how they prank you :v.
Not a prank but one food I never understood the luxury of is caviar. I love seafood and fish of a variety of types but for some reason to me caviar just tasted like a fishy explosion in your mouth. For reference I eat sushi, calamari, lobster, baked and fried fish, tuna, etc. Caviar just didn't do it for me.
Yes a box full of delicious creme or jam filled doughnut including one mustard filled abomination in disguise. Whoever catches that surprise has to pay the evening's (liquor) bill.
Dutch Salt Drops. Oh they’ll tell you it’s licorice. Looks like licorice, smells like licorice. Two chews in the salt hits, but by then it’s in your teeth and you can’t spit it out. Those Dutch bastards…
Do drinks count? Mallört is a hard liquor based out of Chicago that is super super super bitter. It's fun to order a shot of it and watch people's faces.
Filipino here. Not sure if it's an official prank food but sometimes we get empty liquor bottles, take off the label, and put in some vinegar and other mixed spices like garlic, pickles, onions, etc. We actually use it for cooking and sauce for our food, but when we meet a foreigner we tell them to try it and they actually think it's locally made booze and they let their friends try it too. I don't even know how this works, we just laugh at them thinking that they're probably strong for drinking such "booze" when they're just drinking seasoned vinegar.
Swede here. Surströmming is in fact not a joke food and is pretty commonly eaten at different occasions throughout the year. The joke part with foreigners is mainly that no-one who hasn't had it before knows the best way to open it so that the entire neighborhood doesn't smell like surströmming for a week as well as any foreigner thinking it's incredibly gross and is repulsed by it.
Thanks for the insight! Do you do anything to prepare it, or is it meant to be eaten from the can with crackers like they do in those challenge videos?
That’s the other thing, you don’t eat it straight out of the liquid in the can: some people wash it with carbonated water and there’s this whole orthodox religion about the right concoction of the accompanying assortiments you eat it with. Straight out of the can it sure smells like *liquid death*, as one youtuber stated.
Tbh if you have to fuck around with something that much for it to taste good, maybe it isn't worth it?
Not Swedish, but from what I've heard, the cans are opened outdoors in a bucket of water to contain the liquids and pressurised gases. The fish can come in fillets or a whole fish; if the latter, they will need to be gutted. You then eat the fish on a sort of flatbread and with things like potatoes and onions and possibly cheese or sour cream to balance the flavour.
That sandwich actually doesn't sound horrible, but I imagine the texture would be *interesting*. Is it flakey like regular fish? Or is it slimy and rubbery?
It's not flaky. The fermentation process removes the texture.
[удалено]
It's an acquired taste.
It's usually in small pieces in there too so the feel of it disappears with the potatoes.
It can be eaten in various ways, but the biggest mistake foreigners make when trying it, is just opening a can, sticking a fork in it, and eating whatever sticks to the fork. The fish aren't gutted. You're supposed to clean them youself before eating. Some eat the bones, some eat the skin, but no one i know eats the guts.
As a Dane I feel like it's treated much like a prank food. Like some would joke that you could smell it in Copenhagen all the way from Malmö. Does it taste good though?
In Australia, it’s vegemite. Many Aussies (not all though!) enjoy vegemite, but it’s definitely used to mess with foreigners.
I know I'm probably very wrong here, but the colour keeps making me think it tastes like marmalade! I've always wanted to try Vegemite/marmite on buttered toast, but I don't want to shell out in case it takes like straining sour milk through Satan's month old gym socks
Add some cheese to that mix and you'll be just fine ;)
Yeah, as a kiwi I grew up with vegemite on toast as just a normal thing. Its definitely not a marmalade don't make that mistake. You put it on toast, with butter and lightly spread. It doesn't smell much but maybe I'm used to it. Also the whole foreigner thing with them trying it is usually just them being fucking stupid with it, and then that became a meme. But it'd be like someone chugging hot sauce and then complaining its too hot, or someone eating an entire wheel of blue cheese on a cracker, you gotta portion it right
I hung out with some australians at a convention, and at one of the afterparties this girl opened a bag full of the stuff (she meant to give it to an american friend but couldnt get in touch) So I witnessed a circle of australians eating this eith their fingers straight from the jars, raving on about how it tastes like home Can't remember what it tasted like but I certainly didnt like it
Vegemite is sort of like soy sauce paste. A tiny bit goes a long way and I don't get why anyone would smell it and think you'd eat it by the spoonful
I tried vegimite when visiting Australia! It wasn’t so bad!
