I've eaten all sorts of things that are usually consigned to the bin, but here's a small handful of oddities:
First up, HÃ karl. It's fermented shark flesh. Icelandic. You take said shark, which is so full of ammonia that it is poisonous to eat in any amount, bury it and an anaerobic fermentation happens, breaking down the ammonia. A few months later, dig it up and leave it to cure in the north Atlantic wind for a few weeks.
Cube up and sell to tourists. It is, simply put, one of the worst tastes in the world. The whiter it is, the stronger the flavour. I had a bowl of the stuff in Reykjavik. I found it perfectly palatable, but very strong indeed. Like a mouthful of petrol and it did not get any less through the day, no matter how much else I ate or drunk.
Google it, have a laugh at folks spitting it out or throwing it up.
Second, Andouilette Sausage. No, not Andouille, Andouilette. So proud are the French of this curious delicacy, they have an amicable society of said sausage fanciers.
A pal of mine brought me a couple back from a short break to Paris. This is the same friend that brought me sheep brain back from Iceland and a smoked reindeer heart back from Sweden. Yup! I loved 'em both. Anyway, this sausage ...
You take a pig, butcher it, move the meat on for human consumption, ears, snout and so on go to pet stores, trotter and whatnot for gelatine, grind everything else edible up and sell them as budget sausages ... and you're left with the lower intestine and the colon. Slice up the colon and lower intestine, packing it into a casing of a length of intestine and you're done!
Yes, it tastes of arse! Apparently, that
pissour flavour is the attraction! Go figure. I found it not the least bit palatable and it's another one that stays with your the whole day.
Lately, I was introduced to this curious idea:
Yes, they're mealworms. This, I actually liked. I'm not sure I could stomach the idea of beetles, cockroaches, even pupae, but larvae like this are fine. Just think crunchy prawns and you're there ... good flavour, slightly citrus.