Foods from around the world

Grits

coarsely ground hulled corn boiled as a breakfast dish in the southern United States

Hoppin John

stew of ham, rice, and black-eyed peas

Rosca de reyes

sweet bread formed into the shpae of airing topped with pastry cream and cherries

Pozole

traditional chicken/pork stew of pork shoulder, hominy, & red Chile

Offal

variety meats or organ meats, refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but includes most internal organs excluding muscle and bone

Sauerkraut

white cabbage chopped, placed in wooden barrels, salted and left for to ferment for several weeks.

Chapulines

(grasshoppers) usually fried, are a treat sold at street markets some parts of Mexico

Sweet Potato Pie

Sweet potato pie is a traditional side dish in the Southern United States. It is often served during the American holiday season, especially at Thanksgiving, and is similar in many ways to pumpkin pie. Marshmallows are sometimes added as a topping, but this was adopted more in the Northern United States than in the South.

Okra

Tall coarse annual of Old World tropics widely cultivated in southern United States and West Indies for its long thick, green pods used as basis for soups and stews

Capirotada

Ttraditional Mexican food similar to a bread pudding that is usually eaten during the Lenten period (comida de cuaresma). It is one of the dishes served on Good Friday.

Olives

Used to make oil or eaten whole after being placed in a salt solution

Lutefisk

Usually eaten in Scandinavia this delicacy is made from aged stockfish and lye. Yes, lye. The corrosive alkaline substance also known as caustic soda is used to soak the fish for several days. After being removed from the lye the fish is so corrosive that it requires almost a week long bath of cold water just to become edible again.

Chicharrones

a crispy puff made from pork skin that has been deep fried

Collard Greens

a type of leafy green vegetable that is common in southern U.S. cooking. A member of the kale family, feature dark green leaves and tough stems. Because of their tough texture, benefit from slow, moist heat cooking techniques such as braising. A traditional recipe for involves simmering the collards with a ham hock, or other smoked, cured pork products like bacon, and served with corn bread. Other techniques include sautéing, baking in casseroles or simmering in soups and stews

Escargot

bred on farms, snails, served in their shells with garlic butter

Sushi

Contain raw fish, rice and sometimes seaweed

Mozzarella

Soft cheese used for pizza, which when cooks pulls into strings

Frogs legs

Fried in butter with sauce, said to taste like chicken

Balut Eggs

A balut or balot is a developing duck embryo that is boiled alive and eaten in the shell. It is commonly sold as streetfood in the Philippines. They are common food in countries in Southeast Asia, such as Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. They are often served with beer. The Tagalog and Malay word balut (balot) means "wrapped".

Paella

A dish made from rice, saffron and various seafoods, plus tomatoes and peas

Wasabi

A hot radish sauce

Hushpuppies

A hushpuppy (or cornbread ball) is a savory food made from cornmeal batter that is deep fried or baked rolled as a small ball or occasionally other shapes. Hushpuppies are frequently served as a side dish, usually at seafood restaurants.

Drunken Shrimp

A popular dish in parts of china where the shrimp are eaten alive but stunned in a strong liquor prior to consumption. This recipe is also popular in parts of the United States but it includes an intermediary step known as "cooking".

Vegemite

A smear of thick, black Vegemite on some crisp toast is a favorite among Australians. Made from brewer's yeast, the spread was developed in Australia in the 1920's and has since been an Australian kitchen staple -- and a part of the country's history. Australian World War II troops were given cans of the beloved spread in their rations. This stuff is as popular in Australia as hot dogs and apple pie are in the States -- Kraft celebrated the production of its billionth jar of Vegemite in 2008. So what does Vegemite taste like? It's salty and tangy, with an indescribably unique flavor. Many agree that Vegemite is an acquired taste, so travelers may need some time to get used to it.

Escamole

Ant larvae harvested from the roots of the agave plant, these are considered to be a delicacy in Mexico. In fact, they are sometimes even referred to as "insect caviar" . It is said that they taste like butter but slightly nutty.