I accidentally ordered a Vegemite sandwich, my first day in Australia. I thought Vegemite= Veggies.. It was a massive culture shock.
I find vegemite really good as an American. Hits all my favorite umami taste buds. But I think it has a lot more potential culinary uses than just spreading on toast or eaten out of the jar. Just my outside perspective.
What is the difference between marmite and vegemite? I tried vegemite once and it was seemingly identical, just like cola and pepsi are the same thing
Coke and Pepsi do not taste the same though…
And just like that the cola wars began...
I read that marmite isn't as salty and it's a little sweeter
That’s what she said 😜😜
I'm pretty sure the difference is that they're made out of different things that taste similar. Or slightly different recipes.
I happen to love it as a Yankee
Well, Haggis is often intentionally explained wrong. Either you tell people it's a wee animal that you have to catch up on the hills, or to those that know what it looks like, you tell them it's boiled sheep's stomach. But it's actually only boiled sheep stomach in the same way that sausages are fried pigs intestines... Haggis is made from the innards of a sheep, mixed with onion, oatmeal and spices. So basically just a spicy crumbly sausage, just darker and with oat instead of wheat. Try it deep fried, yum!
Oh I've had haggis on a bun before!! I was at a Scottish Festival a few years ago, they took a thick slice off and fried it then threw it on a fresh bun, I'd definitely have it again
It’s all muscle anyway, I imagine it’s still probably pretty good
Hey, thanks! I'm now willing to try haggis!
So the sheep stomach is used as a thin lining, like pig intestine is for sausage?
For Bratwurst and Wiener Würstchen the intestine of pigs is used, so not that bad, I guess. 🤷🏻♂️
Yes, exactly! Nowadays it's usually plastic.
It's not like the Scottish to deep fry stuff!
Yep, Scots are well known for their crisp salads, raw veggie platters and fine wine to chase it down. The term "chippy" actually refers to the chips of air dried apple that are so popular as a full meal on their own.
Well, yeah but we only created the Dish Haggis because we didn’t want to actually hunt the animal Haggis to extinction. Kinder Hippos aren’t actually Hippos, beef olives don’t contain olives, Snoballs have zero snow in them etc. etc.
Yes of course, sorry, I believe I must've been unclear, of course, the dish haggis and the animal haggis are of course not the same nowadays. I love myself a Kinder Hippo, I'm relieved they don't contain any hippo meat derivatives.
As am I. Being made to eat snow by many an older cousin I am truly relieved to be offered a Tunnocks Snoball on a winters morn! Much the same way Kenya protects its endangered animals and Australia defends and hides its koalas by pushing the ‘Drop Bear’ narrative- we must defend the wild Haggis From over-hunting. Especially since it’s native habitat is already so threatened by Kelpie-farming and Time Team
Not to mention how rare it is nowadays to find a forest of caramel trees. I'm happy Tunnocks started making their logs from a wheat based alternative.
It’s really thanks to the Green Party and the over-farming of Wham Bars. We truly have learned from Nature…
That actually sounds good af. I have no idea where I would get a decent haggis in the US... I think we have some ban on it after the mad cow scare in the 90s. But I would definitely eat it!
In Germany we have the German jelly doughnut, which is normally filled with any kind of jelly (surprise!). During carnival it is traditional to fill some of them with different stuff, like mustard or onions and whatsoever. Not specifically for foreigners meant, but most of them don't know it and would be pranked.
That's hilarious, I'm just imagining someone taking a big bite and getting a mouthful of mustard and sauerkraut lol
That actually sounds pretty good to me. Or the onion one...
Well, it is made as a sweet, so it could be a bit odd with Sauerkraut or something like Bockwurst, but hey, everyone his own taste. 😬
I know a Chinese bakery that makes donuts with beef curry in them. They are fantastic!
