#1 Balut – The Philippines
Lurking beneath the innocent-looking shell is a tiny duck fetus that’s been boiled alive. Nice. To make it, fertilized duck eggs are incubated for up to 20 days and then cooked to create this gruesome delight.
#2 Winkles – England
These are small edible snails. You simply remove the excess sand and salt and boil their tiny snails of the sea before serving them with salt and vinegar.
#3 Mice Wine – China
Baby mice are left in the winefor around a year. Then it’s “probably safe” to drink this “health tonic.” The Chinese believe that it can help with asthma, although it apparently tastes like gasoline.
#4 Casu Marzu – Sardinia
This is a rare cheese, one that is made using the larvae of flies and is infested with live maggots. The Sardinians take a traditional pecorino and have some local flies lay their eggs in it. The larvae munch through the cheese and then excrete it back into the cheese, apparently making for a unique, soft texture.
#5 Isaw – Phillipines
This is chicken or pork intestines. They are cleaned inside and out multiple times, so it’s not like you’re eating an animal’s fecal matter.