Head Cheese

Head cheese is in fact not a cheese, but rather a terrine of meat from the head of a calf or pig (sometimes a sheep or cow). It may also include meat from the feet and heart. It is usually eaten cold or at room temperature as a luncheon meat. It is sometimes also known as souse meat, particularly if pickled with vinegar. Historically the cleaned (all organs removed) head was simmered to produce a gelatin (formed from the collagen in the bone) containing any incidental meat which came off the head. The more modern method involves adding gelatin to meat, which is then cooked in a mold.

Hog Maw

Hog maw is the stomach of a pig. More specifically, it is the lining of the stomach, which is very muscular and contains no fat if cleaned properly. It can be found in soul food, Chinese, Pennsylvania Dutch, Mexican, Portuguese and Italian dishes. In addition, it can be prepared in various ways including stewed, fried, baked, and broiled.

Fried tarantulas

In Cambodia, fried spiders are a popular snack, found most everywhere by women peddling them around on large trays. You can eat them with or without the legs, and even buy them by the "sack," which, naturally, contains the heart and eggs as well. But it's all fried, right? Can't be that bad.

Ham Hocks

In the South, soups, greens, & bean dishes get added flavor from this part of the pig, referred to by an alliterative name (pig legs)?

Wurst

Known as sausage. Varieties include Bratwurst and frankfurters

Kopi Luwak

Kopi luwak is one of the world's most expensive and exclusive types of coffee. Produced predominantly in Indonesia, "civet coffee" is made from the beans of coffee berries consumed by the Asian Palm Civet. Meaning, yes, they pass through the civet's digestive track before making it into a ($79) cup of coffee. The coffee itself is renowned for its intense, pleasing aroma and flavor as well as a distinct lack of bitterness; so if you can get past that whole this-was-pooped-out-of-an-animal thing, it's worth trying.

Sannakji

Like many eastern foods, this one is served raw. Very raw. Just watch as the chef dismembers a small octopus before your eyes and seasons the pieces with sesame oil, if he can hit them that is, because many times they are still moving on the plate as you reach for your chopsticks.

Menudo

Mexican tripe soup

Durian

Most popular in Southeast Asia, the durian is supposedly the "King of Fruits." It's worth trying not because it's necessarily going to be great—most people either love it or hate it—but because it's rare and its "aroma" can be detected from thousands of miles away. And that's not a good thing in this case. But hey, you can't turn down something that's the bloody king, right?

Hog Jowl

Pork jowl (also called jowl bacon or, especially in the Southern United States, hog jowl) is cured and smoked cheeks of pork. Hog jowl is a staple of soul food, but is also used outside the United States; the Italian variant is called guanciale.

Haggis

Savoury pudding inclusive of hearts, livers and lungs, flavoured with salt and a variety of spice; simmered for approximately for 3 hours, a scottish dish consisting of sheep's stomach combined with suet and boiled oatmeal

Bok choy

Similar to cabbage, flavoured with a variety of sauces

Rocky Mountain oysters

These look like some delicious calamari, right? Well, close. Kind of. Actually, no, "prairie oysters" are made up of buffalo or bull testicles. First they're flattened and then deep-fried and immediately served. In the areas where they're common—wherever farming and ranching is prevalent—there are often even festivals commemorating them, like the "World's Largest Rocky Mountain Oyster Feed" in June, in Eagle, Idaho.

Peking duck

Thin crisp skinned, seasoned and hung in shop windows, A dish consisting of roasted duck skin, small pancakes, and hoisin sauce and other condiments.

Tacos

Tortillas curled into a shell shape and filled with meats or vegetables

Quinoa

Traditional staple of a South American country, served, A species of goosefoot grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds. Although it is technically not a grain it is treaded as such because of its baking characteristics

Antipasti

Traditionally consists of thinly sliced ham, spicy sausages, stuffed vegetables and cold fish