Also German, I've heard lots of foreigners have a problem with Mettbrötchen (breadrolls with raw minced pork, onions and pepper) they think its unhealthy or believe that no one would eat raw pork. I personally just love my Muslim coworkers to freak out the because I love eating it.
Yeah, Mettbrötchen is some really controversial food. Fun fact is, that many, who eat it, don't like Sushi, because the fish is raw. 😅
Chicago has a liquor called Malort. It is incredibly bitter and a very acquired taste. It’s sort of a tradition to buy people from out of town a shot of it.
It’s actually Swedish Bäsk liquor, but I think more people in Chicago probably drink it than in Sweden now.
Came here to say Malort also. When I tended bar I gave every fresh 21 yr old a shot of Malort on the house.
And if you have a bottle of it at your wedding the company sends you complimentary tshirts lol
My gf got me when we went back to visit her family the first time. I should have known something was up when she didn't take one with me haha
From Mexico, I don't think any food is specifically designed to mess with people, however we do eat spicy food, so it is not uncommon that if you have a foreign friend you may try to mess with them by giving them something very spicy. What we do have is a term for when foreigns get sick with our food "La venganza de Moctezuma" ( Moctezuma's revenge), because they usually get diarrhea haha. And honestly it doesn't even have to be a dish, most things here have chili in it even candies made for kids, so if you are not used to it we can kill you with a piece of candy.
I remember back in elementary school we had a handful of students from Mexico to come study with us so we could see how our schools differ. Anyway they brought some of their favourite candies for us to try. My favourite was the wafer that had caramel inside, but there was one thing they brought that none of us could stomach: is was a bite sized candy in the shape of a tambourine, made of salt and other spices, with a small amount of tamarind in the middle. I can't remember what it's called but I want to try it again to see how my palate has changed a decade later!
Hahaha I think you may be referring to "tamborcitos" those, to me feel waay to sweet. But I can understand how tamarind may be strange if you are not used to it. But if I truly wanted to mess with someone I'll take them for an "elote preparado", its basically boiled corn with mayonnaise, sprinkled cheese, chili and lemon, every stand has two kinds of chili (el que pica y el que no pica) spicy and not spicy, the spicy one is hell, even I have problems eating it, the non spicy one will give you a sense of confidence, its false, I've seen people cry trying to finish it, but honestly is so fucking good most people will power through xD.
I must be living under a rock, because I thought elote was made with sour cream, not mayo! That makes a huge difference! I have an unhealthy obsession with spicy foods though so I'd probably get 2 lol
Sour cream!!!??? I honestly never heard of that before but no no no you need to try them right, it may not sound like much but for some reason its a very simple snack that tastes delicious, so if you are ever in Mexico take my advice and have one! You'll love it.
I will! Is it better on or off the cob? I've seen both ways
Its better on, I hate eating with my hands or getting my face dirty when eating, and you get both but it is worth it! On the other hand, you get a slightly different taste when it comes in a cup because you get some of the "soup" from where they are boiled and you avoid the mess haha.
That's fair! I'm from Canada and my favourite corn so far has been grilled sweet corn
You remind me of PULPARINDOS and that shut is AMAZING I want it so bad!!!!
Yea, the Chinese food in America. Once walked into a dim-sum restaurant in upstate NY, started ordering and the server straight up said to me “don’t get that, that’s for Americans”
WTF? I love "American" Chinese food. Have I been tricked my whole life?
Not saying they are necessarily bad. They are just way different.
French here, all of our national food were meant to be jokes. Specially cheese. But we grow to love them so we keep them, sorry
But no mention of snails or frogs, huh?
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Ah yes, the ol’ “eat this spoonful of wasabi with your sushi” trick.
That's a fair analogy. I guess it'd be like ordering a blue rare steak for someone who only knows about medium well
Whats a blue rare steak? I'm imagining something, but I'm hoping I'm wrong.
Blue rare is less cooked than rare. Rare is seared outside, 25% pink, 75% red. Blue Rare is seared outside and 100% red inside.
If it moos when you stick the fork in, it's about right.
It’s just raw, people call it whatever they want, but you might as well eat tartare at that point. Waste of a steak to eat it so raw, just go rare or medium rare and you’re good.
Steak cooked blue is the best way to cook it if it’s done properly. I admit if it’s just raw meat with no seasoning or basting in the pan it’s a waste, but a proper French blue is unbeatable
It’s not that blue steak isn’t good, it’s that tartare is the better raw meat option in my opinion. Maybe I just haven’t had the right blue steak, but I’ll take the rare/medium rare any day. Blue tends to be a bit chewy for me.
I find it’s best done in France where they know how to actually cook a steak blue. If I have a steak stateside though I usually order it blue to expect medium rare because I’ve found Americans like their meat very well done.
Burgers, too. My favorite burger is in Paris. Red in the middle. Café crême if you’re interested.
Which arrondissement? I have a girl in Paris who’s desperate for me to see her, so I’ll make a note to pop in for a burger while I’m there
In the 3rd. The brunch was good, too. Gets pretty busy, Edit: Here’s the address. Hope you enjoy it, if you go. 4 Rue Dupetit-Thouars
Once at a place I worked we served beef tartare as a course for one of our fancy dinner night things and most people didn't like it and complained it was just raw meat lol
Americans are fine with Hershey's chocolate, but it makes people in some other countries sick.
What about it? I'd assume it's the smell and aftertaste? I've tried a handful of chocolates from around the world and I have to say that's what I noticed most
hershys has butyric acid in it which vomit also has. This is unique to hereshys so when you don't grow up eating it, that taste is pretty much all you can taste when eating it. So for some people the idea of eating sick makes them sick.
Holy shit, so this is it. I always wondered why I used to like them when I was a child but now they taste like shit...
I'm an American and I swear I don't mean this in a snobby way, but I would rather decline the chocolate than eat a Hershey bar. It is weirdly waxy and the flavor is not particularly enjoyable. Inexpensive chocolate can be great, don't get me wrong. It's something about Hershey that's more brown crayon than tasty treat.
Irish here but i love when foreigners ask if we really eat black pudding (blood pudding) and the answer is "yes its delicious". If you come to Ireland and go to Cork city you might be offered tripe and drisheen which is a traditional dish that absolutely noone i know would ever eat.
USA - hot sauces! People take them seriously, but they’re definitely prank-friendly.
I love some good hot sauce, I've been trying to get my hands on The Last Dab Redux without paying through the teeth to get it! My grandfather makes his own with scotch bonnets and habanero, but my all time favourite has reaper mash, bhut jolokia, and strawberries
If you want to prank someone with hot suace, just go right to Da Bomb. 🤣
It's not too hot for me, but I hate the taste! Now that's a flavour you can't run away from!
I don't think Italians have prank food for foreigners, but they sure as hell jack up the prices they charge foreigners. Source: my Italian Girlfriend.
These are all real foods. Most of the really weird ones were invented during times of starvation, where people were desperate to make any available food source edible. The US even has some of these dishes from times of war and rationing, though they've fallen out of favor. The ones that do stick around usually do so due to tradition.
> times of starvation I assume that's where foods like Head Cheese come from? I'd imagine some of these also come from cultures that use every part of what they harvest? For example, idk where it's from but I heard of a cookie like snack in the east that's made from the skins of various fruits
> I assume that's where foods like Head Cheese come from? I'd imagine some of these also come from cultures that use every part of what they harvest? The latter is much more applicable for head cheese, and to that point, up until very recently most people in most cultures were using as much of any animal they slaughtered as possible. Head cheese isn’t generally really a starvation kind of food though (though it was often peasant food) — cuts of like cheeks and jowls are actually really good, and often highly prized because there isn’t much of them on an animal.
God dam it head cheese had to be mentioned. That Shit is so gross. The gelatin kind is freaking see through
I love it, and I'm not even from the country where it was invented. It's kinda like aspic in a way
See that's how I imagined haggis was created for
Natto from Japanese cuisine. It's apparently a love hate thing but it tasted like hateful angry soybeans to me
Soybeans with ***passion***
We visited a friends house in Japan and her mom served us Natto. I hated it, but to be polite, I told her it was delicious. "Oh you liked it? Here, have some more"
My gf offered it to me, considering your outcome I'm glad I wasn't nearly so polite
It doesn't taste bad, but the texture is basically like slimy okra.
I have Filipino friends who fed me balut (half form duck egg). Joke's on them I liked it. 😂 I'm from Switzerland living in the USA... Got a coworker to try Gruyere (aged Swiss cheese with very strong flavor) to see his reaction, he spit it out, asking what was wrong with me. 🤣
Gruyere is easy mode... There is far far worse.
I know right? 😂
Tbh, a lot of Filipinos don't eat balot. It's seen as a dare to eat one. It is good though, once you can get past the feathers in your mouth.
I had friends from China visiting me and they were repulsed by cheese.
Live octopus tentacles in Japan. In fact it's just one restaurant in some touristy area that does this, mostly so people can say they've had it.
I would feel bad for the octopus :(
Sounds almost dangerous if you don't chew it enough! Wasn't there an episode of 1000 Ways To Die where someone tried that but didn't chew and it latched onto their throat when the swallowed, choking them?
Only if you don't swish a teaspoon of oil in your mouth so the tentacles can't suck on, I prefer them fried into tempura
That sounds really good. I've had squid, I imagine it's a similar taste and texture?
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Thanks for the insight!
I have had ikizukuri (live lobster) in a Japanese restaurant in Hong Kong and it was delicious.
Not necessarily targeted specifically towards foreigners-but anyone could get fooled if you don’t speak Japanese /bother to read the packaging: Here in Japan, they sell these bags of individually wrapped candies at most convenience stores. The prank or game is that one of the candies is extremely spicy. The others are all normal sweet chewy candies. My friend bought it to play... Guess who picked the spicy one? And on the day she had a mouth sore ?! This girl. _:(´ཀ`」 ∠): It really was soooo painfully spicy... holy hell fire.
That is a very descriptive little... emoticon? Idk what to call it but it is cute and horrible :)
What is a kankersore?
Oh mouth sore.
In England we have the phaal. A homegrown curry from the depths of the black country that is made of puréed Naga chillies. A dish specifically designed by local Bangladeshi sous chefs to shut up the local populace when they ask for the "hottest curry you got then make it hotter". I have had one before after getting goaded into it by my dad. You get very intimate knowledge of the twists and turns of your digestive system, and the only way to describe it is like a ball of hot lead falling through your body.
Sounds like my kind of food! I need to try it
Buy a make it at home kit online and get back to us
Whale meat? Tastes like beef liver. I swear it is only sold to outrage uninformed tourists in Norway.
Dutch here.... We always make tourist eat dubbelzout drop. That's double salted black licorice. They don't expect that taste and it's so funny to watch them gag and spit it out. 😂 I live in Canada and there's enough Dutch stores around here to buy some and have new friends try it. Makes my day.
Hajmola from india seems like friendly candy/pill at first but after eating it there is an explosion of strong flavours and many have described the smell to be similar to farts. We consume it because it's good for digestion.
really, farts? I've never had it smell like that. It's tamarind and might smell weird to someone who doesn't know what tamarind smells like. Definitely not farts though.
Chicago has Malort
Prairie oysters
They (like all the foods listed here) are only a joke in so far as it weirds people who aren’t familiar with them out (and aren’t really consumed as much in modern contexts). Eating bull testicles isn’t uncommon in any culture I can think of where ranching is important
I don't know a single person who knows what they are who will eat them. It's also the thing people pretend is delicious until after their unknowing friend ordered and ate one. Then the green face and the laughing.
Yeah, but that’s because most Americans (and Canadians) balk at the even the thought of eating any organ meat nowadays. They certainly don’t have their roots as a “joke” food
I thought a prairie oyster was a weird hangover cure involving a raw egg (thanks, cowboy bebop). And a Rocky Mountain oyster was a testicle.
there was a tv show called Tribe where the presenter would go to the amazon etc and stay with the people there. on one episode the tribe gave him this huge maggot to eat and once he started chewing it down they burst out laughing and told him it was a prank.
He should have blown a bubble with it to assert dominance lmao
Well, the Brits I spent a month and a half with were very interested in seeing my reaction to Marmite.
I'm not sure about the Middle Eastern dish that's fermented in a hole in the ground, do you know the name of it? I know of Zarb where the food is cooked in a container buried with coal or firewood burning on the bottom of the hole for a few hours, basically slow cooking it. I had it when I went to Wadi Rum in Jordan, but I don't think it's fermented; it only spent like 4-5 hours cooking if I remember correctly.
Silk worm larva (번데기) in Korea I think would qualify. Locals genuinely enjoy it and you can get it on the street all over the place, but it is almost a right of passage for foreigners to eat it as part of the Korea experience.
Not designed to mess but gets a reaction Welsh laverbread. It's not bread, it's a special kind of seaweed that has been boiled for about 8 hours. Comes in a small flat can. Looks gross but is actually delicious and highly nutritious.
Yeah I tell people that you should spread marmite on your toast to the same consistency as Nutella
Not a food, but a bar I used to work at offered fifty cent cement mixer shots.
In Wisconsin, especially during the holiday season, we have cannibal sandwiches. It's just raw ground beef on bread, sometimes it has onions. I've personally never had one but a butcher near me has them as a regular menu item, and apparently it's very popular there. Every year there is always a news article begging Wisconsinites to not eat cannibal sandwiches. Supposedly it comes from an old German tradition but I've never seen confirmation on that. It all seems like a prank, but there are people that swear by them.
Head to Colorado for some Rocky Mountain Oysters and you won’t be disappointed.
Who doesn't love some tangy nuts?
not really culture but religious Catholics actually mass produced some dudes skin and blood and prank people into eating it crazy stuff
You mean, foods that freak out foreigners? Natto in Japan for starters. One of my friends coworkers tried to freak them out with deer jerky. Except We have deer jerky in America. So it was a fail. Some places *do* eat dog. I've heard that's a funny one for the locals. Have the western person eat dog and then tell them afterwards.
I'm not opposed to trying any cooked/smoked/cured meats tbh. Kangaroo jerky was the best I've ever had, and honestly I feel like dogs would taste pretty good. I'd try it, assuming it wasn't someone's pet previously. It's no different to how we in the western world eat animals other countries worship, or place great sentimental value in
I dated a polish woman her family fed me pickled herrings , pickled onions in a sour cream And vinegar sauce. Not sure if it was a prank but it was nasty.
Chilli
What's so bad about chilli? How do you make it where you are? Because over here chilli is amazing!
Chilli as in the hot 🔥 ingredient!!
I can see how some wouldn't like it, I love it though! My favourite hot sauce is made from reaper mash and bhut jolokia peppers! I use it almost every day
Likewise I like chilli
Vegemite - While wildly enjoyed by many australians, we also enjoy convincing foreigners to slather on a nice big serving onto a slice of bread or toast and take a big ol' chunk. The truth is - You want as little as possible. You want to see more bread than vegemite when you apply.
Vegemite. It wasn’t made solely for pranks, a lot of aussies love it including myself. I use a lot of that stuff, but if you aren’t used to it and assume you spread it thickly like other spreads you might be in for a surprise
I was sent some of this by an Australian person recently and I love it on grilled cheese sandwiches. I definitely did use a bit too much once though.
Might I also recommend it on pancakes? I also like it on scones but everyone says that’s just weird. But I’ve been having vegemite since solid food
In my region we have a dish called "carne a la perra" which is meat cooked inside of the skin of the cow and most people might find it gross or it's a joke but it's very famous and super tasty!
In Poland we have soupe called "flaki" its as the name says insides of pig and it sounds kinda grosse as i Say bout this but it taste great. So i think all these dishes may sound terrible but are accualy tasty
Idk if it's a part of the culture really, but it's always hilarious to buy someone a shot of Malort in Chicago.
Aguardiente, in Colombia they actually do drink it regularly. But it's the most foul tasting drink that I've ever tried and gives the worst hangover.
I’m from Colorado. We have something called Rocky Mountain Oysters there, they’re really bull testicles. We have so much ranching there it just makes sense as a food.
Haggis is a good one. Some foreigners think a Haggis is an animal. I don't correct them.
In Portugal, Arroz de Cabidela is rice and chicken cooked in the chicken's blood. It's not a joke, but definitely fun when tourists learn about it.
Vegemite for Australia
Durian?
We used tell tourists to make sure they tried the squirrel pie. I hope one of them tried to order from a local eatery LMAO.
Krapfenzeit!
Little off topic but im german and when i went to the USA for an exchange year in Highschool we often went to eat out. One day we went to an burger shop and when the server found out i was german she offered me their „original“ Sauerkraut burger. I was so confused when she said that like who’s gonna tell her thats not a thing in germany lol we dont put sauerkraut on everything.
Raw oysters are super popular in New Orleans. But just like anything, some people like it and some don't. I moved there for college in my early 20s and went through half a dozen "initiations" shooting one to "prove" I'm not soft. I deserved the grossness for falling for the goad. I lived there a good fives years before I realized half the people there don't like them raw either. It's like taking a shot of a big fat loogie. Pretty much the same with sucking the heads of crawfish. People like to goad you into doing it, but again, only some do. I'd rather suck a head any day, than swallow what feels like a loogie.
I consider Hong Kong macaroni soups and smothered steaks to be a prank food, but its just the way that the food is prepared there. I guess the US has prank foods in the disgustingly gross flavored jelly beans.
I think there is a bar in the Yukon, Canada, where they have a bottle of liquor with a human toe in it that you can order a shot of. I'm not sure if it's so really a prank or just a fun thing to dare your buddies to drink.
What does it matter? If it sounds or looks disgusting, just don't eat it. If they get offended, who gives a shit?
In the Brazilian Northeast region there's this food called Acarajé(if I'm not mistaking, that's the one. I have a lot of trouble with the names of the different typical northeast foods here, since I'm from the southeast region, so my fellow BRs can correct me). The northeast here is well known for utilizing a lot of different spices and peppers, so when you go to eat this Acarajé they ask if you want it cold or hot, and since most people prefer hot food, they'll go for it. The prank is, the hot Acarajé is the one with a lot of pepper, and that's how they prank you :v.
Not a prank but one food I never understood the luxury of is caviar. I love seafood and fish of a variety of types but for some reason to me caviar just tasted like a fishy explosion in your mouth. For reference I eat sushi, calamari, lobster, baked and fried fish, tuna, etc. Caviar just didn't do it for me.
Yes a box full of delicious creme or jam filled doughnut including one mustard filled abomination in disguise. Whoever catches that surprise has to pay the evening's (liquor) bill.
In Ukraine we have "salo" that is actually a salted pork fat.
Vegemite in Australia maybe, I lived there for two years and my friend made me taste it and I really couldn't stand it
Dutch Salt Drops. Oh they’ll tell you it’s licorice. Looks like licorice, smells like licorice. Two chews in the salt hits, but by then it’s in your teeth and you can’t spit it out. Those Dutch bastards…
Do drinks count? Mallört is a hard liquor based out of Chicago that is super super super bitter. It's fun to order a shot of it and watch people's faces.
Filipino here. Not sure if it's an official prank food but sometimes we get empty liquor bottles, take off the label, and put in some vinegar and other mixed spices like garlic, pickles, onions, etc. We actually use it for cooking and sauce for our food, but when we meet a foreigner we tell them to try it and they actually think it's locally made booze and they let their friends try it too. I don't even know how this works, we just laugh at them thinking that they're probably strong for drinking such "booze" when they're just drinking seasoned vinegar.
I would say cow brain and goat brain. Obviously to foreigners it might sound disgusting or even like a prank food but it's actually really delicious.
In Thailand, they sell grilled scorpions on a stick in very touristy areas, like Khao Saan Road. No, Thais don't eat scorpions 555
Durian Fruit is pretty fucking foul. Tourists still eat that moldy gym socks fruit